[An excerpt from Yang Peng]
"The Dao refers to the original source and creator of all things, the source of the natural laws of checks and balances, and the power that gives and supports life. However, most of the English translations translate Dao as the "Way." This is inappropriate for the following reasons.
In Chapter 25 of the Dao De Jing, Laozi states
"I do not know its name and therefore I name it the Dao. I force myself to give it the name Great". Laozi used the name Dao and the word Great to describe the original source and the natural order of the universe. Chapter 25 expresses the relationship between language and reality in Laozi's philosophy of language. Names or words have no essence on their own; rather they are guides pointing to reality.
So the words Dao or Great only indicate: they point to the self-existent being, which is infinite and cannot be named or described. The word Dao has no essence on its own, thus we should not attempt to give it an essentialist meaning: for example,the "Way" or "Way-making."
In everyday Chinese parlance, Dao has three usages: (Daolu), meaning "way"; (Shoudao), meaning "speak or "word"; and (Daoli), meaning "principle" or "reason." Which usage may be said to fall closest to the word Dao, which has no essence in itself?
The Chinese pronunciation of it is "Dao," and is the best way to express it in English, as this retains its role as just a sign. The Dao de Jing begins: "The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name." So all efforts to give the word (Dao) an essential definition are contrary to the philosophy of language of Laozi.
Some translate Dao as "Tao," which is much better than "Way." But this is not an accurate Chinese pinyin pronunciation. In pinyin pronunciation , the "T" is plosive, and the "D" is not plosive. Thus, the most appropriate translation is directly into the Chinese pinyin according to its sound of "Dao."
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