SEVENY ONE
To understand yet not understand
is transcendence
not to understand yet understand
is affliction
the reason sages aren’t afflicted
is because they treat affliction as affliction
hence they aren’t afflicted
CONFUCIUS says, “Shall I teach you about understanding? To treat understand-ing as understanding and to treat not-understanding as not-understanding, this is understanding” (Lunyu: 2.17).
TE-CH’ING says, “The ancients said that the word understanding was the door to all mysteries as well as the door to all misfortune. If you realize that you don’t understand, you eliminate false understanding. This is the door to all mysteries. If you cling to understanding while trying to discover what you don’t understand, you increase the obstacles to understanding. This is the door to all misfortune’
WU CH’ENG says, “Those who understand yet seem not to understand are the wisest of people. They protect their understanding with stupidity. Those who don’t understand yet think they understand are, in fact, the stupidest of people. They think blind eyes see and deaf ears hear. This is what is meant by `affliction:”
TS’AO TAO-CH’UNG says, “If people understand, but out of humility they say they don’t, then reality is superior to name. Hence, we call it transcendence. If people don’t understand but say they do, then name surpasses reality. Hence, we call this affliction. Those who are able to understand that affliction is affliction are never afflicted’
SU CH’E says, “The Tao is not something that can be reached through reason-ing. Hence, it cannot be understood. Those who do not yet understand do not understand that there is no entrance. And if they do understand, and then they think about their understanding, they become afflicted by understanding’
CHIAO HUNG says, “Anything that is understood is a delusion. Anything that is a delusion is an affliction. Understanding is not the affliction. It is the under-standing of understanding that becomes the affliction. To understand what is the affliction is to cure the illness without medicine”
LI HSI-CHAI says, “Understanding depends on things. Hence, it involves fabrication. Not understanding returns to the origin. Hence, it approaches the truth. Those who can understand that not understanding approaches the truth and that understanding involves fabrication are transcendent. If they don’t under-stand that understanding involves fabrication and vainly increase their under-standing, they use the affliction as the medicine. Only by understanding that understanding is affliction can one be free of affliction. This is why sages are not afflicted.”
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “To understand the Tao yet to say that we dont is the transcendence of virtue. Not to understand the Tao and to say that we do is the affliction of virtue. Lesser people don’t understand the meaning of the Tao and vainly act according to their forced understanding and thereby harm their spirit and shorten their years. Sages don’t suffer the affliction of forced understanding
because they are pained by the affliction of others’
Thus do Zen masters ask their students to show them their original face, their face before they were born. The Fuyi and Wangpi editions include two additional lines between lines four and five: “To treat affliction as affliction / is to be unafflicted.” But this would make the last lines more redundant than they already are. Neither line is included by Han Fei or found in the Mawangtui texts, the Chinglung edition, and at least two of our Tunhuang copies. Hence, I have not included them. This verse is not present in the Kuotien texts.
SEVENTY TWO
When people no longer fear authority
a greater authority will appear
don’t restrict where people dwell
don’t repress how people live
if they aren’t repressed
they wont protest
sages therefore know themselves
but don’t reveal themselves
they love themselves
but don’t exalt themselves
thus they pick this over that
WU CH’ENG says, “The authority we fear is what shortens years and takes lives. The `greater authority’ is our greater fear, namely death. When people no lon-ger fear what they ought to fear, they advance their own death until the greater fear finally appears’
WANG P’ANG says, “When people are simple and their lives are good, they fear authority. But when those above lose the Way and enact all sorts of measures to restrict the livelihood of those below, people respond with deceit and are no longer subdued by authority. When this happens, natural calamities occur and misfortunes arise.”
WANG CHEN says, “When ordinary officials and the common people have no fear, punishment occurs. When ministers and high officials have no fear, ban-ishment occurs. When princes and kings have no fear, warfare occurs’
WEI YUAN says, “Where people dwell' refers to conditions such as wealth and poverty.How people live’ refers to physical activities, such as toil and rest. When people think that their dwellings or lives are not as good as others, they feel embarrassed and thus restricted, restricted and thus repressed. And when they feel repressed, they protest against this' and seekthat; not knowing that once their desire is fulfilled, what they fear comes close behind’
WANG PI says, “In tranquility and peace is where we should dwell. Humble and empty is how we should live. But when we forsake tranquility to pursue desires and abandon humility for authority, creatures are disturbed, and people are distressed. When authority cannot restore order, and people cannot endure authority, the link between those above and those below is severed, and natural calamities occur.”
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “They know what they have and what they dont have. They don t display their virtue outside but keep it hidden inside. They love their body and protect their essence and breath. They dont exalt or glorify themselves before the world. That' refers to showing and glorifying themselves.This’ refers to knowing and loving themselves’
TS’AO TAO-CH’UNG says, “That' refers to external things.This’ refers to one’s inner reality.”
Authority refers to a power outside us. Sages aren’t concerned with acquiring or exercising such a power. The power of sages arises naturally from the cultivation of themselves. Lao-tzu begins this verse with two puns. The force of the first pun in lines one and two is somewhat weakened in the Wangpi and other standard editions by the use of different homophones for “fear” and “author-ity.” In his edition of 1587, Chiao Hung noted that in ancient times these char-acters were interchangeable, and he suggested using one for both words. This is, in fact, what occurs in the second pun in lines five and six, where the same character is used for “repress” and “protest” The Mawangtui texts, it turns out, agree with Chiao Hung, and I have amended lines one and two accordingly. In lines three and four, I have also turned to the Mawangtui texts for the negative injunction wu (don’t). Other editions have wu (has not) or pu (does not), both of which result in problems regarding the referent and thus in different interpretations of the entire verse. The last line also occurs at the end of verses 12 and 38. This verse is not present in the Kuotien texts.
SEVENTY THREE
Daring to act means death
daring not to act means life
of these two
one benefits
the other harms
what Heaven dislikes
who knows the reason
the Way of Heaven
is to win without a fight
to answer without a word
to come without a summons
and to plan without a thought
the Net of Heaven is all-embracing
its mesh is wide but nothing escapes
LI HSI-CHAI says, “Everyone knows about daring to act but not about daring not to act. Those who dare to act walk on the edge of a knife. Those who dare not to act walk down the middle of a path. Of these two, walking on a knife-edge is harmful, but people ignore the harm. Walking down the middle of a path is beneficial, but people are not aware of the benefit. Thus it is said, `People can walk on the edge of a knife but not down the middle of a path”‘ (Chungyung. 9).
SU CH’E says, “Those who dare to act die. Those who dare not to act live. This is the normal pattern of things. But sometimes those who act live, and sometimes those who don’t act die. What happens in the world depends on fortune. Sometimes what should happen doesn’t. The Way of Heaven is far off. Who knows where its likes and dislikes come from?”
SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “The mechanism whereby some live and others die is obscure and hard to fathom. If sages find it difficult to know, what about ordinary people?”
YEN TSUN says, “Heaven does not consider life in its schemes or death in its work. It is impartial.”
LU NUNG-SHIN Says, “Loosely viewed, the hard and the strong conquer the soft and the weak. Correctly viewed, the soft and the weak conquer the hard and the strong. Hence, the hard and the strong are what Heaven dislikes.’
WU CH’ENG says, “Because sages do not kill others lightly, evildoers slip
through their nets, but not through the Net of Heaven. Heaven does not use its strength to fight against evildoers as Humanity does, and yet it always triumphs. It does not speak with a mouth as Humanity does, and yet it answers faster than an echo. It does not have to be summoned but arrives on its own. Evil has its evil reward. Even the clever cannot escape. Heaven is unconcerned and unmindful, but its retribution is ingenious and beyond the reach of human plans. It never lets evildoers slip through its net. Sages do not have to kill evildoers. Heaven will do it for them:’
WANG AN-SHIN Says, “Yin and yang take turns. The four seasons come and go. The moon waxes and wanes. All things have their time. They dont have to be summoned to come.”
LI HUNG-FU Says, “It wins because it doesn’t fight. It answers because it doesn’t speak. It comes because it isn’t summoned. If it had to fight to win, something would escape, even if its mesh were fine”
After line seven, the Fuyi, Suotan, and Wangpi editions have: “Thus, even sages find it hard.’ However, this line does not appear in the Mawangtui, Chinglung, or Suichou editions, Tunhuang copies P 2347, x.2517 s•6543, or the Yentsun text. Ma Hsu-lun considers it an interpolation from verse 63, where it also appears, and I tend to agree. The last two lines have become a proverb in China. This verse is not present in the Kuotien texts.
SEVENTY FOUR
If people no longer fear death
what good is threatening to kill them
if people truly fear death
and some act perverse
and we catch and kill them
who else would dare
as long as people fear death
the executioner will exist
to kill in the executioner’s place
is to cut in the carpenter’s place
those who cut in the carpenter’s place
seldom escape with hands intact
YIN WEN says, “Lao-tzu asks, if people are not afraid to die what good is threatening to kill them? If people are not afraid to die, it is because punishments are excessive. When punishments are excessive, people don’t care about life. When they don’t care about life, the ruler’s might means nothing to them. When punishments are moderate, people are afraid to die. They are afraid to die because they enjoy life. When you know they enjoy life, then you can threaten them with death” (Yinwen: a).
LI HSI-CHAI says, “This implies that punishments cannot be relied upon for governing. If people are not afraid of death, what use is threatening them with execution? And if they are afraid of death, and we catch someone who breaks the law, and we execute them, by killing one person we should be able to gov-ern the rest. But the more people we kill, the more people break the law. Thus, punishment is not the answer.”
MING T’AI-TSU says, “When I first ascended the throne, the people were unruly and officials corrupt. If ten people were executed in the morning, a hundred were breaking the same law by evening. Being ignorant of the Way of the ancient sage kings, I turned to the Taoteching. When I read, `If people no longer fear death / what good is threatening to kill them; I decided to do away with capital punishment and put criminals to work instead. In the year since then, the bur-dens of my heart have been lightened. Truly, this book is the greatest teacher of kings.”
WU CH’ENG says, “Perverse' meansunlawful: If those who act perverse and break the law do not meet with misfortune at the hands of Humankind, they will certainly be punished by Heaven’
HO- SHANG KUNG Says, “If rulers teach according to the Tao and people respond with perversion instead, rulers are within their rights to arrest them and kill them. Lao-tzu, however, was concerned that rulers should use the Tao first before turning to punishment’
LU HUI-CH’ING says, “The meaning of the executioner will exist' is the same asthe Net of Heaven is all-embracing / its mesh is wide but nothing escapes’ [verse 731. The, executioner is Heaven’
SU CH’E says, “Heaven is the executioner. If the world is at peace and people engage in perversity and rebellion, then surely they have been abandoned by Heaven. If we kill them, it is Heaven who kills them and not us. But if we kill those whom Heaven has not abandoned, we take the executioner’s place. And anyone who takes the executioner’s place puts themselves within reach of his ax.”
THE LUSHIH CHUNCHIU Says, “A great carpenter does not cut” (1.4).
MENCIUS says, “The wise are not alone in desiring something greater than life and hating something greater than death. This is true of everyone. But the wise don’t forget it” (Mencius: 6A.1o).
Line seven appears only in the Mawangtui texts, but it seems needed to complete the meaning of line eight. At the end of line eight, the Fuyi and Wangpi editions add an extra sha (kill). I have followed the Suotan, Chingfu, and Mawangtui texts in omitting it. This verse is not present in the Kuotien texts.
SEVENTY FIVE
The reason people are hungry
is that those above levy so many taxes
this is why they are hungry
the reason people are hard to rule
is that those above are so forceful
this is why they are hard to rule
the reason people think little of death
is that those above think so much of life
this is why they think little of death
meanwhile those who do nothing to live
are more esteemed than those who love life
DUKE AI approached Yu Tuo: “The year is one of famine, and my revenues are wanting. What am I to do?” Yu Juo replied, “Return to the io percent rate of taxation” Duke Ai said, “But I cannot get by on 20 percent. How will I survive on 10 percent?” Yu Juo replied, “When the people don’t want, why should the ruler want. When the people want, why should the ruler not want?” (Lunyu: 12.9).
WANG PI Says, “The people hide and disorder prevails because of those above, not because of those below. The people follow those above”
LI HSI-CHAI says, “If those above take too much, those below will be impoverished. If those above use too much force, those below will rebel. This is a matter of course. When people think their own life is more important, and they disregard the lives of others, why should others not treat death lightly? Sages don’t think about life unless they are forced to’
TE-CH’ING says, “Robbers and thieves arise from hunger and cold. If people are hungry and have no means to live, they have no choice but to steal. When people steal, it’s because those above force them. They force people to turn to stealing and then try to rule with cleverness and laws. But the more laws they make, the more thieves appear. Even the threat of the executioner’s ax doesn’t frighten them. And the reason people aren’t frightened by death is that those above are so concerned with life’
SU CH’E says, “When those above use force to lead the people, the people respond with force. Thus do complications multiply and the people become hard to rule’
WANG CHEN says, Forceful’ refers to the ruler’s love of might and arms. But once arms prevail, disorder is certain’
HUAI-NAN-TZU Says, “The reason people cannot live out their allotted years and are sentenced to death in midlife is that they think so much of life. Mean-while, those who do nothing to stay alive are able to lengthen their lives” (Huai-nantzu: 7).
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “Only those who do nothing to stay alive, who aren’t moved by titles or sinecures, who aren’t affected by wealth or advantages, who refuse to serve the emperor or run errands for lesser lords—they alone are more esteemed than those who love life’
YEN TSUN says, “The Natural Way always turns things upside down. What has no body lives. What has a body dies. To be alive and to seek advantages is the beginning of death. Not to be alive and to get rid of advantages is the beginning of life. Those who don’t work to live live long.”
WANG TAO Says, “The meaning of the last two lines is: If I didn’t have this body of mine, what worries would I have?”
WANG PANG says, “If you understand only one of these three, you can under-stand the other two’
In line eight, I have followed the Fuyi edition in reading chi-shang (those above). Other editions have simply ch’i (those), leaving the referent in doubt. This verse is not present in the Kuotien texts.
SEVENY SIX
When people are born
they are soft and weak
when they perish
they are hard and stiff
when plants shoot forth
they are supple and tender
when they die
they are withered and dry
thus is it said
the hard and stiff are followers of death
the soft and weak are followers of life
when an army becomes stiff it suffers defeat
when a plant becomes stiff it snaps
the hard and stiff dwell below
the soft and weak dwell above
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “When people are born, they contain breath and spirit. This is why they are soft. When they die, their breath ceases and their spirit dis-appears. This is why they are hard’
WU CH’ENG says, “Seeing that the living are soft and the dead are hard, we can infer that those whose virtue is hard and those whose actions are forceful die before their time, while those who are soft and weak are able to preserve their lives.”
LI HSI-CHAI Says, `Although the soft and weak aren’t the same as the Tao, they approach its absence of effort. Hence, they aren’t far from the Tao. Although the hard and stiff arent outside the Tao, they involve effort. Hence, they lead people away from it’
LIEH-TZU says, “The world has a path of perennial victory and a path of perennial defeat. The path of perennial victory is weakness. The path of perennial defeat is strength. These two are easy to recognize, but people remain oblivious to them” (Liehtzu: 2.17).
LAO-TZU says, “The weak conquer the strong” (Taoteching: 36).
WANG CHEN says, “It isn’t hard for an army to achieve victory. But it is hard to hold on to victory. There is no great army that has not brought on its own defeat through its victories’
HSI T’UNG says, “When a plant becomes stiff, it loses its flexibility and becomes easy to break.”
WANG PANG says, “In terms of yin and yang, yin comes before and yang comes after. In terms of Heaven and Earth, Heaven is exalted and Earth is humble. In terms of Virtue, the soft and weak overcome the hard and stiff. But in terms of material things, the hard and stiff control the soft and weak. The people of this world only see things. They don’t understand Virtue’
SU CH’E says, “As long as it contains empty breath, the body does not suffer from rigidity. As long as they reflect perfect reason, actions are not burdened by severity. According to the unchanging principle of things, the refined rises to the top, while the coarse sinks to the bottom. The refined is soft and weak, while the coarse is hard and stiff.”
LI JUNG says, “The living belong above. The dead belong below”
How different this world would be if our leaders spent as much time in their gardens as they do in their war rooms. In line five, most editions include the phrase wan-wu (ten thousand creatures) before ts’ao-wu (plants). Chiang Hsi-ch’ang thinks, in light of the plant-specific adjectives of lines six and eight, this must be an interpolation, and I agree. It does not appear in the Yentsun or Fuyi editions. In line nine, I have relied on the Mawangtui texts for the addition of yueh (it is said). In line thirteen, I have turned to Liehtzu: 2.17, Huainantzu: 1, and Wentzu: 1 for the (snap). The Suotan and Fuyi editions have the puzzling kung (together), while the Wangpi edition has the equally strange ping (army), and the two Mawangtui texts offer no help with keng (end) and ching (compete), respectively. This verse is not present in the Kuotien texts.
SEVENTY SEVEN
The Way of Heaven
is like stringing a bow
pulling down the high
lifting up the low
shortening the long
lengthening the short
the Way of Heaven
takes from the long
and supplements the short
unlike the Way of Humankind
which takes from the short
and gives to the long
who can take the long
and give it to the world
only those who possess the Way
thus do sages not depend on what they develop
or claim what they achieve
thus they choose to hide their skill
KAO HENG Says, “In stringing a bow, we pull the bow down to attach the string to the top. We lift the bow up to attach the string to the bottom. If the string is too long, we make it shorter. If the string is too short, we make it longer. This is exactly the Way of Heaven.’ My reading of line two, which agrees with Kao Heng’s, is based on the Shuowen, which says, “Chang means to attach a string to a bow”
TU ER-WEI Says, “Not only the Chinese, but the ancient Greeks and Hindus, the Finns, the Pawnee, and the Arapaho all likened the moon to a bow. Thus the Way of Heaven is like a bow” (Lao-tzu-te-yueh-shen tsung-chiao, pp. 97-98)
HO-SHANG KUNG Says, “The Way of Heaven is so dark, we need metaphors to understand it. To prepare a bow for use, we string it by pulling down the top and lifting up the bottom. Likewise, the Way of Heaven is to take from the strong and give to the weak’
LU HUI-CH’ING Says, “The Way of Heaven does not intentionally pull down the high and lift up the low. It does nothing and relies instead on the nature of things. Things that are high and long cannot avoid being pulled down and short-ened. Things that are low and short cannot avoid being lifted up and lengthened. The full suffer loss. The humble experience gain.”
TE-CH’ING says, “The Way of Heaven is to give but not to take. The Way of Humankind is to take but not to give.”
WANG PANG says, “The Way of Heaven is based on the natural order. Hence, it is fair. The Way of Humankind is based on desire. Hence, it is not fair. Those who possess the Way follow the same Way as Heaven.”
SU CH’E says, “Those who possess the Way supply the needs of the ten thou-sand creatures without saying a word. Only those who possess the Way are capable of this:’
LU HSI-SHENG Says, “Who can imitate the Way of Heaven and make it the Way of Humankind by taking what one has in abundance and giving it to those in need? Only those who possess the Way. The Vching [41-42] says, To take means to take from the low and give to the high: Andto give means to take from the high and give to the low.”‘
LI JUNG says, “Although sages perform virtuous deeds, they expect no reward and try to keep their virtue hidden’
SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “The skill of the sages is unfathomable and inex-haustible. How could it be revealed?”
When Lao-tzu refers to “the Way of Heaven;’ he is not simply referring to the sky above but to everything that lives and moves. In lines thirteen and fourteen, I have followed the simpler wording of Mawangtui B and the Suotan edition. Lines sixteen and seventeen also appear in verse 2, and line seventeen in verse 51, though my translation of them differs slightly in each case. For the last line, I have used the briefer Fuyi version. This verse is not present in the Kuotien texts.
SEVENTY EIGHT
Nothing in the world is weaker than water
but against the hard and the strong
nothing outdoes it
for nothing can change it
the soft overcomes the hard
the weak overcomes the strong
this is something everyone knows
but no one is able to practice
thus do sages declare
who accepts a country’s disgrace
we call the lord of soil and grain
who accepts a country’s misfortune
we call the ruler of all under Heaven
upright words sound upside down
HSUAN-TSUNG says, “The nature of water is to stay low, to not struggle, and
to take on the shape of its container. Thus, nothing is weaker. Yet despite such weakness it can bore through rocks. Rocks, however, cannot wear down water.”
LI HUNG-FU says, “The soft and the weak do not expect to overcome the hard and the strong. They simply do’
HSI T’UNG says, “You can hit it, but you can’t hurt it. You can stab it, but you can’t wound it. You can hack it, but you can’t cut it. You can light it, but you can’t burn it. Nothing in the world can alter this thing we call water.”
CHU TI-HUANG says, “We can alter the course and shape of water, but we can’t alter its basic nature to descend, by means of which it overcomes the hardest and strongest things.”
TS’AO TAO-CHUUNG says, “The reason people know this but don’t put this into practice is that they love strength and hate weakness’
SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “Spies and traitors, thieves and robbers, people who have no respect for the law, disloyal subjects and unfilial children, these are disgraces. Excessive drought and rain, epidemics and locusts, untimely death, famine and homelessness, ominous plants, and misshapen animals, these are misfortunes’
PO-TSUNG says, “Rivers and swamps contain mud. Mountains and marshes harbor diseases. The most beautiful gem has a flaw. The ruler of a state suffers dis-grace. This is the Way of Heaven’ (Tsochuan: Hsuan.15).
SHUN says, “If I commit an offense, it has nothing to do with my people. If my people commit an offense, the offense rests with me” (Shuching: 4C.8).
CHUANG-TZU says, “Everyone wants to be first, while I alone want to be last, which means to endure the world’s disgrace” (Chuangtzu: 33.5)
MENCIUS says, “If the rulers of a state are not kind, they cannot protect the spirits of the soil and grain’ (Mencius: 4A.3).
SU CH’E says, “Upright words agree with the Tao and contradict the world. The world considers suffering disgrace shameful and suffering misfortune a calamity.”
LI JUNG says, “The world sees disgrace and innocence, fortune and misfortune. The follower of the Tao sees them all as empty.”
KAO YEN-TI says, “The last line sums up the meaning of the abstruse phrases that occur throughout the Taoteching, such as `to act without acting: The words may contradict, but they complement the truth.”
In line four, yi (change) can also mean “to be easy” (Ho-shang Kung), “to slight” (Li Hung-fu), or “to replace” (Chen Ku-ying). In line five, Mawangtui B has shui (water) in place of jou (soft), in which case kang (hard) would be taken to mean “metal” Wu Cheng puts the last line at the beginning of the next verse, Yen Tsun combines both verses, and some commentators suggest combining this with verse 43. This verse is not present in the Kuotien texts.
SEVENTY NINE
In resolving a great dispute
a dispute is sure to remain
how can this be good
sages therefore hold the left marker
and make no claim on others
thus the virtuous oversee markers
the virtueless oversee taxes
the Way of Heaven favors no one
but it always helps the good
TE-CHIANG says, “In Lao-tzu’s day, whenever the feudal rulers had a dispute, the most powerful lord convened a meeting to resolve it. But the resolution of a great dispute invariably involved a payment. And if the payment was not forth-coming, the dispute continued’
WANG PI says, “If we don’t arrange a contract clearly and a dispute results, even using virtuous means to settle it won’t restore the injury. Thus, a dispute will remain’
SU CH’E says, “If we content ourselves with trimming the branches and don’t pull out the roots, things might look fine on the outside, but not on the inside. Disputes come from delusions, and delusions are the product of our nature. Those who understand their nature encounter no delusions, much less disputes’
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “Murderers are killed, and criminals are punished according to their crime. But those who inflict such punishments offend their own human feelings and involve innocent people as well. If even one person sighs, we offend the Heart of Heaven. How can resolving disputes be considered good?”
CH’ENG HSUAN-YING says, “If someone lets go of both sides but still clings to the middle, how can he be completely good?”
CHENG LIANG-SHU Says, “In ancient times, contracts were divided in two. In the state of Ch’u, the creditor kept the left half, and Lao-tzu was from Ch’u. In the central plains, this was reversed, and the creditor kept the right half.”
SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “Seeking to make peace with others is the Way of Humankind. Not seeking to make peace but letting things make peace by themselves is the Way of Heaven. Despite action and the expenditure of energy, energy and action seldom bring peace. Sages therefore hold the left marker because they rely on nonaction and the subtlety of letting things be’
CHIANG HSI-CH’ANG says, “If one does not make demands of others, disputes cannot arise. If one constantly takes from others, great disputes cannot help but occur.”
WANG AN-SHIN says, “Those concerned with taxes cannot avoid making claims on others and thus cannot prevent disputes. This is why they lack virtue’
MENCIUS says, “The rulers of the Hsia dynasty exacted a tribute [kung] on every five acres of land. The rulers of the Shang exacted a share [chu] on every seven acres. The rulers of the Chou exacted a tax [ch’e] on every ten acres. In reality, what was paid was a tithe of 10 percent” (Mencius: 3A.3; see also Lunyu: 12.9).
LU TUNG-PIN says, “Those who are good cultivate themselves. They don’t con-cern themselves with others. Once you concern yourself with others, you have disputes. The good make demands of themselves. They don’t make demands of others. The Way of Humankind is selfish. The Way of Heaven is unselfish. It isn’t concerned with others. But it is always one with those who are good’
The Way of Heaven always helps the good because the good expect nothing. Hence, they are easily helped. The last two lines were a common saying. In the Shuoyuan:10.25, they conclude an exhortation to keep still. They also appear in slightly different form in the Shuching and in Ch’u Yuaris Lisao: “High Heaven favors no one / but it helps the virtuous.” This verse is not present in the Kuo-tien texts.
EIGHTY
Imagine a small state with a small population
let there be labor-saving tools
that area used
let people consider death
and not move far
let there be boats and carts
but no reason to ride them
let there be armor and weapons
but no reason to employ them
let people return to the use of knots
and be satisfied with their food
and pleased with their clothing
and content with their homes
and happy with their customs
let there be another state so near
people hear its dogs and chickens
but live out their lives
without making a visit
HUANG-TI says, “A great state is yang. A small state is yin.”
S U C WE says, “Lao-tzu lived during the decline of the Chou, when artifice flour-ished and customs suffered, and he wished to restore its virtue through doing nothing. Hence, at the end of his book he wishes he had a small state to try this on. But he never got his wish”
YAO NAI Says, “In ancient times, states were many and small. In later times, they were few and great. But even if a great state wanted to return to the ancient ways, how could it?”
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “When sages govern great states, they think of them as small states and are frugal in the use of resources. When the people are many, sages think of them as few and are careful not to exhaust them.”
HU SHIH says, “With the advance of civilization, the power of technology is used to replace human labor. A cart can carry thousands of pounds, and a boat can carry hundreds of passengers. This is the meaning of `labor-saving tools (Chung-kuo che-hsueh-shih to-kang, p. 64).
WANG AN-SHIH Says, “When the people are content with their lot, they don’t concern themselves with moving far away or with going to war.”
THE YICHING CHITZU says, “The earlier rulers used knots in their government. Later sages introduced the use of writing” (B.2).
WU CH’ENG says, “People who are satisfied with their food and pleased with their clothes cherish their lives and don’t tempt death. People who are content with their homes and happy with their customs don’t move far away. They grow old and die where they were born’
CH’ENG HSUAN-YING says, “They are satisfied with their food because they taste the Tao. They are pleased with their clothing because they are adorned with virtue. They are content with their homes because they are content wher-ever they are. And they are happy with their customs because they soften the glare of the world.”
TS’AO TAO-CH’UNG Says, “Those who do their own farming and weaving don’t lack food or clothes. They have nothing to give and seek nothing. Why should they visit others?”
Where is this place? In line two, some editions delete jen (man) in the com-pound shih-pai jen (labor-saving). I have followed Yen Tsun, Ho-shang Kung, and the Suotan and Mawangtui texts, all of which include it. This phrase can also be interpreted with or without jen to mean “tools of war.” But Hu Shih’s reading, seconded by Cheng Liang-shu, is, I think, more profound. After line ten, Ssu-ma Chien and the Fuyi edition add: “the goal of perfect rule / and everyone is…” But this appears to be an interpolation. Finally, some editions reverse the order of lines thirteen and fourteen but thereby abandon the rhyme. This verse is not present in the Kuotien texts.
EIGHTY ONE
True words aren’t beautiful
beautiful words aren’t true
the good aren’t eloquent
the eloquent aren’t good
the wise aren’t learned
the learned aren’t wise
sages accumulate nothing
but the more they do for others
the greater their existence
the more they give to others
the greater their abundance
the Way of Heaven
is to help without harming
the Way of the Sage
is to act without struggling
HUANG-TI says, “There’s a word for everything. Words that are harmful we say arent true” (Chingfa: 2).
TE-CH’ING says, “At the beginning of this book, Lao-tzu says the Tao can’t be put into words. But are its 5,000-odd characters not words? Lao-tzu waits until the last verse to explain this. He tells us that though the Tao itself includes no words, by means of words it can be revealed—but only by words that come from the heart’
SU CH’E says, “What is true is real but nothing more. Hence, it isn’t beautiful. What is beautiful is pleasing to look at but nothing more. Hence, it isn’t true. Those who focus on goodness don’t try to be eloquent. And those who focus on eloquence aren’t good. Those who have one thing that links everything together have no need of learning. Those who keep learning dont understand the Tao. The sage holds on to the one and accumulates nothing’
HO-SHANG KUNG says, “True words are simple and not beautiful. The good cultivate the Tao, not the arts. The wise know the Tao, not information. Sages accumulate virtue, not wealth. They give their wealth to the poor and use their virtue to teach the unwise. And like the sun or moon, they never stop shining”
CHUANG-TZU says, “When Lao Tan and Yin Hsi heard of people who consid-ered accumulation as deficiency, they were delighted” (Chuangtzu: 33.5)• Lao Tan was Lao-tzu’s name, and Yin Hsi was the man to whom he transmitted the Taoteching.
SUNG CH’ANG-HSING says, “People only worry that their own existence and abundance are insufficient. They don’t realize that helping and giving to others does them no harm but benefits themselves instead’
TS’AO TAO-CHUUNG says, “The wealth that comes from giving generously is inexhaustible. The power that arises from not accumulating is boundless.”
WU CH’ENG says, “Help is the opposite of harm. Wherever there is help, there must be harm. But when Heaven helps, it doesn’t harm, because it helps with-out helping. Action is the start of struggle. Wherever there is action, there must be struggle. But when sages act, they don’t struggle, because they act without acting.’ ‘
CHIAO HUNG says, “The previous 5,000 words all explain the Tao of not accumulating; what Buddhists callnonattachment.’ Those who empty their mind on the last two lines will grasp most of Lao-tzu’s text’
WANG CHEN says, “The last line summarizes the entire 5,000 words of the pre-vious eighty verses. It doesn’t focus on action or inaction but simply on action that doesnt involve struggle’
At the beginning and at the end of the Taoteching, Lao-tzu reminds us not to become attached to the words. Let the words go. Have a cup of tea. In lines three and four, the Fuyi edition adds yen (words). In the Mawangtui texts, lines three and four are inverted with lines five and six. I haven’t used either of these vari-ants, nor have I accepted the variation of the penultimate line introduced by Mawangtui B and the Suotan edition, both of which have jen (man) in place of sheng-jen (sage). This would result in “the Way of Humankind, which does appear in verse 77, but in a pejorative sense. This verse is not present in the Kuo-tien texts.