55
He who possesses Virtue in abundance is like a newly born infant.
Poisonous insects will not sting him;
Wild beasts will not seize him;
Birds of prey will not attack him.
His bones are soft, his muscles weak, but his grasp is strong.
He has not experienced the union of male and female,
And yet is fully virile:
His essence is complete.
He can cry all day without getting hoarse.
This is harmony at its height.
Knowing harmony is to know what is eternal.
Knowing what is eternal is to be enlightened.
It is inauspicious to try to improve on life,
And harmful to regulate breathing by conscious control.
To strive for too much results in exhaustion.
These actions are contrary to Tao.
And what is contrary to Tao soon comes to an early end.
56
He who knows does not speak.
He who speaks does not know.
He closes the mouth
And ts the doors;?br> Blunts sharp edges,
Unties all tangles;
Softens the glare,
And blends with the dust.
This is called mystical union.
He who can attain this state?br> Is not concerned with being liked or disliked,
Benefited or harmed,
Exalted or despised.
Thus he is valued by the world.
1. of the senses.
2. of being like a Sage.
57
Rule the state with integrity.
Wage war?with cunning strategy;
But win the empire through non-action.
How do I know this?
By this:
The more rules and regulations there are,
the more poor the people become.
The more sharp weapons there are,
the more troubled the state becomes.
The more clever the people become,
the more cunning will their actions become.
The more that law and order is promoted,
the more thieves and robbers there will be.
Therefore the Sage says:
I do not act and the people transform themselves.
I love tranquillity and the people rectifythemselves.
I do nothing and the people prosper by themselves.
I have no desires and the people become like an uncarved block, returning to simplicity by themselves.
1. presumably, 慜nly when there is no other way.?(31b)
58
When the government is unobtrusive,
The people are content and honest.
When the government is severe and exacting,
The people are restless and cunning.
Good fortune has its roots in misfortune,
And misfortune lurks beneath good fortune.
Who knows the limits of this?
Is anything as it appears to be?
What is normal becomes abnormal,
And what is auspicious becomes ominous.
This being so has perplexed people for a long time.
Therefore the Sage is pointed like a square, but does not pierce.
He is sharp like a knife, but does not cut.?br> He is straight like a stick, but does not extend himself.
He is bright like light, but does not dazzle.
1. The Sage is intellectually penetrating, but he does not show up other people抯 muddledness.
59
When ruling the people and serving Heaven,
There is nothing better than restraint.
In being restrained, one may follow Tao from the beginning.
Following Tao from the beginning is to accumulate great Virtue.
Accumulating great Virtue there is nothing which cannot be overcome.
When there is nothing that cannot be overcome, there are no limits.
Knowing no limits, one can rule the state.
Possessing the Mother?of the state,one will long endure.
This is called having deep roots and a firm stalk,
And is the way to long life and lasting vision.
1. 慚other?here may mean 慣ao? (See Chan 1969, 164, n. 97)
60
Ruling a large country is like cooking a small fish.?br>
When the empire is ruled in accord with Tao,
The evil spirits will lose their power.
Not that the evil spirits will lose their powersentirely,
But they will not do any harm to anyone.
Not only do the evil spirits do no harm,
Neither does the Sage.
Since neither these two powers?do any harm to the people,
Virtue is accumulated as they unite in their effect.?
1. i.e. the fish is spoilt if the cook disturbs it or is too hasty. (See Wang Pi抯 commentary (in P. J. Lin 1977, 122.) Lau points out (1963, 76) that a small fish is spoilt simply by handling it.
2. i.e. the Sage, and the evil spirits.
3. See Wang Pi抯 commentary in P. J. Lin 1977, 112?3.
61
A large state is like low-lying land where the flowing waters meet:?br> The female of the world.
It is the stillness of the feminine which overcomes the masculine.
Keeping still is to keep to the lower position.
Therefore the large state can conquer the small state by giving way to the small state.
And the small state can conquer the large state by submitting to the large state.
Thus, in order to conquer one must yield,
And those who conquer do so by yielding.
Since the large state wishes to take in more people,
And the small state wishes to serve the people,
Both have their wishes met.
It is right for a large state to yield.
1. i.e. the centre to which all things tend to gravitate.
62
The Ten Thousand Things have their source in the Tao.
It is the treasure of the good man, and the refuge of the bad.
Fine words can purchase honour.
Good deeds can earn respect.
Even if a man is bad, that is no reason to abandon him.
Therefore when the Son of Heaven?is crowned and the three ministers installed,
Rather than offering gifts of jade discs and a team of four horses,
It is better to remain seated and offer the Tao.
Why did the ancients value the Tao so highly?
Did they not say, 態y means of the Tao,
Those who seek it shall find it, and the guilty shall be forgiven?
This is why it is so valued by the world.
1. i.e. the Emperor.
63
Act by not acting.
Work without effort.
Savour the tasteless.
See much in the few and greatness in the small.
Reward injury with kindness.
Plan the difficult while it is still easy.
Accomplish greatness in small things.
Under Heaven, difficult things consist of easy things.
Under Heaven, great actions consist of small deeds.
The Sage never attempts anything great,
And thus accomplishes greatness.
He who takes his promises lightly will not be trusted.
He who thinks everything is easy will meet many difficulties.
This is why the Sage regards everything as difficult,
And therefore never meets with any difficulties.
64
Things which keep still are easy to hold.
Events yet to happen are easy to plan.
Things that are fragile are easy to break.
Things that are small are easy to lose.
Deal with things before they happen.
Put things in order before chaos sets in.
A tree as big as a man抯 embrace grows from a tiny shoot;
A nine-storey terrace begins as a mound of earth;
A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.
Those who take action, fail.
Those who grasp for things, lose them.
Therefore the Sage takes no action, yet never fails;
He grasps for nothing, yet never loses.
In managing their affairs people often fail at the point of success.
So attend carefully to the end as much as to the beginning,
And there will be no failure.
Therefore the Sage desires to be free from desire.
He does not prize rare treasures.
He learns to unlearn his learning,
And he brings the people back to what they have lost.?br> Thus he furthers the natural completion of the Ten Thousand Things,
And refrains from acting.
1. i.e., the Tao
65
In ancient times, those who excelled in the pursuit of Tao did not seek to enlighten people, but to keep them in their natural state of ignorance.
The reason for this is that when people have too much knowledge they are difficult to govern.
Therefore, those who rule by increasing knowledge, do so to the detriment of the state;
And those who rule by decreasing knowledge, do so to the benefit of the state.
Knowing these two things is to follow the ancient standard.
To follow the ancient standard is called mystical Virtue.
Mystical Virtue is deep and far reaching.
By its practise, all things return to their original natural state
Of complete harmony.
66
Rivers and seas become the kings of the hundred streams
Because they keep to the lower position.
Thus they become their kings.
Therefore the Sage, wishing to rule over the people,
Must use humble words before them;
And wishing to lead the people,
He must keep himself behind them.
Thus the Sage rules over the people, and they do not feel oppressed;
He leads the people, and they do not feel obstructed.
Therefore all beneath Heaven support him and do not tire of him.
Because he does not compete, no one can compete with him.
67
All under Heaven say that my Tao is great and resembles nothing.?br> Because it is great, it resembles nothing.
If it did resemble anything, it would a long time ago have become small.
There are three treasures which I keep and value.
The first is compassion;
The second is frugality;
And the third is not daring to be ahead of others.
Being compassionate, one can be courageous.
Being frugal, one can be generous.
Not daring to be ahead of others, one can lead the world.
But nowadays, there are those who abandon compassion, yet wish to be courageous;
They reject frugality, yet wish to be generous;
They forsake not daring to be ahead of others, yet wish to lead the world.
Their downfall is certain.
Being compassionate, one will win in attack and be strong in defence.
By giving compassion, Heaven provides and protects.?
1. i.e. the Tao cannot be compared to or likened to any of the things normally experienced.
2. This line is ambiguous between 慔eaven is compassionate in providing and protecting?and 慣he way that Heaven provides and protects is by making men compassionate? (See Feng and English, 1973, and Lau, 1963, for the latter interpretation, and Chan, 1969, and Ch抲, 1985, for the former.)
68
He who makes a good soldier is not violent.
He who makes a good fighter is not angry.
He who makes a good conqueror does not compete.?br> He who is skilful in making the best use of people, places himself under them.
This is called the Virtue of not competing.
This is called making use of people.
This is called matching the sublimity of Heaven.?
1. i.e. he overcomes his enemies without the need to fight them.
2. i.e. accomplishing things, like Heaven, without striving.
69
The strategists have a saying:
慖 dare not take the offensive, but would rather take the defensive.?br> 慖 dare not advance an inch, but would rather retreat a foot.?br>
This is called marching without moving,
Rolling up one抯 sleeve without showing one抯 arm,
Defeating an enemy without confrontation,
Being armed without weapons.
No misfortune is greater than underestimating an enemy.
Underestimating my enemy almost makes me lose my treasures.?br>
Therefore, when two sides takes arms against each other,
It is the side with the most reluctance which wins.
1. Strictly, 慖 dare not be the host, but would rather be the guest.?That is, the host, being at home, must take the initiative, and is in this sense active whereas the guest takes the passive role.
2. Wang Pi says that these three treasures are those mentioned in Chapter 67. Underestimating one抯 enemy, one runs the risk of resorting to force; doing this is to 憀ose the treasures? (See P. J. Lin 1977, 127)
70
Even though my words are easy to understand and easy to put into practice,
No one in the world really knows them or lives by them.
My words have their origin, and my actions receive their impetus, in the source of all things.
If this is not understood, then I am not understood.
Because so few understand my words, they are prized so highly.
Therefore, the Sage appears wearing coarse clothing, concealing the true treasure in his heart.
71
To know that you do not know, this is best.
Not to know, whilst thinking that one does know, this is to be flawed.
Recognising this defect as a defect
Is the way to be free of the defect.
The Sage is not flawed
Because he recognises the flaw as a flaw.
Therefore he is flawless.?
1. I follow Henricks (1990, 168) who remarks, 慉lthough ping [in this chapter] does mean 揹isease here it is best translated, I feel, as 揻law?(or 揻ault?or 揹efect?.?/span>
72
Unless the people stand in awe of the authority over them,
A greater authority will soon take over.?br>
Let them manage their own domestic affairs for themselves;
Let them work according to their own dispositions.
If you do not oppress them, they will not be oppressed.?br>
Therefore, the Sage knows himself
But does not reveal himself.
He respects himself
Without being arrogant.
Thus he discards one and chooses the other.
1. or The people may not stand in awe of their ruler抯 authority; But an authority greater than this [Heaven or Tao] will bring them to an end they deserve.
2. i.e. if the people are not oppressed, and are left to conduct their affairs for themselves, they will not resist or resent the authority of the state.
73
He who is courageous in taking action is soon killed.
He who is courageous in remaining passive keeps his life.
Of the two kinds of courage, one is harmful and the other is advantageous.
Who knows why Heaven disapproves of one kind?
Even the Sage is unsure how to answer this.
The Way of Heaven accomplishes without competing;
Without declaring its will it receives a response;
Without summoning, things come to it of their own accord;
It accomplishes slowly, with well-laid plans.
The net of Heaven is vast,
And though its mesh is very wide,
Nothing can slip through.
74
If the people are not afraid to die,
How can you threaten them with death?
If the people are kept in constant fear of death,
And if it were possible to arrest and put to death the law-breakers,
