It has been pointed out by Baroness Radon that the Legge translation of The Book of Chuang Tzu is a bit stilted. I tend to agree with her. So, I'm going to change things up a bit and intersperse -- on a chapter per chapter basis -- the translation of Burton Watson.
Watson's translation will make its first appearance on the 12th of this month for Chapter 4. (I would make the change sooner, but I've already laid in and scheduled the posts for the remainder of Chapter 2 and the 4 posts for Chapter 3.) Please let me know if you find that you prefer one translation over the other or if you have no preference. If the former is indicated and the choice is Watson, then I'll switch over at some later date. If the latter, then I will continue to alternate the two translations.
For me, this is one of the benefits of writing a blog instead of a book. Nothing has to be set in stone. If it turns out that something needs to be changed or altered, then you just make the change on the fly. If we're talking about a book, however, a person or company might incur a bit of expense making the necessary changes for future editions.
Watson's translation will make its first appearance on the 12th of this month for Chapter 4. (I would make the change sooner, but I've already laid in and scheduled the posts for the remainder of Chapter 2 and the 4 posts for Chapter 3.) Please let me know if you find that you prefer one translation over the other or if you have no preference. If the former is indicated and the choice is Watson, then I'll switch over at some later date. If the latter, then I will continue to alternate the two translations.
For me, this is one of the benefits of writing a blog instead of a book. Nothing has to be set in stone. If it turns out that something needs to be changed or altered, then you just make the change on the fly. If we're talking about a book, however, a person or company might incur a bit of expense making the necessary changes for future editions.
And, as you have shown but the TTC line-by-line series, comparing translations is elucidating. I've been reading your Legge alongside Cleary and Palmer. Each translator brings his own perspective...certainly one of the points of Chaung Tzu.
ReplyDeleteAre you planning to do more than the inner chapters?
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm planning to do all 33 chapters.
ReplyDelete