The Tao Te Ching is a Chinese classic text traditionally credited to the 6th century BC sage Lao Tzu or Laozi. The oldest excavated portion dates back to the late 4th century BC, but modern scholarship dates other parts of the text as having been written or at least compiled later than the earliest portions of the Zhuangzi.
The Zhuangzi is an ancient Chinese text from the late Warring States period
( 476–221 BC ) which contains stories and anecdotes that exemplify the carefree nature of the ideal Daoist sage. Named for its traditional author, 'Master Zhuang', Zhuangzi.
The Zhuangzi along with the Tao Te Ching are the two foundational texts of Daoism or Taoism, and is generally considered the most important of all Daoist writings. The Zhuangzi consists of a large collection of anecdotes, allegories, parables, and fables, which are often humorous or irreverent in nature. Its main themes are of spontaneity in action and of freedom from the human world and its conventions.
The fables and anecdotes in the text attempt to illustrate the falseness of human distinctions between good and bad, large and small, life and death, and human and nature. While other ancient Chinese philosophers focused on moral and personal duty,
Zhuangzi promoted carefree wandering and becoming one with Dao "the Way", by following nature.Though primarily known as a philosophical work, the Zhuangzi is regarded as one of the greatest literary works in all of Chinese history, and has been called "the most important pre-Qin text for the study of Chinese literature.
"A masterpiece of both philosophical and literary skill."
The Tao Te Ching, along with the Zhuangzi, is a fundamental text for both philosophical and religious Taoism, also known as Daoism. Is a religious or philosophical tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao : 'The Way'. The Tao or Dao is a fundamental idea in most Chinese philosophical schools ; in Taoism, it denotes the principle that is the source, pattern and substance of everything that exists.
It also strongly influences Chinese schools of philosophy and religion, including Legalism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, which was largely interpreted through the use of Taoist words and concepts when it was originally introduced to China. Many Chinese artists, including poets, painters, calligraphers, and gardeners, have used the Tao Te Ching as a source of inspiration. Its influence has spread widely outside East Asia
and it is among the most translated works in world literature.
Chapter 1
The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and
unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and
unchanging name. Conceived of as having no name, it is the Originator of heaven
and earth ; conceived of as having a name, it is the Mother of all things.
Always without desire we must be found,
If its deep mystery we would sound ;
But if desire always within us be,
Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.
Under these two aspects, it is really the same ; but as development
takes place, it receives the different names. Together we call them
the Mystery. Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that
is subtle and wonderful.
2
All in the world know the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing
this they have the idea of what ugliness is ; they all know the skill
of the skillful, and in doing this they have the idea of what the want of skill is.
So it is that existence and non-existence give birth, the one
idea to the other ; that difficulty and ease produce the one the
idea of the other ; that length and shortness fashion out the one the
figure of the other ; that the ideas of height and lowness arise from
the contrast of the one with the other ; that the musical notes and
tones become harmonious through the relation of one with another ;
and that being before and behind give the idea of one following another.
Therefore the sage manages affairs without doing anything,
and conveys his instructions without the use of speech.
All things spring up, and there is not one which declines to show
itself ; they grow, and there is no claim made for their ownership ;
they go through their processes, and there is no expectation of a
reward for the results. The work is accomplished, and there is no
resting in it as an achievement.
The work is done, but how no one can see ;
'Tis this that makes the power not cease to be.
3
Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to
keep the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articles
which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming
thieves ; not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is
the way to keep their minds from disorder.
Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, empties
their minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthens their bones.
He constantly tries to keep them without knowledge and without
desire, and where there are those who have knowledge, to keep them
from presuming to act on it. When there is this abstinence from
action, good order is universal.
4
The Tao is like the emptiness of a vessel ; and in our
employment of it we must be on our guard against all fullness. How
deep and unfathomable it is, as if it were the Honored Ancestor of all things !
We should blunt our sharp points, and unravel the complications of
things ; we should attemper our brightness, and bring ourselves into
agreement with the obscurity of others. How pure and still the Tao
is, as if it would ever so continue ! I do not know whose son it is.
It might appear to have been before God.
5
Heaven and earth do not act from the impulse of any wish to be
benevolent ; they deal with all things as the dogs of grass are dealt
with. The sages do not act from any wish to be benevolent ; they
deal with the people as the dogs of grass are dealt with.
May not the space between heaven and earth
be compared to a bellows ?
'Tis emptied, yet it loses not its power ;
'Tis moved again, and sends forth air the more.
Much speech to swift exhaustion lead we see ;
Your inner being guard, and keep it free.
6
The valley spirit dies not, aye the same ;
The female mystery thus do we name.
Its gate, from which at first they issued forth,
Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth.
Long and unbroken does its power remain,
Used gently, and without the touch of pain.
7
Heaven is long enduring and earth continues long. The reason
why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is
because they do not live of, or for, themselves. This is how they
are able to continue and endure.
Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in
the foremost place ; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him,
and yet that person is preserved. Is it not because he has no
personal and private ends, that therefore such ends are realized ?
8
The highest excellence is like that of water. The excellence
of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying,
without striving to the contrary, the low place which all men
dislike. Hence its way is near to that of the Tao.
The excellence of a residence is in the suitability of the place ;
that of the mind is in abysmal stillness ; that of associations is in
their being with the virtuous ; that of government is in its securing
good order ; that of the conduct of affairs is in its ability ; and
that of the initiation of any movement is in its timeliness.
And when one with the highest excellence does not wrangle about
his low position, no one finds fault with him.
9
It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to
carry it when it is full. If you keep feeling a point that has been
sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness.
When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor cannot keep them
safe. When wealth and honors lead to arrogancy, this brings its evil
on itself. When the work is done, and one's name is becoming
distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven.
10
When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one
embrace, they can be kept from separating. When one gives undivided
attention to the vital breath, and brings it to the utmost degree of
pliancy, he can become as a tender babe. When he has cleansed away
the most mysterious sights of his imagination, he can become without a flaw.
In loving the people and ruling the state, cannot he proceed
without any purpose of action ? In the opening and shutting of his
gates of heaven, cannot he do so as a female bird ? While his intelligence
reaches in every direction, cannot he appear to be without knowledge ?
The Tao produces all things and nourishes them ; it produces
them and does not claim them as its own ; it does all, and yet does not
boast of it ; it presides over all, and yet does not control them.
This is what is called 'The mysterious Quality' of the Tao.
11
The thirty spokes unite in the one nave ; but it is on the empty
space for the axle, that the use of the wheel depends. Clay is
fashioned into vessels ; but it is on their empty hollowness, that
their use depends. The door and windows are cut out from the walls
to form an apartment ; but it is on the empty space within, that its
use depends. Therefore, what has a positive existence serves for
profitable adaptation, and what has not that for actual usefulness.
12
Color's five hues from thi' eyes their sight will take ;
Music's five notes the ears as deaf can make ;
The flavor's five deprive the mouth of taste ;
The chariot course, and the wild hunting waste
Make mad the mind; and objects rare and strange,
Sought for, men's conduct will to evil change.
Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy the craving of the belly, and
not the insatiable longing of the eyes. He puts from him the
latter, and prefers to seek the former.
13
Favor and disgrace would seem equally to be feared ; honor and
great calamity, to be regarded as personal conditions of the same kind.
What is meant by speaking thus of favor and disgrace ? Disgrace is
being in a low position after the enjoyment of favor. The getting
that favor leads to the apprehension of losing it, and the losing
it leads to the fear of still greater calamity : this is what is meant by
saying that favor and disgrace would seem equally to be feared.
And what is meant by saying that honor and great calamity are to be
similarly regarded as personal conditions ? What makes me liable to
great calamity is my having the body which I call myself ; if I had
not the body, what great calamity could come to me ?
Therefore he who would administer the kingdom, honoring it as he
honors his own person, may be employed to govern it, and he who would
administer it with the love which he bears to his own person
may be entrusted with it.
14
We look at it, and we do not see it, and we name it ' the
Equable. ' We listen to it, and we do not hear it, and we name it ' the
Inaudible. ' We try to grasp it, and do not get hold of it, and we
name it ' the Subtle. ' With these three qualities, it cannot be made
the subject of description; and hence we blend them together
and obtain ' The One '.
Its upper part is not bright, and its lower part is not obscure.
Ceaseless in its action, it yet cannot be named, and then it again
returns and becomes nothing. This is called the Form of the Formless,
and the Semblance of the Invisible; this is called the Fleeting and Indeterminable.
We meet it and do not see its Front ; we follow it, and do not see
its Back. When we can lay hold of the Tao of old to direct the things
of the present day, and are able to know it as it was of old in the
beginning, this is called unwinding the clue of Tao.
15
The skillful masters of the Tao in old times, with a subtle
and exquisite penetration, comprehended its mysteries, and were deep
also so as to elude men's knowledge. As they were thus beyond men's
knowledge, I will make an effort to describe of what sort
they appeared to be.
Shrinking looked they like those who wade through a stream in
winter ; irresolute like those who are afraid of all around them ; grave
like a guest in awe of his host ; evanescent like ice that is melting
away ; unpretentious like wood that has not been fashioned into
anything ; vacant like a valley, and dull like muddy water.
Who can make the muddy water clear ? Let it be still, and it
will gradually become clear. Who can secure the condition of rest ?
Let movement go on, and the condition of rest will gradually arise.
They who preserve this method of the Tao do not wish to be full of
themselves. It is through their not being full of themselves that
they can afford to seem worn and not appear new and complete.
16
The state of vacancy should be brought to the utmost degree,
and that of stillness guarded with unwearying vigor. All things
alike go through their processes of activity, and then we see them
return to their original state. When things in the vegetable
world have displayed their luxuriant growth, we see each of them
return to its root. This returning to their root is what we call the
state of stillness; and that stillness may be called a reporting that
they have fulfilled their appointed end.
The report of that fulfillment is the regular, unchanging rule. To
know that unchanging rule is to be intelligent ; not to know it leads
to wild movements and evil issues. The knowledge of that unchanging
rule produces a grand capacity and forbearance, and that capacity
and forbearance lead to a community of feeling with all things.
From this community of feeling comes a kingliness of character ; and he
who is king like goes on to be heaven like. In that likeness to
heaven he possesses the Tao. Possessed of the Tao, he endures long ;
and to the end of his bodily life, is exempt from all danger of decay.
17
In the highest antiquity, the people did not know that there
were their rulers. In the next age they loved them and praised
them. In the next they feared them ; in the next they despised them.
Thus it was that when faith in the Tao was deficient in the rulers
a want of faith in them ensued in the people.
How irresolute did those earliest rulers appear, showing by
their reticence the importance which they set upon their words !
Their work was done and their undertakings were successful, while the
people all said, 'We are as we are, of ourselves !
18
When the Great Tao Way or Method ceased to be observed,
benevolence and righteousness came into vogue. Then appeared wisdom
and shrewdness, and there ensued great hypocrisy.
When harmony no longer prevailed throughout the six kinship's,
filial sons found their manifestation; when the states and clans fell
into disorder, loyal ministers appeared.
19
If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it
would be better for the people a hundredfold. If we could renounce
our benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people would again
become filial and kindly. If we could renounce our artful
contrivances and discard our scheming for gain,
there would be no thieves nor robbers.
Those three methods of government
Thought olden ways in elegance did fail
And made these names their want of worth to veil ;
But simple views, and courses plain and true
Would selfish ends and many lusts eschew.
20
When we renounce learning we have no troubles.
The ready ' yes, ' and flattering ' yea ; '
Small is the difference they display.
But mark their issues, good and ill ;
What space the gulf between shall fill ?
What all men fear is indeed to be feared ; but how wide and
without end is the range of questions asking to be discussed !
The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased ; as if enjoying a
full banquet, as if mounted on a tower in spring. I alone seem
listless and still, my desires having as yet given no indication of
their presence. I am like an infant which has not yet smiled. I look
dejected and forlorn, as if I had no home to go to. The multitude of
men all have enough and to spare. I alone seem to have lost
everything. My mind is that of a stupid man ;
I am in a state of chaos.
Ordinary men look bright and intelligent, while I alone seem to be
benighted. They look full of discrimination, while I alone am dull
and confused. I seem to be carried about as on the sea, drifting as
if I had nowhere to rest. All men have their spheres of action, while
I alone seem dull and incapable, like a rude borderer. Thus I alone
am different from other men, but I value the nursing mother the Tao.
21
The grandest forms of active force
From Tao come, their only source.
Who can of Tao the nature tell ?
Our sight it flies, our touch as well.
Eluding sight, eluding touch,
The forms of things all in it crouch ;
Eluding touch, eluding sight,
There are their semblances, all right.
Profound it is, dark and obscure ;
Things' essences all there endure.
Those essences the truth enfold
Of what, when seen, shall then be told.
Now it is so ; ' twas so of old.
Its name what passes not away ;
So, in their beautiful array,
Things form and never know decay.
How know I that it is so with all the beauties of existing things ?
By this nature of the Tao.
22
The partial becomes complete ; the crooked, straight; the empty,
full; the worn out, new. He whose desires are few gets them ; he
whose desires are many goes astray.
Therefore the sage holds in his embrace the one thing of
humility, and manifests it to all the world. He is free from self-
display, and therefore he shines ; from self-assertion, and therefore
he is distinguished ; from self-boasting, and therefore his merit is
acknowledged ; from self-complacency, and therefore he acquires
superiority. It is because he is thus free from striving that
therefore no one in the world is able to strive with him.
That saying of the ancients that ' the partial becomes complete ' was
not vainly spoken : all real completion is comprehended under it.
23
Abstaining from speech marks him who is obeying the spontaneity
of his nature. A violent wind does not last for a whole morning ; a
sudden rain does not last for the whole day. To whom is it that these
two things are owing ? To Heaven and Earth. If Heaven and Earth
cannot make such spasmodic acting's last long, how much less can man !
Therefore when one is making the Tao his business, those who are
also pursuing it, agree with him in it, and those who are making the
manifestation of its course their object agree with him in that ; while
even those who are failing in both these things
agree with him where they fail.
Hence, those with whom he agrees as to the Tao have the happiness
of attaining to it ; those with whom he agrees as to its manifestation
have the happiness of attaining to it ; and those with whom he agrees
in their failure have also the happiness of attaining to the Tao.
But when there is not faith sufficient on his part, a want of
faith in him ensues on the part of the others.
24
He who stands on his tiptoes does not stand firm ; he who stretches
his legs does not walk easily. So, he who displays himself does
not shine ; he who asserts his own views is not distinguished ; he who
vaunts himself does not find his merit acknowledged ; he who is self
conceited has no superiority allowed to him. Such conditions, viewed
from the standpoint of the Tao, are like remnants of food, or a tumor
on the body, which all dislike. Hence those who pursue the course
of the Tao do not adopt and allow them.
25
There was something undefined and complete, coming into
existence before Heaven and Earth. How still it was and formless,
standing alone, and undergoing no change, reaching everywhere and in
no danger of being exhausted ! It may be regarded as
the Mother of all things.
I do not know its name, and I give it the designation of the Tao
the Way or Course. Making an effort further to give it a name
I call it ' The Great '.
Great, it passes on in constant flow. Passing on, it becomes
remote. Having become remote, it returns. Therefore the Tao is
great ; Heaven is great ; Earth is great ; and the sage king is also
great. In the universe there are four that are great,
and the sage king is one of them.
Man takes his law from the Earth ; the Earth takes its law from
Heaven ; Heaven takes its law from the Tao.
The law of the Tao is its being what it is.
26
Gravity is the root of lightness ; stillness, the ruler of movement.
Therefore a wise prince, marching the whole day, does not go far
from his baggage wagons. Although he may have brilliant prospects to
look at, he quietly remains in his proper place, indifferent to
them. How should the lord of a myriad chariots carry himself lightly
before the kingdom ? If he do act lightly, he has lost his root of
gravity ; if he proceed to active movement, he will lose his throne.
27
The skillful traveler leaves no traces of his wheels or footsteps
; the skillful speaker says nothing that can be found fault
with or blamed ; the skillful reckoner uses no tallies; the skillful
closer needs no bolts or bars, while to open what he has shut will be
impossible ; the skillful binder uses no strings or knots, while to
unloose what he has bound will be impossible. In the same way the
sage is always skillful at saving men, and so he does not cast away any
man; he is always skillful at saving things, and so he does not cast
away anything. This is called 'Hiding the light of his procedure.
Therefore the man of skill is a master to be looked up to by him
who has not the skill ; and he who has not the skill is the helper of
the reputation of him who has the skill. If the one did not honor
his master, and the other did not rejoice in his helper, an
observer, though intelligent, might greatly err about them.
This is called 'The utmost degree of mystery.
28
Who knows his manhood's strength,
Yet still his female feebleness maintains ;
As to one channel flow the many drains,
All come to him, yea, all beneath the sky.
Thus he the constant excellence retains ;
The simple child again, free from all stains.
Who knows how white attracts,
Yet always keeps himself within black's shade,
The pattern of humility displayed,
Displayed in view of all beneath the sky ;
He in the unchanging excellence arrayed,
Endless return to man's first state has made.
Who knows how glory shines,
Yet loves disgrace, nor e'er for it is pale ;
Behold his presence in a spacious vale,
To which men come from all beneath the sky.
The unchanging excellence completes its tale ;
The simple infant man in him we hail.
The un-wrought material, when divided and distributed, forms
vessels. The sage, when employed, becomes the Head of all the
Officers of government ; and in his greatest regulations
he employs no violent measures.
29
If any one should wish to get the kingdom for himself, and to
effect this by what he does, I see that he will not succeed. The
kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing.
He who would so win it destroys it ;
he who would hold it in his grasp loses it.
The course and nature of things is such that
What was in front is now behind ;
What warmed anon we freezing find.
Strength is of weakness oft the spoil ;
The store in ruins mocks our toil.
Hence the sage puts away excessive effort, extravagance, and easy indulgence.
30
He who would assist a lord of men in harmony with the Tao will
not assert his mastery in the kingdom by force of arms.
Such a course is sure to meet with its proper return.
Wherever a host is stationed, briars and thorns spring up.
In the sequence of great armies there are sure to be bad years.
A skillful commander strikes a decisive blow, and stops. He does
not dare by continuing his operations to assert and complete his
mastery. He will strike the blow, but will be on his guard against
being vain or boastful or arrogant in consequence of it. He strikes
it as a matter of necessity ; he strikes it,
but not from a wish for mastery.
When things have attained their strong maturity they become old.
This may be said to be not in accordance with the Tao :
and what is not in accordance with it soon comes to an end.
31
Now arms, however beautiful, are instruments of evil omen,
hateful, it may be said, to all creatures. Therefore they who
have the Tao do not like to employ them.
The superior man ordinarily considers the left hand the most
honorable place, but in time of war the right hand. Those sharp
weapons are instruments of evil omen, and not the instruments of the
superior man ; he uses them only on the compulsion of necessity. Calm
and repose are what he prizes; victory by force of arms is to him
undesirable. To consider this desirable would be to delight in the
slaughter of men ; and he who delights in the slaughter of men
cannot get his will in the kingdom.
On occasions of festivity to be on the left hand is the prized
position; on occasions of mourning, the right hand. The second in
command of the army has his place on the left; the general commanding
in chief has his on the right ; his place, that is, is assigned to him
as in the rites of mourning. He who has killed multitudes of men
should weep for them with the bitterest grief; and the victor in
battle has his place rightly according to those rites.
32
The Tao, considered as unchanging, has no name.
Though in its primordial simplicity it may be small, the whole
world dares not deal with one embodying it as a minister. If a
feudal prince or the king could guard and hold it, all would
spontaneously submit themselves to him.
Heaven and Earth under its guidance unite together and send down
the sweet dew, which, without the directions of men,
reaches equally everywhere as of its own accord.
As soon as it proceeds to action, it has a name. When it once has
that name, men can know to rest in it. When they know to rest in
it, they can be free from all risk of failure and error.
The relation of the Tao to all the world is like that of
the great rivers and seas to the streams from the valleys.
33
He who knows other men is discerning ; he who knows himself is
intelligent. He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes
himself is mighty. He who is satisfied with his lot is rich ;
he who goes on acting with energy has a firm will.
He who does not fail in the requirements of his position,
continues long ; he who dies and yet does not perish, has longevity.
34
All pervading is the Great Tao !
It may be found on the left hand and on the right.
All things depend on it for their production, which it gives to
them, not one refusing obedience to it. When its work is
accomplished, it does not claim the name of having done it. It
clothes all things as with a garment, and makes no assumption of being
their lord ; it may be named in the smallest things. All things
return to their root and disappear, and do not know that
it is it which presides over their doing so ;
it may be named in the greatest things.
Hence the sage is able in the same way to accomplish his great
achievements. It is through his not making himself great
that he can accomplish them.
35
To him who holds in his hands the Great Image of the invisible
Tao, the whole world repairs. Men resort to him, and receive no
hurt, but find rest, peace, and the feeling of ease.
Music and dainties will make the passing guest stop for a time.
But though the Tao as it comes from the mouth, seems insipid and has
no flavor, though it seems not worth being looked at
or listened to, the use of it is inexhaustible.
36
When one is about to take an inspiration, he is sure to make a
previous expiration ; when he is going to weaken another, he will
first strengthen him; when he is going to overthrow another, he will
first have raised him up ; when he is going to despoil another, he will
first have made gifts to him : this is called
' Hiding the light of his procedure '.
The soft overcomes the hard ; and the weak the strong.
Fishes should not be taken from the deep ; instruments for
the profit of a state should not be shown to the people.
37
The Tao in its regular course does nothing for the sake of
doing it, and so there is nothing which it does not do.
If princes and kings were able to maintain it, all things
would of themselves be transformed by them.
If this transformation became to me an object of desire,
I would express the desire by the nameless simplicity.
Simplicity without a name
Is free from all external aim.
With no desire, at rest and still,
All things go right as of their will.
38
Those who possessed in highest degree the attributes of the
Tao did not seek to show them, and therefore they possessed them
in fullest measure. Those who possessed in a lower degree those
attributes sought how not to lose them, and therefore
they did not possess them in fullest measure.
Those who possessed in the highest degree those attributes did
nothing with a purpose, and had no need to do anything. Those who
possessed them in a lower degree were always doing,
and had need to be so doing.
Those who possessed the highest benevolence were always seeking
to carry it out, and had no need to be doing so. Those who
possessed the highest righteousness were always seeking
to carry it out, and had need to be so doing.
Those who possessed the highest sense of propriety were always
seeking to show it, and when men did not respond to it,
they bared the arm and marched up to them.
Thus it was that when the Tao was lost, its attributes appeared ;
when its attributes were lost, benevolence appeared ; when benevolence
was lost, righteousness appeared ; and when righteousness was lost,
the proprieties appeared.
Now propriety is the attenuated form of leal heartiness and good
faith, and is also the commencement of disorder ; swift apprehension is
only a flower of the Tao, and is the beginning of stupidity.
Thus it is that the Great man abides by what is solid, and eschews
what is flimsy ; dwells with the fruit and not with the flower. It is
thus that he puts away the one and makes choice of the other.
39
The things which from of old have got the One the Tao are :
Heaven which by it is bright and pure ;
Earth rendered thereby firm and sure ;
Spirits with powers by it supplied ;
Valleys kept full throughout their void
All creatures which through it do live
Princes and kings who from it get
The model which to all they give.
All these are the results of the One Tao.
If heaven were not thus pure, it soon would rend ;
If earth were not thus sure, it would break and bend ;
Without these powers, the spirits soon would fail ;
If not so filled, the drought would parch each vale ;
Without that life, creatures would pass away ;
Princes and kings, without that moral sway,
However grand and high, would all decay.
Thus it is that dignity finds its firm root in its previous
meanness, and what is lofty finds its stability in the lowness from
which it rises. Hence princes and kings call themselves ' Orphans, '
' Men of small virtue, ' and as ' Carriages without a nave. ' Is not this
an acknowledgment that in their considering themselves mean they
see the foundation of their dignity ? So it is that in the enumeration of
the different parts of a carriage we do not come on what makes it
answer the ends of a carriage. They do not wish to show themselves
elegant looking as jade, but prefer to be
coarse looking as an ordinary stone.
40
The movement of the Tao By contraries proceeds ;
And weakness marks the course Of Tao's mighty deeds.
All things under heaven sprang from It as existing and named ;
that existence sprang from It as non-existent and not named.
41
Scholars of the highest class, when they hear about the Tao,
earnestly carry it into practice. Scholars of the middle class, when
they have heard about it, seem now to keep it and now to lose it.
Scholars of the lowest class, when they have heard about it, laugh
greatly at it. If it were not thus laughed at,
it would not be fit to be the Tao.
Therefore the sentence makers have thus expressed themselves :
'The Tao, when brightest seen, seems light to lack ;
Who progress in it makes, seems drawing back ;
Its even way is like a rugged track.
Its highest virtue from the vale doth rise ;
Its greatest beauty seems to offend the eyes ;
And he has most whose lot the least supplies.
Its firmest virtue seems but poor and low ;
Its solid truth seems change to undergo ;
Its largest square doth yet no corner show
A vessel great, it is the slowest made ;
Loud is its sound, but never word it said ;
A semblance great, the shadow of a shade.
The Tao is hidden, and has no name; but it is the Tao which is
skillful at imparting to all things what they need and making them complete.
42
The Tao produced One ; One produced Two ; Two produced Three ;
Three produced All things. All things leave behind them the Obscurity
out of which they have come, and go forward to embrace the
Brightness into which they have emerged, while they are
harmonized by the Breath of Vacancy.
What men dislike is to be orphans, to have little virtue, to be as
carriages without naves ; and yet these are the designations which
kings and princes use for themselves. So it is that some things are increased
by being diminished, and others are diminished by being increased.
What other men thus teach, I also teach. The violent and strong
do not die their natural death. I will make this the basis of my teaching.
43
The softest thing in the world dashes against and overcomes the
hardest ; that which has no substantial existence enters where there
is no crevice. I know hereby what advantage belongs to
doing nothing with a purpose.
There are few in the world who attain to the teaching without
words, and the advantage arising from non-action.
44
Or fame or life, Which do you hold more dear ?
Or life or wealth, To which would you adhere ?
Keep life and lose those other things ;
Keep them and lose your life : which
brings Sorrow and pain more near ?
Thus we may see, Who cleaves to fame Rejects what is more great ;
Who loves large stores Gives up the richer state.
Who is content Needs fear no shame.
Who knows to stop Incurs no blame.
From danger free Long live shall he.
45
Who thinks his great achievements poor Shall find his vigor long endure.
Of greatest fullness, deemed a void, Exhaustion ne'er shall stem the tide.
Do thou what's straight still crooked deem ; Thy greatest art still stupid seem,
And eloquence a stammering scream.
Constant action overcomes cold ; being still overcomes heat.
Purity and stillness give the correct law to all under heaven.
46
When the Tao prevails in the world, they send back their swift
horses to draw the dung carts. When the Tao is disregarded
in the world, the war-horses breed in the border lands.
There is no guilt greater than to sanction ambition ; no calamity
greater than to be discontented with one's lot ; no fault greater than
the wish to be getting. Therefore the sufficiency of contentment is
an enduring and unchanging sufficiency.
47
Without going outside his door, one understands all that takes
place under the sky ; without looking out from his window, one sees
the Tao of Heaven. The farther that one goes out from himself,
the less he knows.
Therefore the sages got their knowledge without traveling ;
gave their right names to things without seeing them ;
and accomplished their ends without any purpose of doing so.
48
He who devotes himself to learning seeks from day to day to
increase his knowledge ; he who devotes himself to the Tao seeks
from day to day to diminish his doing.
He diminishes it and again diminishes it, till he arrives at doing
nothing on purpose. Having arrived at this point of non-action,
there is nothing which he does not do.
He who gets as his own all under heaven does so by giving himself
no trouble with that end. If one take trouble with that end,
he is not equal to getting as his own all under heaven.
49
The sage has no invariable mind of his own ;
he makes the mind of the people his mind.
To those who are good to me, I am good ; and to those who are not
good to me, I am also good ; and thus all get to be good. To
those who are sincere with me, I am sincere ; and to those who are
not sincere with me, I am also sincere ;
and thus all get to be sincere.
The sage has in the world an appearance of indecision, and keeps
his mind in a state of indifference to all. The people all keep their
eyes and ears directed to him, and he deals with them all as his children.
50
Men come forth and live ; they enter again and die.
Of every ten three are ministers of life to themselves ;
and three are ministers of death.
There are also three in every ten whose aim is to live, but whose
movements tend to the land or place of death. And for what reason ?
Because of their excessive endeavors to perpetuate life.
But I have heard that he who is skillful in managing the life
entrusted to him for a time travels on the land without having to shun
rhinoceros or tiger, and enters a host without having to avoid buff
coat or sharp weapon. The rhinoceros finds no place in him into which
to thrust its horn, nor the tiger a place in which to fix its claws,
nor the weapon a place to admit its point. And for what reason ?
Because there is in him no place of death.
51
All things are produced by the Tao, and nourished by its
out flowing operation. They receive their forms according to the
nature of each, and are completed according to the circumstances of
their condition. Therefore all things without exception honor the
Tao, and exalt its out flowing operation.
This honoring of the Tao and exalting of its operation is not the
result of any ordination, but always a spontaneous tribute.
Thus it is that the Tao produces all things, nourishes them,
brings them to their full growth, nurses them, completes them,
matures them, maintains them, and overspreads them.
It produces them and makes no claim to the possession of them ;
it carries them through their processes and does not vaunt its ability in
doing so ; it brings them to maturity and exercises no control over them ;
this is called its mysterious operation.
52
The Tao which originated all under the sky
is to be considered as the mother of them all.
When the mother is found, we know what her children should be.
When one knows that he is his mother's child, and proceeds to guard
the qualities of the mother that belong to him,
to the end of his life he will be free from all peril.
Let him keep his mouth closed, and shut up the portals of his
nostrils, and all his life he will be exempt from laborious exertion.
Let him keep his mouth open, and spend his breath in the promotion
of his affairs, and all his life there will be no safety for him.
The perception of what is small is the secret of clear sightedness ;
the guarding of what is soft and tender is the secret of strength.
Who uses well his light,
Reverting to its source so bright,
Will from his body ward all blight,
And hides the unchanging from men's sight.
53
If I were suddenly to become known, and put into a position
to conduct a government according to the Great Tao,
what I should be most afraid of would be a boastful display.
The great Tao or way is very level and easy ; but people love the by-ways.
Their court yards and buildings shall be well kept, but their
fields shall be ill cultivated, and their granaries very empty. They
shall wear elegant and ornamented robes, carry a sharp sword at their
girdle, pamper themselves in eating and drinking, and have a superabundance
of property and wealth ; such princes may be called robbers and boasters.
This is contrary to the Tao surely !
54
What Tao's skillful planter plants, Can never be up torn ;
What his skillful arms enfold, From him can ne'er be borne.
Sons shall bring in lengthening line, Sacrifices to his shrine.
Tao when nursed within one's self, His vigor will make true ;
And where the family it rules, What riches will accrue !
The neighborhood where it prevails In thriving will abound ;
And when 'tis seen throughout the state, Good fortune will be found.
Employ it the kingdom o'er, And men thrive all around.
In this way the effect will be seen in the person,
by the observation of different cases ;
in the family ; in the neighborhood ;
in the state ; and in the kingdom.
How do I know that this effect is sure to hold thus all under the sky ?
By this method of observation.
55
He who has in himself abundantly the attributes of the Tao is
like an infant. Poisonous insects will not sting him; fierce beasts
will not seize him ; birds of prey will not strike him.
The infant's bones are weak and its sinews soft, but yet its
grasp is firm. It knows not yet the union of male and female,
and yet its virile member may be excited ; showing the perfection
of its physical essence. All day long it will cry without its throat
becoming hoarse ; showing the harmony in its constitution.
To him by whom this harmony is known,
The secret of the unchanging Tao is shown,
And in the knowledge wisdom finds its throne.
All life-increasing arts to evil turn ;
Where the mind makes the vital breath to burn,
False is the strength, and o'er it we should mourn.
When things have become strong, they then become old,
which may be said to be contrary to the Tao.
Whatever is contrary to the Tao soon ends.
56
He who knows the Tao does not care to speak about it ;
he who is ever ready to speak about it does not know it.
He who knows it will keep his mouth shut and close the portals
of his nostrils. He will blunt his sharp points and unravel the
complications of things ; he will attemper his brightness, and bring
himself into agreement with the obscurity of others.
This is called 'the Mysterious Agreement.'
Such an one cannot be treated familiarly or distantly ;
he is beyond all consideration of profit or injury ;
of nobility or meanness : he is the noblest man under heaven.
57
A state may be ruled by measures of correction ;
weapons of war may be used with crafty dexterity ;
but the kingdom is made one's own, only by freedom
from action and purpose.
How do I know that it is so ? By these facts : In the kingdom the
multiplication of prohibitive enactments increases the poverty of the
people ; the more implements to add to their profit that the people
have, the greater disorder is there in the state and clan; the more
acts of crafty dexterity that men possess, the more do strange
contrivances appear; the more display there is of legislation,
the more thieves and robbers there are.
Therefore a sage has said, 'I will do nothing of purpose, and the
people will be transformed of themselves ; I will be fond of keeping
still, and the people will of themselves become correct. I will take
no trouble about it, and the people will of themselves become rich
I will manifest no ambition, and the people will of themselves
attain to the primitive simplicity.'
58
The government that seems the most unwise,
Oft goodness to the people best supplies ;
That which is meddling, touching everything,
Will work but ill, and disappointment bring.
Misery ! happiness is to be found by its side ! Happiness !
misery lurks beneath it ! Who knows what either will come to in the end ?
Shall we then dispense with correction ? The method of correction
shall by a turn become distortion, and the good in it shall by a turn
become evil. The delusion of the people on this point has indeed
subsisted for a long time.
Therefore the sage is like a square which cuts no one with its angles ;
like a corner which injures no one with its sharpness. He is
straightforward, but allows himself no license ; he is bright,
but does not dazzle.
59
For regulating the human in our constitution and rendering
the proper service to the heavenly, there is nothing like moderation.
It is only by this moderation that there is effected an early
return to man's normal state. That early return is what I call the
repeated accumulation of the attributes of the Tao. With that
repeated accumulation of those attributes, there comes the subjugation
of every obstacle to such return. Of this subjugation we know not
what shall be the limit ; and when one knows not what the limit
shall be, he may be the ruler of a state.
He who possesses the mother of the state may continue long. His
case is like that of the plant of which we say that its roots are
deep and its flower stalks firm : this is the way to secure
that its enduring life shall long be seen.
60
Governing a great state is like cooking small fish.
Let the kingdom be governed according to the Tao, and the manes of
the departed will not manifest their spiritual energy. It is not that
those manes have not that spiritual energy, but it will not be
employed to hurt men. It is not that it could not hurt men, but
neither does the ruling sage hurt them.
When these two do not injurously affect each other,
their good influences converge in the virtue of the Tao.
61
What makes a great state is its being like a low lying,
down flowing stream ; it becomes the center
to which tend all the small states under heaven.
To illustrate from the case of all females :
the female always overcomes the male by her stillness.
Stillness may be considered a sort of abasement.
Thus it is that a great state, by condescending to small states,
gains them for itself ; and that small states, by abasing themselves to
a great state, win it over to them. In the one case the abasement
leads to gaining adherents, in the other case to procuring favor.
The great state only wishes to unite men together and nourish them ;
a small state only wishes to be received by, and to serve, the other.
Each gets what it desires, but the great state must learn to abase itself.
62
Tao has of all things the most honored place.
No treasures give good men so rich a grace ;
Bad men it guards, and doth their ill efface.
Its admirable words can purchase honor ; its admirable deeds
can raise their performer above others. Even men who are not good
are not abandoned by it.
Therefore when the sovereign occupies his place as the Son of
Heaven, and he has appointed his three ducal ministers, though a
prince were to send in a round symbol of rank large enough to fill
both the hands, and that as the precursor of the team of horses in
the court yard, such an offering would not be equal to a lesson of
this Tao, which one might present on his knees.
Why was it that the ancients prized this Tao so much ? Was it not
because it could be got by seeking for it, and the guilty could escape
from the stain of their guilt by it ? This is the reason why all
under heaven consider it the most valuable thing.
63
It is the way of the Tao to act without thinking of acting ;
to conduct affairs without feeling the trouble of them ; to taste
without discerning any flavor ; to consider what is small as great,
and a few as many ; and to recompense injury with kindness.
The master of it anticipates things that are difficult while they
are easy, and does things that would become great while they are
small. All difficult things in the world are sure to arise from a
previous state in which they were easy, and all great things from one
in which they were small. Therefore the sage, while he never does
what is great, is able on that account to accomplish the greatest things.
He who lightly promises is sure to keep but little faith ; he who is
continually thinking things easy is sure to find them difficult.
Therefore the sage sees difficulty even in what seems easy,
and so never has any difficulties.
64
That which is at rest is easily kept hold of ; before a thing
has given indications of its presence, it is easy to take measures
against it ; that which is brittle is easily broken ; that which is very
small is easily dispersed. Action should be taken before a thing has
made its appearance ; order should be secured before disorder has begun.
The tree which fills the arms grew from the tiniest sprout ; the
tower of nine stories rose from a small heap of earth ; the journey
of a thousand miles commenced with a single step.
He who acts with an ulterior purpose does harm ; he who takes hold
of a thing in the same way loses his hold. The sage does not act
so, and therefore does no harm ; he does not lay hold so, and
therefore does not lose his bold. But people in their conduct of
affairs are constantly ruining them when they are on the eve of
success. If they were careful at the end, as they should be at the
beginning, they would not so ruin them.
Therefore the sage desires what other men do not desire, and does
not prize things difficult to get; he learns what other men do not
learn, and turns back to what the multitude of men have passed by.
Thus he helps the natural development of all things, and does not dare
to act with an ulterior purpose of his own.
65
The ancients who showed their skill in practicing the Tao did so,
not to enlighten the people, but rather to make them simple and ignorant.
The difficulty in governing the people arises from their having
much knowledge. He who tries to govern a state by his wisdom
is a scourge to it ; while he who does not try to do so is a blessing.
He who knows these two things finds in them also his model and
rule. Ability to know this model and rule constitutes what we call
the mysterious excellence of a governor. Deep and far reaching is
such mysterious excellence, showing indeed its possessor as opposite
to others, but leading them to a great conformity to him.
66
That whereby the rivers and seas are able to receive the homage
and tribute of all the valley streams, is their skill in being lower
than they ; it is thus that they are the kings of them all. So it is
that the sage ( ruler ), wishing to be above men, puts himself by his
words below them, and, wishing to be before them,
places his person behind them.
In this way though he has his place above them, men do not feel his
weight, nor though he has his place before them, do they feel it an injury to them.
Therefore all in the world delight to exalt him and do not weary of
him. Because he does not strive, no one finds it possible to strive with him.
67
All the world says that, while my Tao is great, it yet appears
to be inferior to other systems of teaching. Now it is just its
greatness that makes it seem to be inferior. If it were like any
other system, for long would its smallness have been known !
But I have three precious things which I prize and hold fast. The
first is gentleness ; the second is economy ; and the third
is shrinking from taking precedence of others.
With that gentleness I can be bold ; with that economy I can be
liberal ; shrinking from taking precedence of others, I can become a
vessel of the highest honor. Now a days they give up gentleness and
are all for being bold ; economy, and are all for being liberal ; the
hindmost place, and seek only to be foremost ; of all which the end is death.
Gentleness is sure to be victorious even in battle, and firmly
to maintain its ground. Heaven will save its possessor,
by his very gentleness protecting him.
68
He who in Tao's wars has skill, Assumes no martial port ;
He who fights with most good will, To rage makes no resort.
He who vanquishes yet still, Keeps from his foes apart ;
He whose hests men most fulfill, Yet humbly plies his art.
Thus we say, 'He ne'er contends, And therein is his might.'
Thus we say, 'Men's wills he bends, That they with him unite.'
Thus we say, 'Like Heaven's his ends, No sage of old more bright.'
69
A master of the art of war has said, 'I do not dare to be the
host to commence the war ; I prefer to be the guest to act on the
defensive. I do not dare to advance an inch ; I prefer to retire a
foot.' This is called marshaling the ranks where there are no ranks;
baring the arms to fight where there are no arms to bare ; grasping
the weapon where there is no weapon to grasp ;
advancing against the enemy where there is no enemy.
There is no calamity greater than lightly engaging in war. To do
that is near losing the gentleness which is so precious. Thus it is
that when opposing weapons are actually crossed,
he who deplores the situation conquers.
70
My words are very easy to know, and very easy to practice ; but
there is no one in the world who is able to know and able to practice them.
There is an originating and all comprehending principal in my
words, and an authoritative law for the things which I enforce.
It is because they do not know these, that men do not know me.
They who know me are few, and I am on that account the more to be prized.
It is thus that the sage wears a poor garb of hair cloth,
while he carries his signet of jade in his bosom.
71
To know and yet think we do not know is the highest attainment ;
not to know and yet think we do know is a disease.
It is simply by being pained at the thought of having this
disease that we are preserved from it. The sage has not the disease.
He knows the pain that would be inseparable from it,
and therefore he does not have it.
72
When the people do not fear what they ought to fear,
that which is their great dread will come on them.
Let them not thoughtlessly indulge themselves in their ordinary
life ; let them not act as if weary of what that life depends on.
It is by avoiding such indulgence that such weariness does not arise.
Therefore the sage knows these things of himself, but does not
parade his knowledge ; loves, but does not appear to set a value
on, himself. And thus he puts the latter alternative away
and makes choice of the former.
73
He whose boldness appears in his daring to do wrong, in
defiance of the laws is put to death ; he whose boldness appears in
his not daring to do so lives on. Of these two cases the one
appears to be advantageous, and the other to be injurious. But
When Heaven's anger smites a man,
Who the cause shall truly scan ?
On this account the sage feels a difficulty as to what to do in the former case.
It is the way of Heaven not to strive, and yet it skillfully
overcomes ; not to speak, and yet it is skillful in obtaining a reply ;
does not call, and yet men come to it of themselves. Its demonstrations
are quiet, and yet its plans are skillful and effective. The meshes of the net
of Heaven are large ; far apart, but letting nothing escape.
74
The people do not fear death ; to what purpose is it to try to
frighten them with death ? If the people were always in awe of death,
and I could always seize those who do wrong, and put them to death,
who would dare to do wrong ?
There is always One who presides over the infliction death. He who
would inflict death in the room of him who so presides over it may be
described as hewing wood instead of a great carpenter. Seldom is it
that he who undertakes the hewing, instead of the great carpenter,
does not cut his own hands !
75
The people suffer from famine because of the multitude of taxes
consumed by their superiors. It is through this that they suffer famine.
The people are difficult to govern because of the excessive
agency of their superiors in governing them. It is through this
that they are difficult to govern.
The people make light of dying because of the greatness of their
labors in seeking for the means of living. It is this which makes
them think light of dying. Thus it is that to leave the subject of
living altogether out of view is better than to set a high value on it.
76
Man at his birth is supple and weak; at his death, firm and
strong. So it is with all things. Trees and plants, in their early
growth, are soft and brittle ; at their death, dry and withered.
Thus it is that firmness and strength are the concomitants of
death; softness and weakness, the concomitants of life.
Hence he who relies on the strength of his forces does not conquer ;
and a tree which is strong will fill the out stretched arms,
and thereby invites the feller.
Therefore the place of what is firm and strong is below,
and that of what is soft and weak is above.
77
May not the Way or Tao of Heaven be compared to the method of
bending a bow ? The part of the bow which was high is brought low,
and what was low is raised up. So Heaven diminishes where there
is super abundance, and supplements where there is deficiency.
It is the Way of Heaven to diminish super abundance, and to
supplement deficiency. It is not so with the way of man.
He takes away from those who have not enough
to add to his own super abundance.
Who can take his own super abundance and there with serve
all under heaven ? Only he who is in possession of the Tao!
Therefore the ruling sage acts without claiming the results as
his; he achieves his merit and does not rest arrogantly in it :
he does not wish to display his superiority.
78
There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water,
and yet for attacking things that are firm and strong there is nothing
that can take precedence of it ; for there is nothing so effectual
for which it can be changed.
Every one in the world knows that the soft overcomes the hard, and
the weak the strong, but no one is able to carry it out in practice.
Therefore a sage has said,
'He who accepts his state's reproach,
Is hailed therefore its altars' lord;
To him who bears men's direful woes
They all the name of King accord.'
Words that are strictly true seem to be paradoxical.
79
When a reconciliation is effected between two parties after a
great animosity, there is sure to be a grudge remaining in the mind
of the one who was wrong. And how can this be beneficial to the other ?
Therefore to guard against this, the sage keeps the left hand
portion of the record of the engagement, and does not insist on the
speedy fulfillment of it by the other party. So, he who has the
attributes of the Tao regards only the conditions of the engagement,
while he who has not those attributes regards only
the conditions favorable to himself.
In the Way of Heaven, there is no partiality of love ;
it is always on the side of the good man.
80
In a little state with a small population, I would so order it,
that, though there were individuals with the abilities of ten or a
hundred men, there should be no employment of them ; I would make the
people, while looking on death as a grievous thing,
yet not remove elsewhere to avoid it.
Though they had boats and carriages, they should have no occasion
to ride in them ; though they had buff coats and sharp weapons,
they should have no occasion to don or use them.
I would make the people return to the use of knotted cords,
instead of the written characters.
They should think their coarse food sweet ;
their plain clothes beautiful ;
their poor dwellings places of rest ;
and their common simple ways sources of enjoyment.
There should be a neighboring state within sight, and
the voices of the fowls and dogs should be heard all the way from it to us,
but I would make the people to old age, even to death,
not have any intercourse with it.
81
Sincere words are not fine ; fine words are not sincere.
Those who are skilled in the Tao do not dispute about it ;
the disputatious are not skilled in it. Those who know the Tao
are not extensively learned; the extensively learned do not know it.
The sage does not accumulate for himself. The more that he
expends for others, the more does he possess of his own ;
the more that he gives to others, the more does he have himself.
With all the sharpness of the Way of Heaven, it injures not ; with
all the doing in the way of the sage he does not strive
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