stillconfused

Hi- Those are the same translation (Red Pine's) of the two sections from Mitchell that you quoted, 4 and 9. They are quite different than Mitchell, and correspond about as closely as one can to the text (given assumptions on punctuation; Classical Chinese was not punctuated).

To give a bit more detail of the first one, 4:

Mitchell 4a: The Tao is like a well: used but never used up. It is like the eternal void: filled with infinite possibilities.

  1. The original text does not mention a well.
  2. those who use it are not full, not the Tao not used up.
  3. there is no mention of eternal voids just a lack of fullness for users.
  4. there is no mention of infinite impossibilities, but it is possible "as it were the ancestor of us all" is mistranslated by Mitchell where "all" wan wu (literally 10,000 things) is translated as infinite, and the ancestor part is dropped.

Mitchel 4b: <blank>

  It appears Mitchell skips the middle part of the section, which discusses dulled edges, tangles, light, and dust.

Mitchell 4c: It is hidden but always present. I don't know who gave birth to it. It is older than God.

  1. The first half is clear / as if it were present, not hidden.
  The rest is reasonable.

By all means if you found something in Mitchell, enjoy, but he's taken many liberties while translated a language he did not understand, and so it doesn't match the original text as well as other alternatives.

It's great that you've found something you like, but if you are interested in staying close to the text, a translation by a person that deeply understands Classical Chinese literature and philosophy is worth a read.

Please try Red Pine- https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556592906

To see the difference, let's compare her translation of 4 and 9 (Here, we have Stephen Mitchell and Red Pine's translations) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38058843#38095107

4: Sourceless

  The way is empty,
  used, but not used up.
  Deep, yes! ancestral
  to the ten thousand things.

  Blunting edge,
  loosing bond,
  dimming light,
  the way is the dust of the way.

  Quiet
  yes, and likely to endure.
  Whose child? Born
  before the gods.

9: Being Quiet

  Brim-fill the bowl,
  it'll spill over.
  Keep sharpening the blade,
  you'll soon blunt it.

  Nobody can protect
  a house full of gold and jade.

  Wealth, status, pride
  are their own ruin.
  To do good, work well, and lie low
  is the way of the blessing.

For 4, some of the concepts don't even appear in the original (quiet?)

For 9, it feels like there's a lot of overstepping and blank-filling.

Here is Red Pine's translation of both, in case you are interested. He spent ~20 years including substantial time in monasteries studying Chinese classics. His translation is much more tightly linked to the actual work.

4:

  The Tao is so empty
  those who use it
  never become full again
  and so deep
  as if were the ancestor of us all
  it dulls our edges
  unties our tangles
  softens our light
  and merges our dust
  it's so clear
  as if it were present
  I wonder whose child it is
  it seems it was here before Ti

9:

  Instead of pouring in more
  better stop while you can
  making it sharper
  won't help it last longer
  rooms full of treasure
  can never be safe
  the vanity of success
  invites its own failure
  when your work is done retire
  this is the Way of Heaven

Notice how different, in particular, 4. The text reads much, much closer to Red Pine's translation. The 4th line literally reads "deep !", but that word is nowhere to be found in Mitchell's translation.

I strongly recommend Red Pine!

Red Pine's translation, with translated historical commentaries, is the best I know in English.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556592906

I've read the original in Classical Chinese, as well as many translations, over many years, and for me, his translation is the best and most grounded in the work itself. He is an American that has spent substantial time in Chinese monasteries, and has won prizes for his translations generally.

Of course the linked version by Feng and English is a classic, and if you like it or can take some value from it, by all means enjoy it. I'd suggest skipping Stephen Mitchell or work from others that don't actually understand Chinese, as it's more likely new-age feel-good, and not the work itself.

For those interested in Taoism, I'd also advise reading Zhuangzi (the best version in English I know is the comic book drawn by Tsai Chih-chung, translated by Bryan Bruya, "Zhuangzi Speaks: The Way of Nature" https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691008825/

For every person that likes Dao De Jing/Laozi, I'd recommend reading Heraclitus. For every person that likes reading Zhuangzi, I'd recommend reading Diogenes... and vice versa. I am not a student of Western classics so I don't know the best translation, but Guy Davenport's "Herakleitos and Diogenes", https://www.amazon.com/dp/0912516364 , was good for me, and includes both.