Lao Zi Dao De Jing - Full Translation
The Dao De Jing was written by LaoZi (老子) 2500 years ago.
Translation by 乔韦尔斯.
Chapter_1 Full Lit. 第一章
The path that can be taken is not always Dao. The name that can be named is not always the Name. Without name, the heavens and earth began. Having name, all creatures were mothered. Therefore always be without want in order to observe the mystery, always be with want in order to observe within the boundaries. These two emerge together and yet have different names, together they are called mystery, mystery out of mystery, the gate of many wonders.
Chapter_2 Full Lit. 第二章
When all under the heavens know delight as delight then ugliness has already arrived. When everyone knows good as good then not good has already arrived. Therefore having and not having give life to each other, difficult and simple complete each other, long lasting and brief relate to each other, high and low lean on each other, sound and voice harmonize each other, ahead and behind follow each other. So, in this way, the wise person's place is to not act as their job, to take steps without speaking as teaching, thereby all creatures will function and yet not retire. Live life without acting and without depending on your achievements. When your achievements are complete, do not cling to them. Only by not clinging to your achievements will your merit not depart.
Chapter_3 Full Lit. 第三章
By not honoring the worthy, the people will not contend. By not prizing the expensive, the people will not steal. By not displaying objects of want, the people's hearts will not be confused. In this way the wise person brings order. Empty their hearts, harden their bellies, weaken their wills, strengthen their bones. Always cause the people to be without knowledge and without want. Cause those who know to not dare act as such also. Act without action and consequently nothing is not in order.
Chapter_4 Full Lit. 第四章
Dao is to rinse and yet use it again as if there is not a surplus. Dao is like deep water and can be described as the ancestor of all creatures. Bending back the sharp point, loosening the tangle, harmonizing the bright, joining the dust. Dao is like clear water that barely seems to exist. I do not know who's child it is, it has the image of the emperor before it.
Chapter_5 Full Lit. 第五章
The heavens and earth are not humane and thereby consider all creatures as straw dogs. The wise person is not humane and thereby considers all families as straw dogs. The space between the heavens and earth is like a bellows, like a bamboo flute is it not? It is empty and not bending, moving and yet ever more comes outs. With more and more speech one becomes exhausted, so it is better to just keep to your center.
Chapter_6 Full Lit. 第六章
The valley of lively spirits does not die. It is called the mystery female, the mystery female's gate. It is called the root of the heavens and earth, it seems to exist continuously, using it is not hard work.
Chapter_7 Full Lit. 第七章
The heavens and earth last a long time. The heavens and earth are capable of lasting a long time because they do not live for themselves. Therefore they are capable of long life. Thereby the wise person is behind their body and yet their body is in front, is outside their body and yet their body exists. This is not to be selfless, but to complete themself.
Chapter_8 Full Lit. 第八章
The highest good is like water. Water is good at benefiting all creatures and yet it does not contend. It resides in places many people find repulsive and therefore it is near Dao. In residence be with the good earth, in heart be the good deep water, in assistance have good humanity, in speech have good credibility, in leadership be good at bringing order, in job have good capability, in movement be good in timing. Only by not contending can one have no flaws.
Chapter_9 Full Lit. 第九章
To hold enough and yet take more is not as good as already having enough. To work a blade vigorously its edge cannot be maintained very long. To fill a main hall with gold and jade it cannot be secured very long. To have an abundance of wealth and yet be arrogant one leaves behind them blame. When achievements are fulfilled the body retreats, such is the way of the heavens.
Chapter_10 Full Lit. 第十章
In carrying your soul to embrace oneness are you capable of not departing? In focusing your vital energy to acquire a state of yielding are you capable of being like an infant child? In inspecting and cleansing your inner self are you capable of not having defects? In loving the people and bringing order to a nation are you capable of not having knowledge? In opening the side door of the heavens' gate are you capable of acting as the female? In attaining a clear understanding of all around, are you capable of not having knowledge? Live life, nourish life, live without having, act and yet do not depend on your achievements, last long and yet do not oppress, it is called the mystery virtue.
Chapter_11 Full Lit. 第十一章
Thirty spokes of a wheel join with one hollow hub; by the hub's not having, there is having a cart with wheels to use. Mix clay and water together to make a pottery vessel; by the vessel's not having, there is having a vessel to use. Chisel a door and window to complete a room; by the rooms not having, there is having a room to use. Therefore having offers benefit, not having offers use.
Chapter_12 Full Lit. 第十二章
The five colors cause a person's eye to be blind. The five sounds cause a person's ear to be deaf. The five flavors cause a person's mouth to be overwhelmed. Horse racing and hunting cause a person to act crazy. Money and things difficult to obtain cause a person's actions to become a hindrance. Thereby the wise person acts for the belly not for the eye. Therefore discard those and take these.
Chapter_13 Full Lit. 第十三章
Honor and disgrace come with surprise. Value and great worry come with the body. Why say 'honor and disgrace come with surprise'? Honor and dishonor: acquire them surprised, lose them surprised. It is called honor and disgrace come with surprise. Why say 'value and great worry come with the body'? I can be a great worrier because I have a body. If I reach a place where I have no body, why would I worry? Therefore value your body as a member of the world, as if able to take shelter anywhere in the world; love your body as a member of the world, as if able to entrust the world.
Chapter_14 Full Lit. 第十四章
To look at something and not see it is to say it is smooth. To listen for something and not hear it is to say it is rare. To grasp something and not acquire it is to say it is tiny. These three are not able to provide a response. Therefore they mix together and act as one. Acting as one, its rising above is not brightness, its falling below is not darkness. Again try to rope it in and acquire its Name, but again return without having a creature. It is called not having a form's form, not having a creature's image. It is called seemingly indistinct. Greet it and you cannot see its head, subsequently you cannot see its behind. Grasp the ancient's Dao and thereby resist having in the now, and so be capable of knowing the ancient beginnings, it is called the history of Dao.
Chapter_15 Full Lit. 第十五章
The ancients who were good scholars of Dao knew its subtle mystery well, they were deep and not able to be understood. Only because I cannot understand them, I will try to describe their appearance: happy as if wading through a river in the winter, behaving as if fearful of their nearest neighbors, respectful as if making an appearance and then vanishing like melting ice, honest and simple like uncarved wood, vast like a valley, mixed-up like muddy water. That which is muddy slowly purifies by tranquility. That which is calm slowly comes to life by movement. Maintain these principles of Dao and do not desire a surplus. Only those without a surplus can be shielded from not being completely renewed.
Chapter_16 Full Lit. 第十六章
Acquire extreme emptiness, keep to genuine tranquility, all creatures will work together, I will thereby observe them return again. creatures are like flowers returning again to their root. Returning to one's roots is to be tranquil, it is called having another destiny. To have another destiny is to say forever, to know forever is to be enlightened, to not know forever is to be dysfunctional and unfortunate. To know forever is to be public, to be public is to be honorable, to be honorable is to be kingly, to be kingly is to be heavenly, to be heavenly is to follow Dao, to follow Dao is to live a long time, your body can sink without danger.
Chapter_17 Full Lit. 第十七章
The greatest leaders, the people just know of them, the next best seem like close relatives and are praised by the people, the next lacking are feared by the people, the next lacking are insulted by the people. The truth is not enough where there is lack of credibility or where the truth is drawn-out by opulent speech. With their achievements complete and their jobs fulfilled, all people say 'I followed my own nature'.
Chapter_18 Full Lit. 第十八章
When the great Dao is discarded, there is humanity and justice. When knowledge and intelligence are removed, there is great fakeness. When the six close relatives are not in harmony, there is filial piety and motherly love. When the nation is dazed and confused, there are loyal ministers.
Chapter_19 Full Lit. 第十九章
Cut short wisdom and discard knowledge, the people will benefit a hundredfold. Cut short humanity and discard justice, the people will again have filial piety and motherly love. Cut short skill and discard profit, the robbers will disappear. These three practices of scripture are not enough. Therefore set a place of focus: see the plain, embrace the uncarved wood, reduce selfishness, abandon want.
Chapter_20 Full Lit. 第二十章
Cut short learning and avoid the grief. Truth and flattery, how far apart are these? Good and ugly, how can these be separated? People living in fear, not able to not fear, how absurd is that? Many people are bright and cheerful as if enjoying the greatest security, like ascending a tower in the springtime. I alone fear that they have not yet received a sign, like an infant who has not yet smiled, exhausted as if having no place to return. So many people have an excess and yet I alone leave it behind. I have a fool's heart also. The most unintelligent commoner appears bright while I alone am dazed. Common people are inquisitive while I alone am muffled and tranquil like the sea, never stopping like the high winds. So many people are having while I alone am stubborn and described as low. I alone am different from other people and yet value feeding on the mother.
Mature virtue appears only from Dao, it is through Dao's influence on creatures, only if seemingly, only if indistinct. Suddenly indeed, seemingly indeed, your center has an image; seemingly much, suddenly much, your center has a creature. Deep! Dim! your center has energy, your energy is extreme and genuine, your center has a credible message. From ancient times until now, your Name does not depart, and you thereby experience many beginnings. How do I know about these many beginnings? By these observations.
Bent and consequently whole, crooked and consequently straight, hollow and consequently filled, defeated and consequently renewed, lacking and consequently having, having much and consequently confused. Thereby the wise person embraces oneness and becomes a model for the world, is not self-seeing and is therefore understanding, is not self-justifying and is therefore self-evident, is not self-destructive and is therefore successful, is not self-boasting and therefore lasts a long time. So, only by not contending is there no one in the world to contend with. What the ancients said 'bent and consequently whole', are these just empty words? They are true, be whole and return.
Rarely does nature speak. Therefore a whirlwind does not continue on, a rain shower does not last all day. Who's actions are these? The heavens and earth's. If the heavens and earth cannot sustain their actions for a long time then how can people? Therefore through the practice of Dao: those with Dao become one with Dao, those with virtue become one with virtue, those with loss become one with loss. Those who are one with Dao also enjoy having Dao. Those who are one with virtue also enjoy having virtue. Those who are one with loss also enjoy having loss. The truth is not enough where there is lack of credibility.
Those who tiptoe do not stand. Those who straddle do not take steps. Those who see themselves do not understand. Those who justify themselves are not self-evident. Those who cut themselves down do not have achievement. Those who boast about themselves do not last very long. Those with Dao call these excess food and superfluous actions which may be repulsive to the creature and are therefore avoided by those with Dao.
A creature existed in the chaos before the birth of the heavens and earth, quiet, empty, standing alone, non-altering, moving and yet not endangering, thereby able to act as the world's mother. I do not know its name. The word for it is Dao. Forced to name it is to say it is great, to say it is great is to say it is departing, to say is departing is to say it is distant, to say it is distant is to say it is returning. Therefore Dao is great, the heavens are great, earth is great, the king is also great. In the realm there are four greats and the king is the first. People follow earth, earth follows the heavens, the heavens follow Dao, Dao follows its own nature.
Heaviness is the root of lightness, tranquility is the ruler of agitation. Thereby the wise person travels all day without leaving their loaded supply wagon. Having a position of glory, how can one let themselves be enthralled by swallows in the distance? Why would the owner of ten thousand chariots act lightly in the world? Act lightly and consequently lose your foundation. Become agitated and consequently lose your rule.
A good traveler leaves no tracks, a good speech has no flaws, a good method requires no planning, a good safe has no lock and yet cannot be opened, a good knot has no weight and yet cannot be untied. So thereby the wise person is always good at rescuing people and therefore does not discard people, is always good at rescuing creatures and therefore does not discard creatures. It is called inheriting enlightenment. Therefore a good person is a bad person's teacher, a bad person is a good person's resource. Those who do not value their teacher, who are not fond of their resource, although having knowledge, are greatly confused, it is called the important wonder.
Know the male, keep to the female, act as the world's valley. Act as the world's valley, forever not departing from virtue, again return as an infant child. Know the white, keep to the black, act as the world's model. Act as the world's model, forever having virtue without excess, again return from nothing. Know the glory, keep to the disgrace, act as the world's valley. Act as the world's valley, forever having virtue thus having enough, again return from uncarved wood. Uncarved wood is carved and consequently acts as a vessel, the wise person uses it and consequently becomes established for a long time therefore the next great season is not cut short.
To seize the world and act upon it, I see already that it cannot be done. The world is a vessel of lively spirits which cannot be controlled, those who act on it lose it, those who grasp it lose it. Therefore a creature maybe moves maybe follows, maybe snorts maybe huffs, maybe strengthens maybe weakens, maybe bends maybe breaks. Thereby the wise person leaves the extreme, leaves the extravagant, leaves the grand.
Chapter_30 Full Lit. 第三十章
Those with Dao assist the ruler by not using strength and weaponry in the world. The deeds of a commander are easy to return as growing brambles and thorns. After a great army passes, an unfortunate year is expected to follow. Be good at succeeding enough without daring to use force, at succeeding without boasting, at succeeding without being harmful, at succeeding without being arrogant, at succeeding only when necessary, at succeeding without using strength. When a creature strengthens it consequently becomes old, it is called not following Dao. Not following Dao is to reach the end prematurely.
Admiring weapons does not bring good luck, creatures may be repulsed by them and therefore those with Dao avoid them. The noble consequently values the left, the military consequently values the right. Military weapons do not bring good luck, they are not the tools of the noble, success is not acquired from their use. The peaceful and gentle are superior. Capture and yet do not delight in violence, to do otherwise is to enjoy killing. Those who enjoy killing consequently cannot achieve success in the world. The fortunate task is to uphold the left, the unfortunate task is to uphold the right. The Lieutenant General resides on the left, the Major General resides on the right, during the funeral speech. After killing many people, let there be crying, sorrow, and grieving in a funeral at the place of battle.
Dao is forever without name, like uncarved wood. Although small, nothing in the world is capable of ruling it. If barons and kings can keep to it, all creatures will behave naturally as guests, the heavens and earth will unite and thereby surrender sweet rain on the people, achieving balance without apparent cause. An organization begins with a Name. After attaining enough of a Name, know where to stop. Knowing where to stop avoids danger. Dao in the world is like a river flowing to a valley and then to the sea.
Those who know people have knowledge, those who know themselves have understanding. Those who capture others have power, those who capture themselves have strength. Those who know what is enough have abundance. Those who move with strength have will. Those who do not lose their place last a long time. Those who die but do not depart have a long life.
The great Dao flows everywhere, to the left and to the right. All creatures depend on it and yet it brings life without interuption, completing its work without acclaim. Having clothed and given birth to all creatures it does not act as their owner, it forever does not want, it can be named as the small, it allows all creatures to return and yet does not act as their owner, it can be named as the great. Thereby to the end it does not act great and therefore it is capable of completing its greatness.
Grasp the great image and the world will move forth, move forth and yet not harm, great calmness and stability will appear. At festivals with enticing foods, passing travelers stop. When Dao is spoken it is mild and lacking flavor, when looked at there is not enough to see, when listened to there is not enough to hear, but when used it provides enough.
To bring something together one must first consider how spread out it is, to weaken something one must first consider how strong it is, to discard something one must first consider how wanted it is, to capture something by force one must first consider how resistant it is. It is called the tiny enlightenment. The yielding and weak capture the hard and strong. A fish cannot escape from water. A nation's tools of advantage must never be revealed.
Dao is forever not having to act and yet having no actions incomplete. If barons and kings can keep to it, all creatures will transform themselves, transform and yet want to keep working. I shall stand guard for the plain and simple like uncarved wood, having no Name like uncarved wood, and likewise will also will be without want. Without want there is tranquility and the world resolves itself.
High virtue does not claim to be virtuous and thereby has virtue. Low virtue does not lose its claim to virtue and thereby does not have virtue. High virtue does not act good and does not have to act good. Low virtue acts good and has to act good. High humanity acts humanely and does not have to act humanely. High justice acts justly and has to act justly. High propriety acts properly and upon receiving no response pushes up a sleeve and throws a blow. Therefore below Dao there is virtue, below virtue there is humanity, below humanity there is justice, below justice there is propriety. Propriety is where loyalty and credibility become thin and where confusion begins. Foresight is the splendor of Dao and the beginning of foolishness. Thereby the great gentleman resides with the thick and not with the thin, resides with the solid and not with the splendor. Therefore depart from those and take these.
Of the ancients that acquired oneness: The heavens acquired oneness and became pure, earth acquired oneness and became peaceful, lively spirits acquired oneness and joined the spirit world, valleys acquired oneness and received a surplus, all creatures acquired oneness and began life, barons and kings acquired oneness and the world became loyal. They all acquired oneness. The heavens without purity risks splitting, earth without peace risks erupting, lively spirits without a spirit world risk coming to rest, valleys without a surplus risk being exhausted, all creatures without creating life risk becoming extinct, barons and kings without being honorable risk being trampled. Therefore the unworthy are the foundation of the exalted. That which is above has what is below as a foundation. Thereby barons and kings consider themselves lonely, lacking, unlucky. Do the lowly not act mostly as a foundation? Therefore repeatedly acquire praise by not clinging to praise. Do not desire to shine like jade or chime like stone.
Chapter_40 Full Lit. 第四十章
Reverse is the way Dao moves, weakness is the way Dao is used. All life in the world begins from having, having begins life from not having.
A superior student listens to Dao then works hard to take steps with Dao. An average student listens to Dao as if it exists and then it is gone. An inferior student listens to Dao and laughs heartily, if they didn't laugh then they didn't hear enough Dao. Therefore there are the established sayings: enlightening Dao seems like darkness, advancing Dao seems to retreat, smooth Dao seems knotty, high virtue seems like a valley, great honor seems like disgrace, extensive virtue seems insufficient, established virtue seems improper, genuine nature seems insincere, a great square has no corners, a great vessel is late in completion, great tones are rarely heard, a great image cannot be seen, Dao is hidden and has no Name. So, only Dao is good at furthering our completion.
Dao gives life to one, one gives life to two, two gives life to three, three gives life to all creatures. All creatures carry on their shoulders yin and yet embrace yang, rinsing these two vital breaths together in harmony. A person's position is repulsive only if lonely, lacking, unlucky, and yet kings and honorable officials describe themselves this way. Therefore a creature may lose and then gain, or may gain and then lose. What others teach, I also teach; the strong and violent do not die a natural death. I shall now be their teaching father.
The extremely yielding of the world gallops on top of the extremely unyielding of the world. The non-existent enters where there is no space. I thereby know that not having action is really having gain, not speaking is really teaching. Not having to act is really gain, rarely can anything in the world surpass it.
Your Name or your body, which is more important? Your body or your money, which is more valuable? Acquiring or losing, which is sickness? Thus, extreme fondness comes at a great cost, more hoarding is accompanied by substantial loss. Know what is enough and avoid disgrace, know where to stop and avoid danger, and thereby be able to last a long time.
A great accomplishment seems lacking, but in use does not fade. A great surplus seems to rinse away, but in use does not end. A great straightness seems bent. A great skill seems clumsy. A great argument seems inarticulate. Tranquility capture agitation. Cold captures heat. Purity and calmness sets the world upright.
When the world has Dao, people walk and horses are bred for farming. When the world does not have Dao, horses are bred for war. The greatest disaster comes from not knowing what is enough, the greatest blame comes from wanting to acquire more. Therefore know that having enough is really enough and forever have enough.
Without leaving home, know the world. Without looking out the window, see the heavens' Dao. By traveling extensively, the extent of one's knowledge is less. Thereby the wise person does not travel and yet has knowledge, is not seen and yet has a Name, does not act and yet achieves.
With learning, something is gained each day. With Dao, something is lost each day. Lose and lose again until reaching non-action, not having to act and having no actions incomplete. Take the world always without effort, once effort is applied there will not be enough to take the world.
The wise person does not always follow their own heart and so thereby acts with the heart of a hundred families as their own heart. Those who are good, I am good to them; those who are not good, I am also good to them, such is the virtue of goodness. Those who are truthful, I am truthful to them; those who are not truthful, I am also truthful to them, such is the virtue of truth. The wise person remains with the world, acting together with the world, blending the heart of a hundred families, everyone focuses their ears and eyes. To the wise person, everyone is like a child.
Chapter_50 Full Lit. 第五十章
From birth to death those following birth are one in three, those following death are one in three, those following life from birth to death are one in three. So how can this be? Because there is so much life. Those who discretely master life can travel across the land without encountering a rhino or tiger, on the battle field they do not wear armor or carry weapons, the rhino does not have a place to thrust its horn, the tiger does not have a place to insert its claw, the weapon does not have a place to present its blade. How can this be? Because they do not die on this earth.
Dao brings life to them, virtue nourishes them, creature shapes them, and a skillful power completes them. Thereby all creatures respect Dao and value virtue. Respect Dao and value virtue, so nothing is inevitable, always follow your own nature. Therefore Dao brings life to them; virtue nourishes them, protects them, matures them, shelters them, decays them, gives birth to them, and buries them again. Live life without having, act without expectation, last long and do not oppress, it is called mystery virtue.
The world has an origin which thereby acts as the world's mother. Once the mother is established enough, again know the child. Once the child is known enough, again keep to the mother, and your body can sink without being endangered. Contain your business, shut your gate, and to the end the body works easily. Open your business, constantly apply effort, and to the end the body fails. To see the small is to be enlightened, to yield is to have strength. Use your intelligence, and again return to your enlightenment, leaving your body behind without disaster, it is the action of eternal practice.
In bringing myself to the forefront of knowledge in following the great Dao, it is only by taking steps that I fear. The great Dao is extremely easy to follow and yet people easily take the path towards extreme destruction. When the fields are full of weeds and the granaries are completely empty, when people's clothes display letters with bright colors and their belts show off bounty and sharp swords, when they are fed up with food and drink and their wealth is excessive; it is called stealing and boasting, it is also not Dao.
Those who are well established cannot be chased away, those who have a good embrace cannot be separated, their children and grandchildren will thereby continue formal worship without end. Cultivate this in the body and have genuine virtue, cultivate this in the home and have extra virtue, cultivate this in the village and have lasting virtue, cultivate this in the nation an have abundant virtue, cultivate this in the world and have virtue everywhere. Therefore observe the body from the body, observe the home from the home, observe the village from the village, observe the nation from the nation, observe the world from the world. How do I know the nature of the world? By these observations.
Nursing on virtue's richness can be compared to a naked baby; hornets, scorpions, poisonous snakes, serpents do not bite it, fierce beasts do not take it, birds of prey do not seize it, its bones are weak and its muscles are soft and yet its grip is solid, it does not yet know the union of male and female and yet its body is complete, its energy is extreme also, all day long it can wail and yet it does not become hoarse, it has extreme harmony also. To know harmony is to know forever, to know forever is to be enlightened, to gain new life is to have good luck, to have good health is to be strong. Creatures that strengthen consequently become old, it is called not following Dao. By not following Dao the end comes prematurely.
Those who know do not speak, those who speak do not know. Bend back their sharp point, untie their tangle, harmonize their intelligence, join together their dust, it is called mysterious bringing together. Therefore you cannot be controlled by favoritism, nor by shunning, nor by bribery, nor by threats, nor by praise, nor by shame. Therefore act as the world's treasure.
Bring order to the nation by rarely using force and thereby take the world without effort. How do I know this is true? Because of these observations: the world has more taboos and yet the people are more impoverished, the people have more treasures and tools yet the nation and the home is increasingly dazed, the people have more crafts and skills and yet there is more weirdness, there are more laws and yet there are more criminals. Therefore the wise person says 'I do not act and yet the people transform themselves, I am tranquil and yet the people upright themselves, I do not apply effort and yet the people have abundance on their own, I have no wants and yet the people are honest and simple on their own'.
When the government is sleepy the people are very genuine. When the government is active the people are very deficient. Bad fortune relies upon good fortune. Where there is good fortune, bad fortune hides in wait. Who knows the tipping point? When things are no longer upright, upright becomes crooked, good becomes devious, and the people become confused for a long time. Thereby the wise person is square and yet does not cut corners, is honorable and yet does not injure, is straight and yet does not waiver, is intelligent and yet does not dazzle.
In ruling the people and serving the heavens there is nothing like frugality. So, only if frugal. It is called getting dressed early; getting dressed early is to accumulate virtue; accumulating virtue one consequently overcomes all; overcoming all one consequently continues on without knowing their limits. Not knowing their limits one can thereby acquire the nation and the nation's mother, and can thereby last a long time. It is called having deep roots and a solid base, having longevity by following the example of Dao.
Chapter_60 Full Lit. 第六十章
Ruling a nation is like cooking a small delicacy. Thus Dao manages the world as a spirit being without power; not that its spirit being has no power, but so that its power does not injure people; not only so that its power does not injure people, but also so that the wise person does not injure people. So, neither one causes injury. Therefore virtue and friendliness arrive.
A great nation is downstream, is the world's friend, is the world's female. Female tranquility captures the male and so tranquility acts from below. Therefore a great nation lowers itself below the small nation and consequently captures the small nation, a small nation acknowledges its position as below the great nation and consequently captures the great nation. Therefore one may act lower to acquire or one may be lower and yet acquire. A great nation merely wants to unite and nourish its people. A small nation merely wants to serve its people. So, both acquire what they want. The great act properly from below.
To those with Dao, all creatures are like a secret compartment. Good people maintain their treasure with people that are not good. Delightful speech can sell at the market and gain respect. Delightful actions can lift people up. If a person is not good, why discard them? Therefore during the emperor's coronation and during the inauguration of high officials, where salutes and jade gifts are exchanged before chariots, it is better to sit and advance Dao. Why would the ancients honor such Dao? It is to not to seek and acquire and thereby to avoid being out of place? Therefore the world honors such Dao.
Act without action. Work without effort. Taste without tasting. Make great from small. Make more from less. Avenge hatred with virtue. Plan the difficult from the easy. Accomplish greatness from the puny. Difficult work of the world surely must be done from the easy. Great work of the world surely must be done from the puny. Therefore the wise person to the end never acts great and is thereby capable of accomplishing greatness. So, the light promise surely must be considered as lacking credibility, and the easy surely must be considered as being more difficult. Thus the wise person considers things as difficult and therefore to the end avoids difficulty!
The calm is easily held. The undeveloped is easily planned. The thin is easily dissolved. The tiny is easily dispersed. Act before things occur. Bring order before there is chaos. A large tree begins life as a seedling. A nine story tower rises from a pile of earth. A thousand mile journey begins with a single step. Those who act fail. Those who grasp lose. Thus the wise person does not act and therefore does not fail, does not grasp at and therefore does not lose. People's efforts often near completion and yet fail. Be as careful at the end as in the beginning and consequently do not fail. Thus the wise person wants to not want, does not value rare and expensive items, learns to not learn, passes by without interfering so thereby enabling all creatures to be themselves, and does not dare to act.
The ancients who were good at following Dao did not try to enlighten people, but wanted to keep them simple. People become disorderly when they know too much. Therefore to bring order to the nation through knowledge is to be the nation's thief, to bring order to the nation without knowledge is to be the nation's good fortune. Understanding both of these is the perfect standard. Forever knowing the perfect standard is called the mystery virtue. The mystery virtue is deep!, distant!, helping creature reversing! Ony by being truely behind will there be extreme obedience.
Rivers and seas can act as the king of a hundred valleys. Because they are good at taking the lower position they are capable of being the king of a hundred valleys. Thereby the wise person in desiring to be above people must in their speech consider themselves below the people, in desiring to be in front of the people must consider themselves behind the people. Thereby the wise person is above the people and yet the people are not burdened, is in front of the people and yet the people are not harmed. Thereby all in the world enjoy their work and do not become fed up. Because they do not contend, no-one in the world can contend with them.
Everyone in the world calls my Dao great and they describe it as not fading. Only if it is great can it therefore be described as not fading. If it was fading for a long time it would be puny! So, I have three treasures to hold and maintain: one is motherly love, two is frugality, three is not daring to be first in the world. With motherly love one can be brave, with frugality one can expand, by not daring to be first in the world one can complete themselves and last a long time. Now abandon motherly love and be furthermore brave, abandon frugality and be furthermore extensive, abandon the rear and be furthermore in front, one dies! So, by going into battle with motherly love one captures the enemy and establishes a lasting defense. The heavens will is to rescue them and so motherly love protects them.
A good scholar is not warlike. A good warrior does not rage. Those good at capturing the enemy avoid confrontation. Those good at using others act as beneath. It is called the virtue of non-contention. It is called using a person's power. It is called joining the ancient's throne of the heavens.
In military tactics there is the saying: I dare not act as the owner but act as the visitor, I dare not advance an inch but retreat a foot. It is called taking steps without having to take steps, pushing up one's sleeve without an arm, attacking without an enemy, apprehending without a weapon. No disaster is greater than from underestimating the enemy. In underestimating the enemy, how near am I to mourning what I treasure? Therefore, in battle, those who fight with sorrow capture the enemy!
Chapter_70 Full Lit. 第七十章
My sayings are super easy to understand, super easy to put into practice. Yet who in the world is capable of understanding, who is capable of taking steps? My sayings have an ancestor, my work has a ruler. So, only by not having knowlege, it is the reason I do not know. Knowing oneself is a rare, consequently those who know themselves are valued. Thus the wise person wears coarse woolen cloth and carries jade in their heart.
To go from knowing to not knowing is superior. To go from not knowing to knowing is sickness. So, only by being sick of being sick is one not sick. A wise person is not sick because they are sick of being sick and are therefore not sick.
When the people do not fear power then a great power has arrived. Without disrespecting their place, without feeding them up in their homes, only then will they not become fed up. Thereby the wise person understands themself but does not see themself, loves themself but does not honor themself. Therefore leave those and take these.
Bravery out of daring kills, bravery not out of daring saves lives. Of these two, one maybe benefits and one maybe harms. What the heavens may object to, who knows? The heavens' way does not contend and yet is good at capturing, does not speak and yet is good at responding, does not summon others and yet they return on their own, it is calm and genuine and yet good at planning. The heavens' net is vast and sparsely tied and yet nothing escapes it.
Where the people do not fear death, why threaten them with death? Assuming the people are caused to always fear death, and if lawbreakers are apprehended and killed, who would dare break the law? Always have the official executioner do the killing. Representing the official executioner is like representing a master carpenter. Those who represent a master carpenter rarely do not injure their hand!
People go hungry because the government taxes their food too much, this causes people to go hungry. People become disorderly because the government acts, this causes the people to become disorderly. People take death lightly because they are focused on life's richness, this causes the people to take death lightly. So, only without such actions and by not living in such a way can a worthy person have an honorable life.
People begin life yielding and weak, they die unyielding and hard. All creatures and plants begin life yielding and flimsy, they die dried and withered. Therefore the unyielding and hard are followers of death, the yielding and weak are followers of life. Thus weapons and strength bring death and distruction, a tree that is hard consequently splits into pieces. The strong and great are inferior, the yielding and weak are superior.
The heavens' way is like stretching a bow across your side. The top is lowered, the bottom is raised; that which has excess loses it, that which does not have enough gains it. The way of the heavens reduces the excess in order to make up for what is lacking. The way of people is different, it reduces what is already lacking and thus adds to the excess. Who is capable of having an excess and thereby offer it to the world? Only those with Dao. Thereby the wise person acts without expectation, achieves without clinging to achievement, and wants to be seen as niether worthy nor wrong.
Nothing in the world is more yielding and weak than water and yet in attacking the unyielding and strong there is nothing as capable of capturing by weakness so easily. Weakness captures the strong, yielding captures the hard. In all the world nothing knows less and nothing is more capable of moving. Thus the wise person says 'receive the nations filth, it is called being the country's broom master. Receive the nation's bad luck, it is called being the world's king'. Upright speech seems upside down.
In reconciling a major dispute, resentment is expected to linger, thereby tranquility is the good action. Therefore the wise person holds a contract in the left hand and yet does not exercise its duty from others. To hold an official contract is virtuous, but to exercise the contract is not virtuous. The heavens' way has no favorite relatives and is always at the side of good people.
Chapter_80 Full Lit. 第八十章
In a small nation with few people, cause the people to have advanced instruments and yet not use them, cause the people to be serious about death and yet not move to distant lands. Although having boats and carriages, do not have a place to ride them. Although having armor and weapons, do not have a place to display them. Cause the people to again become simple and practical, to enjoy their meals, to delight in their clothes, to be calm in their homes, to enjoy their fellow citizens. Although neighboring nations may be close enough to see each other and to hear each other's chickens and dogs, let the people grow old and die without them traveling back and forth.
True speech is not delightful, delightful speech is not truthful. Those who are good do not argue, those who argue are not good. Those who know are not extensive, those who are extensive do not know. The wise person does not accumulate, but after attaining enough thereby acts for others and thereby attains even more; having already attained enough she assists others and thereby attains even more. The heavens' way is to benefit and yet not harm. The wise person's way is to act and yet not contend.