Tzu Lao John Chalmers Lau Tsze (2 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. First edition, first printing. Small octavo, 19.5*13.1cm, xx+62p.Name, address and bookplate of previous owner on front free endpaper, general wear to outer covers, offsetting to 2 pages due to a newspaper clipping laid in, otherwise a very good hardcover. Added as a bonus is a newspaper article, entitled "Tao Te Ching", by Kenneth Rexroth, published in 1968 in "Sunday Review." Extremely scarce.

First English language edition. First English-language edition of the Tao Te Ching. Presentation copy inscribed "Mr. Joseph Collier with the author's compliments," presumably by Chalmers, penned on front free endpaper. Additional penciled note "Presented to [D.C.?] Collier." Good+ with chipping and cracking at ends of somewhat sunned spine, light rubbing and wear; front hinge cracked, rear hinge just starting; somewhat primitive tape repair to torn front free endpaper running through inscription; foxing (heavier towards front), a few penciled notes. Rare. The first English-language translation of this foundational Chinese classic, subsequently translated into English over 500 times, making it the text with the largest number of translations in the world, more than the Bible. An extremely well-respected sinologist, translator John Chalmers pioneered the British study of Chinese language and culture while living in Hong Kong. He was also a missionary, and saw his translation of the Tao Te Ching as part of his evangelical strategy. His notes and translation choices provide unique insight into how Western scholars grappled with philosophy that was clearly sophisticated and profound, but did not emerge from their own traditions. "I have thought it better to leave the word Tau untranslated," writes Chalmers. "Three terms suggest themselves - the Way, Reason, and the Word; but they are all liable to objection." Chalmers's work, which built on the French translation of Stanislas Julien but also included original sinological research, provided the foundation for later translations such as that of James Legge. This edition represents a pivotal moment of encounter between spiritual traditions, and foreshadows the immense popularity enjoyed by the Daode Jing in Western cultures today.