China
| Work | Recommended translation | Also consider |
|---|---|---|
| AnalectsConfuciuswith traditional commentaries | SlingerlandHackett · 2003 | Lau (Penguin) |
| MenciusMencius | LauPenguin · 1970 | Bloom (Columbia) |
| DaodejingLaozi | LauPenguin · 1963 | Moss Roberts (California) |
| Zhuangzi (complete)Zhuangzifirst complete philosophical translation with commentary | ZiporynHackett · 2020 | Watson (Columbia) |
| Mozi (complete)Mozireplaces Mei 1929 at last | Ian JohnstonColumbia · 2010 | Fraser selections |
| Xunzi (complete)Xunzi | HuttonPrinceton · 2014 | Knoblock (Stanford) |
| I ChingWilhelm-Baynes is the cultural monument | MinfordViking · 2014 | Rutt (Curzon); Wilhelm-Baynes |
| Book of Songs (Shijing)Waley 1937 finally in the running | Waley (ed. Allen)Grove · 1996 | Owen anthology selections |
| Zuozhuanreplaces Legge vol V; 3 vols | Durrant, Li & SchabergWashington · 2016 | Watson selections |
| The Art of WarSunzi | MinfordPenguin · 2002 | Mair (Columbia) |
| Records of the Grand HistorianSima Qianabsent from the PD list entirely | WatsonColumbia · 1993 | Nienhauser (complete; in progress) |
| The Poetry of Du Fu (complete)Du Fuopen access — legally free | OwenDe Gruyter · 2016 | Hinton selections |
| Platform SutraHuinengreplaces the unobtainable Wong Mou-lam | Red PineCounterpoint · 2006 | McRae (BDK) |
| Three KingdomsLuo Guanzhong | Moss RobertsCalifornia · 1991 | Brewitt-Taylor |
| Outlaws of the Marsh (Water Margin)Shi Nai'anabsent from the PD list | ShapiroForeign Languages Press · 1980 | Dent-Young (Chinese UP) |
| Journey to the West (complete)Wu Cheng'enreplaces the Timothy Richard abridgment | Anthony C. YuChicago · 2012 | W.J.F. Jenner |
| The Story of the Stone (complete)Cao Xueqinreplaces Joly's 56 chapters; 5 vols | Hawkes & MinfordPenguin · 1986 | Yangs (Foreign Languages) |
| The Plum in the Golden Vaseabsent from the PD list; 5 vols | RoyPrinceton · 2013 | Egerton |
| Strange Tales from a Chinese StudioPu Songling | MinfordPenguin · 2006 | Giles |
| Six Records of a Floating LifeShen Fuabsent from the PD list | Pratt & ChiangPenguin · 1983 | Sanders (Hackett) |
Japan, Korea & Tibet
| Work | Recommended translation | Also consider |
|---|---|---|
| Kojikireplaces Chamberlain | HeldtColumbia · 2014 | Philippi (Tokyo) |
| Nihongisurvivor: still the only complete translation | AstonTuttle · 1896 | |
| A Waka Anthology (Man'yōshū and after)no complete modern Man'yōshū exists | CranstonStanford · 1993 | Levy Man'yōshū vol 1 |
| Kokinshū | McCulloughStanford · 1985 | Rodd & Henkenius |
| The Tale of GenjiMurasaki ShikibuWaley survives as an English novel | TylerPenguin · 2001 | Seidensticker; Washburn |
| The Pillow BookSei Shōnagon | McKinneyPenguin · 2006 | Morris (Columbia) |
| The Tale of the Heikereplaces Sadler's TASJ volumes | TylerPenguin · 2012 | McCullough (Stanford) |
| Hōjōki + Essays in IdlenessChōmei & Kenkōone paperback replaces a JRAS volume hunt | McKinneyPenguin · 2013 | Keene (Columbia) |
| Japanese Nō Dramas | TylerPenguin · 1992 | Waley; Keene anthology |
| Major Plays of ChikamatsuChikamatsu | KeeneColumbia · 1961 | Gerstle selections |
| The Narrow Road to OkuBashōunthinkably absent from the PD list | KeeneKodansha · 1996 | Hamill; Barnhill |
| ChūshinguraTakeda Izumo et al. | KeeneColumbia · 1971 | Inouye |
| The Book of TeaOkakuraoriginal English; survivor | original English | |
| The Nine Cloud DreamKim Man-jungreplaces the Gale substitution | FenklPenguin · 2019 | Gale |
| The Book of Korean Shijoabsent from the PD list | O'RourkeHarvard · 2002 | Kevin O'Rourke Kraze anthologies |
| Tibetan Book of the Deadfirst complete translation; replaces Evans-Wentz | Gyurme DorjePenguin · 2005 | Thurman |
| The Life of MilarepaTsangnyön Heruka | QuintmanPenguin · 2010 | Lhalungpa |
South Asia
| Work | Recommended translation | Also consider |
|---|---|---|
| The Rigveda (complete)the Griffith replacement; 3 vols | Jamison & BreretonOxford · 2014 | Doniger selections (Penguin) |
| Upanishads | OlivelleOxford · 1996 | Easwaran |
| Bhagavad Gita | Flood & MartinNorton · 2012 | Patton (Penguin); Easwaran |
| Mahabharata (complete)VyasaGanguli remains the only complete single-voice version | DebroyPenguin · 2014 | van Buitenen (incomplete); Satyamurti verse retelling |
| Ramayana (complete)Valmiki7 vols | Goldman et al.Princeton · 2017 | Menon retelling |
| The Law Code of Manu | OlivelleOxford · 2004 | Doniger (Penguin) |
| Arthashastra (King Governance and Law)Kautilya | OlivelleOxford · 2013 | Rangarajan (Penguin) |
| Yoga Sutras of Patañjaliwith the commentarial tradition | BryantNorth Point · 2009 | Miller |
| The Dhammapada | FronsdalShambhala · 2005 | Carter & Palihawadana (Oxford) |
| In the Buddha's Words (Pali canon anthology)replaces piecemeal SBE volumes | Bhikkhu BodhiWisdom · 2005 | Walshe Long Discourses |
| The Jātakas | ShawPenguin · 2006 | Cowell (complete) |
| Life of the Buddha (Buddhacarita)Aśvaghoṣa | OlivelleClay Sanskrit Library · 2008 | Johnston |
| Therīgāthā (Poems of the First Buddhist Women)absent from the PD list | HalliseyMurty · 2015 | Norman |
| PañcatantraViṣṇuśarman | OlivelleOxford · 1997 | Ryder |
| The Recognition of ŚakuntalāKālidāsa | VasudevaClay Sanskrit Library · 2006 | Ryder |
| The KuralTiruvalluvarreplaces Pope after 135 years | PruiksmaBeacon · 2021 | Pope |
| Poems of Love and War (Sangam anthology)the great absence from the PD list | RamanujanColumbia · 1985 | Hart & Heifetz Puṟanāṉūṟu |
| The Epic of Ram (Rāmcaritmānas)Tulsidas7 vols | LutgendorfMurty · 2016 | Growse |
| Songs of KabirKabir | MehrotraNYRB · 2011 | Tagore/Hess |
| GitanjaliTagoreTagore's own English; survivor | original English | Radice (Penguin) |
| The BaburnamaBabur | ThackstonModern Library · 1996 | Beveridge |
| Sikh sacred poetry (Guru Granth selections)no complete scholarly translation exists | Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh— · 2012 | Macauliffe |
Near East & Persia
| Work | Recommended translation | Also consider |
|---|---|---|
| The Epic of Gilgamesh | GeorgePenguin · 1999 | Helle (Yale 2021) |
| Myths from Mesopotamia | DalleyOxford · 1989 | Foster Before the Muses |
| Ancient Egyptian Literature3 vols | LichtheimCalifornia · 1980 | Wilkinson (Penguin 2016) |
| The Egyptian Book of the Dead | FaulknerBritish Museum · 1985 | Budge |
| The Hebrew Bibleabsent from the PD list as literature | AlterNorton · 2018 | NRSV; JPS |
| The Hymns of Zoroaster (Gathas)Zarathustrareplaces Mills SBE 31 | WestI.B. Tauris · 2010 | Insler |
| The Guide of the PerplexedMaimonides | PinesChicago · 1963 | Goodman & Lieberman (Stanford 2024) |
| The KuzariJudah Halevi | KorobkinFeldheim · 1998 | Hirschfeld |
| ShahnamehFerdowsione volume replaces nine | DavisPenguin · 2016 | Warner & Warner |
| The MasnaviRumisurvivor: still the only complete scholarly English | NicholsonGibb Memorial · 1934 | Mojaddedi (Oxford; in progress) |
| GulistanSa'di | ThackstonIbex · 2008 | Rehatsek |
| Faces of Love (Hafez and the poets of Shiraz)Hafez | DavisPenguin · 2012 | Bell |
| Rubáiyát of Omar KhayyámOmar Khayyámsurvivor: a canonical English poem | FitzGerald— · 1859 | Avery & Heath-Stubbs (literal) |
| Layli and MajnunNezami | DavisPenguin · 2021 | Atkinson |
| The Conference of the BirdsAttarabsent from the PD list | WolpéNorton · 2017 | Darbandi & Davis (Penguin) |
| Memorial of God's FriendsAttar | LosenskyPaulist · 2009 | Arberry |
Arabic & Islamic World
| Work | Recommended translation | Also consider |
|---|---|---|
| The Qur'anreplaces Pickthall | Abdel HaleemOxford · 2004 | The Study Quran; Arberry |
| The Seven Odes (Mu'allaqāt) | ArberryAllen & Unwin · 1957 | Blunt; new LAL versions |
| The Arabian Nightsreplaces Burton's ten volumes | LyonsPenguin · 2008 | Seale Annotated Arabian Nights (Norton 2021) |
| Kalīlah and DimnahIbn al-Muqaffa' | Fishbein & MontgomeryNYU LAL · 2021 | Knatchbull |
| Impostures (Maqāmāt)al-Ḥarīrīfifty rogues' tales in fifty English styles | CoopersonNYU LAL · 2020 | Chenery & Steingass |
| Hayy ibn YaqzānIbn Tufayl | GoodmanChicago · 2009 | Ockley |
| Deliverance from Erroral-Ghazālī | McCarthyFons Vitae · 1980 | Field |
| Decisive TreatiseAverroes | ButterworthBrigham Young · 2001 | Jamil-ur-Rehman |
| The MuqaddimahIbn Khaldunthe great absence from the PD list | RosenthalPrinceton · 1958 | Dawood abridgment |
| The Travels of Ibn Battuta (complete)Ibn Battuta4 vols | Gibb & BeckinghamHakluyt Society · 1994 | Mackintosh-Smith abridgment (Picador) |
| The Epistle of Forgivenessal-Ma'arriabsent from the PD list | van Gelder & SchoelerNYU LAL · 2013 |
Africa
| Work | Recommended translation | Also consider |
|---|---|---|
| Sundiata: An Epic of Old Malithe great absence from the PD list | Niane (tr. Pickett)Longman · 1965 | Conrad Sunjata (Hackett) |
| The Mwindo Epic | Biebuyck & MateeneCalifornia · 1969 | |
| ChakaMofolo | KuneneHeinemann · 1981 | Dutton |
| Oral Epics from Africa (anthology) | Johnson, Hale & BelcherIndiana · 1997 | |
| Izibongo: Zulu Praise-Poems | CopeOxford · 1968 | Callaway |
| Ifa Divination poetry | BascomIndiana · 1969 | Abimbola |
| The Kebra Nagastsurvivor for now; a modern translation is overdue | Budge— · 1922 | Brooks abridgment |
| The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch) | Nickelsburg & VanderKamFortress · 2004 | Charles |
| The Interesting NarrativeEquianooriginal English; survivor | original English | |
| The History of Mary PrincePrinceoriginal English; survivor | original English | |
| Ethiopia UnboundCasely Hayfordoriginal English; survivor | original English | |
| Native Life in South AfricaPlaatjeoriginal English; survivor | original English | |
| MhudiPlaatjenow in print — off the punch list | original English |
Southeast Asia
| Work | Recommended translation | Also consider |
|---|---|---|
| Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) | C.C. BrownOxford · 1952 | Leyden |
| The Hikayat AbdullahAbdullah bin Abdul Kadir | A.H. HillOxford · 1970 | Thomson |
| Noli Me TangereRizal | AugenbraumPenguin · 2006 | Derbyshire |
| El FilibusterismoRizal | AugenbraumPenguin · 2011 | Derbyshire |
| The Glass Palace Chroniclesurvivor | Pe Maung Tin & LuceOxford · 1923 | |
| The Tale of KiềuNguyễn Duthe great absence from the PD list | Huỳnh Sanh ThôngYale · 1983 | Timothy Allen (Penguin) |
| Ramakien | WANTED: no complete English translation exists | |
| I La Galigo | WANTED: fragments only; possibly the world's longest epic |
The Pacific
| Work | Recommended translation | Also consider |
|---|---|---|
| The KumulipoLili'uokalani's own remains culturally primary | BeckwithChicago · 1951 | Lili'uokalani (1897) |
| Hawaiian Antiquities (Mo'olelo Hawai'i)Malonew critical translation | Langlas & LyonBishop Museum · 2020 | Emerson |
| Ngā Mōteatea (4 parts)Ngata & Pei Te Hurinui Jonesthe real thing — off the substitution list | original English | Grey Ko Nga Moteatea |
| Legendary Tales of the Australian AboriginesUnaiponrestores Unaipon's authorship of the Ramsay Smith 1930 text | original English | |
| Polynesian MythologyGreysurvivor | original English | |
| Myths and Songs from the South PacificGillsurvivor | original English | |
| Ancient TahitiHenrysurvivor; reprints available | original English | |
| Folk-Tales of the Kiwai PapuansLandtmansurvivor | original English |
The Americas
| Work | Recommended translation | Also consider |
|---|---|---|
| Popol Vuhthe single biggest absence from the PD list | ChristensonOklahoma · 2003 | Tedlock; Bazzett verse (Milkweed) |
| The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel | RoysOklahoma · 1967 | Knowlton |
| Cantares Mexicanos: Songs of the Aztecs | BierhorstStanford · 1985 | León-Portilla |
| The Broken Spearsabsent from the PD list | León-PortillaBeacon · 1962 | |
| Florentine CodexSahagún12 books; digitized open access | Anderson & DibbleUtah · 1982 | |
| Royal Commentaries of the IncasGarcilaso de la Vega | LivermoreTexas · 1966 | Markham |
| Diné bahane': The Navajo Creation Story | ZolbrodNew Mexico · 1984 | Matthews |
| The Sixth Grandfather (Black Elk's teachings)Black ElkDeMallie gives the unedited transcripts | DeMallieNebraska · 1984 | Neihardt Black Elk Speaks |
| Indian BoyhoodEastmanoriginal English; survivor | original English | |
| American Indian StoriesZitkala-Šaoriginal English; survivor | original English | |
| Geronimo's Story of His LifeGeronimosurvivor | original English | |
| The Autobiography of a Winnebago Indiansurvivor | Radin— · 1920 | Crashing Thunder (1926) |
The West
| Work | Recommended translation | Also consider |
|---|---|---|
| The IliadHomer | WilsonNorton · 2023 | Lattimore; Fagles |
| The OdysseyHomer | WilsonNorton · 2017 | Fitzgerald; Fagles |
| Theogony & Works and DaysHesiod | WestOxford · 1988 | Most (Loeb) |
| The Complete Greek Tragedies | Grene & Lattimore (3rd ed.)Chicago · 2013 | Carson An Oresteia; Bakkhai |
| Aristophanes (complete)Aristophanes | HendersonLoeb · 2002 | Roche |
| The HistoriesHerodotus | HollandPenguin · 2013 | Purvis (Landmark) |
| The Peloponnesian WarThucydides | Strassler/Crawley (Landmark)Free Press · 1996 | Mynott (Cambridge) |
| Complete WorksPlato | Cooper (ed.)Hackett · 1997 | |
| Complete WorksAristotlerevised Oxford translation | Barnes (ed.)Princeton · 1984 | |
| Discourses and EnchiridionEpictetus | HardOxford · 2014 | Long selections |
| MeditationsMarcus Aurelius | HaysModern Library · 2002 | Waterfield (annotated) |
| The Nature of ThingsLucretiusverse | StallingsPenguin · 2007 | Ferry |
| The AeneidVirgil | FerryChicago · 2017 | Fagles |
| MetamorphosesOvid | McCarterPenguin · 2022 | Martin |
| LivesPlutarch | Scott-Kilvert et al.Penguin · 2011 | Dryden/Clough |
| Annals & HistoriesTacitus | WoodmanHackett · 2004 | Church & Brodribb |
| ConfessionsAugustine | RudenModern Library · 2017 | Chadwick (Oxford) |
| The City of GodAugustine | BabcockNew City · 2013 | Bettenson (Penguin) |
| The Consolation of PhilosophyBoethius | RelihanHackett · 2001 | Watts (Penguin) |
| Summa Theologiae (selections)Aquinas | McDermottChristian Classics · 1989 | Kreeft Summa of the Summa |
| Beowulf | HeaneyNorton · 2000 | Headley (2020); Tolkien |
| The Song of Roland | BurgessPenguin · 1990 | Moncrieff |
| The Nibelungenlied | EdwardsOxford · 2010 | Needler |
| Njal's Saga | CookPenguin · 2001 | Dasent |
| The Poetic Edda | LarringtonOxford · 2014 | Bellows |
| The Divine ComedyDanteLongfellow survives on merit | Hollander & HollanderAnchor · 2007 | Durling & Martinez |
| The Canterbury TalesChaucerread the Middle English | original English | Coghill modernization (Penguin) |
| The DecameronBoccaccio | RebhornNorton · 2013 | McWilliam (Penguin) |
| The PrinceMachiavelli | ParksPenguin · 2009 | Mansfield (Chicago) |
| The Praise of FollyErasmus | RadicePenguin · 1971 | Wilson |
| UtopiaMore | Baker-SmithPenguin · 2012 | Robinson |
| The Complete EssaysMontaigne | ScreechPenguin · 1991 | Frame (Everyman) |
| Don QuixoteCervantes | GrossmanEcco · 2003 | Rutherford (Penguin) |
| Discourse on Method & MeditationsDescartes | CottinghamCambridge · 1996 | Veitch |
| PenséesPascal | KrailsheimerPenguin · 1966 | Ariew (Hackett) |
| EthicsSpinoza | CurleyPenguin · 1996 | Elwes |
| CandideVoltaire | CuffePenguin · 2005 | Butt |
| The Social Contract and other writingsRousseau | GourevitchCambridge · 1997 | Cole |
| Critique of Pure ReasonKant | Guyer & WoodCambridge · 1998 | Meiklejohn |
| Faust (Parts One and Two)Goethe | LukeOxford · 1994 | Greenberg; Taylor |
| The Phenomenology of SpiritHegelswapped in for the Philosophy of History | PinkardCambridge · 2018 | Miller |
| Capital vol 1Marxfirst new English translation in fifty years | ReitterPrinceton · 2024 | Fowkes (Penguin) |
| War and PeaceTolstoy | Maude (rev. Mandelker)Oxford · 2010 | Briggs; Pevear & Volokhonsky |
| The Brothers KaramazovDostoevsky | McDuffPenguin · 2003 | Pevear & Volokhonsky |
| PlaysChekhova playwright's translation | FraynMethuen · 1988 | Garnett |
| Thus Spoke ZarathustraNietzsche | del CaroCambridge · 2006 | Kaufmann |
| The Interpretation of DreamsFreud | CrickOxford · 1999 | Brill |