Rintrah

How to translate 仙道?

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Hello all. I am in the process of translating a Japanese book into English and am stuck on how to translate the term 仙道... Inner alchemy? Taoist arts? Way of immortality? I'm grateful for any suggestions :) 

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仙 - saint, sage, immortal, etc

道 - way, path, road

saint? How is it a saint?

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It means a supreme path, a path that a God takes, a godlike perspective that we can really not understand. The way an Immortal has become Immortal and those processes that have led to that.

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I speak Japanese, but not Chinese. 仙, usually in the form 仙人, has a slightly different meaning in Japanese from Chinese. I have never used it to mean "immortal", and it usually means a mountain-hermit, especially connected with shugendo (修験道), a blend of Shinto, Taoism and Shingon (semi-Tantric) Buddhism. It can also just mean an unworldly or reclusive person, especially in a remote place. I would have guessed 仙道 to mean something like 修験道 - sort of mountain yoga.

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" 仙"  in Chinese  refers to  a special person who , not only literally hides on high mountain for his cultivation , but  also  lives an immortal life in Heaven   ,  so translate it as " Way of Immortality' seems closer .

Edited by exorcist_1699

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On 3/24/2017 at 2:27 PM, Rombald said:

I speak Japanese, but not Chinese. 仙, usually in the form 仙人, has a slightly different meaning in Japanese from Chinese. I have never used it to mean "immortal", and it usually means a mountain-hermit, especially connected with shugendo (修験道), a blend of Shinto, Taoism and Shingon (semi-Tantric) Buddhism. It can also just mean an unworldly or reclusive person, especially in a remote place. I would have guessed 仙道 to mean something like 修験道 - sort of mountain yoga.

 

I speak Japanese as well and I'm actually translating this word from Japanese, but it's from a book written by a guy who trained under a Chinese master, and the system in which he trained he calls 仙道. It's not a common word in Japanese and maybe not even in Chinese. I think this kind of thing is usually translated into English as Taoist arts. This author never speaks of Daoism (道教) probably because it would cause Japanese readers to imagine a religious institution. 

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Well, all the translations I have seen are OK (except maybe for the "saint" one, that would be more a translation of 圣). 

 

The key here is context. So your last post was quite needed. 

"Taoist arts" is a bit too vague I think, because to me, these arts may include stuff like feng shui, astronomy, martial arts, gardening etc. With 仙道, we are talking about alchemy, with the purpose of becoming a 仙, frequently translated as "immortal". 

 

"Way of immortality" is still the best, from what I've read. 

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