LAOZI - CHALMERS, John (trans.).

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The Speculations on Metaphysics, Polity, and Morality, of "The Old Philosopher," Lau-Tsze, Translated from the Chinese, With an Introduction. First edition. Chalmers's translation established a framework for the dozens of translations into English that have appeared over the last 150 years, and in the last three decades only one other copy has appeared in commerce. This copy has the bookplate of the Serbian philosopher Dimitrije Mitrinović, whose universalism blended Asian philosophy and ideas drawn from Jung and other contemporary thinkers.Western interest in the Tao Te Ching began with Latin versions produced by Jesuit missionaries in the 18th century. Stanislaus Julien's full translation in French appeared in 1841, and this 1868 version remained the only one available to readers in English until F. Henry Balfour's Taoist Texts (1884). From 1852, Chalmers (1825-1899) served as a London Missionary Society missionary in Hong Kong alongside James Legge, a relation by marriage. Following a period spent reviving the LMS presence in Canton, he returned to Hong Kong to head the society's operation and pursue research into the Chinese language.Mitrinović (1887-1953) moved to Britain in 1914 and began writing for Alfred Orage's New Age magazine. "In these articles, he endeavoured to synthesise various philosophical teachings and religious traditions. He was particularly influenced by Eric Gutkind, Vladimir Solovyov, H. P. Blavatsky, Rudolf Steiner and Alfred Adler" (Markovich). Duri

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.