A Study on the Translation of the "Tao Te Ching(道德經)" Chapter 1-20

"도덕경(道德經)" 1-20장(章)의 국역(國譯) 연구(硏究)

  • Hong, Jin-Woo (Oriental Internal Medicine, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University) ;
  • Shin, Sang-Woo (Division of Applied Medicine, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University) ;
  • Chae, Han (Division of Longevity and Biofunctional Medicine, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University) ;
  • Baek, Jin-Ung (Division of Humanties and Social Medicine, School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University)
  • 홍진우 (부산대학교 한의학전문대학원 임상의학부) ;
  • 신장우 (부산대학교 한의학전문대학원 응용의학부) ;
  • 채한 (부산대학교 한의학전문대학원 양생기능의학부) ;
  • 백진웅 (부산대학교 한의학전문대학원 인문사회의학부)
  • Received : 2009.07.25
  • Accepted : 2009.08.14
  • Published : 2009.08.25

Abstract

To catch the message of Taoism inside the theory of Korean medicine, we have to understand the contents of Tao Te Ching(道德經) the only writings of Lao-tzu(老子). And to do that, precise translation into Korean language must be held before anything else. There have been a little bit more than 50 Korean versions of Tao-te-Ching, and we screened out 10 versions based on academic value. With them, we had a study on the translation of Tao Te Ching, from chapter 1 to 20. Our study found that the existing 10 versions have some obscure words, wrong paragraph classifications, descriptions out of context needing remedial actions for exact understanding. And Chinese words and phrases with various meanings could be translated correctly with our constant rule that values consistent context.

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