As considerably more than half of the text consists in rhyming passages which are most probably of an earlier date, it seems desirable to separate them from the prose parts. This is done by printing the translation of the rhyming passages in separate lines and with indention. Needless to say, no attempt has been made to translate these passages in verse form.
The text I have followed is that of the standard Wang Pi version. Wherever I have departed from the standard text, I give the variant reading in a note. I have, however, not thought it necessary to give detailed citation of my authority, as the reader who is interested in the matter can easily find this information in a number of excellent works in which variant readings have been collated, for instance Ma Hsü-lun, Lao tzu ho ku (1924; reprinted Peking, 1956), Chiang Hsi-ch’ang, Lao tzu chiao ku (Shanghai, 1937), and Chu Ch’ien-chih, Lao tzu chiao shih (Shanghai, 1958). Of these Chiang’s work is still the most convenient for reference.
D.C.L.
LAO TZU
BOOK ONE
I
1The way that can be spoken of
Is not the constant way;
The name that can be named
Is not the constant name.
2The nameless was the beginning of heaven and earth;
The named was the mother of the myriad creatures.
3Hence always rid yourself of desires in order to observe its* secrets;
But always allow yourself to have desires in order to observe its manifestations.’1†
3aThese two are the same
But diverge in name as they issue forth.
Being the same they are called mysteries,
Mystery upon mystery -
The gateway of the manifold secrets.
II
4The whole world recognizes the beautiful as the beautiful, yet this is only the ugly; the whole world recognizes the good as the good, yet this is only the bad.
5Thus Something and Nothing produce each other;
The difficult and the easy complement each other;
The long and the short offset1 each other;
The high and the low incline towards each other;
Note and sound* harmonize with each other;
Before and after follow each other, †
6Therefore the sage keeps to the deed that consists in taking no action and practises the teaching that uses no words.
7The myriad creatures rise from it yet it claims no authority;2
It gives them life yet claims no possession;
It benefits them yet exacts no gratitude;
It accomplishes its task yet lays claim to no merit.
7aIt is because it lays claim to no merit
That its merit never deserts it.
III
8Not to honour men of worth will keep the people from contention; not to value goods which are hard to come by will keep them from theft; not to display what is desirable will keep them from being unsettled of mind.
9Therefore in governing the people, the sage empties their minds but fills their bellies, weakens their wills but strengthens their bones. He always keeps them innocent of knowledge and free from desire, and ensures that the clever never dare to act.
10Do that which consists in taking no action, and order will prevail.
IV
11The way is empty, yet use will not drain*1 it.
Deep, it is like the ancestor of the myriad creatures.
12Blunt the sharpness;
Untangle the knots;
Soften the glare;
Let your wheels move only along old ruts.2
13Darkly visible, it only seems as if it were there.
I know not whose son it is.
It images the forefather of God.
V
14Heaven and earth are ruthless, and treat the myriad creatures as straw dogs;* the sage is ruthless, and treats the people as straw dogs.
15Is not the space between heaven and earth like a bellows?
It is empty without being exhausted:
The more it works the more comes out.
16Much speech leads inevitably to silence.
Better to hold fast to the void.1
VI
17The spirit of the valley never dies.
This is called the mysterious female.
The gateway of the mysterious female
Is called the root of heaven and earth.
Dimly visible, it seems as if it were there,
Yet use will never drain it.
VII
18Heaven and earth are enduring. The reason why heaven and earth can be enduring is that they do not give themselves life. Hence they are able to be long-lived.
19Therefore the sage puts his person last and it comes first,
Treats it as extraneous to himself and it is preserved.
19aIs it not because he is without thought of self that he is able to accomplish his private ends?
VIII
20Highest good is like water. Because water excels in benefiting the myriad creatures without contending with them and settles where none would like to be, it comes close to the way.
21In a home it is the site that matters;1
In quality of mind it is depth that matters;
In an ally it is benevolence that matters;
In speech it is good faith that matters;
In government it is order that matters;
In affairs it is ability that matters;
In action it is timeliness that matters.
22It is because it does not contend that it is never at fault.*
IX
23Rather than fill it to the brim by keeping it upright
Better to have stopped in time;*1
Hammer it to a point
And the sharpness cannot be preserved for ever;
There may be gold and jade to fill a hall
But there is none who can keep them.
To be overbearing when one has wealth and position
Is to bring calamity upon oneself.
To retire when the task is accomplished
Is the way of heaven.
X
24When carrying on your head1 your perplexed bodily soul* can you embrace in your arms the One
And not let go?
In concentrating your breath can you become as supple
As a babe?
Can you polish your mysterious mirror †
And leave no blemish?
Can you love the people and govern the state
Without resorting to action?2
When the gates of heaven‡ open and shut
Are you capable of keeping to the role of the female?3
When your discernment penetrates the four quarters
Are you capable of not knowing anything?4
25It gives them life and rears them.
26It gives them life yet claims no possession;
It benefits them yet exacts no gratitude;
It is the steward yet exercises no authority.
Such is called the mysterious virtue.
XI
27Thirty spokes
Share one hub.
Adapt the nothing therein to the purpose in hand, and you will have the use of the cart. Knead clay in order to make a vessel. Adapt the nothing therein to the purpose in hand, and you will have the use of the vessel. Cut out doors and windows in order to make a room. Adapt the nothing* therein to the purpose in hand, and you will have the use of the room.
27aThus what we gain is Something, yet it is by virtue of Nothing that this can be put to use.
XII
28The five colours make man’s eyes blind;
The five notes make his ears deaf;
The five tastes injure his palate;
Riding and hunting
Make his mind go wild with excitement;
Goods hard to come by
Serve to hinder his progress.
29Hence the sage is
For the belly
Not for the eye.
 
; 29aTherefore he discards the one and takes the other.
XIII
30Favour and disgrace are things that startle;
High rank* is, like one’s body, a source of great trouble.
30aWhat is meant by saying that favour and disgrace are things that startle? Favour when it is bestowed on a subject serves to startle as much as when it is withdrawn. This is what is meant by saying that favour and disgrace are things that startle. What is meant by saying that high rank is, like one’s body, a source of great trouble? The reason I have great trouble is that I have a body. When I no longer have a body, what trouble have I?
31Hence he who values his body more than dominion over the empire can be entrusted with the empire. He who loves his body more than dominion over the empire can be given the custody of the empire.
XIV
32What cannot be seen is called evanescent;
What cannot be heard is called rarefied;
What cannot be touched is called minute.
32aThese three cannot be fathomed
And so they are confused and looked upon as one.
33Its upper part is not dazzling;
Its lower part is not obscure.
Dimly visible, it cannot be named
And returns to that which is without substance.
This is called the shape that has no shape,
The image that is without substance.
This is called indistinct and shadowy.
Go up to it and you will not see its head;
Follow behind it and you will not see its rear.
34Hold fast to the way of antiquity
In order to keep in control the realm of today.
The ability to know the beginning of antiquity
Is called the thread running through the way.
XV
35Of old he who was well versed in the way1
Was minutely subtle, mysteriously comprehending,
And too profound to be known.
It is because he could not be known
That he can only be given a makeshift description:
Tentative, as if fording a river in winter,
Hesitant, as if in fear of his neighbours;
Formal like a guest;2
Falling apart like thawing ice;
Thick like the uncarved block;
Vacant like a valley;
Murky like muddy water.
36Who can be muddy and yet, settling, slowly become limpid?3
Who can be at rest and yet, stirring, slowly come to life?
He who holds fast to this way
Desires not to be full.
It is because he is not full
That he can be worn and yet newly made.*
XVI
37I do my utmost to attain emptiness;
I hold firmly to stillness.
The myriad creatures all rise together
And I watch their return.
The teeming creatures
All return to their separate roots.
Returning to one’s roots is known as stillness.
This is what is meant by returning to one’s destiny.
Returning to one’s destiny is known as the constant.
Knowledge of the constant is known as discernment.
38Woe to him who wilfully innovates
While ignorant of the constant,
But should one act from knowledge of the constant
One’s action will lead to impartiality,
Impartiality to kingliness,
Kingliness to heaven,
Heaven1 to the way,
The way to perpetuity,
And to the end of one’s days one will meet with no danger.
XVII
39The best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his subjects.
Next comes the ruler they love and praise;
Next comes one they fear;
Next comes one with whom they take liberties.
40When there is not enough faith, there is lack of good faith.
41Hesitant,1 he does not utter words lightly.
When his task is accomplished and his work done
The people all say, ‘It happened to us naturally.’
XVIII
42When the great way falls into disuse
There are benevolence and rectitude;
When cleverness emerges
There is great hypocrisy;
When the six relations* are at variance
There are filial children;1
When the state is benighted
There are loyal ministers.
XIX
43Exterminate the sage, discard the wise,
And the people will benefit a hundredfold;
Exterminate benevolence, discard rectitude,
And the people will again be filial;1
Exterminate ingenuity, discard profit,
And there will be no more thieves and bandits.
43aThese three, being false2 adornments, are not enough
And the people must have something to which they can attach themselves:
Exhibit the unadorned and embrace the uncarved block,
Have little thought of self and as few desires as possible.
XX
44Exterminate learning and there will no longer be worries.*
45Between yea and nay
How much difference is there?
Between good and evil
How great is the distance?
46What others fear
One must also fear.
47And wax without having reached the limit.†
The multitude are joyous
As if partaking of the t’ai lao‡ offering
Or going up to a terrace§ in spring.
I alone am inactive and reveal no signs,
Like a baby that has not yet learned to smile,
Listless as though with no home to go back to.
The multitude all have more than enough.
I alone seem to be in want.1
My mind is that of a fool - how blank!
Vulgar people are clear.
I alone am drowsy.
Vulgar people are alert.
I alone am muddled.
Calm like the sea;
Like a high wind that never ceases. ||
The multitude all have a purpose.
I alone am foolish and uncouth.
I alone am different from others
And value being fed by the mother.
XXI
48In his every movement a man of great virtue
Follows the way and the way only.
49As a thing the way is
Shadowy, indistinct.
Indistinct and shadowy,
Yet within it is an image;
Shadowy and indistinct,
Yet within it is a substance.
Dim and dark,
Yet within it is an essence.
This essence is quite genuine
And within it is something that can be tested.
49aFrom the present back to antiquity1
Its name never deserted it.
It serves as a means for inspecting the fathers of the multitude.
49bHow do I know that the fathers of the multitude are like that?2 By means of this.
XXII
50Bowed down then preserved;
Bent then straight;
Hollow then full;
Worn then new;
A little then benefited;
A lot then perplexed.
50aTherefore the sage embraces the One and is a model for the empire.
50bHe does not show himself, and so is conspicuous;
He does not consider himself right, and so is illustrious;
He does not brag, and so has merit;
He does not boast, and so endures.
50cIt is because he does not contend that no one in the empire is in a position to contend with him.
50dThe way the ancients had it, ‘Bowed down then preserved’, is no empty sayi
ng. Truly it enables one to be preserved to the end.
XXIII
51To use words but rarely
Is to be natural.
51aHence a gusty wind cannot last all morning, and a sudden downpour cannot last all day. Who is it that produces these? Heaven and earth. If even heaven and earth cannot go on for ever, much less can man. That is why one follows the way.1
52A man of the way conforms to the way; a man of virtue conforms to virtue; a man of loss conforms to loss. He who conforms to the way is gladly accepted by the way; he who conforms to virtue is gladly accepted by virtue; he who conforms to loss is gladly accepted by loss.*
53When there is not enough faith, there is lack of good faith.
XXIV
54He who tiptoes cannot stand; he who strides cannot walk.
55He who shows himself is not conspicuous;
He who considers himself right is not illustrious;
He who brags will have no merit;
He who boasts will not endure.
55aFrom the point of view of the way these are ‘excessive food and useless excrescences’.1 As there are Things that detest them, he who has the way does not abide in them.