FIFTY ONE
The Way begets them
Virtue keeps them
matter shapes them
usage completes them
thus do all creatures respect the Way
and honor Virtue
their respect for the Way
and honor of Virtue
are not conferred
but simply natural
for the Way begets and keeps them
raises and trains them
steadies and adjusts them
maintains and protects them
but it doesn’t possess what it begets
or depend on what it develops
or control what it raises
this is called Dark Virtue
WU CH’ENG says, “What is begotten is sprouted in spring; what is kept is collected in fall; what is shaped is raised in summer from sprouts grown in spring; what is completed is stored in winter from the harvest of fall. Sprouting, raising, harvesting, and storing all depend on the Way and Virtue. Hence, the ten thou-sand creatures respect the Tao as their father and honor Virtue as their mother. The Way and Virtue are two, but also one. In spring, from one root many are begotten: the Way becomes Virtue. In fall, the many are brought back together: Virtue becomes the Way. The Way and Virtue are mentioned at the beginning of this verse, but only the Way is mentioned later [in line eleven]. This is because Virtue is also the Way.”
LI HSI-CHAI says, “What the Way and Virtue bestow, they bestow without thought. No one orders them. It is simply their nature. It is their nature to beget and their nature to keep. It is their nature to raise and train, to steady and adjust, to maintain and protect. And because it’s their nature, they never tire of begetting or expect a reward for what they give. This is what is meant by `Dark Virtue:”
LU HSI-SHENG says, “To beget is to endow with essence. To keep is to instill with breath. To raise is to adapt to form. To train is to bring forth ability. To steady is to weigh the end. To adjust is to measure the use. To maintain is to preserve the balance. To protect is to keep from harm. This is the Great Way. It begets but does not try to possess what it begets. It develops but does not depend on what it develops. It raises but does not try to control what it raises. This is Dark Virtue. In verse io, Humankind is likened to the Way and Virtue. Here, the Way and Virtue are likened to Humankind. The expressions are the same, and so is the meaning’
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “The Way does not beget the myriad creatures to possess them for its own advantage. The actions of the Way do not depend on a reward. And the Way does not raise or maintain the myriad creatures to butcher them for profit. The kindness performed by the Way is dark and invisible.” Where Ho-shang Kung reads “butcher,” Lu Hsi-sheng reads “control.’ I have followed Lu.
WANG PI says, “The Way is what things follow. Virtue is what they attain. `Dark Virtue’ means virtue is present but no one knows who controls it. It comes from what is hidden’
In line four, I have followed the Mawangtui texts in reading chi (usage) for shih (condition). I have also gone along with the Mawangtui texts in omitting mo pu (none does not) from line five and have used their version of line thirteen, in which ting (steady) and to (adjust) appear in place of ch’eng (mature) and shu (ripen).
FIFTY TWO
There’s a maiden in the world
who becomes the world’s mother
those who find the mother
thereby know the child
those who know the child
keep the mother safe
and live without trouble
those who block the opening
who close the gate
live without toil
those who unblock the opening
who meddle in affairs
live without hope
those who see the small have vision
those who protect the weak have strength
those who use their light
and trust their vision
live beyond death
this is called holding on to the crescent
LAO-TZU says, “The maiden of Heaven and Earth has no name / the mother of all things has a name” (Taoteching. 1).
KUAN-TZU says, “The ancients say, `No one understands a child better than its father. No one understands a minister better than his ruler”‘ (Kuantzu: 7).
LI HSI-CHAI says, “The Way is the mother of all creatures. All creatures are the children of the Way. In ancient times, those who possessed the Way were able to keep mother and children from parting and the Way and all creatures together. Since creatures come from the Way, they are no different from the Way, just as children are no different from their mother. And yet people abandon other creatures when they search for the Way. Is this any different from abandoning the children while searching for the mother? If people knew that all creatures are the Way, and children are the mother, they would find the source in everything they meet’
CONFUCIUS says, “Things have their roots and branches. Those who know what comes first and last approach the Tao” (Tahsueh).
TUNG SSU-CHING Says, “People are born when they receive breath. Breath is their mother. And spirit dwells within their breath. When children care
mother, their breath becomes one and their spirit becomes still.”
WU CH’ENG says, “Opening' refers to the mouth.Gate’ refers to the nose. By controlling our breath to the point where there is no breath, where breath is concentrated within, we are never exhausted’
WANG P’ANG says, “When the opening opens, things enter. And the spirit is exhausted trying to deal with the problems that then develop. Once we are swept away by this flood, who can save us?”
HSUAN-TSUNG Says, “Those who can see an event while it is still small and those who see the small have vision change their behavior accordingly we say have vision.”
WANG PI says, “Seeing what is great is not vision. Seeing what is small is vision. Protecting the strong is not strength. Protecting the weak is strength”
WANG AN-SHIH Says, “Light is the function of vision. Vision is the embodiment of light. If we can use the light to find our way back to the source, we can live our lives free of misfortune and become one with the Immortal Way.”
This verse reminds me of Confucius’ words: “When I was young, historians still left blanks” (Lunyu: 15.25). Not being a historian, I have proceeded despite uncertainty. In the last line, the word hsi means “to wear” but also “to hold on to” And the word ch’ang normally means “constant,” but it is the name of the crescent moon as well.
FIFTY THREE
Were I sufficiently wise
I would follow the Great Way
and only fear going astray
the Great Way is smooth
but people love byways
their palaces are spotless
but their fields are overgrown
and their granaries are empty
they wear fine clothes
and carry sharp swords
they tire of food and drink
and possess more than they need
this is called robbery
and robbery is not the Way
KU HSI-CH’OU says, “The Tao is not hard to know, but it is hard to follow”
HO-SHANG KUNG Says, “Lao-tzu was concerned that rulers of his day did not follow the Great Way. Hence, he hypothesized that if he knew enough to con-duct the affairs of a country, he would follow the Great Way and devote himself to implementing the policy of doing nothing’
LU HSI-SHENG says, “The Great Way is like a grand thoroughfare: smooth and easy to travel, perfectly straight and free of detours, and there is nowhere it doesn’t lead. But people are in a hurry. They take shortcuts and get into trouble and become lost and don’t reach their destination. The sage worries only about leading people down such a path.
LI HSI-CHAI says, “A spotless palace refers to the height of superficiality. An overgrown field refers to an uncultivated mind. An empty granary refers to a lack of virtue”
HAN FEI says, “When the court is in good repair, lawsuits abound. When law-suits abound, fields become overgrown. When fields become overgrown, grana-ries become empty. When granaries become empty, the country becomes poor. When the country becomes poor, customs become decadent, and there is no trick people don’t try” (Hanfeitzu 20)
SUNG CH’ANG-HSING Says, “When the court ignores the affairs of state to beautify its halls and interrupts farm work to build towers and pavilions, the people’s energy ends up at court, and fields turn to weeds. Once fields turn to weeds, state taxes are not paid and granaries become empty. And once grana-ries are empty, the country becomes poor, and the people become rebellious. The court dazzles the people with its fine clothes, and threatens the people with its sharp swords, and takes from people more than it needs—this is no differ-ent from robbing them”
LI JUNG says, “A robber is someone who never has enough and who takes more than he needs’
WANG PI says, “To gain possession of something by means other than the Way is wrong. And wrong means robbery.”
Wang Nien-svn sees a problem with the standard version of line three, which reads: “only fear acting.” Wang suggests shih (act) is a mistake for yi (go astray), and I agree. This verse is absent in the Kuotien texts, but both Mawangtui texts have to (he), which is clearly a mistake, but it makes yi just as likely as shih. The three characters are nearly identical. In the last two lines, tao (rob) is followed by k’ua (grand) in the Fuyi edition and by the absence of text in the Mawangtui editions. I have read k’ua as a mistake for a nearly identical character, hsi, which functions like a comma and which provides a sharper delineation of the pun at work here. The words for robbery and Way are both pronounced tao.
FIFTY FOUR
What you plant well can’t be uprooted
what you hold well can’t be taken away
your descendants will worship this forever
cultivated in yourself virtue becomes real
cultivated in your family virtue grows
cultivated in your village virtue multiplies
cultivated in your state virtue abounds
cultivated in your world virtue is everywhere
thus view others through yourself
view families through your family
view villages through your village
view states through your state
view other worlds through your world
how do you know what other worlds are like
through this one
WU CH’ENG says, “Those who plant something well, plant it without planting. Thus, it is never uprooted. Those who hold something well, hold it without hold-ing. Thus, it is never taken away.”
WANG AN-SHIN says, “What we plant well is virtue. What we hold well is one-ness. When virtue flourishes, distant generations give praise’
TS’AO TAO-CH’UNG says, “First improve yourself, then reach out to others and to later generations bequeath the noble, pure, and kindly Tao. Thus, blessings reach your descendants, virtue grows, beauty lasts, and worship never ends.”
SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “In ancient times, ancestral worship consisted in choosing an auspicious day before the full moon, in fasting, in selecting. sacrifi-cial animals, in purifying the ritual vessels, in preparing a feast on the appointed day, in venerating ancestors as if they were present, and in thanking them for their virtuous example. Those who cultivate the Way likewise enable later gen-erations to enjoy the fruits of their cultivation’
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “We cultivate the Tao in ourselves by cherishing our breath and by nourishing our spirit and thus by prolonging our life. We culti-vate the Tao in our family by being loving as a parent, filial as a child, kind as an elder, obedient as the younger, dependable as a husband, and chaste as a wife. We cultivate the Tao in our village by honoring the aged and caring for the young, by teaching the benighted and instructing the perverse. We cultivate the Tao in our state by being honest as an official and loyal as an aide. We cultivate the Tao in the world by letting things change without giving orders. Lao-tzu asks how we know that those who cultivate the Tao prosper and those who ignore the Tao perish. We know by comparing those who don’t cultivate the Tao with those who do.”
YEN TSUN says, “Let your person be the yardstick of other persons. Let your family be the level of other families. Let your village be the square of other vil-lages. Let your state be the plumb line of other states. As for the world, the ruler is its heart, and the world is his body.”
CHUANG-TZU says, “The reality of the Tao lies in concern for the self. Concern for the state is irrelevant, and concern for the world is cowshit. From this stand-point, the emperor’s work is the sage’s hobby and is not what develops the self or nourishes life” (Chuangtzu: 28.3).
The same sentiments were echoed by Confucius in the Tahsueh (Great Learning): “The ancients who wished to manifest Virtue in the world first ordered their states. Wishing to order their states, they first harmonized their families. Wishing to harmonize their families, they first cultivated themselves. Wish-ing to cultivate themselves, they first perfected their minds. Wishing to perfect their minds, they first rectified their thoughts. Wishing to rectify their thoughts, they first deepened their knowledge” (4). As in verse 36, Mawangtui A has pang (state), while Mawangtui B has the synonym kuo (country), suggesting A was copied before 2o6 B.C., when the use of pangwas forbidden, as it was part of the emperor’s name. In line nine, both Mawangtui texts omit ku (thus), while the Fuyi and Wangpi editions include it. The Kuotien texts omit line nine. The meaning of the last seven lines is similar to that of the line in the poem “Carving an Ax Handle” in the Book of Songs: “In carving an ax handle, the pattern is not far off.”
FIFTY FIVE
He who possesses virtue in abundance
resembles a newborn child
wasps don’t sting him
beasts don’t claw him
birds of prey dolt carry him off
his bones are weak and his tendons soft
yet his grip is firm
he hasn’t known the union of sexes
yet his penis is stiff
so full of essence is he
he cries all day
yet never gets hoarse
his breath is so perfectly balanced
knowing how to be balanced we endure
knowing how to endure we become wise
while those who lengthen their life tempt luck
and those who force their breath become strong
but once things mature they become old
this isn’t the Way
what isri t the Way ends early
WANG PANG says, “The nature of Virtue is lasting abundance. But its abun-dance fades with the onset of thoughts and desires’
SU CH’E says, “Once we have a mind, we have a body. And once we have a body, we have enemies. If we did not have a mind, we would not have enemies and could not be harmed. The reason a newborn child isn’t harmed is because it has no mind”
HO-SHANG KUNG Says, “A newborn child doesn’t harm anyone, and no one harms it. In an age of perfect peace, Humankind knows neither noble nor base. Even wild beasts do people no harm’
TE-CH’ING says, “Those who cultivate the Tao should first focus their mind. When their mind doesn’t stray, they become calm. When their mind becomes calm, their breath becomes balanced. When their breath becomes balanced, their essence becomes stable, their spirit becomes serene, and their true nature is restored. Once we know how to breathe, we know how to endure. And once we know how to endure, we know our true nature. If we don’t know our true nature but only know how to nourish our body and lengthen our life, we end up harming our body and destroying our life. A restless mind disturbs the breath. When our breath is disturbed, our essence weakens. And when our essence weakens, our body withers.”
HSUN-TZU says, “Everything must breathe to live. When we know how to breathe, we know how to nurture life and how to endure” (Hsuntzu: 17).
SUNG CH’ANG-HSING Says, “The basis of life rests on this breath. If people can nourish the pure and balanced breath within themselves for fifteen minutes, they will discover the principle of Heaven and Earth’s immortality. If they can do this for half an hour, they will enter the gate of eternity. But if they try to extend their life or force their breath, they will create the womb of their own destruction’
WANG AN-SHIN Says, “Life cannot be extended. But people keep trying and thus incur misfortune’
MOU-TZU says, “Those who attain the Way don’t become active and don’t become strong. They don’t become strong and dont become old. They don’t become old and don’t become ill. They don’t become ill and don’t decay. Thus, Lao-tzu calls the body a disaster” (Moutzu: 32).
Scientists talk about the Big Bang. No one talks about the Big Breath. The Mawang-tui and Kuotien texts compress lines three through five into two lines. In lines thirteen and fourteen, I have followed Huainantzu: 2 and the Huangti Neiching: 69-70 in reading ho (gentle/balanced) as short for ho-chi (gentle/balanced breath). Neither the Mawangtui texts nor the Kuotien texts have chih (to know how) at the beginning of line fourteen. But all later editions do, and without it, the line itself is unbalanced. Line fifteen also appears in verse 16, and the last three lines also occur at the end of verse 30 (although my translation of them varies). The Kuotien texts omit the last line.
FIFTY SIX
Those who know don’t talk
those who talk don’t know
seal the opening
close the gate
dull the edge
untie the tangle
soften the light
and join the dust
this is called the Dark Union
it can’t be embraced
it can’t be abandoned|
it can’t be helped
it can’t be harmed
it can’t be exalted
it can’t be debased
thus does the world exalt it
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “Those who know, value deeds not words. A team of horses can’t overtake the tongue. More talk means more problems.”
TS’AO TAO-CH’UNG says, “Those who grasp the truth forget about words. Those who don’t practice what they talk about are no different from those who don’t know.”
SU CH’E says, “The Tao isn’t talk, but it doesn’t exclude talk. Those who know don’t necessarily talk. Those who talk don’t necessarily know.”
HUANG YUAN-CHI says, “We seal the opening and close the gate to nourish the breath. We dull the edge and untie the tangle to still the spirit. We soften the light and join the dust to adapt to the times and get along with the world.”
LI HSI-CHAI says, “By sealing the opening, we guard the exit. By closing the
gate, we bar the entrance. By dulling the edge, we adjust the inside. By untying the tangle, we straighten the outside. By softening the light, we focus on ourselves. By joining the dust, we adapt to others. What is devoid of exit and entrance, inside and outside, self and other, we call the Dark Union”
WANG TAO says, “The Dark Union unites all things but leaves no visible trace’
WANG PI says, “If something can be embraced, it can be abandoned. If something can be helped, it can be harmed. If something can be exalted, it can be debased’
TE-CH’ING says, “Those who know transcend the mundane and the superficial, hence they cannot be embraced. Their utter honesty enables others to see. Hence, they cannot be abandoned. They are content and free of desires. Hence, they cannot be helped. They dwell beyond life and death. Hence, they cannot be harmed. They view high position as so much dust. Hence, they cannot be exalted. Beneath their rags they harbor jade. Hence, they cannot be debased. Those who know walk in the world, yet their minds transcend the material realm. Hence, they are exalted by the world.’
W EI YUAN says, “Those who seal the opening and close the gate neither love nor hate. Hence, they don’t embrace or abandon anything. Those who dull the edge and untie the tangle don t seek help. Thus, they suffer no harm. Those who soften the light and join the dust don’t exalt themselves. Thus, they arent debased by others. Forgetting self and other, they experience Dark Union with the Tao. Those who have not yet experienced this Dark Union unite with this' and separate fromthat: To unite means to embrace, to help, and to exalt. To separate
means to abandon, to harm, and to debase. Those who experience Dark Union unite with nothing. From what, then, could they separate?”
Knowing comes before talking. And the Dark Union comes before knowing. It’s called the Dark Union because it precedes the division into subject and object. The Kuotien texts insert chih (it) in lines one and two, resulting in a reading of “Those who know it don’t talk about it / those who talk about it don’t know it.’ Lines three and four also occur in verse 52, and lines five through eight appear in verse 4 (although my translation of them there is different). The Kuotien and Mawangtui texts have a slightly different order for lines three through eight, and they begin line ten with ku (thus).
FIFTY SEVEN
Use directness to govern a country
and use deception to fight a war
but use nonaction to rule the world
how do we know this works
the greater the prohibitions
the poorer the people
the sharper their tools
the more chaotic the realm
the cleverer their schemes
the more common the bizarre
the better their possessions
the more numerous the thieves
thus does the sage declare
I make no effort
and the people transform themselves
I stay still
and the people correct themselves
I do no work
and the people enrich themselves
I want nothing
and the people simplify themselves
SUN-TZU says, “In waging war, one attacks with directness, one wins with deception” (Suntzu Pingfa: 5.5)•
WANG AN-SHIN says, “Directness can be used in governing, but nowhere else. Deception can be used in warfare, but that is all. Only those who practice non-action are fit to rule the world’
SU CH’E says, “The ancient sages were kind to strangers and gentle to friends. They didn’t think about warfare. Only when they had no choice did they fight. And when they did, they used deception. But deception can’t be used to rule the world. The world is a mercurial thing. To conquer it is to lose it. Those who embody the Tao do nothing. They dont rule the world, and yet the world comes to them’
LU HUI-CH’ING says, “How do we know we can rule the world by means of non-action? Because we know we cannot rule the world by means of action:’
TE-CH’ING says, “Prohibitions, tools, schemes, possessions, all of these involve action and cannot be used to rule the world”
WANG PI says, “Prohibitions are intended to put an end to poverty, and yet the people become poorer. Tools are intended to strengthen the country, and yet the country becomes weaker and more chaotic. This is due to cultivating the branches instead of the roots’
WANG P’ANG says, “Prohibitions interfere with the people’s livelihood. Thus, poverty increases. Sharp tools mean sharp minds. And sharp minds mean chaos and confusion. Once minds become refined, customs become depraved, and the monstrous becomes commonplace’
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “In cultivating the Tao, sages accept the will of Heaven. They don’t change things, and the people transform themselves. They prefer not to talk or teach, and the people correct themselves. They dont force others to work, and the people become rich at their occupations. They don’t use ornaments or luxuries, and the people emulate their simple ways.”
CONFUCIUS says, “The virtue of the ruler is like wind. The virtue of the people is like grass. When the wind blows, the grass bends” (Lunyu: 12.19).
My mother used to say, “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.’ At the end of line four, the Fuyi, the Suotan, and Wangpi editions answer with yi-tz u (because of this). I have followed the Kuotien and Mawangtui texts, which omit this phrase. In line six, the Kuotien texts have “the more rebellious the people’ But no other text follows suit. In most editions, line eleven has fa-ling (laws and orders). I have gone along with the Kuotien texts, Mawangtui B, and Ho-shang Kung, all of which have fa-wu (fine things).
FIFTY EIGHT
Where the government stands aloof
the people open up
where the government steps in
the people slip away
happiness rests in misery misery hides in happiness who knows where these end for nothing is direct
directness becomes deception and good becomes evil the people have been lost
for a long long time
thus the sage is an edge that doesn’t cut
a point that doesnt pierce a line that doesn’t extend a light that doesn’t blind
HSUAN-TSUNG says, “To stand aloof is to be relaxed and unconcerned. To open up is to be simple and honest. The ruler who governs without effort lets things take care of themselves’
WANG PI says, “Those who are good at governing use neither laws nor measures. Thus, the people find nothing to attack”
LI HSI-CHAI says, “When the government makes no demands, the people respond with openness instead of cleverness. When the government makes demands, the people use every means to escape. The government that stands aloof leaves power with the people. The government that steps in takes their power away. As one gains, the other loses. As one meets with happiness, the other encounters misery.”
WANG PANG says, “All creatures share the same breath. But the movement of this breath comes and goes. It ends only to begin again. Hence, happiness and misery alternate like the seasons. But only sages realize this. Hence, in every-thing they do, they aim for the middle and avoid the extremes, unlike the gov-ernment that insists on directness and goodness and forbids deception and evil, unlike the government that wants the world to be happy and yet remains unaware that happiness alternates with misery.”
LU NUNG-SHIN says, “Only those who are free of directness can transcend the appearance of good and evil and eliminate happiness and misery. For they alone know where they end. Meanwhile, those who cannot reach the state where they aren’t direct, who remain in the realm of good and evil, suffer happiness and misery as if they were on a wheel that carries them farther astray.”
TE-CH’ING says, “The world withers, and the Tao fades. People are not the way they once were. They dont know directness from deception or good from evil. Even sages cannot instruct them. Hence, to transform them, sages enter their world of confusion. They join the dust of others and soften their own light. And they leave no trace.”
WU CH’ENGysays, “A sage’s nonaction is nonaction that is not nonaction. Edges always cut. But the edge that is not an edge does not cut. Points always pierce. But the point that is not a point does not pierce. Lines always extend. But the line that is not a line does not extend. Lights always blind. But the light that is not a light does not blind. All of these are examples of nonaction’
In line thirteen, Mawangtui B omits sheng-jen (sage). Line fourteen also appears in the Lichi: “The gentleman compares his virtue to that of jade: pointed but not piercing” Line fifteen recalls verse 45: “perfectly straight it seems crooked.’ Wu Cheng combines this verse with the previous verse.
FIFTY NINE
In governing people and caring for Heaven
nothing surpasses economy
economy means planning ahead
planning ahead means accumulating virtu
accumulating virtue means overcoming all
overcoming all means knowing no limit
knowing no limit means guarding the real
and guarding the realm’s mother means living long
which means dee roots and a solid trunk p
the Way of a long and lasting life
LI HSI-CHAT Says, “Outside, we govern others. Inside, we care for Heaven. In both, nothing surpasses economy. Those who are economical are economical in everything. They are watchful within and on guard without. Only if we are still, does virtue have a place to collect:’
MENCIus says, “The way we care for Heaven is by guarding our mind and nour-ishing our nature” (Mencius: 7A.I).
WANG TAO Says, “`Caring for Heaven’ means preserving what one receives from Heaven. It means cultivating oneself.”
Linking this with the previous verse, SU CH’E says, “Economy is the reason the edges of sages don’t cut, their points don’t pierce, their lines don’t extend, and their lights dont blind. Economy means possessing without using:’
WANG PI says, “Economy means farming. Farmers cultivate their fields by weeding out different species and concentrating on one. They dori t worry about pulling out the withered and diseased. They pull out the causes of withering and disease. Above, they accept the will of Heaven. Below, they nourish others:’
HAN PEI says, “Most people use their mind recklessly. Recklessness means waste, and waste means exhaustion. Sages use their mind calmly. Calmness means carefulness, and carefulness means economy. Economy is an art born of an understanding of the Tao. Those who know how to govern others calm their thoughts. Those who know how to care for Heaven clear their openings. When their thoughts are calm, old virtue remains within. When their openings are clear, new breath enters from without:’
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “Someone whose virtue knows no limits can guard the gods of the realm and bring happiness to the people:’
THE LICHI says, “Those who guard the realm are ever careful” (27).
LI JUNG Says, “When rulers maintain the Tao, their countries are at peace. When they fail to maintain the Tao, their countries are in chaos. Their countries are the offspring. The Tao is their mother:’
WU CH’ENG says, “The realm here is a metaphor for the body. Breath is the body’s mother. Breath that has no limit can preserve the body. Those who fill themselves with breath can conquer the world and remain unharmed. Breath rises from below as if from the roots of a tree. By nourishing the roots, the roots grow deep. Breath flourishes above just as the trunk of a tree does. By nourishing the trunk, the trunk becomes firm. Thus, the tree doesn’t wither:’
LU NUNG-SHIN says, “The roots are in the dark, and the trunk is in the light. The roots refer to life, and the trunk refers to nature. What nothing can fathom is deep. Only life can match this. What nothing can topple is firm. Only nature can match this.”
In line two, shih (pattern) appears in some editions instead of se (economy). I have followed the Fuyi and Suotan editions as well as the Kuotien texts and Mawangtui B in choosing the latter. Also, I have followed the Kuotien texts in preferring pei (prepare) in lines three and four over fu (subdue). The last line appears as a saying in other ancient texts, including Hsuntzu: 4 and Lushih Chunchiu: 1.3. Where it does, commentators interpret shih (vision) as a cliche for “life;’ and I have followed suit here. Although the transition from matriar-chal to patriarchal political forms took place in China sometime before the third millennium B.C., female deities have continued to dominate the pantheons of its folk and tribal regions.
SIXTY
Ruling a great state
is like cooking a small fish
when you govern the world with the Tao
spirits display no powers
not that they have no powers
their powers don’t harm the people
not that their powers cant harm
the sage keeps them from harming
and neither harms the other
for both rely on Virtue
In a poem bemoaning the absence of virtuous rulers, the SHIHCHING says, “Who can cook fish / I’ll wash out the pot” (Kuei: 4).
LI HSI-CHAI says, “For the sage, ruling a state is a minor affair, like cooking a small fish.”
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “If you cook a small fish, dont remove its entrails, don’t scrape off its scales, and don t stir it. If you do, it will turn to mush. Likewise, too much government makes those below rebel. And too much cultivation makes one’s vitality wither.”
HAN FEI says, “In cooking a small fish, too much turning ruins it. In governing a great state, too much reform embitters the people. Thus, a ruler who possesses the Way values inaction over reform’
TE-CH’ING says, “A cruel government brings calamity down on the people. The people, however, think their suffering is the work of ghosts and spirits and turn to sacrifice and worship to improve their lot, when actually their misfortune is caused by their rulers”
THE TSOCHUAN says, “If the state is meant to flourish, listen to the people. If the state is meant to perish, listen to the spirits” (Chuang: 32).
WANG CHEN says, “The government that takes peace as its basis doesn’t lose the Way. When the government doesn’t lose the Way, yin and yang are in harmony. When yin and yang are in harmony, wind and rain arrive on time. When wind and rain arrive on time, the spirit world is at peace. When the spirit world is at peace, the legion of demons cant perform their sorcery.”
WANG PI Says, “Spirits dont injure what is natural. What is natural gives spirits no opening. When spirits have no opening, spirits cannot act like spirits’
CH’ENG HSUAN-YING says, “Spirits dwell in the yin, and people dwell in the Yang. When both accept their lot, neither injures the other.”
SU C WE says, “The inaction of the sage makes people content with the way they are. Outside, nothing troubles them. Inside, nothing frightens them. Even spirits have no means of using their powers. It isn’t that spirits have no powers. They have powers, but they dont use them to harm people. The reason people and spirits don’t harm each other is because they look up to the sage. And the sage never harms anyone’
WU CH’ENG says, “The reason spirits don’t harm the people is not because they can’t but because the sage is able to harmonize the energy of the people so that they don’t injure the energy of the spirit world. The reason neither injures the other is due to the sage’s virtue. Hence, both worlds rely on the virtue of the sage.
HSUAN-TSUNG says, “`Neither’ here refers to spirits and the sage’
LI JUNG says, “Spirits and sages help people without harming each other. One is hidden, the other manifest. But both rely on virtue’
SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “Spirits are spirits because they respond but cant be seen. Sages are sages because they govern but don’t act. The virtue of sages and the virtue of spirits is the same’
Commenting on the Taoteching is also like cooking a small fish. Better to have left it in the sea. Commentators are divided as to whether the subjects of lines nine and ten are spirits and the people or spirits and the sage. Given the usual ambiguous syntax of the Chinese language, both are possible, but my reading gives the nod to spirits and sages
SIXTY ONE
A great state is a watershed
the confluence of the world
the female of the world
the female uses stillness to overcome the male
in order to be still
she needs to be lower
the great state that lowers itself before the small state
governs the small state
the small state that lowers itself before the great state
is governed by the great state
some lower themselves to govern
some lower themselves to be governed
the great state’s one desire
is to unite and lead others
the small state’s one desire
is to join and serve others
for both to fulfill their desires
whichever is greater needs to be lower
LAO-TZU says, “The reason the sea can govern a hundred rivers / is because it has mastered being lower” (Taoteching. 66).
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “To lead a great state, we should be like the sea. We should be at the bottom of a watershed and not fight even the smallest current. A great state is the meeting place of the high and the low. The female refers to everything yin, everything that is weak, humble, yielding—what doesn’t lead’
TS’AO TAO-CH’UNG says, “The female is the mother. All creatures revere their mother. The sage recognizes the male but upholds the female. Hence, all creatures turn to the sage.”
SU CH’E says, “The world turns to a great state just as rivers flow downstream. If a great state can lower itself, small states will attach themselves to it. If a small state can lower itself, a great state will take it under its care. A great state low-ers itself to govern others. A small state lowers itself to be governed by others’
WU CH’ENG says, “The female doesn’t make the first move. It is always the male who makes the first move. But to act means to lose the advantage. To wait means to gain the advantage. To act means to be higher. To wait means to be lower. The great state that doesn’t presume on its superiority gains the voluntary support of the small state. The small state that is content with its inferiority enjoys the generosity of the great state. The small state doesn’t have to worry about being lower, but the great state does. Hence, the great state needs to be lower.”
WANG AN-SHIN says, “To serve someone greater is easy. To serve someone smaller is hard. Because it is hard, Lao-tzu says, `whichever is greater needs to be lower.”‘
MENCIUS says, “Only a virtuous ruler is able to serve a smaller state. Only a wise ruler is able to serve a greater state” (Mencius: iB.3).
WANG PI says, “By cultivating humility, each gets what it wants. When the small state cultivates humility, it preserves itself, but that is all. It can’t make the world turn to it. The world turns to the great state that cultivates humility. Thus, each gets what it wants. But it is the great state that needs to be more humble’
The Fuyi edition adds t’ien-hsia-chih (of the world) to line one, and the Mawang-tui texts invert lines two and three. I have decided against both variants. How-ever, I have followed the Mawangtui texts in their wording of lines five and six and have followed them again, along with the Fuyi text, in their addition of the particle yu (by) to line ten. This variant clarifies a relationship between great and small that was previously ambiguous and easily misinterpreted.
SIXTY TWO
The Tao is creations sanctuary
treasured by the good
it keeps the bad alive
beautiful words might be the price
noble deeds might be the gift
how can we abandon
people who are bad
thus when emperors are enthroned
or ministers installed
though there be great disks of jade
followed by teams of horses
they dont rival one who sits
and offers up this Way
the ancients thus esteemed it
for did they not proclaim
who seeks thereby obtains
who errs thereby escapes
thus the world esteems it
THE HSISHENGCHING says, “The Tao is the sanctuary of the deepest depth and the source of empty nothingness’
wU CH’ENG says, “Sanctuary means the most honored place. The layout of ancestral shrines includes an outer hall and an inner chamber. The southwest corner of the inner chamber is calledthe sanctuary; and the sanctuary is where the gods dwell:’
SU CH’E says, “All we see of things is their exterior, their entrance hall. The Tao is their sanctuary. We all have one, but we dont see it. The wise alone are able to find it. Hence, Lao-tzu says the good treasure it, but the foolish don’t find it. Then again, who doesn’t the Tao protect? Hence, he says it protects the bad. The Tao doesn’t abandon people. People abandon the Tao’
WANG PI says, “Beautiful words can excel the products of the marketplace. Noble deeds can elicit a response a thousand miles away.”
TE-CH’ING says, “The Tao is in us all. Though good and bad might differ, our nature is the same. How, then, can we abandon anyone?”
LAO-TZU says, “Sages are good at saving others / therefore they abandon no one / nor anything of use / this is called cloaking the light / thus the good instruct the bad / the bad learn from the good” (Taoteching. 27).
WANG PANG says, “Jade disks and fine horses are used to attract talented peo-ple to the government. But a government that finds talented people yet does not implement the Tao is not followed by its subjects’
CHIANG HSI-CH’ANG says, “In ancient times, the less valuable presents came first. Hence, jade disks preceded horses”
LI HSI-CHAI says, “Better than disks of jade followed by teams of horses would be one good word or one good deed to keep the people from losing sight of the good”
LU NUNG-SHIN says, “If words and deeds can be offered to others, how much more the Tao:;
WANG AN-SHIN Says, “There is nothing that is not the Tao. When good people seek it, they are able to find it. When bad people seek it, they are able to avoid punishment’
In line one, both Mawangtui texts have chu (flow/chief) instead of ao (sanctuary). However, this is not supported by any other edition. In lines four and five, commentators have long suspected an error, and Mawangtui A has given us a partial solution. In line five, I have used its ho jen (give to people) in place of the usual chia jen (surpass people). However, I have deleted jen (people) as a copyist error for the word that begins line six. Note, though, that in my translation, I have inverted the order of lines six and seven.
SIXTY THREE
Act without acting
work without working
understand without understanding
great or small many or few
repay each wrong with virtue
plan for the hard while it’s easy
deal with the great while it’s small
the world’s hardest task begins easy
the world’s greatest goal begins small
sages therefore never act great
they thus achieve great goals
who quickly agrees is seldom trusted
who thinks things easy finds them hard
sages therefore think everything hard
and thus find nothing hard
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “To act without acting means to do only what is natural. To work without working means to avoid trouble by preparing in advance. To understand without understanding means to understand the meaning of the Tao through meditation”
LI HSI-CHAI says, “When we act without acting, we dor’t exhaust ourselves. When we work without working, we dori’t trouble others. When we understand without understanding, we dori’t waste anything’
WANG TAO says, “What people do involves action. What sages do accords with the Tao of nonaction. Work refers to the conditions of action.Understanding’ refers to the meaning of action”
SUNG CH’ANG HSING says, “To act without acting, to work without working, to understand without understanding is to conform with what is natural and not to impose oneself on others. Though others treat sages wrongly, the wrong is theirs and not the sages: Sages respond with the virtue within their hearts. Utterly empty and detached, they thus influence others to trust in doing nothing:’
CHIAO HUNG says, “Action involves form and thus includes great and small. It is also tied to number and thus includes many and few. This is where wrongs come from. Only the Tao is beyond form and beyond number. Thus, sages treat everything the same: great and small, many and few. Why should they respond to them with anger?”
TS’AO TAO-CH’UNG says, “If we repay wrongs with kindness, we put an end to revenge. If we repay wrongs with wrongs, revenge never ends’
HAN FEI says, “In terms of form, the great necessarily starts from the small. In terms of duration, the many necessarily starts from the few. Wise rulers detect small schemes and thus avoid great plots. They enact minor punishments and thus avoid major rebellions.”
DUKE WEN OF CHIN told Kuo Yen, “In the beginning, I found it easy to rule the kingdom. Now I And it hard” Kuo Yen replied, “If you consider something easy, it is bound to become hard. If you consider something hard, it is bound to become easy” (Kuoyu: Chin-4).
WANG CHEN says, “If rulers disdain something as easy, misfortune and trouble are sure to arise from it. If they do not pay attention to small matters, eventually they will overwhelm even the greatest virtue. Thus, sages guard against the insignificant lest it amount to something great. If they wait until something is great before they act, their action will come too late.”
TE-CH’ING says, “When I entered the mountains to cultivate the Way, at first it was very hard. But once I learned how to use my mind, it became very easy. What the world considers hard, the sage considers easy. What the world con-siders easy, the sage considers hard’
The Kuotien texts have only the first three lines and the last three lines of this verse. For my interpretation of wei in line three, I have followed that of Wen-tzu: I, where line three appears as chih pu-chih, “know without knowing.” Normally, wei is taken to mean “taste.’ Lines ten and eleven also appear in verse 34, although my translation of them there is different.
SIXTY FOUR
It’s easy to rule while it’s peaceful
it’s easy to plan for before it appears
it’s easy to break while it’s fragile
it’s easy to disperse while it’s small
act before anything exists
govern before anyone rebels
a giant tree grows from the tiniest shoot
a great tower rises from a basket of dirt
a thousand-mile journey begins at your feet
but to act is to fail
to control is to lose
sages therefore don’t act
thus they don’t fail
they don’t control
thus they don’t lose
when people pursue a task
failure occurs near the end
care at the end as well as the start
means an end to failure
sages thus seek what no one else seeks
they don’t prize hard-to-get goods
they study what no one else studies
they turn to what others pass by
to help all things remain natural
they dare not act
LU HUI-CH’ING says, “We should act before anything exists, while things are peaceful and latent. We should govern before anyone rebels, while they are weak ‘and few. But to act before anything exists means to act without acting. To gov-ern before anyone rebels means to govern without governing’
SU CH’E says, “To act before anything exists comes first. To govern before any-one rebels comes next’
KUAN-TZU says, “Know where success and failure lie, then act” (Kuantzu: 47).
HUAI-NAN-TZU says, “A needle creates a tapestry. A basket of earth makes a wall. Success and failure begin from something small” (Huainantzu: 16).
SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “From a sprout, the small becomes great. From a basket of earth, the low becomes high. From here, the near becomes far. But trees are cut down, towers are toppled, and journeys end. Everything we do eventually results in failure. Everything we control is eventually lost. But if we act before anything exists, how can we fail? If we govern before anyone rebels, how can we lose?”
WANG FANG says, “Everything has its course. When the time is right, it arrives. But people are blind to this truth and work to speed things up. They try to help Heaven and end up ‘ruining things just as they near completion’
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “Others seek the ornamental. Sages seek the simple. Others seek form. Sages seek Virtue. Others study facts and skills. Sages study what is natural. Others learn how to govern the world. Sages learn how to gov-ern themselves and how to uphold the truth of the Way.”
HAN FEI says, “The wise don’t fill their lessons with words or their shelves with books. The world may pass them by, but rulers turn to them when they want to learn what no one else learns’
WU CH’ENG Says, “The sage seeks without seeking and studies without study-ing. For the truth of all things lies not in acting but in doing what is natural. By not acting, the sage shares in the naturalness of all things”
For line nine, the Mawangtui texts have: “a height of a hundred fathoms” There are two copies of the latter half of this verse among the Kuotien texts. In the first copy, line seventeen is omitted and line sixteen is fin-shih-chih-chi, “the rule for dealing with things” In the second copy, line sixteen is omitted but line seven-teen is present, although after line eighteen and in variant form. In line twenty-two, the first Kuotien copy has chiao (teach), while the second has hsueh (study).
SIXTY FIVE
The ancient masters of the Way
tried not to enlighten
but to keep people in the dark
what makes people hard to rule
is their knowledge
who rules the realm with knowledge
is the terror of the realm
who rules without knowledge
is the paragon of the realm
who understands the difference
is one who finds the key
knowing how to find the key
is what we call Dark Virtue
Dark Virtue goes deep
goes far
goes the other way
until it reaches perfect harmony
WU CH’ENG says, “To make the people more natural, the ancient sages did not try to make the people more knowledgeable but to make them less knowledge-able. This radical doctrine was later misused by the First Emperor of the Chin dynasty, who burned all the books [in 213 B.C.] to make the people ignorant.”
CHUANG-TZU says, “When the knowledge of bows and arrows arose, the birds above were troubled. When the knowledge of hooks and nets proliferated, the fish below were disturbed. When the knowledge of snares and traps spread, the creatures of the wild were bewildered. When the knowledge of argument and disputation multiplied, the people were confused. Thus are the world’s troubles due to the love of knowledge” (Chuangtzu: I0.4).
WANG PI says, “When you rouse the people with sophistry, treacherous thoughts arise. When you counter their deceptions with more sophistry, the people see through your tricks and avoid them. Thus, they become secretive and devious’
LIU CHUNG-P’ING says, “Those who rule without knowledge turn to Heaven. Those who rule with knowledge turn to Humankind. Those who turn to Heaven are in harmony. Those who are in harmony do only what requires no effort. Their government is lenient. Those who turn to Humankind force things. Those who force things become lost in the Great Inquisition. Hence, their people are dishonest.’ Liu’s terminology here is indebted to Chuangtzu: 19.2 and Mencius: 4B.26.
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “Difference' refers towith knowledge and `without knowledge.’ Once you know that knowledge spreads evil and lack of knowledge spreads virtue, you understand the key to cultivating the self and governing the realm. Once you understand the key, you share the same virtue as Heaven. And Heaven is dark. Those who possess Dark Virtue are so deep they can’t be fath-omed, so distant they cant be reached, and always do the opposite of others. They give to others, while others think only of themselves.”
SUNG CH’AITG-HSING says, “Because it is so deep, you can’t hear it or see it. Because it is so distant, you can’t talk about it or reach it. Dark Virtue differs from everything else. But it agrees with the Tao’
SU CH’E says, “What the sage values is virtue. What others value is knowledge. Virtue and knowledge are opposites. Knowledge is seldom harmonious, while virtue is always harmonious’
LIN HSI-YI says, “`Perfect harmony’ means whatever is natural’
Line one also begins verse 15. I have followed the Mawangtui texts in line six, where they omit to (too much), and also in line nine, where they replace fu (blessing) with to (virtue/paragon). This last variant also appears in Wentzu: 1. This verse is not present in the Kuotien texts.
SIXTY SIX
The reason the sea can govern a hundred rivers
is because it has mastered being lower
thus it can govern a hundred rivers
hence if sages would be above the people
they should speak as if they were below them
if they would be in front
they should act as if they were behind them
thus when sages are above
the people aren’t burdened
when they are in front
the people aren’t obstructed
the world never wearies
of pushing sages forward
and because they don t struggle
no one can struggle against them
YEN TSUN says, “Rivers don’t flow toward the sea because of its reputation or its power but because it does nothing and seeks nothing’
TE-CH’ING says, “All rivers flow toward the sea, regardless of whether they are muddy or clear. And the sea is able to contain them all because it is adept at stay-ing below them. This is a metaphor for sages, to which the world turns because they are selfless’
LU HUI-CH’ING says, “When sages possess the kingdom, they speak of them-selves as orphaned, widowed, and impoverished' orinheritor of the country’s shame and misfortune.’ Thus, in their speech, they place themselves below others. They do not act unless they are forced. They do not respond unless they are pushed. They do not rise unless they have no choice. Thus, in their actions, they place themselves behind others’
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “When sages rule over the people, they dolt oppress those below with their position. Thus, the people uphold them and dolt think of them as a burden. When sages stand before them, they don’t blind them with their glory. Thus, the people love them as parents and harbor no resent-ment. Sages are kind and loving and treat the people as if they were their children. Thus, the whole world wants them for their leaders. The people never grow tired of them because sages don’t struggle against them. Everyone struggles against something. But no one struggles against those who don’t struggle against anything’
SU CH’E says, “Sages don’t try to be above or in front of others. But when they find themselves below or behind others, the Tao cant help but lift them up and push them forward”
YANG HSIUNG says, “Those who hold themselves back are advanced by others. Those who lower themselves are lifted up by others” (Fayen: 7).
LI HSI-CHAI says, “The people aren’t burdened when sages are above them, because the people arent aware they have a ruler. And the people arent obstructed when sages are before them, because sages aren’t aware the people are their charges.”
WANG CHEN says, “Through humility sages gain the approval of the people. Once they gain their approval, they gain their tireless support. And once they gain their tireless support, struggling over rank naturally comes to an end.”
There is a relative lack of commentary for this verse. Wang Pi, for example, says nothing at all. The only textual issue is whether to read the last two lines as a statement or as a rhetorical question: “Is it not because they don’t struggle / that no one can struggle against them?” The Mawangtui and Fuyi texts word them as a question, while the Suotan and Wangpi versions, which I have followed, word them as a statement. Both lines also appear as a statement in verse aa. This verse is not present in the Kuotien texts.
SIXTY SEVEN
The world calls me great
great but useless
it’s because I am great I am useless
if I were of use”
I would have remained small
but I possess three treasures
I treasure and uphold
first is compassion
second is austerity
third is reluctance to excel
because I’m compassionate
I can be valiant .
because I’m austere
I can be extravagant
because I’m reluctant to excel
I can be chief of all tools
if I renounced compassion for valor
austerity for extravagance
humility for superiority
I would die
but compassion wins every battle
and outlasts every attack
what Heaven creates
let compassion protect
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “Lao-tzu says the world calls his virtue `great: But if his virtue were great in name alone, it would bring him harm. Hence, he acts foolish and useless. He doesn’t distinguish or differentiate. Nor does he demean others or glorify himself.”
WANG PI says, “To be useful is to lose the means to be great.”
SU CH’E says, “The world honors daring, exalts ostentation, and emphasizes progress. What the sage treasures is patience, frugality, and humility, all of which the world considers useless.”
TE-CH’ING says, “Compassion means to embrace all creatures without reservation. Austerity' means not to exhaust what one already has.Reluctance to excel’ means to drift through the world without opposing others’
WANG AN-SHIH Says, “Through compassion, we learn to be soft. When we are soft, we can overcome the hardest thing in the world. Thus, we can be valiant. Through austerity, we learn when to stop. When we know when to stop, we are always content. Thus, we can be extravagant. Through reluctance to excel, we are surpassed by no one. Thus, we can be chief of all tools. Valor, extravagance, and excellence are what everyone worries about. And because they worry, they are always on the verge of death’
LIU SHIH-P’EI says, “To be chief of all tools means to be the chief official.” (For “chief of all tools;’ see verse 28.)
CONFUCIUS says, “The gentleman is not a tool” (Lunyu: 2.12).
WU CH’ENG says, “Compassion is the chief of the three treasures. The last section only mentions compassion because it includes the other two. All people love a compassionate person as they do, their own parents. How could anyone oppose their parents? Hence, those who attack or defend with compassion meet no opposition’
MENCIUS says, “Those who are kind have no enemy under Heaven” (Mencius: 7B.3)
To be a tool means to be limited. To have no limits means to be chief of all tools. Among compassion, austerity, and reluctance to excel, only compassion has no limits. Hence, Lao-tzu ranks it first. Line one of the Wangpi edition reads: “The world calls my Tao great.’ But the word tao does not appear in the Fuyi or Suo-tan editions or in the Mawangtui texts. Thus, I have omitted it. In line sixteen, Han Fei and Mawangtui A have ch’eng-shih, “chief of those who succeed.’ But there is no other support for this variant. Finally, for the penultimate line, I have followed the Mawangtui version, which has chien (create) instead of the usual chiu (save). This verse is not present in the Kuotien texts.
SIXTY EIGHT
In ancient times
the perfect officer wasn’t armed
the perfect warrior wasn’t angry
the perfect victor wasn’t hostile
the perfect commander acted humble
this is the virtue of nonaggression
this is using the strength of others
this is uniting with Heaven
which was the ancient end
CHIAO HUNG says, “In ancient times, officers went into battle in chariots. They were dressed in mail, and there were three to a vehicle: one on the left armed with a bow, one on the right armed with a spear, and one in the middle in charge of the reins, the flag, and the drum. Below and arrayed around every chariot were seventy-two foot soldiers’
SUN-TZU says, “A ruler must not mobilize his armies in anger. A general must not engage the enemy in wrath. Anger can turn to joy, and wrath can turn to gladness. But once a state is destroyed, it cannot be restored. And once a per-son is dead, he cannot be reborn’ (Suntzu Pingfa: 12.18-21). Sun-tzu also says, “To win every battle is not supreme excellence. Supreme excellence is to con-quer without fighting” (3.2).
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “Those who honor the Way and Virtue are not fond of weapons. They keep hatred from their hearts. They eliminate disaster before it arises. They are angered by nothing. They use kindness among neighbors and virtue among strangers. They conquer their enemies without fighting and com-mand through humility.”
LIEH-TZU says, “Those who govern others with worthiness never win them over. Those who serve others with worthiness never fail to gain their support” (Liehtzu: 6.3).
WANG CHEN says, “You must first win others’ hearts before you can command them’
KUMARAJIVA says, “Empty your body and mind. No one can fight against nothing’
WU CH’ENG says, “Even though our wisdom and power might surpass that of others, we should act as if we possessed neither. By making ourselves lower than others, we can use their wisdom and power as our own. Thus, we can win with-out taking up arms, without getting angry, and without making enemies. By using the virtue of nonaggression and the power of others, we are like Heaven, which overcomes without fighting and which reaches its goal without moving:’
TZU-SSU says, “Wide and deep, they are able to support others. High and bright, they are able to protect others. Those who are wide and deep unite with Earth. Those who are high and bright unite with Heaven” (Chungyung: 26.4-5)
TE-CH’ING says, “Heaven is yang and Earth is yin. But if Heaven and Earth remain stationary, everything stops, and nothing comes into existence. Only when yang descends and yin rises does everything flourish. Thus, Heaven’s position is to be above, but its function is to descend. When sages are above the peo-ple, and theit hearts are below, we call this uniting with Heaven. This was the polestar of ancient rulers.”
Some editions drop the opening phrase, ku-chih (ancient times), and combine this with the previous verse. I have followed the Fuyi edition in retaining it. Mawangtui B has ku (thus). In line seven, both Mawangtui texts omit the phrase chih-li, “the strength of,” but no other edition follows suit. Finally, some later commentators read the last two lines as one line, eliminating ku (ancient) as a copyist error: “We call this the end of uniting with Heaven.’ But this is not sup-ported by any early text or commentary. This verse is not present in the Kuotien texts.
SIXTY NINE
In warfare there is a saying
rather than a host
better to be a guest
rather than advance an inch
better to retreat a foot
this means to form no ranks
to put on no armor
to brandish no weapons
to repulse no enemy
no fate is worse than to have no enemy
to have no enemy is to lose one’s treasure
thus when opponents are evenly matched
the remorseful one prevails
WANG CHEN says, “In warfare, we say the one who mobilizes first is the host and the one who responds is the guest. Sages only go to war when they have no choice. Hence, they are the guest’
CHIAO HUNG says, “This was a saying of ancient military strategists’ If so, they remain unnamed. Sun-tzu, meanwhile, calls the invading force the kb (guest) (Suntzu Pingfa: 2.20).
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “According to the Tao of warfare, we should avoid being the first to mobilize troops, and we should go to war only after receiving Heavens blessing.”
LU HUI-CH’ING says, “The host resists, and the guest agrees. The host toils, and the guest relaxes. One advances with pride, while the other retreats in humility. One advances with action, while the other retreats in quiet. Those who meet resistance with agreement, toil with relaxation, pride with humility, and action with stillness have no enemy. Wherever they go, they conquer.”
SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “In warfare, sages leave no tracks. They advance by retreating’
WU CH’ENG says, “Those who go to war form themselves into ranks, equip themselves with weapons, and advance against the enemy. But when sages go to war, they act as if there were no ranks, there were no armor, there were no weapons, and as if there were no enemies.”
SUN-TZU says, “Generals who advance with no thought of fame, who retreat with no fear of punishment, who think only of protecting their country and helping their king are the treasures of the realm” (Suntzu Pingfa: 10.24).
SU CH’E says, “Sages regard compassion as their treasure. To treat killing lightly would be to lose the reason for compassion.”
TE-CH’ING says, “When opponents are evenly matched and neither is superior, the winner is hard to determine. But whichever one is remorseful and compassionate will win. For the Way of Heaven is to love life and to help those who are compassionate to overcome their enemies’
WANG PI says, “Those who are remorseful sympathize with their opponents. They try not to gain an advantage but to avoid injury. Hence, they always win’
WANG P’ANG says, “To be remorseful is to be compassionate. Those who are compassionate are able to be courageous. Thus, they triumph’
I
LIN HSI-YI says, “Those who attack with drums and cheer the advent of war are not remorseful. They are remorseful who do not consider warfare a pleasure but an occasion for mourning. In this verse, warfare is only a metaphor for the Tao”
LAO-TZU says, “When you kill another / honor him with your tears / when the battle is won / treat it as a wake” (Taoteching: 31).
The import of lines ten and eleven would seem to be that without an enemy, we would have no recipient of our compassion and thus no reason to practice it. The standard editions reverse the order of lines eight and nine. In lines ten and eleven, they also have ch’ing-ti (treat enemies lightly) in place of wu-ti (have no enemies). And in line twelve, they have hsiang-chia (meet each other) in place of hsiang-juo (evenly matched). In all three cases, I have followed the Mawang-tui and Fuyi editions. The meaning of the last four lines becomes clearer if this verse is read as a continuation of the previous two verses. In verse 67, for example, Lao-tzu’s “treasures” include compassion, austerity, and reluctance to excel. This verse is not present in the Kuotien texts.
SEVENTY
My words are easy to understand
and easy to practice
but no one understands them
or puts them into practice
words have an ancestor
deeds have a master
the reason I’m not understood
it’s me who isn’t understood
but because so few understand me
thus am I esteemed
sages therefore wear coarse cloth
and keep their jade concealed
TS’AO TAO-CH’UNG says, “Nothing is simpler or easier than the Tao. But because it’s so simple, it can’t be explained by reasoning. Hence, no one can understand it. And because it’s so near, it can’t be reached by stages. Hence, no one can put it into practice.’
WANG PANG says, “Because sages teach us to be in harmony with the course of our lives, their words are simple, and their deeds are ordinary. Those who look within themselves understand. Those who follow their own nature do what is right. Difficulties arise when we turn away from the trunk and look among the
branches’
LI HSI-CHAI says, “The Tao is easy to understand and easy to put into practice. It is also hard to understand and hard to put into practice. It is easy because there is no Tao to discuss, no knowledge to learn, no effort to make, no deeds to per-form. And it is hard because the Tao cannot be discussed, because all words are wrong, because it cannot be learned, and because the mind only leads us astray. Effortless stillness is not necessarily right, and actionless activity is not necessarily wrong. This is why it is hard’
SU CH’E says, “Words can trap the Tao, and deeds can reveal its signs. But if the Tao could be found in words, we would have only to listen to words. And if it could be seen in deeds, we would only have to examine deeds. But it cannot be found in words or seen in deeds. Only if we put aside words and look for their ancestor and put aside deeds and look for their master, can we find it’
WU CH’ENG says, “The ancestor unites the clan. The master governs the state. Softness and humility are the ancestor of all words and the master of all deeds’
YEN TSUN says, “Wild geese fly for days but don’t know what exists beyond the sky. Officials and scholars work for years, but none of them knows the extent of the Way. It’s beyond the ken and beyond the reach of narrow-minded, one-sided people’
LU HUI-CH’ING says, “The reason the Tao is esteemed by the world is because it cannot be known or perceived. If it could be known or perceived, why should it be esteemed? Hence, Lao-tzu is esteemed because so few understand him. Thus, sages wear an embarrassed, foolish expression and seldom show anyone their great and noble virtue’
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “The reason people don’t understand me is because my virtue is dark and not visible from the outside.”
CONFUCIUS says, “I study what is below and understand what is above. Who knows me? Only Heaven” (Lunyu: 14.37)
WANG PI says, “To wear coarse cloth is to become one with what is ordinary. To keep one’s jade concealed is to treasure the truth. Sages are difficult to know because they do not differ from ordinary people and because they do not reveal their treasure of jade”
Words and deeds can be falsified, but not understanding and practice. In my translation, I have inverted lines seven and eight. In line ten, the word tse (thus) can also mean “follow, and some commentators read the line: “Who follows me is esteemed” As with geodes, jade is found inside ordinary looking rocks. Officials once wore it on their hats as an emblem of their status, and alchemists often included it in their elixirs. This verse is not present in the Kuotien texts.