The Meaning and Translation of “Tao” (道) to Thai: A Case Study of Taoism Scripture Translation by Pakorn Limpanusorn

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore meanings and translation techniques of the word “Tao” (道) from the original Chinese text to Thai and in addition to analyze cultural factors which affect the translation by examining three books of Taoism philosophers, namely Lao Tzu, Zhuang Zhou, and Lei Zi as well as related documents. For Thai translation, this paper examines the works of Pakorn Limpanusorn because he has translated all three Taoism scriptures from the original language. The result shows that there are many meanings of “Tao” translated from Chinese to Thai and the translation of the Taoism work of Lei Zi shows the greatest variation. The research found six methods of translation: 1) Transcription, 2) Literal Translation, 3) Opting for a word in the original language which is similar to or has the same “relevance” as the original language term, 4) Translation by a more general word superordinate, 5) Translation by using more than one translation strategy, and 6) Simile. Nevertheless, cultural factors which involve religious beliefs are the main factors that strongly impacted the translation of these three scriptures. The translator uses Buddhist terms to translate “Tao”, both directly and indirectly, reflecting the relationship of Taoism and Buddhist philosophy evident in the Thai translation.