Le Guin’s Application of Western Culture in the Dao de Jing
As an American woman who writes science-fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin differs greatly from the original audience of the Dao de Jing. The Dao de Jing was written in ancient China during the Warring States period from 475–221 B.C.E (Bokenkamp, 2015). Lao-Tzu, the accredited mystical author of the text, sensed the impending downfall of the kingdom of Chu. Before Chu’s collapse in 221 B.C.E., Lao-Tzu had written the Dao de Jing at the request of a gatekeeper and fled the kingdom (Bokenkamp, 2015). Little is known about Lao-Tzu following his departure, but his text fell into the hands of scholars, adherents of different Chinese religions, and nobility. Many translated, commented on, and otherwise …show more content…
The ten thousand things are all things in existence, excluding the earth, heaven, or the Dao (Bokenkamp, 2015). Le Guin mentions the ten thousand things throughout, but, aside from chapter seventeen, does not acknowledge leaders as her potential readership. Kingliness, or a king returning to the root, the Dao, is mentioned in chapter sixteen of the original Dao de Jing because it is assumed that the sage will rule or, according to some commentators, the ruler should aspire to be a sage. However, in Le Guin’s translation, chapter sixteen is entirely about the reader individually returning to the root. Grooming kingliness is not mentioned. Le Guin writes, “The return to the root / is peace. / Peace: to accept what must be, / to know what endures. / In that knowledge is wisdom. / Without it, ruin, disorder” (Le Guin, 1998, p. 25). The ruin and disorder could easily refer to one’s personal life as well as a kingdom. Nonetheless, there is no named subject in this chapter. It is clear that Le Guin is speaking to the reader, whomever that may be, and using ambiguity so that her translation can be relatable to everyone. In fact, Le Guin states in her introduction that this is done intentionally. She writes, “I wanted the Book of the Way accessible to a present-day, unwise, unpowerful and perhaps un-male[sic] reader, not seeking esoteric secrets, but …show more content…
/ To take the body seriously / is to admit that one can / suffer… what does that mean, / to take the body seriously / is to admit one can suffer? / I suffer because I’m a body; / if I weren’t a body / how could I suffer?” (Le Guin, 1998, p. 19).
Instead of delving deeper into the body, or how the body interacts with earthly surroundings, Le Guin simplifies this verse and removes the leadership aspect altogether. The stanza produced coincides more with the humanistic, Western idea that the body, its sentience and consciousness are all there is. Interestingly, it slightly veers into Buddhist thought as well, as having a body and sentience qualifies someone as being able to suffer. Nevertheless, Le Guin abandons spirituality to fit into an increasingly secular Western narrative, not even denoting a division of qi or its other name, Dao, as having any
As an American woman who writes science-fiction, Ursula K. Le Guin differs greatly from the original audience of the Dao de Jing. The Dao de Jing was written in ancient China during the Warring States period from 475–221 B.C.E (Bokenkamp, 2015). Lao-Tzu, the accredited mystical author of the text, sensed the impending downfall of the kingdom of Chu. Before Chu’s collapse in 221 B.C.E., Lao-Tzu had written the Dao de Jing at the request of a gatekeeper and fled the kingdom (Bokenkamp, 2015). Little is known about Lao-Tzu following his departure, but his text fell into the hands of scholars, adherents of different Chinese religions, and nobility. Many translated, commented on, and otherwise …show more content…
The ten thousand things are all things in existence, excluding the earth, heaven, or the Dao (Bokenkamp, 2015). Le Guin mentions the ten thousand things throughout, but, aside from chapter seventeen, does not acknowledge leaders as her potential readership. Kingliness, or a king returning to the root, the Dao, is mentioned in chapter sixteen of the original Dao de Jing because it is assumed that the sage will rule or, according to some commentators, the ruler should aspire to be a sage. However, in Le Guin’s translation, chapter sixteen is entirely about the reader individually returning to the root. Grooming kingliness is not mentioned. Le Guin writes, “The return to the root / is peace. / Peace: to accept what must be, / to know what endures. / In that knowledge is wisdom. / Without it, ruin, disorder” (Le Guin, 1998, p. 25). The ruin and disorder could easily refer to one’s personal life as well as a kingdom. Nonetheless, there is no named subject in this chapter. It is clear that Le Guin is speaking to the reader, whomever that may be, and using ambiguity so that her translation can be relatable to everyone. In fact, Le Guin states in her introduction that this is done intentionally. She writes, “I wanted the Book of the Way accessible to a present-day, unwise, unpowerful and perhaps un-male[sic] reader, not seeking esoteric secrets, but …show more content…
/ To take the body seriously / is to admit that one can / suffer… what does that mean, / to take the body seriously / is to admit one can suffer? / I suffer because I’m a body; / if I weren’t a body / how could I suffer?” (Le Guin, 1998, p. 19).
Instead of delving deeper into the body, or how the body interacts with earthly surroundings, Le Guin simplifies this verse and removes the leadership aspect altogether. The stanza produced coincides more with the humanistic, Western idea that the body, its sentience and consciousness are all there is. Interestingly, it slightly veers into Buddhist thought as well, as having a body and sentience qualifies someone as being able to suffer. Nevertheless, Le Guin abandons spirituality to fit into an increasingly secular Western narrative, not even denoting a division of qi or its other name, Dao, as having any