Chapter 4

Original Text

道沖而用之，或不盈。
淵兮，似萬物之宗。
挫其銳，解其紛，和其光，同其塵。
湛兮，似若存。
吾不知誰之子，象帝之先。

Translation

The Way is like a wellspring—used, yet it never seems to fill up.
Deep!—as though it were the ancestor of all things.
It blunts sharpness, loosens tangles, softens glare, mingles with the dust.
So limpid—seemingly there, yet beyond grasp.
I do not know whose child it is; it appears to precede the Lord-on-High.

Word Notes

• 沖 (chōng): “balancing / blending” (also “to fill”); here, the Way’s quietly even, inexhaustible medium.
• 淵: deep, unfathomable.
• 宗: progenitor, source.
• 挫其銳: to dull/arrest aggressive sharpness.
• 紛: entanglement, turmoil.
• 湛: clear, still, quiescent.
• 帝: the High Sovereign (archaic “Lord-on-High”).

Chapter Explanation

This chapter sketches the Way’s profile: an inexhaustible, depth-like source that quietly levels extremes—dulling aggression, untying confusion, tempering brilliance, and mixing with the ordinary world. It’s palpably effective yet slips any fixed label or lineage, hence the closing line about preceding the “Lord-on-High.”

Discourse

Practically, the passage counsels non-striving governance and conduct. When we embody “blunt the sharp, loosen the tangled,” we de-escalate conflict, prevent polarization, and rejoin the common dust instead of seeking aura or credit. The Way’s power is precisely that it hides in plain sight: it restores balance without spectacle, and that’s why it endures.