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道生一，一生二，二生三，三生萬物。萬物負陰而抱陽，衝氣以為和。人之所惡，惟孤、寡、不穀，而王公以為稱。故物或損之而益，或益之而損。人之所教，我亦教之：強梁者不得其死。吾將以為教父。 Translation Dao gives birth to the One; the One gives birth to Two; Two gives birth to Three; Three gives birth to the myriad beings. The myriad beings carry yin on thei...

天下之至柔，馳騁天下之至堅。無有入於無間。吾是以知無為之有益。不言之教，無為之益，天下希及之。 Translation The softest thing under Heaven rides sovereign through the hardest under Heaven. What has no substance passes through where there is no opening. From this I know the value of nonaction. The teaching t...

名與身孰親？身與貨孰多？得與亡孰病？是故甚愛必大費。多藏心厚亡。知足不辱。知止不殆。可以長久。 Translation Fame or the self — which is more dear? The self or wealth — which carries greater weight? Getting or losing — which is the real affliction? Therefore: to love too fiercely is to spend yourself dry. To...

大成若缺，其用不敝。大盈若衝，其用不窮。大直若屈，大巧若拙，大辯若訥。躁勝寒，靜勝熱。清靜為天下正。 Translation Great accomplishment seems incomplete — yet its use is never worn away. Great fullness seems hollow — yet its use is inexhaustible. Great straightness seems bent. Great skill seems clumsy. Great el...

天下有道，卻走馬以糞。天下無道，戎馬生於郊。罪莫大於可欲，禍莫大於不知足，咎莫大於欲得。故知足常足。 Translation When all under Heaven walks the Dao, war-horses are turned to the fields to haul dung. When all under Heaven has lost the Dao, war-horses are bred on the open frontier. No crime is greater than kin...

不出戶，知天下。不窺牖，見天道。其出彌遠，其知彌少。是以聖人不行而知，不見而名，無為而成。 Translation Without stepping through the door, one knows all under Heaven. Without peering through the window, one sees the Dao of Heaven. The farther one ventures out, the less one knows. And so the Sage knows wit...

為學日益，為道日損。損之又損，以至於無為。無為而無不為矣。故取天下者，常以無事。及其有事，不足以取天下。 Translation In the pursuit of learning, one gains day by day. In the pursuit of Dao, one sheds day by day. Shedding and shedding again, until nothing remains to be done. Through nothing remaining to be done,...

聖人無常心，以百姓心為心。善者吾善之，不善者吾亦善之，德善矣。信者吾信之，不信者吾亦信之，德信矣。賢人在天下惵惵，為天下渾其心。百姓皆注其耳目，聖人皆孩之。 Translation The Sage has no fixed heart — he takes the heart of the hundred families as his own. Those who are good, I meet with goodness. Those who are not good, I also meet with g...

出生入死。生之徒十有三死。死之徒十有三。人之生動之死地者，亦十有三。夫何故？以其生生之厚。蓋聞善攝生者，陸行不遇兕虎，人軍不避甲兵。兕無所投其角，虎無所措其爪，兵無所容其刃。夫何故？以其無死地。 Translation Emerging into life, entering into death. Three in ten are companions of life; three in ten are companions of death. Three in ten, though alive, move t...

道生之，德畜之，物行之，勢成之。是以萬物莫不尊道而貴德。道之尊，德之貴，夫莫之爵，而常自然。故道生之、畜之，長之、育之，亭之、毒之，養之、覆之。生而不有，為而不恃，長而不宰，是謂玄德。 Translation Dao brings them to life, De tends to their keeping, things set them in motion, and circumstance completes them. So among the ten thousand beings, none fail...

天下有始，以為天下母。既得其母，以知其子。既知其子，復守其母，歿身不殆。塞其兌，閉其門，終身不勤。開其兌，濟其事，終身不救。見小曰明，守柔曰強。用其光，復歸其明，無遺身殃，是謂襲常。 Translation All under Heaven has a beginning — take it as the mother of all under Heaven. Having found the mother, know thereby the children. Having known the children,...

使我介然有知，行於大道，惟施是畏。大道甚夷，而民好徑。朝甚除，田甚蕪，倉甚虛。服文采，帶利劍，厭飲食，資貨有餘，是謂盜竽。非道哉！ Translation Were I to have the least scrap of knowledge, I would walk upon the great road — my only dread: ostentation. The great road is perfectly level, yet the people prefer the byways. The c...

善建者不拔，善抱者不脫，子孫祭祀不輟。修之於身，其德乃真；修之於家，其德乃餘；修之於鄉，其德乃長；修之於邦，其德乃豐；修之於天下，其德乃普。故以身觀身，以家觀家，以鄉觀鄉，以邦觀邦，以天下觀天下。吾何以知天下之然哉？以此。 Translation What is skillfully established cannot be uprooted; what is skillfully held cannot slip away. Through this, descendants offer the rites w...

含德之厚，比於赤子。毒蟲不螫，猛獸不據，攫鳥不搏。骨弱筋柔而握固。未知牝牡之合而血夋作，精之至也。終日號而不嘎，和之至也。和和曰常，知常曰明。益生曰祥，心使氣曰強。物壯則老，是謂不道，不道早矣。 Translation One who holds De in abundance is like a newborn infant. Venomous insects do not sting it, fierce beasts do not seize it, birds of prey do not strike i...

知者不言，言者不知。塞其兌，閉其門，挫其銳，解其紛，和其光，同其塵，是謂玄同。故不可得而親，不可得而疏，不可得而利，不可得而害，不可得而貴，不可得而賤。故為天下貴。 Translation Those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know. Block the openings, shut the gates, blunt the sharp, loose the tangled, soften the light, merge with the du...

以正治國，以奇用兵，以無事取天下。吾何以知天下之然哉？天下多忌諱，而民彌貧；人多利器，國家滋昏；人多技巧，奇物滋起；法令滋彰，盜賊多有。故聖人云：我無為而民自化，我好靜而民自正，我無事而民自富，我無慾而民自樸。 Translation Govern the state with uprightness, deploy the army with surprise, win all under Heaven through noninterference. How do I know this is so? By t...

其政悶悶，其民醇醇；其政察察，其民缺缺。禍兮福所倚，福兮禍所伏。孰知其極？其正無耶？正復為奇，善復為妖。人之迷也，其日固久矣。是以聖人方而不割，廉而不劌，直而不肆，光而不耀。 Translation When governance is broad and unhurried, the people grow pure and generous. When governance is sharp and prying, the people grow mean and wanting. Misfortune — f...

治人事天，莫如嗇。夫惟嗇，是謂早服。早服謂之積重德。積重德，則無不克。無不克，則莫知其極。莫知其極，可以有國。有國之母，可以長久。是謂深根固柢，長生久視之道。 Translation For governing people and serving Heaven, nothing surpasses drawing inward. Only through drawing inward can one submit early. Submitting early — this is called accumulat...