In late August, Chinese American author Ken Liu broke from his typical focus on speculative fiction to release a new book that combined non-fiction wi

Do Sci-Fi Authors Dream of Electric Daoism?

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2024-12-12 18:30:09

In late August, Chinese American author Ken Liu broke from his typical focus on speculative fiction to release a new book that combined non-fiction with translation. “Laozi’s Dao De Jing: A New Interpretation for a Transformative Time” is less an interpretation and more a direct engagement with the text, as Liu inserts his own reflections on Laozi’s philosophy as well as commentary on his translation choices and even some Daoist parables.

As Liu notes in his introduction, he was inspired to take this approach by the unique mix of instability and robustness that characterizes the “Dao De Jing.” For over two millennia, the text has flourished through a myriad of versions, interpretations, adaptations, translations, and transliterations, captivating thinkers worldwide. Even the order of the chapters remains in dispute. Everyone seems to want to contribute something to Laozi’s philosophy, challenging the very idea of textual authority and authenticity.

Liu’s new book is not the first time that Laozi’s classic has been interpretatively translated by an American speculative fiction writer. In 1997, American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, who did not know Chinese, published her own version of the “Dao De Jing.” That book’s 2019 edition — retitled to “Tao Te Ching: A Book About the Way and the Power of the Way” — adopts the Wade-Giles romanization, where Tao is used over Dao and “Tao Te Ching” is opted for over “Dao De Jing,” the now more-standard Pinyin.

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