Abstract:

When we talk about “Tao”, the first thing we think of is Tao Te Ching. So in this paper, we probe into Tao and its translations in Tao Te Ching, which has 81 chapters in total with Tao mentioned 74 times as one of the most frequently used terms. This philosophical term is the core of Tao Te Ching throughout the entire book. As we all know, Tao Te Ching is the essence of Chinese culture, and the ideological source of Taoism in China. Over thousands of years, Tao Te Ching not only has a profound influence on Chinese society, but also spread across the world. In this paper, we probe into “Tao” in Tao Te Ching and its English translations, as well as Tao from the perspective of epistemology, trying to find out the similarities and differences of “Tao” among English translations and provide a more comprehensive and objective perspective of “Tao”.

Key words: Tao Te Ching; “Tao”; English translations of Tao

摘要：

当我们谈论道，首先想到的是《道德经》，所以在这篇文章中，主要探讨《道德经》中道字翻译的研究。在道德经81章中有37章提到了道，一共出现了74次，是使用频率最高的一个关键词。“道”这一哲学术语是《道德经》哲学思想体系的核心，贯穿整片著作中。众所周知，《道德经》是中国文化的精髓，是中国道教的思想来源,也是东方智慧的代表之一。数千年以来，《道德经》不仅对中国社会有深远的影响，而且传播世界几十个国家和地区，道是《道德经》中最重要的概念。目前为止，《道德经》有500多种译本，其中最主要的是英文译本。在本文中，主要从认识论的角度《道德经》中道的英译研究，分析国内外译者对道特征的翻译，找出Tao字在翻译过程中的相同点和不同点，对道的认识提供一个更加全面客观的视角。

关键词：《道德经》；“道”；道的英译

Introduction
    Tao Te Ching not only has a profound influence on Chinese society, but also spread all over the world. And Tao as the most important concept in Tao Te Ching, it is rich in connotations, drawing attention of both Chinese and westerners. Since it made its debut in the western world in the late 18 century, it has been translated and adapted many times. So far, there are more than 500 translations, especially in English. As we all know, translation is not a simple linguistic exchange. In this paper, we probe into “Tao” in Tao Te Ching and its English translations, as well as Tao from the perspective of epistemology, trying to find out the similarities and differences of “Tao” among English translation and provide a more comprehensive and objective perspective of “Tao”.
1. Lao Zi, TaoTe Ching and its translation
    Tao Te Ching, dating back to the Spring and Autumn Period, more than 2000 years ago, is regarded as the first systematic philosophy book of China, which involves many aspects of human society including philosophy, politics, history, humanity to self-cultivation and so on. Since the first version of Tao Te Ching came out, not only the book but also its author has remained a mystery and controversy. Although some scholars doubt that Lao Zi is the original author, most scholars still believe that it is Lao Zi who wrote this book to express his philosophical ideas. Tao Te Ching including 81 chapters. Generally, these chapters are divided into two parts: chapters from 1 to 37 is the first part called Dao Jing，and chapters from 38 to 81 is the second part called De Jing.