Hence if great states use 'beneath' on small states,
then they take small states.
If small states use 'beneath' on great states,
then they take great states.
Hence some 'beneath' in order to take,
some 'beneath' and then take.
Great states simply desire universally domesticating people.
Small states simply desire serving people.
So of the two, each gets what it wants.
The great fittingly deems 'beneath'.
62
Construing a Guide
A guide is a mystery among the ten-thousand natural kinds.
A treasure to worthy people.
That which non-worthy people sustain.
Beautiful language can be marketed.
Respectful behavior can augment humanness.
Those who are not worthy, what abandonment is there?
Hence, set up the master of nature and establish the three dukes.
Although one presents jade followed by a team of horses
It is not as good as sitting and promoting this guide.
That which ancient times treated as valuable was guidance.
How can we not say "with seeking you get to have it, with wrongdoingavoid unorthodoxy."
Hence construe the social world's value.
63
Origins in Reversal
Treat lacking deem-action as 'deem-acting'.
Treat having no social affair as 'social affair'.
Treat the absence of flavor as 'flavor'.
'Great' the small; 'many' the few;
Use virtuosity in dealing with moral anger.
Plan the difficult in its easy phases.
Deem-act on the great in its small phases.
The difficult affairs of the social world start with something easy.
The great affairs of the social world start with something small.
Using this: Sages, to the end, do not deem-act on it as 'great' andso are able to accomplish its greatness.
In general, light assent necessarily diminishes trust.
Much ease then necessarily much difficulty.
Using this: Sages make it even more difficult.
So in the end they have no difficulty.
64
Dealing with the Small.
It is easy to sustain a situation when it is pacified.
It is easy to plan when it doesn't yet show signs of danger.
It is easy to dissolve what is crisp; easy to disperse what is minute.
Deem-act on it in its not-yet-exist phase; order it in its not-yet-disorderedphase.
An armful of wood arises from small sprouts; nine story towers startfrom a pile of earth.
A thousand league walk starts with putting the foot down.
Those who deem-act wreck it; those who grasp lose it.
Using this: Sages lack deeming action, hence they lack wrecking, lackgrasping hence lack losing.
The people in pursuing social affairs take the phase of nearly completedas constant and then wreck it.
If you are as careful at the end as in the beginning then you willlack wrecking things.
Using this: Sages treat not-desiring as a desire and don't value goodsdifficult to obtain.
Study not-studying and restore what the crowd of humanity has passedby.
Use restoring the self-so nature of the ten-thousand natural kindsand don't recklessly deem-act.
65
Unlearned Virtuosity
Those in ancient times who were good at deem-acting on a guide
Did not to use it to make the people discerning but to make them stupid.
People's being hard to govern comes from their knowing how to do toomuch.
Hence to use know-how to govern a state is the thief of the state.
Not to use know-how to govern a state is the blessing of the state.
Those who know to do these two things are also evaluated models.
To treat knowing to follow evaluated models as constant,
This is called obscure virtuosity.
Obscure virtuosity becomes deep! Becomes distant!
Becomes the reversal of natural kinds.
After it is so, then it achieves great flow.
66
Strategic Reversal
The reason rivers and oceans can deem-act as kings of a hundred valleys:
Is that they are good-at lowering them.
Hence they are able to deem-act as king of a hundred valleys.
Using this: if you desire to elevate the people, you must use languageto diminish them.
If you desire to place the people first, you must treat them as lessthan your body.
Using this: Sages occupy the upper position and the people are notimportant.
Occupy the prior position and the people are not harmed.
Using this: the social world happily promotes and does not resent.
It's because he does not dispute.
So in the social world, nothing disputes with him.
67
Three Treasures
Everyone in the social world calls my guide 'great'
It's like not resembling.
In general only being great hence like not resembling.
If it resembled, it would long since have been small!
I have three treasures. I grasp and preserve them.
The first is called 'charity' the second 'frugality' and the thirdnot presuming to deem-act coming before the social world.
Charity, hence one can be brave.
Frugal, hence one can be magnanimous.
Not presuming to deem-act coming before the social world, hence onecan to fulfill the artifactual role of an elder.
Moderns abandon charity and are still brave.
Abandon frugality and are still liberal.
Abandon following and still put themselves in front.
Dead already!
Using charity in battle, one is victorious.
If involved in preserving then inherent nature will save it. Use charityto defend it.
68
Coinciding with Nature
Those who are good champions don't battle.
Those who are good at war don't get angry.
Those who are good at defeating the enemy don't engage them.
Those who are good at using people deem it as a something beneath them.
This is called virtuosity at not contending.
This is called the power of using people.
This is called on a par with nature--the apex of antiquity.
69
Profound Use
There are slogans for using armies.
"I don't presume to deem-act as lord and deem-act as guest.
Don't presume to advance an inch and withdraw a foot."
This is called "carrying out not carrying out.
Bearing non-existent arms;
Throwing against non-existent enemies.
Controlling non-existing armies."
No disaster is greater than taking an enemy lightly.
Taking an enemy lightly almost brings my treasures to grief.
Inherently, opposing armies strengthen each other.
Grieving then wins.
70
Difficulty in Knowing How
My words are profoundly easy to know.
Profoundly easy to perform.
In the social world none are able to know or to perform.
Language has an ancestor and social affairs have a ruler.
In general only lacking know-how--this counts as my know-how.
If those who know me are rare then things of mine are valuable.
Using this: Sages wrap precious jade in burlap.
71
Know-how as a disease
Knowing not to know is better.
Not knowing to know is a defect.
In general, in only 'defecting' defects, using this is not to 'defect.'
Sages do not 'defect' because they 'defect' defects.
For this reason they do not 'defect.'
72
Self-love
If the people do not fear authority then great authority has arrived.
Don't toy around with things they are at home with.
Don't despise things that contribute to their livelihood.
In general, only if you don't despise [them], using this [they] willnot despise [you].
Using this: Sages start from what they know to do not from what theysee.
Start from love not from value.
So they choose this and reject that.
73
Employing Deeming
If one is courageously presumptuous, then--killing.
If one is courageously non-presumptuous, then--living.
These pairings : one benefits, one harms.
That which nature despises, who knows its cause?
Using this, sages make it even more difficult.
The natural guide does not contend and yet is good at winning.
Does not discourse and yet skillfully responds.
Does not call and yet comes of itself.
Insensate and yet good at planning.
The natural net is all encompassing.
It is loose and yet nothing is lost.
74
Controlling Feelings
When the people are not afraid off death
For what reason would you use death to frighten them?
If you cause the people to constant fear of death
And yet those who deem: act deviantly, we take, hold and kill them,
who will dare do it?
Should we constant having a professional executor do the killing?
To delegate a professional executor for killing,
Is this called "delegating the great carpenter to chop"?
Those who delegate the great carpenter to chop are few.
It doesn't hurt his hand.
75
The Destructiveness of Envy
Starvation among the people comes from how much taxes-in-kind thoseabove them 'eat'.
From this: they starve.
The difficulty in governing people comes from those above them takingdeeming-action.
From this: they are difficult to govern.
People take death lightly because those above them seek life's richness.
From this they take death lightly.
In general: only those who don't deem-act using 'life' --these areworthies at valuing life.
76
Strength's Warning Signs.
The human living state is soft and pliable.
The dead state is hard and rigid.
The alive state of the ten-thousand natural kinds --grass and wood--issoft and crisp.
Their dead state is hard and dry.
So things that are hard and rigid accompany death.
Things that are soft and pliable accompany life.
So if troops are strong they do not triumph.
When wood is stiff, it makes weapons.
When strength is great, its place is down.
When soft and pliable, its place is up.
77
The Natural Guide
The guide of nature: Is it not like a taut bow?
That which is high, represses them.
That which is low, raise them up.
That which has abundance, pare it back.
That which is insufficient, add to it.
The guide of nature is to pare back abundance and add to the insufficient.
If it's the guide of humans then it's not like that.
It injures that which is not sufficient and piles it on that whichhas abundance.
Who can have abundance and use it to pile it on the social world?
Only one who has a guide.
Using this: Sages Deem-act and don't rely on anything.
His work is accomplished and he doesn't locate it.
This is his not desiring the apprehending of worthies.
78
Recognizing Fidelity
In the social world, nothing is softer or more pliant than water.
And yet when it attacks firm, rigid things, none of them is able towin.
This is due to their lacking that with which to metamorphose it.
That the pliant wins over the rigid, the soft wins over the hard,
In the social world, no one fails to know.
[Yet] no one is able to execute.
Using this: Sages say, "Taking the soil of a state, this is calledruler of the world's grain alters.
Taking the non-auspicious state, this is being deemed the king of thesocial world."
Rectified language is like its opposite.
79
Recognizing Agreements
Settling a massive resentment
Necessarily some resentment will be left-over.
How can such be deemed as worth?
Using this: Sages grasp the left side of the agreement.
And don't demand from others.
Have virtuosity in supervising agreements.
Lack virtuosity in supervising taxation.
The natural guide has no kin.
It constants being with worthy people.
80
Primitivist Independence
'Small' the state and 'few' the people.
Bring about that having artifacts by the tens and hundreds yet theywon't use them.
Bring it about that the people "weight" death and don't venture far.
Although they have boats and chariots, they don't have reasons to ridein them.
Although they have armour and weapons, they don't have reasons to marshallthem.
Bring it about that humans revert to knotting string and use that.
"Sweet' their food; "beautiful' their clothing.
'Peaceful' their neighborhoods; 'pleasant' their customs.
Nearby states can see each other.
And hear the sounds of each other's chickens and dogs.
The peoples reach old age and death without any interaction.
81
Making the Essence Clear
Accurate language is not beautiful.
Beautiful language is not accurate.
Those who are good at [things] don't distinguish.
Those who distinguish are not good at [things].
Those who know-how are not comprehensive.
Those who are comprehensive do not know how.
Sages don't accumulate.
Although they use it to deem-act "others"
Themselves increase 'having'
Although they use it to give others.
Themselves increase in magnitude.
The guide of nature: benefit and yet do not harm.
The guide of Sages: deem-act and don't dispute.
English_Hatcher_TTK
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
Chinese (Wang Bi) - English by
Bradford Hatcher, 2005
1
A path fit to travel
Is not a general path
A name fit for calling
Is not a generic name
揘othing?names the origin of heaven and earth
揃eing?names the mother of the myriad beings
And so, always be dispassionate
In order to see the mysteries
Always be passionate
In order to see the objectives
These two mean the same (when) emerging
While diverging in significance
The sameness tells of their mystery
Mystery leading to greater mystery
(Is) the gateway to every mystery
2
All under heaven know the beauty of things as beauty
So ugliness is already there
All know the good of things as the good
So the not-good is already there
And so being and nothingness beget each other
