我们注意到‘道’是中文里最难理解的其中的一个字。但是它是一个很重要的概念，值得经常探讨。
‘易经’里‘形而上者谓之道’可以在英文翻译为‘What is above-form is called the Dao’。问题是在英语里‘形之上’Above-form 不易理解。
另一个翻译是：What exists before physical form is called the Way.
这里Way 字没问题，因为一般对中国哲学有了解西方读者都知道这个字指‘道’。
问题是这个before 字不好理解。
一种解释是把before 解为‘无’。就是说，道是‘无形状’的。可是，这不尽然。虽然本体道不可名，可是它能变形，而且充满万物中的。
Before 也可以表示时空的次序。
在西方，时空一直是个争论性的议题。从知识论来说，时空是相对的。从本体论来说，时空是绝对的。宇宙是无限时间世界，就是说过去、现在和未来永恒存在。
中国古文没有西方时间相对应的字。‘时’多指‘时机’或‘周期性’。
把‘道’联系到时间，看来是不合理的。
.
We have noted that the word Dao is one of the most difficult words to understand in the Chinese literature. But it is such an important concept that we need to re-visit it many times.
The phrase ‘形而上者谓之道’ in Yijing can be translated as ‘What is above-form is called the Dao’. The problem here is the meaning of ‘Above-form’ in English.
Here is another translation of this phrase: What exists before physical form is called the Way.
There is no problem with the word Way – as it is commonly accepted by the Western readers who are familiar with Chinese philosophy that the word Way refers to Dao.
The problem here is how to understand the word ‘before’. One interpretation is that ‘before’ can be used here to mean ‘without it’. In other words, Dao exists without physical form. But, this may not be the case. While the ontological Dao is said to be unnamable, it is also accepted that Dao is flexible and is full of everything.
The word ‘before’ may also imply the sequence in time and space.
In the West, views on space and time have been the subject of controversy. It is said that from the epistemology angle, time and space are relative. From the ontology angle, time and space are absolute and the universe is a timeless world, which means that all the past, the present and the future exist eternally.
There is no Classical Chinese word equivalent in meaning to the English word time. The term shi in Chinese used very often to mean ‘timeliness’ or ‘seasonality’.
It would therefore seem to be absurd to associate the Dao with time.
‘易经’里‘形而上者谓之道’可以在英文翻译为‘What is above-form is called the Dao’。问题是在英语里‘形之上’Above-form 不易理解。
另一个翻译是：What exists before physical form is called the Way.
这里Way 字没问题，因为一般对中国哲学有了解西方读者都知道这个字指‘道’。
问题是这个before 字不好理解。
一种解释是把before 解为‘无’。就是说，道是‘无形状’的。可是，这不尽然。虽然本体道不可名，可是它能变形，而且充满万物中的。
Before 也可以表示时空的次序。
在西方，时空一直是个争论性的议题。从知识论来说，时空是相对的。从本体论来说，时空是绝对的。宇宙是无限时间世界，就是说过去、现在和未来永恒存在。
中国古文没有西方时间相对应的字。‘时’多指‘时机’或‘周期性’。
把‘道’联系到时间，看来是不合理的。
.
We have noted that the word Dao is one of the most difficult words to understand in the Chinese literature. But it is such an important concept that we need to re-visit it many times.
The phrase ‘形而上者谓之道’ in Yijing can be translated as ‘What is above-form is called the Dao’. The problem here is the meaning of ‘Above-form’ in English.
Here is another translation of this phrase: What exists before physical form is called the Way.
There is no problem with the word Way – as it is commonly accepted by the Western readers who are familiar with Chinese philosophy that the word Way refers to Dao.
The problem here is how to understand the word ‘before’. One interpretation is that ‘before’ can be used here to mean ‘without it’. In other words, Dao exists without physical form. But, this may not be the case. While the ontological Dao is said to be unnamable, it is also accepted that Dao is flexible and is full of everything.
The word ‘before’ may also imply the sequence in time and space.
In the West, views on space and time have been the subject of controversy. It is said that from the epistemology angle, time and space are relative. From the ontology angle, time and space are absolute and the universe is a timeless world, which means that all the past, the present and the future exist eternally.
There is no Classical Chinese word equivalent in meaning to the English word time. The term shi in Chinese used very often to mean ‘timeliness’ or ‘seasonality’.
It would therefore seem to be absurd to associate the Dao with time.
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