Traditionalist Taoism in Peru

A new article identifies the Traditionalist emphases in a Spanish translation of the Laozi (the Dào Dé Jīng) done by the Peruvian scholar and Traditionalist Onorio Ferrero (1908–1989). It is Filippo Costantini, “Laozi’s Intercultural Reception: A Journey from Europe to Latin America,” Asian Studies 14 (2): 415–437, available here (open access).

Costantini identified 57 translations of the Laozi, and selected three to be examined in his article, chosen to “reflect distinct phases and methodologies.” “Ferrero’s translation,” he writes, “greatly influenced the local circulation of the text, being one of the few editions published in the country [Peru], and also reached a wider Spanish-speaking audience through numerous reprints.”

There are several telling examples of “Traditionalization” given, including the translation of yan you zong 言有宗 (my words have an ancestor) as “my words derive from a Primordial Tradition,” and of daoji 道紀 (continuity of the Dao) as “initiation to the Dao.”

The case of Ferrero illustrates a wider phenomenon, that while Traditionalist scholars have over the years done important work in explaining non-Western religions to Western audiences, this work brings with it Traditionalist understandings that are visible only to those who, like Costantini, know where to look.

For more on Ferrero and Peru, see Mark Sedgwick, “Guénonian Traditionalism in South American Literature and Academia.” International Journal of Latin American Religions 5:1 (2021): 164–80, available here.