英译
Key to All Mysteries
The divine law can be expressed in words,
but it is not a common law;
The name can be uttered in words,
but it is not an ordinary name.
Not-being can be used to describe the situation
before the chaos of heaven and earth,
while Being is the mother of all the things in the universe.
Therefore, we should always observe and understand
the secret of the divine law from Not-being,
and its manifestations from Being.
With the different names,
Not-being and Being have the same origin,
and they can both be called Essence.
Far more mysterious and profound than we think,
the law is the key to understanding all of the mysteries in the universe.
2.“有”与“无”的英译
除了“道”之外,对“有”和“无”的翻译,大家可能疑惑也不少。我们常用到的“有”可以用have或者there be去对应,但《道德经》中的“无”指宇宙诞生前的状态,而“有”则指万物出现后的状态。辜正坤把“无”译成Nothingness,把“有”译为Existence,从字面上容易被读者接受。Arthur Waley则使用了the Nameless和the named, 第二章使用了Being 和 Not-being。许渊冲选用的是not to be 和to be,联想到莎士比亚的名句:To be, or not to be, that is the question,顿时感到此译颇具传神色彩。我们则折中了一下,有的章中用了Not-being和Being,有的章中用了not to be和 to be。