Translations of the Zhuangzi

[Anonymous No.16159401]

Taoist and orientalist anons, do you have any suggestions about translations of the Zhuangzi? I'm looking to buy a copy. I've read a chapter or two of the Legge translation from Sacred Books of the East and I'm a sucker for those old orientalist-style translations, but I've read no modern translations at any great length. Any other input?

Also, general Taoism thread.

[Anonymous No.16159407]

>>16159401
Yay, Taoism!

[Anonymous No.16159446]

I drink a lot and I am a smug cryptic asshole to everyone
Inmortality when

[Anonymous No.16159490]

>>16159401
i bought brook ziporyn's (don't worry, he's a guy) translation on a whim and i really like it. it's got a slightly informal style that i was surprised at at first, but given the subject matter it's not completely unwarranted. i have no idea how accurate the translation is in relation to the text, only that it was quite enjoyable to read and contains some enlightening footnotes and appendices. i got the one "with selected commentaries", which has some commentaries on the book written by various people throughout history which explains some of the meaning and intent behind what can sometimes be absolutely incomprehensible prose. the only problem with this translation is that it's not complete, it has all of the inner chapters but only a few of the outer ones, but i think it's worth it for the translation of the commentaries alone
some of the translation choices i'm not entirely sure add value. like he translates li, an unit of measurement, to miles, which gives it an oddly localized flavor - it's like, i know this was written by an ancient chinese dude who had no clue what a mile was, so it just feels a bit odd, even if the meaning is identical. on the other hand, there are copious footnotes for other translation choices where the same chinese word is used in various contexts (with different renderings per context), which is extremely helpful in understanding the text
so all in all it's an excellent translation i think, i highly recommend it

[Anonymous No.16159893]

What do you do after can balance out any statement thrown at you?

For example, I had a professor who would make fun of bad metaphors by showing how much they could join. He would grab a chair and say it has four legs, then say it's like his dog which has four legs, or like a sphinx that has four legs, or perhaps he'd eventually try and reach the opposite of a chair. Which is funny, but if bad metaphor can join everything, what does it mean to forget what a bad metaphor looks like? It's as much a way to see the whole world at once as to obscure all of it, just depending on how you read the question. I can dive from anything, towards the dao, and then back up to something else to make a metaphor. I can flip any skepticism into a confidence and vice versa, and vice versa, and so on. For things to be an illusion is for things to be as they seem. To hold free will is to be seized by it. I can even spin knowledge and ignorance around. God's silence is on there: ask an atheist why god is silent, or a thiest, and they'll tell you "because that's the truth." I can deflate whole philosophy cannons. But, I'm just burning matches. I'm not compelled by this to do anything other than remind other people it can be done.

[Anonymous No.16160153]

>>16159490
Thank you for your insight. I looked into Ziporyn's translation and it's very readable and flows nicely, but on the other hand
>it's not complete
I'm autistic about completeness, so I'd prefer to get a copy with the outer chapters as well as the inner chapters.

[Anonymous No.16161028]

Bump. Why is /lit/ so damn fast today? I bumped this two hours ago and it's already on page 9.

[Anonymous No.16161873]

>>16159401

[Anonymous No.16161915]

>>16161873
Thanks anon. I have a book translated by Burton Watson, but its name escapes me at the moment.

[Anonymous No.16163039]

>>16159490
>>16161873
Okay, so I looked into both of these and it ends up Ziporyn just released a full edition of the Zhuangzi in March! I decided to purchase that over Watson's, as I like Ziporyn's writing style better and it was a hell of a lot cheaper. Thank you for your help anons.

General Taoism thread now I suppose, if anyone's up for one at this hour.

[Anonymous No.16163571]

>>16159401
>>16163039
Based Futo poster
Enjoy the Zhuangzi

[Anonymous No.16163778]

I want to coom inside Futo

[Anonymous No.16163803]

>>16163039
what is the taoist position on tipping the milk carton up when girls drink from it?

[Anonymous No.16163858]

>>16163803
Carton more useful when empty.

[Anonymous No.16163873]

>>16163858
ah i see now, and also girls are better when wet. not in a sexual way, it's just good to bully them, in a moral sense