Te-Tao Ching

«Therefore the Great Man Dwells in the thick and doesn’t dwell in the thin; Dwells in the fruit and doesn’t dwell in the flower. Therefore, he rejects that and takes this.» — cierre del capítulo 38: el texto manda habitar en lo grueso y en el fruto, no en lo delgado ni en la flor.

«[CHAPTER 39] Of those in the past that attained the One— Heaven, by attaining the One became clear; Earth, by attaining the One became stable; Gods, by attaining the One became divine; Valleys, by attaining the One became full; Marquises and kings, by attaining the One made the whole land ordered and secure.» — capítulo 39: el texto enumera lo que cada cosa obtuvo al alcanzar el Uno, del cielo a los marqueses y reyes.

«no carriage. And because of this, they desire not to dazzle and glitter like jade, But to remain firm and strong like stone.» — final del capítulo 39, que el troceo deja en la plana siguiente: no relumbrar como el jade sino permanecer firme como la piedra.

«[CHAPTER 41] When the highest type of men hear the Way, with diligence they’re able to practice it; When average men hear the Way, some things they retain and others they lose; When the lowest type of men hear the Way, they laugh out loud at it. If they didn’t laugh at it, it couldn’t be regarded as the Way.» — capítulo 41: el texto gradúa tres maneras de oír la Vía y convierte la risa del último en prueba, no en objeción.

«[CHAPTER 40] “Reversal” is the movement of the Tao; “Weakness” is the function of the Tao. The things of the world originate in being And being originates in nonbeing.» — capítulo 40 entero, que en el orden de Ma-wang-tui va después del 41: la inversión como movimiento del Tao y la debilidad como su función.

«[CHAPTER 42] The Way gave birth to the One; The One gave birth to the Two; The Two gave birth to the Three; And the Three gave birth to the ten thousand things. The ten thousand things carry Yin on their backs and wrap their arms around Yang. Through the blending of ch’i they arrive at a state of harmony.» — capítulo 42: la serie generativa del Uno, el Dos, el Tres y los diez mil seres, que cargan el Yin a la espalda y abrazan el Yang, y alcanzan armonía al mezclarse el ch'i.

«Therefore, what other men teach, I will also consider and then teach to others. Thus, “The strong and violent do not come to a natural end.” I will take this as the father of my studies.» — cierre del capítulo 42, donde el texto toma por padre de su estudio la sentencia de que los fuertes y violentos no llegan a fin natural.

«[CHAPTER 43] The softest, most pliable thing in the world runs roughshod over the firmest thing in the world. That which has no substance gets into that which has no spaces or cracks. I therefore know that there is benefit in taking no action. The wordless teaching, the benefit of taking no action— Few in the world can realize these!» — capítulo 43 entero: lo más blando atropella a lo más firme, lo sin sustancia entra donde no hay resquicio, y de ahí el provecho de no actuar.

«[CHAPTER 44] Fame or your health—which is more dear? Your health or possessions—which is worth more? Gain or loss—in which is there harm? If your desires are great, you’re bound to be extravagant; If you store much away, you’re bound to lose a great deal. Therefore, if you know contentment, you’ll not be disgraced. If you know when to stop, you’ll suffer no harm. And in this way you can last a very long time.» — capítulo 44 entero: las tres preguntas por la fama, la salud y las posesiones, y la conclusión de que quien conoce el contento no queda deshonrado.

«[CHAPTER 45] Great completion seems incomplete; Yet its usefulness is never exhausted. Great fullness seems to be empty; Yet its usefulness is never used up. Great straightness seems to be bent. Great skill seems to be clumsy. Great eloquence seems to stammer; Great surplus seems to be lacking. Activity overcomes cold; Tranquility overcomes heat. If you’re quiet and tranquil you can become the ruler of the world.» — capítulo 45 entero: la serie de lo grande que parece su contrario, cerrada con la quietud que hace al gobernante del mundo.

«[CHAPTER 38] The highest virtue is not virtuous; therefore it truly has virtue. The lowest virtue never loses sight of its virtue; therefore it has no true virtue. The highest virtue takes no action, yet it has no reason for acting this way; The highest humanity takes action, yet it has no reason for acting this way; The highest righteousness takes action, and it has its reasons for acting this way; The highest propriety takes action, and when no one responds to it, then it angrily rolls up its sleeves and forces people to comply.» — apertura del capítulo 38, con el que arranca el libro en el orden de Ma-wang-tui: el texto gradúa cuatro maneras de obrar, de la virtud más alta que no actúa a la propiedad que se arremanga y obliga a cumplir.

«Therefore, when the Way is lost, only then do we have virtue; When virtue is lost, only then do we have humanity; When humanity is lost, only then do we have righteousness; And when righteousness is lost, only then do we have propriety. As for propriety, it’s but the thin edge of loyalty and sincerity, and the beginning of disorder. And foreknowledge is but the flower of the Way, and the beginning of stupidity.» — segunda mitad del capítulo 38: la cadena de pérdidas del Tao a la virtud, a la humanidad, a la rectitud y a la propiedad, con la propiedad como filo delgado de la lealtad y principio del desorden.

«Taking this to its logical conclusion we would say— If Heaven were not by means of it clear, it would, I’m afraid, shatter; If the Earth were not by means of it stable, it would, I’m afraid, let go. If the gods were not by means of it divine, they would, I’m afraid, be powerless. If valleys were not by means of it full, they would, I’m afraid, dry up. And if marquises and kings were not by means of it noble and high, they would, I’m afraid, topple and fall.» — segunda estrofa del capítulo 39, que invierte la serie: sin el Uno el cielo se quebraría, la tierra se soltaría, los dioses quedarían sin poder y los reyes caerían; el volumen imprime dos veces la traducción y este pasaje se repite en la Parte Dos.

«Therefore, it must be the case that the noble has the base as its root; And it must be the case that the high has the low for its foundation. Thus, for this reason, marquises and kings call themselves “The Orphan,” “The Widower,” and “The One Without Grain.” This is taking the base as one’s root, is it not?!» — el capítulo 39 saca de ahí la regla de que lo noble tiene lo bajo por raíz, y de ahí los títulos con que los reyes se nombran: el Huérfano, el Viudo y el Sin Grano; el pasaje se reimprime en la Parte Dos.

«Therefore, there is a set saying about this that goes: The bright Way appears to be dark; The Way that goes forward appears to retreat; The smooth Way appears to be uneven; The highest virtue is empty like a valley; The purest white appears to be soiled; Vast virtue appears to be insufficient; Firm virtue appears thin and weak; The simplest reality appears to change.» — la serie de paradojas que el capítulo 41 introduce como dicho ya hecho: la Vía luminosa parece oscura, la que avanza parece retroceder y la virtud más alta está vacía como un valle; se reimprime en la Parte Dos.

«The Great Square has no corners; The Great Vessel takes long to complete; The Great Tone makes little sound; The Great Image has no shape. The Way is Great but has no name. Only the Way is good at beginning things and also good at bringing things to completion.» — cierre del capítulo 41: el Gran Cuadrado sin esquinas, el Gran Tono que casi no suena y la Gran Imagen sin forma, y la Vía que es grande y no tiene nombre; se reimprime en la Parte Dos.

«The things that are hated by the whole world Are to be orphaned, widowed, and have no grain. Yet kings and dukes take these as their names. Thus with all things—some are increased by taking away; While some are diminished by adding on.» — segunda parte del capítulo 42: los reyes toman por nombre lo que el mundo entero aborrece, y de ahí la regla de que unas cosas crecen al quitarles y otras menguan al añadirles; se reimprime en la Parte Dos.

«[CHAPTER 46] When the world has the Way, ambling horses are retired to fertilize fields. When the world lacks the Way, war horses are reared in the suburbs. Of crimes—none is greater than having things that one desires; Of disasters—none is greater than not knowing when one has enough. Of defects—none brings more sorrow than the desire to attain. Therefore, the contentment one has when he knows that he has enough, is abiding contentment indeed.» — capítulo 46 entero: con la Vía los caballos vuelven a abonar los campos y sin ella se crían caballos de guerra en los arrabales; ningún crimen mayor que desear y ninguna desgracia mayor que no saber cuándo basta.

«[CHAPTER 50] We come out into life and go back into death. The companions of life are thirteen; The companions of death are thirteen; And yet people, because they regard life as LIFE, in all of their actions move toward the thirteen that belong to the realm of death. Now, why is this so? It’s because they regard life as LIFE.» — apertura del capítulo 50: los compañeros de la vida son trece y los de la muerte trece, y quien se mueve hacia la muerte lo hace por tener la vida por VIDA, con la versalita del impreso.

«[CHAPTER 47] No need to leave your door to know the whole world; No need to peer through your windows to know the Way of Heaven. The farther you go, the less you know. Therefore the Sage knows without going, Names without seeing, And completes without doing a thing.» — capítulo 47 entero: no hace falta salir por la puerta para conocer el mundo, y cuanto más lejos se va menos se sabe; el sabio conoce sin ir, nombra sin ver y completa sin hacer nada.

«[CHAPTER 48] Those who work at their studies increase day after day; Those who have heard the Tao decrease day after day. They decrease and decrease till they get to the point where they do nothing. They do nothing and yet there’s nothing left undone. When someone wants to take control of the world, he must always be unconcerned with affairs. For in a case where he’s concerned with affairs, He’ll be unworthy, as well, of taking control of the world.» — capítulo 48 entero: el estudio aumenta día tras día y quien ha oído el Tao disminuye día tras día, hasta el punto de no hacer nada y no quedar nada sin hacer.

«[CHAPTER 49] The Sage constantly has no set mind; He takes the mind of the common people as his mind. Those who are good he regards as good; Those who are not good he also regards as good. In this way he attains goodness. Those who are trustworthy he trusts; And those who are not trustworthy he also trusts. In this way he gets their trust. As for the Sage’s presence in the world—he is one with it. And with the world he merges his mind. The common people all fix their eyes and ears on him. And the Sage treats them all as his children.» — capítulo 49 entero: el sabio no tiene mente fija sino la del pueblo, y tiene por buenos y por dignos de confianza también a los que no lo son.

«You’ve no doubt heard of those who are good at holding on to life: When walking through hills, they don’t avoid rhinos and tigers; When they go into battle, they don’t put on armor or shields; The rhino has no place to probe with its horn; The tiger finds no place to put its claws. And weapons find no place to hold their blades. Now, why is this so? Because there is no place for death in them.» — cierre del capítulo 50 en la Parte Uno: quien sabe guardar la vida no esquiva rinocerontes ni tigres porque en él no hay lugar para la muerte; los mismos versos van numerados en la introducción y se reimprimen en la Parte Dos.

«[CHAPTER 51] The Way gives birth to them and Virtue nourishes them; Substance gives them form and their unique capacities complete them. Therefore the ten thousand things venerate the Way and honor Virtue. As for their veneration of the Way and their honoring of Virtue— No one rewards them for it; it’s constantly so on its own. The Way gives birth to them, nourishes them, matures them, completes them, rests them, rears them, supports them, and protects them. It gives birth to them but doesn’t try to own them; It acts on their behalf but doesn’t make them dependent; It matures them but doesn’t rule them. This we call Profound Virtue.» — capítulo 51 entero: la Vía engendra y la Virtud nutre, y por eso los diez mil seres las veneran sin que nadie los premie; engendra sin querer poseer y madura sin gobernar, y a eso lo llama Virtud Profunda.

«[CHAPTER 52] The world had a beginning, Which can be considered the mother of the world. Having attained the mother, in order to understand her children, If you return and hold on to the mother, till the end of your life you’ll suffer no harm. Block up the holes; Close the doors; And till the end of your life you’ll not labor. Open the holes; Meddle in affairs; And till the end of your life you’ll not be saved.» — apertura del capítulo 52: el mundo tuvo un principio que se toma por madre, y quien vuelve a la madre no sufre daño; tapar los agujeros y cerrar las puertas contra abrirlos y meterse en asuntos.

«To perceive the small is called “discernment.” To hold on to the pliant is called “strength.” If you use the rays to return to the bright light, You’ll not abandon your life to peril. This is called Following the Constant.» — cierre del capítulo 52: percibir lo pequeño es discernimiento y sostenerse en lo flexible es fuerza, y usar los rayos para volver a la luz brillante es seguir lo Constante.

«[CHAPTER 53] Were I to have the least bit of knowledge, in walking on a Great Road, it’s only going astray that I would fear. The Great Way is very level; But people greatly delight in tortuous paths. The courts are swept very clean; While the fields are full of weeds; And the granaries are all empty. Their clothing—richly embroidered and colored; While at their waists they carry sharp swords. They gorge themselves on food, and of possessions and goods they have plenty. This is called thievery! And thievery certainly isn’t the Way!» — capítulo 53 entero: la Vía es muy llana y la gente prefiere los caminos torcidos; el texto llama robo a las cortes barridas junto a los campos con maleza y los graneros vacíos.

«[CHAPTER 54] What is firmly set up can’t be pulled down; What is firmly embraced cannot slip free. And your sons and grandsons, as a result, will sacrifice without end. When you cultivate it in your person, your virtue will then be genuine; When you cultivate it in your family, your virtue will then overflow; When you cultivate it in your village, your virtue will then be long lasting; When you cultivate it in your state, your virtue will then be abundant; And when you cultivate it throughout the world, your virtue will then be widespread.» — apertura del capítulo 54: la escala de cultivo de la virtud, de la persona a la familia, a la aldea, al estado y al mundo entero.

«[CHAPTER 55] One who embraces the fullness of Virtue, Can be compared to a newborn babe. Wasps and scorpions, snakes and vipers do not sting him; Birds of prey and fierce beasts do not seize him; His bones and muscles are weak and pliant, yet his grasp is firm; He does not yet know the meeting of male and female, yet his organ is aroused— This is because his essence is at its height. He can scream all day, yet he won’t become hoarse— This is because his harmony is at its height.» — apertura del capítulo 55: quien abraza la plenitud de la Virtud se compara al recién nacido, a quien las avispas no pican ni las fieras apresan, porque su esencia y su armonía están en lo más alto.

«[CHAPTER 56] Those who know don’t talk about it; those who talk don’t know it. He blocks up his holes, Closes his doors, Softens the glare, Settles the dust, Files down the sharp edges, And unties the tangles. This is called Profound Union.» — apertura del capítulo 56: quienes saben no hablan de ello, y la serie de tapar agujeros, cerrar puertas, suavizar el brillo y desatar los enredos se llama Unión Profunda.

«[CHAPTER 57] Use the upright and correct to order the state; Use surprise tactics when you use troops; Use unconcern with affairs to take control of the world. How do I know that this is so? Well, the more taboos and prohibitions there are in the world, the poorer the people will be; The more sharp weapons the people possess, the more muddled the states will be; The more knowledge and skill people have, the more novel things will appear; The more legal matters are made prominent, the more robbers and thieves there will be.» — apertura del capítulo 57: lo recto para ordenar el estado, la sorpresa para las tropas, y la serie de que a más prohibiciones más pobreza y a más leyes más ladrones.

«[CHAPTER 58] When the government is muddled and confused, The people are genuine and sincere. When the government is discriminate and clear, The state is crafty and cunning. Disaster is that on which good fortune depends. Good fortune is that in which disaster’s concealed. Who knows where it will end? For there is no fixed “correct.” The “correct” turns into the “deviant”; And “good” turns into “evil.”» — apertura del capítulo 58: gobierno confuso y pueblo sincero, gobierno minucioso y estado taimado; la desgracia es aquello de lo que depende la fortuna y no hay *correcto* fijo.

«People’s state of confusion Has certainly existed for a long time. Therefore be square but don’t cut; Be sharp but don’t stab; Be straightforward but not unrestrained; Be bright but don’t dazzle.» — cierre del capítulo 58: las cuatro medidas de la conducta, ser cuadrado sin cortar y brillante sin deslumbrar.

«[CHAPTER 59] For ordering humanity and serving Heaven, nothing’s so good as being sparing. For only if you are sparing can you, therefore, early submit to the Way. Early submission—this is called to repeatedly accumulate Virtue. If you repeatedly accumulate Virtue, then there is nothing you can’t overcome. When there is nothing you can’t overcome, no one knows where it will end. When no one knows where it will end, you can possess the state. And when you possess the mother of the state, you can last a very long time. This is called having deep roots and a firm base, It’s the Way of long life and long-lasting vision.» — capítulo 59 entero: para ordenar a los hombres y servir al Cielo nada como ser parco, de donde sale la acumulación repetida de Virtud, las raíces hondas y la base firme.

«[CHAPTER 60] Ruling a large state is like cooking small fish. When you use the Way to govern the world, evil spirits won’t have godlike power. Actually, it’s not that evil spirits won’t have godlike power, It’s that their power will not harm men. But it’s not just that their power won’t harm men, The Sage, also, will not harm them. Since these two do not harm others, Therefore their Virtues intermingle and return to them.» — capítulo 60 entero: gobernar un estado grande es como cocinar pescaditos; los espíritus malignos no pierden el poder sino que su poder deja de dañar, y tampoco el sabio los daña.

«[CHAPTER 61] The large state is like the lower part of a river; It is the female of the world; It is the meeting point of the world. The female constantly overcomes the male with tranquility. Because she is tranquil, therefore she is fittingly underneath.» — capítulo 61 entero: el estado grande como la parte baja del río y como hembra del mundo, que vence al macho con quietud por estar debajo.

«[CHAPTER 65] Those who practiced the Way in antiquity, Did not use it to enlighten the people. Rather, they used it to make them dumb. Now the reason why people are difficult to rule is because of their knowledge; As a result, to use knowledge to rule the state Is thievery of the state; To use ignorance to rule the state Is kindness to the state. One who constantly understands these two, Also understands the principle. To constantly understand the principle— This is called Profound Virtue. Profound Virtue is deep, is far-reaching, And together with things it returns. Thus we arrive at the Great Accord.» — capítulo 65 entero: los antiguos no usaban la Vía para ilustrar al pueblo sino para embrutecerlo, porque gobernar con conocimiento es robo al estado y con ignorancia es bondad.

«[CHAPTER 81] Sincere words are not showy; Showy words are not sincere. Those who know are not “widely learned”; Those “widely learned” do not know. The good do not have a lot; Those with a lot are not good. The Sage accumulates nothing. Having used what he had for others, He has even more. Having given what he had to others, What he has is even greater. Therefore, the Way of Heaven is to benefit and not cause any harm; The Way of Man is to act on behalf of others and not to compete with them.» — capítulo 81 entero, que aquí cierra la primera mitad y no el libro: el sabio no acumula nada y cuanto más da más tiene, y la Vía del Cielo beneficia sin dañar.

«Use the individual to examine the individual; Use the family to examine the family; Use the village to examine the village; Use the state to examine the state; And use the world to examine the world; How do I know that the world is so? By this.» — cierre del capítulo 54: la misma escala usada como método de examen, del individuo al mundo, y la respuesta a cómo se sabe que el mundo es así: por esto.

«To know harmony is called “the constant”; To know the constant is called “being wise”; To add on to life is called a “bad omen”; For the mind to control the breath—that’s called “forcing things.” When things reach their prime, they get old; This is called “not the Way.” What is not the Way will come to an early end.» — cierre del capítulo 55: conocer la armonía es lo constante, añadir a la vida es mal presagio y que la mente gobierne el aliento es forzar las cosas.

«“Professor Henricks’ new volume has two special merits for the general reader: One is that he succinctly explains the most recent discoveries in texts of the famous classic by ‘Lao-tzu.’ … The second merit of the Henrick’s translation is its sophistication and simplicity … [Mr. Henricks’] presents a version of each line which makes comparative sense out of phraseology that to some translators has seemed incomprehensible and inscrutable.”» — blurb de solapa firmado por John K. Fairbank, catedrático emérito de historia en Harvard, que atribuye al volumen dos méritos para el lector general, la explicación de los descubrimientos y la sencillez de la versión; es texto editorial de reseña, no voz de la obra, y los puntos suspensivos y los corchetes son de la propia solapa.

«“No one can understand Chinese philosophy, religion, art, or social ethics without reading [the Te-Tao Ching]. We welcome, therefore, the translation of the recently discovered, the earliest, the most authentic, twenty-century old text … [It] will remain required reading for a long time whether in the classroom or in the home.”» — blurb de solapa firmado por Wing-tsit Chan, autor de The Way of Lao Tzu, que declara obligatoria la lectura del texto recién descubierto; texto editorial de reseña, con los corchetes de la propia solapa.

«ALSO IN THIS SERIES SUN-TZU: THE ART OF WARFARE THE FIRST ENGLISH TRANSLATION INCORPORATING THE RECENTLY DISCOVERED YIN-CH’UEH TEXTS TRANSLATED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND COMMENTARY, BY ROGER T. AMES» — el anuncio de serie que el troceo imprime en lugar de la portada: nombra al Sun-tzu traducido por Roger T. Ames como el otro título, sin dar el nombre de la serie.

«Grateful acknowledgment is made to Macmillan Publishing Company for permission to reprint excerpts from The Way of Lao Tzu by Wing-tsit Chan. Copyright © 1964 by Bobbs-Merrill Company. Reprinted with permission of Macmillan Publishing Company.» — la misma página declara el permiso de Macmillan para reimprimir pasajes de The Way of Lao Tzu de Wing-tsit Chan, la traducción de la que Henricks cita el texto estándar.

«For Herrlee Glessner Creel Who will undoubtedly disagree with my interpretation of the Lao-tzu but whose strong support of my work on the Ma-wang-tui texts has meant a great deal.» — la dedicatoria, donde Henricks consigna de antemano el desacuerdo de Creel con su interpretación del Lao-tzu y le agradece el apoyo a su trabajo sobre Ma-wang-tui.

«In the winter of 1976 I read through the Ma-wang-tui texts of Lao-tzu with a colleague and two students and immediately, and excitedly, had thoughts of doing a translation.» — Henricks abre el prefacio fechando en el invierno de 1976 la primera lectura de los textos de Ma-wang-tui.

«The following year, doctoral dissertation out of the way, I began to study the texts seriously, being initially interested in determining how they differed from later texts of the Lao-tzu and why.» — Henricks declara cuál era su interés inicial: determinar en qué difieren los manuscritos de los textos posteriores y por qué.

«One project seemed to lead to another, such that over the years I ended up publishing no less than ten articles on the texts, the original thought of doing a translation now far from my mind.» — Henricks cuenta que publicó no menos de diez artículos sobre los textos y que para entonces había abandonado la idea de traducirlos.

«I was delighted, therefore, to receive a phone call from Owen Lock, editor in chief of Del Rey Books (an imprint of Ballantine Books), in November 1986, asking whether I might be interested in translating the Ma-wang-tui texts for popular consumption.» — Henricks fecha en noviembre de 1986 la llamada de Owen Lock, editor en jefe de Del Rey Books, pidiéndole la traducción para el gran público.

«Giving the matter some thought, I soon saw that this would give me the opportunity to bring to a completion in some ways the previous work I had done on the texts; at the same time, this makes available for the general readership the latest knowledge we have of this important text in Taoism.» — Henricks declara el propósito del volumen: cerrar su trabajo previo y poner al alcance del lector general lo último que se sabe de este texto del taoísmo.

«I also owe much to my good friend Richard Gotshalk, who first urged me to look into this text many years ago.» — Henricks nombra a Richard Gotshalk como quien lo empujó al texto años antes.

«Finally I want to thank my colleague at Dartmouth, Li Hua-yüan Mowry, who kindly, as she has done on many occasions before, went over a number of troubling passages in the text with me, sharing with me her sense of the text from the point of view of a native speaker.» — Henricks agradece a Li Hua-yüan Mowry, colega suya en Dartmouth, la revisión de los pasajes difíciles desde el punto de vista de una hablante nativa.

«We agree in dating the formal beginning of the Taoist religion to the establishment of the Celestial Master Sect, c. A.D. 150, by a man named Chang Taoling;» — Henricks abre la introducción separando dos cosas y datando la religión taoísta en la fundación de la Secta del Maestro Celestial hacia el año 150 de nuestra era.

«The Lao-tzu, like the Chuang-tzu, probably represents currents of thought in China around 300 B.C., though by tradition the Lao-tzu was written by a contemporary of Confucius named Li Erh, Confucius’ dates being» — Henricks fecha el contenido del Lao-tzu hacia el 300 a. C. y consigna como tradición, no como hecho, la autoría de Li Erh, contemporáneo de Confucio.

«For example, a good part of the Lao-tzu is addressed to the man who would be king and is concerned with the correct, Taoist way to rule; Chuang-tzu has no interest in social-political matters.» — Henricks contrasta los dos textos por su destinatario: buena parte del Lao-tzu habla al que quiere ser rey, y el Chuang-tzu no se ocupa de lo social ni de lo político.

«Chuang-tzu’s message is addressed to the rugged individualist who turns his back on social commitment in his search for the fulfilled life.» — Henricks describe al destinatario del Chuang-tzu como el individualista que da la espalda al compromiso social.

«The Chuang-tzu is composed of thirty-three chapters, each chapter a mixture of philosophic discourse, anecdote, fable, and tale, stories filled with delightful, unforgettable characters.» — Henricks describe la forma del Chuang-tzu: treinta y tres capítulos que mezclan discurso filosófico, anécdota, fábula y cuento.

«The Lao-tzu, by contrast, has a total of eighty-one chapters, each one being more like a poem in form.» — Henricks opone a esa forma la del Lao-tzu: ochenta y un capítulos, cada uno más cercano a un poema, que es la razón de que aquí se cite por líneas.

«A number of extraordinary textual discoveries have been made by archaeologists in China in the last twenty years, those discoveries providing the reason, and the materials, for the present translation series.» — Henricks sitúa el volumen dentro de una serie nacida de los hallazgos arqueológicos chinos de los veinte años anteriores.

«Of greatest significance to date, a tremendous discovery was made in the last months of 1973 in south-central China near Changsha (Hunan Province) in the small village of Ma-wang-tui.» — Henricks fecha el hallazgo en los últimos meses de 1973, cerca de Changsha, en la aldea de Ma-wang-tui.

«In Han Tomb No. 3 at Ma-wang-tui, the grave of the son of a man named Li Ts’ang, Li Ts’ang having been marquis of Tai and prime minister of Changsha in early Han dynasty times,* archaeologists discovered a rich cache of funerary goods including a large group of texts.» — Henricks identifica la tumba como la del hijo de Li Ts'ang, marqués de Tai y primer ministro de Changsha en los primeros Han.

«But more precise dating is possible in some cases based on the style of the calligraphy used and the practice of taboo-name avoidance—the personal name of an emperor in ancient China was not to be used in texts copied during his reign» — Henricks explica el segundo criterio de datación: el estilo de la caligrafía y la evitación del nombre personal del emperador reinante.

«A total of fifty-one items have been identified in the find by Chinese specialists working on the materials;» — Henricks da la cuenta del hallazgo en cincuenta y un items identificados por los especialistas chinos.

«The importance of these materials to our understanding of early Chinese philosophy, history, literature, political thought, scientific thought, etc., was recognized right from the start and can hardly be overestimated.» — Henricks declara que la importancia del conjunto para la filosofía, la historia, la literatura y el pensamiento político chinos tempranos difícilmente puede exagerarse.

«There are texts on medical theories and practices, texts on Yin and Yang and the Five Elements (or “Phases”—wu-hsing), texts on political philosophy, and texts on astronomy and astrology.» — Henricks inventaría las materias de los textos de la tumba: medicina, Yin y Yang y los Cinco Elementos, filosofía política, astronomía y astrología.

«One of the medical treatises may in fact be the long lost Huang-ti wai-ching (External Classic of the Yellow Emperor).» — Henricks propone, con reserva, que uno de los tratados médicos sea el perdido Huang-ti wai-ching.

«The Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor tell us much about the syncretic political thought known as “Huang-Lao” that was in vogue in early Han times.» — Henricks nombra Huang-Lao al pensamiento político sincrético que esos textos documentan para los primeros Han.

«One of these is the I Ching (The Book of Changes), for which we find here the basic text for the sixtyfour hexagrams and five different commentaries only one of which was previously known, the Hsi-tz’u, or “Appended Judgments” (the others are called Erh-san-tzu wen» — Henricks consigna entre los hallazgos una versión temprana del I Ching con cinco comentarios, de los que solo se conocía el Hsi-tz'u; el troceo une *sixty-four* partido al fin de renglón y lo devuelve como una sola palabra, y la frase queda cortada donde la plana enumera los demás comentarios.

«The need for a new translation of the Lao-tzu based on the Ma-wang-tui texts is thus very clear.» — Henricks cierra el argumento del volumen: la necesidad de una traducción nueva hecha sobre los manuscritos de Ma-wang-tui.

«Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 91-90641 eISBN: 978-0-307-77534-4 Calligraphy by K. S. Wong» — los datos de registro que imprime la misma plana; el número de eISBN indica que el ejemplar del troceo es el electrónico, y la caligrafía se adjudica a K. S. Wong.

«astrology are mainly concerned with good and bad omens. One of these plots the orbits of five planets for the years 246-177 B.C.: this is called Prognostications Related to the Five Planets (Wu-hsing chan). Another illustrated scroll called Prognostications Related to Astronomical and Meteorological Phenomena (T’ien-wen ch’i-hsiang chan)» — Henricks describe los dos textos astrológicos hallados en la misma tumba: se ocupan de presagios buenos y malos, y uno traza las órbitas de cinco planetas entre 246 y 177 a. C.; la frase empieza en la plana anterior, donde dice *The texts on astronomy and*.

«Needless to say, these are extremely important materials for tracing the development of astronomy in early China.» — Henricks declara la importancia de esos materiales para rastrear el desarrollo de la astronomía en la China temprana.

«A Ballantine Book Published by The Random House Publishing Group Translation and New Text Copyright © 1989 by Robert G. Henricks All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.» — la página de derechos adjudica el sello a Ballantine Books dentro de Random House y fecha en 1989 el copyright de la traducción a nombre de Robert G. Henricks.

«III. The Philosophy of Lao-tzu A. The Tao B. Returning to the Way C. Health, Long Life, and Immortality Part One: Translation Translator’s Note Te (Virtue) [CHAPTER 38]» — el índice del volumen, donde se ve el orden de Ma-wang-tui: la Parte Uno arranca por el Te y su primer capítulo es el 38, no el 1.

«Part Two: Translation with Text, Commentary, and Notes Translator’s Note» — el índice anuncia la Parte Dos, que repite la traducción con transcripción, comentario y notas.

«Additional Notes Bibliography» — el índice cierra con las dos secciones de aparato del final del volumen.

«The two Lao-tzu manuscripts, which we simply call Text A (chid) and Text B (i), are not exactly the same, neither in content nor in style, sure evidence that even at this early date there was more than one version of the Lao-tzu in circulation.» — Henricks nombra Text A y Text B a los dos manuscritos y lee sus diferencias como prueba de que ya circulaba más de una versión.

«In terms of differences in style, the characters in Text A are written in “small seal” (hsiao-chuan) form, an old style of writing that was to be abandoned in the Han; the characters in Text B, by way of contrast, are written in the more modern “clerical” (li) script. This is one indication that Text A was copied before Text B.» — Henricks data el Text A antes que el Text B por la escritura: sello pequeño (hsiao-chuan) en uno y clerical (li) en el otro.

«Further evidence proving this point is the fact that Text A does not avoid the taboo on the personal name of the founding emperor of the Han, Liu Pang (r. 206-194 B.C.) while Text B does, changing all pang’s (“country” or “state”) in the text to kuo’s (also “country” or “state”).» — Henricks aporta el segundo criterio: el Text A no evita el nombre tabú de Liu Pang, fundador de los Han, y el Text B sí, sustituyendo pang por kuo.

«This seems to show that Text A was copied sometime before the reign of Liu Pang, while Text B was copied during it.» — Henricks concluye que el Text A se copió antes del reinado de Liu Pang y el Text B durante él.