Stigweard's Daodejing 道德經

[dawei]

I am seeing Heaven as a field of pure yang - that is a luminous infinity whose light gives order. And I am seeing Earth as being the receptive (dark) substance that gives and sustains life - pure yin. The Tao then as origin is Heavenly and as 'mother' is Earthly. This is the underlying structure of the universe - but it is not the empirically observed universe because we do not perceive pure energy or pure substance we perceive mixtures or interactions >>> the 10k things.

I usually subscribe to the 'Wu' vs 'You' distinction but I like this explanation among any I have heard or read. Particularly because it aligns to the two oldest chinese Cosmologies: The Huai Nan Zi and the Tai Yi Sheng Shui. This latter text predates the MWD versions since it was found among the Guodian bamboo scrolls and the Guodian Lao Zi did not have Chapter 1. Sorry to sidetrack but nice comments.

[manitou]

Introduction:

 

 

Therefore, enduring innocence

Comes from the subtle view;

Incessant desire for things

Comes from the superficial view.

 

 

It's interesting to see Lin Yutang's translation of this same verse.

 

"Oftentimes, one strips oneself of passion

In order to see the Secret of Life;

Oftentimes, one regards life with passion,

In order to see it's manifest results"

 

Enduring innocence, as you have chosen, can be analogized to 'seeing the secret of life'. This is life without judgment, without contrived desires. I guess he's also saying that 'passion' in this context is the same as getting entrenched in the 10,000 things, to get caught up in the results.

 

What an incredible project you are undertaking. thanks for sharing it!

[Stigweard]

[Apech]

 

It's always fraught with danger when we try and make one body of work "fit" another. Does the Daodejing have correlations with the Yijing? Some folks believe so, I personally don't know one way or the other. It's safe to say that Laozi was conversant with the Yijing -- some say he was the court diviner before he rode off to the west. But whether he directly wove yijing principles into his work is unknown to me ... I would love to be otherwise educated however

 

 

 

You are right about the danger of course Stig but I wasn't doing what you suggest i.e. fitting one body on another - although I understand why you think I was.

 

I don't want to derail your thread with this but I just wanted to make this point. Cultures generally have what you might call a cosmological view on how the universe is constructed. It is this to which both the I Ching and Lao Tse refer when they make statements about the nature of things. It does not mean that one work derives or depends on the other.

[Stigweard]

[dawei]

[Apech]

[Stigweard]

Ok take it as an analogy ... nothingness (or perhaps no-thing-ness) as an origin ... what do we understand by that? Beingness as mother is perhaps more straightforward.

 

Anyway please continue - this is very interesting.

The challenge, I believe, in translations of "nothingness", "origin", "beingness", and "mother", is that they can erroneously lead the mind in the direction of conceptualizing and abstracting these names. But this is exactly what Laozi is warning us against.

 

Because of this I have made a very deliberate effort to render a translation that counters the mind's desire to create things to cling to.

 

[Apech]

The challenge, I believe, in translations of "nothingness", "origin", "beingness", and "mother", is that they can erroneously lead the mind in the direction of conceptualizing and abstracting these names. But this is exactly what Laozi is warning us against.

 

Because of this I have made a very deliberate effort to render a translation that counters the mind's desire to create things to cling to.

 

 

Yes I completely agree. In fact in this is the answer to all Vaj's critique of Taoism as monist (whatever). This first section is very beautifully constructed so as to express non-duality by 'bouncing' the mind between dualistic concepts in such a way that they can never take hold and become definite 'things'.

 

The difference is that Buddhism starts by analysing phenomena and reaches the conclusion that no thing has a self. While Taoism starts by talking about the non-dual absolute and saying that it cannot be expressed in words. This also differentiates from the Vedic Pure Objectless Consciousness because the Tao is both the named and the nameless and neither. Objectless-ness is not an issue.

[Stigweard]

Chapter Two -- Nourishing Life

 

As soon as the collective view

Declares beauty to be beautiful,

Disgusting is also declared.

As soon as the collective view

Declares virtue to be virtuous,

Evil is also declared.

 

In the same way,

Life and death originate each other,

Difficult and easy accomplish each other,

Long and short measure each other,

Superior and inferior implicate each other,

Sound and hearing harmonize each other,

Before and after sequence each other.

 

Accordingly the sage:

Employs liberality when managing,

Observes quietude when teaching,

Allows things to rise and pass

Without snaring them with words,

Creates without taking possession,

Acts without presuming reward,

Succeeds without making claim.

 

Truly, the sage never fixate themselves,

Thus they never depart from themselves.

 

 

Original Text:

 

 

Chinese Characters:

第二章 -- 養身

 

天下皆知美之為美，

斯惡矣﹔

皆知善之為善，

斯不善矣。

 

故有無相生，

難易相成，

長短相形，

高下相傾，

音聲相和，

前後相隨。

 

是以聖人處無為之事，

行不言之教。

萬物作焉而不辭,

生而不有，

為而不恃，

功成而弗居。

 

夫唯弗居，

是以不去。

 

Chinese Pinyin:

 

Yǎng shēn

 

Tiān xià jiē zhì měi zhī wèi měi,

Sī è yǐ;

Jiē zhì shàn zhī wèi shàn,

Sī bùshàn yǐ.

 

Gù wú yǒu xiāng shēng,

Nán yì xiāng chéng,

Cháng duǎn xiāng xíng,

Gāo xià xiāng qīng,

Yīn shēng xiāng hé,

Qián hòu xiāng suí.

 

Shì yǐ shèngrén chǔ wúwèi zhī shì,

Xíng bùyán zhī jiào.

Wànwù zuò yān bù cí,

Shēng ér bù yǒu,

Wèi ér bù shì,

Gōng chéng ér fú jū.

 

Fū wéi fú jū,

Shì yǐ bù qù.

 

Ancient Seal / Bronze Characters:

 

 

 

Translator's Notes and Commentary:

 

 

Chapter Overview:

 

Chapter 2 is an elaboration of Chapter 1 in that it is framing the Sage’s view of the world. We see once again the admonishment of creating descriptions and conceptual principles; how as soon as we make a descriptive of one thing it immediately creates a comparative description of something else.

 

In lines one through four I have slightly reordered the flow of characters to produce what I believe to be the implied message. Though sī (straightaway) appears only in line two and four, I have included its inference in lines one and three in terms of “as soon as”. I have also taken “all under Heaven” to imply “the collective view”. I have done this to further emphasize the use of descriptives, which after all is what a “view of the world” consists of, as a detriment to the Taoist “Subtle View”.

 

In the second section we have paired opposites.

 

Life and death are both attributes of origination.

Difficult and easy are both attributes of accomplishment.

Long and short are both attributes of measurement.

Superior and inferior are both attributes of implication.

Sound and hearing are both attributes of music.

Before and after are both attributes of sequence.

 

The third section is how the sage operates once fixations to conceptual descriptions are liberated.

 

The final two lines are the key that ties the whole chapter in with its title of “Nourishing Life” and it also ties in with the Taoist principle of 全, quán meaning “complete” or “integral”. To the Taoist view an integral being is one who is undivided within themselves – someone who is naturally whole. And in this chapter we see the implication that when we fixate ourselves through attaching to conceptual descriptions we are damaging our integral wholeness by creating separations within our mind.

 

So the simple instruction is to let go of these descriptions to nourish one’s own integral wholeness – to nourish the wholeness of life within.

 

Line 1: 天下皆知美之為美，-- Tiān xià jiē zhì měi zhī wèi měi,

 

Tiān is once again Heaven, coupled with xià, “under”, we have the meaning of “under heaven”. Jiē is most commonly translated as “all, together”, so the composite here is the idea of “all under heaven”, meaning “everyone in the world”. Jiē also has the notion of “together speak”, perhaps like the common speech between people. So if we run with the idea that the sum of our descriptive words comprise our view of the world then we can see a notion of a “collective view”.

 

Zhì, commonly translated as “to know” or “regards”, is a composite of an arrow and an open mouth. So in a sense this is saying when we point or aim at something with our speech, so “declare” might be used.

 

Měi pictographically is a man 大 with a goat 羊 head dress and could also be a dancer with a head dress of feathers for decoration. It is fairly universally translated as “beauty, beautiful, pretty”.

 

Zhī is merely a preceding phrase as a modifier, like the word ‘it’.

 

Wèi is a picture of a hand feeding or leading an elephant, or it could be an image of a mother monkey. Admittedly somewhat ambiguous, the common translation is “to act,” however we also have “to be, to do, to make”.

 

And once again we have měi, beautiful.

 

Line 2: 斯惡矣﹔-- Sī è yǐ;

 

Sī means “then; thus; therefore, or thereupon”. There is, however, also the possibility of it meaning “straightway, directly” or even “simultaneously”.

 

È 惡 is an interesting term in that most translations of the Daodejing render it as “ugliness”, but on closer inspection we see something else. It is a composite of xīn 心 (heart, mind, soul), and yà 亞 (inferior, secondary, ugly, to press down, to weigh down). We almost have an opposite of Dé 德, virtue or “straight heartedness”. Outside of the Daodejing it is translated as evil, wicked, vice, bad, foul, to disgust, to sicken, to scorn.

 

So I can see why people have opted for “ugliness” because ugliness creates the feeling of disgust. But I want stay closer to the text, hence “that which is disgusting”.

 

Yǐ is a particle of completion, denoting the perfect tense, indicating completion of a sentence. I read it like how in English we might say, “This is the way it is, period.”

 

Line 3: 皆知善之為善，-- Jiē zhì shàn zhī wèi shàn,

 

Jiē is most commonly translated as “all, together”, so the composite here is the idea of “all under heaven”, meaning “everyone in the world”.

 

Zhì, commonly translated as “to know” or “regards”, is a composite of an arrow and an open mouth. So in a sense this is saying when we point or aim at something with our speech, so “declare” might be used.

 

Shàn gives us an interesting imagery. The character is a composite of words 言 and sheep 羊 so we can assume that they are “gentle words like sheep”. Thus we have meanings like “good, virtuous, charitable, kind”. I have chosen virtue and virtuous to suit the purpose.

 

Zhī is merely a preceding phrase as a modifier, like the word ‘it’.

 

Wèi is a picture of a hand feeding or leading an elephant, or it could be an image of a mother monkey. Admittedly somewhat ambiguous, the common translation is “to act,” however we also have “to be, to do, to make”.

 

And once again we have shàn, good, virtuous.

 

Line 4: 斯不善矣。-- Sī bùshàn yǐ.

 

Sī means “then; thus; therefore, or thereupon”. There is, however, also the possibility of it meaning “straightway, directly” or even “simultaneously”.

 

Bùshàn, with bù meaning “no or not” and shàn meaning good or virtuous, is basically saying “not good” or “not virtuous”. Thus the antonym of good and virtuous is “evil”.

 

Yǐ is a particle of completion, denoting the perfect tense, indicating completion of a sentence. I read it like how in English we might say, “This is the way it is, period.”

 

Line 5: 故有無相生，-- Gù wú yǒu xiāng shēng,

 

Gù is commonly read as “ancient, old; reason, because, cause, hence, therefore”. The idea is that something is the way it is because of precedent.

 

Wú 無 simply means an absence or negative like the terms “no, not, have no”. It can either be the image of cleared patch of forest, thus negation, or it has also been pictographically linked to shaman dancers holding tassels with my implication of that the tassels become the focus of attention and the dancer “disappears”.

 

Yǒu is pictographically a hand grasping either flesh or the moon. It is commonly translated as “to have, possession, own” but it also denotes a sense of “existence”.

 

In line five we have a return to the concepts of wú and yǒu. Being presented as paired concepts like this necessitates closer consideration. Yǒu indicating the idea of “having flesh”, thus being alive, and for wú I have seen the cleared forest as “dead” or bereft of life, thus “life” and “death” forms my dyad. It can be truly said that life originates death and that death originates life … talk to compost heap and you will know what I mean.

 

Xiāng is interestingly the image of a tree 木 and an eye 目 and there are a couple ways of reading this. In its original sense we can garner the idea of “observe, appearance, to examine, to study, to read”. But because both 木 and 目 have the same pronunciation of mù the translations of “mutually and reciprocal”.

 

Shēng is the picture of a growing plant so we have the meanings of “grow, to give birth to, to live, to bear, to beget, to produce, etc”.

 

Line 6: 難易相成，-- Nán yì xiāng chéng,

 

Nán is a little obscure without know the cultural context. Pictographically meaning a yellow bird, common translations include “difficult, arduous, hard, unable, unpleasant, troublesome.” I can only assume that the bird in question was a troublesome, unpleasant critter.

 

Yì, translated as “easy, amiable”, can be either be the image of water passing from one vessel to the other or the image of a lizard. It is interesting that this is the same Yì as in the “Book of Changes”, thus it is also the concept of “change, or exchange”.

 

Just a note of discussion here, the Yijing teaches us that difficulty only arises when we fight against the changes – perhaps this is a deeper message in this line.

 

Xiāng is interestingly the image of a tree 木 and an eye 目 and there are a couple ways of reading this. In its original sense we can garner the idea of “observe, appearance, to examine, to study, to read”. But because both 木 and 目 have the same pronunciation of mù the translations of “mutually and reciprocal”.

 

Chéng provides us with the image of a long handled instrument or weapon like a lance or halberd. With the possible insinuation of a man accomplishing or completing a task using weapons we have the translations of “complete, accomplish, succeed, perfect, etc.”

 

Line 7: 長短相形，-- Cháng duǎn xiāng xíng,

 

Cháng is the picture of someone with long hair, possibly with a walking cane. So the translations include “long, length, lasting, excel, senior, advance, etc.”

 

Duǎn is a dart, an arrow, so it is something that is short giving translations of “short, brief, deficient, lacking, owe, etc”.

 

Xiāng is interestingly the image of a tree 木 and an eye 目 and there are a couple ways of reading this. In its original sense we can garner the idea of “observe, appearance, to examine, to study, to read”. But because both 木 and 目 have the same pronunciation of mù the translations of “mutually and reciprocal”.

 

Xíng commonly means “shape, form, appearance” and it is the image of sun rays and perhaps a set of calipers. Perhaps we have the idea of shaping via comparison, description or measurement.

 

Line 8: 高下相傾，-- Gāo xià xiāng qīng,

 

Gāo is the picture of a high building or a tower so we have the meanings of “tall, high, above, lofty, superior.”

 

Xià is an indicator 一 pointing to the area below in marker 丅, thus we have “under, down, lower, below, inferior.”

 

Xiāng is interestingly the image of a tree 木 and an eye 目 and there are a couple ways of reading this. In its original sense we can garner the idea of “observe, appearance, to examine, to study, to read”. But because both 木 and 目 have the same pronunciation of mù the translations of “mutually and reciprocal”.

 

Qīng is an intriguing character with different renderings that demands some examination beyond the face value. In one case we might have the image of a person leaning or possibly falling over so we have the possible meaning of “to slant, to bend, to lean towards, fascination”, whilst we also have the image of something being up-ended or turned upside down thus “upset, topple, collapse, exhaust, pour out, to empty, to dump”. Then, as an action of a person, we have “to profile, implicate, frame”.

 

Line 9: 音聲相和，-- Yīn shēng xiāng hé,

 

Yīn , showing images of a mouth with something in it and a tongue sticking out with something on it, means “sound, voice, tone, pitch, pronunciation.” This is the issuing side of the phenomena.

 

Shēng is what the ear 耳 hears from a hand striking 殳 the chime stone with a mallet 声. So once again we have a “sound, a voice, a tone, music”, but this time from the receptive side of the phenomena.

 

Xiāng is interestingly the image of a tree 木 and an eye 目 and there are a couple ways of reading this. In its original sense we can garner the idea of “observe, appearance, to examine, to study, to read”. But because both 木 and 目 have the same pronunciation of mù the translations of “mutually and reciprocal”.

 

Hé, being the image of a mouth, means “harmony, peace, peaceful, amiable, gentle, mild, kind”.

 

Line 10: 前後相隨。-- Qián hòu xiāng suí.

 

Qián is the image of a boat 月舟 on the water 刂 going forward 止. And so we have the meanings “front, forward, before, previous”.

 

Hòu is one small 幺 step 夂 behind another step 彳. And so we have the renderings of “behind, rear, after, back”.

 

Xiāng is interestingly the image of a tree 木 and an eye 目 and there are a couple ways of reading this. In its original sense we can garner the idea of “observe, appearance, to examine, to study, to read”. But because both 木 and 目 have the same pronunciation of mù the translations of “mutually and reciprocal”.

 

Suí, with the imagery of a road and a foot, means “to follow, to trace, move with, to come after, to listen to, to submit to, to comply with, to accompany, to resemble”. Of note suí is hexagram 17 in the Yijing meaning “compliance, following”.

 

Line 11: 是以聖人處無為之事，-- Shì yǐ shèngrén chǔ wúwèi zhī shì,

 

Shì is a demonstrative pronoun with meanings of “yes, right, to be, this, that, which, correct, indeed”.

 

Yǐ is commonly read as “by means of, because of, thereby, according to”.

 

Together I am reading Shì Yǐ as “accordingly” as we see a flow of learning from the first stanza, through to the second, and now through to the third.

 

Shèngrén is normally read together with shèn meaning “holy; sacred; saint; sage” and rén meaning “man; person; people”. Thus the popular “sage” rendition is achieved.

 

Chǔ is another interesting character which pictographically reveals the sound of the tiger as it stands up and walks around. Perhaps the tiger is patrolling its territory or its den. There are two different ways to translate this, the first is to emphasize the territory and we get “place, locale, spot, office, department”, the second is to emphasize the action of the tiger and we get “dwell, abide, occupy, manage, attend.”

 

Wúwèi is a classic Taoist term. Wú is once again “no, not, absence”. Wèi is the image of a hand feeding or leading an elephant and so we have the meanings “do, handle, govern, act; be”. So what is it then to not do, not handle, not govern? Most people will translate this as non-doing, with the implication of doing nothing. I believe this is an incorrect assumption. When placed in context with the line we see wúwèi more as non-controlling, non-governing, non-contrivance.

 

Zhī is merely a preceding phrase as a modifier of shǐ, like the word ‘it’.

 

Shì is pictographically a hand possibly planting something based on orders from someone. Translations include: “affair, matter, business, manage, to serve, accident, incident, a job, occupation.”

 

Line 12: 行不言之教。-- Xíng bùyán zhī jiào.

 

Xíng is the picture of a street intersection. Common meanings include: “go, walk, move, travel, circulate, to do, to perform, to act, to travel, to carry out, conduct, behavior.”

 

Bù means “no, not; un-; negative prefix”. Yán is the picture of a mouth with a tongue coming out of it, so we have the meanings of: “words, speech; speak, say”.

 

Zhī is merely a preceding phrase as a modifier of shǐ, like the word ‘it’.

 

Jiào is pictographically a child receiving old wisdom from a teacher wielding a stick. So we have the meanings: “teach, class, a religion, an order, a directive.”

 

Line 13: 萬物作焉而不辭, -- Wànwù zuò yān bù cí,

 

Line 13 provides a challenge in that I have found several variations of the characters:

 

1. 萬物作焉而不辭,

 

2. 萬物作而弗始，

 

3. 萬物作焉而不無始,

 

Line 13: 萬物作焉而不辭, -- Wànwù zuò yān bù cí,

 

Line 13 provides a challenge in that I have found several variations of the characters:

 

1. 萬物作焉而不辭, - WB and HSG (see also chapter 34 usage)

 

2. 萬物作而弗始， - MWD B, GD

 

3. 萬物作焉而不無始, - FY (Wang Bi's notes of Chapter 17 quote Chapter 2 as 'wei shi').

 

----

 

I thought I would add a few comments concerning the manuscript variations (assigned above).

 

The use of shi (始) seems well grounded as the oldest manuscripts (MWD, GD) have it and the FY is supposedly based on a Han Tomb Manuscript (ie: as the MWD were), simply replaced 'fu' with 'bu wei'.

 

Those that choose to use 'shi' do so based on the historical manuscript use AND that Wang Bi in his Chapter 17 notes cites the FY version which has 'shi'. Then why does WB text have 'ci'? This is a long story but those who have studied the WB notes found that when the notes don't match his text, his text most of the follows the HSG, which was the prevailing and popular manuscript of the day. SO blame the editors HSG bias(?).

 

Those that stick to using 'ci' cite Wang Bi's use in Chapter 34 as very parallel and justified:

chapter v2: 萬物作---焉而不辭

chapter 34: 萬物恃之而生而不辭

 

The main problem I see with that argument is that NONE of the older manuscripts have this Chapter 34 block of text at all.

 

There are a few other issues but the only one worth mentioning is the WB use of qing (傾) instead of ying (盈) which cannot be explained easily. One person told me that the Han ruler Liu Ying would of required that character to be removed (ie: Naming taboo). But I then asked why the other 9 occurrences of 'ying' were not also (they remain in the WB)?

 

The first three characters are the same.

 

Wànwù once again returns us to the concept of “the 10,000 things” or, as I have rendered in chapter 1, “the many separate things”.

 

Zuò is pictographically action of a person with the meanings: “make; work; rise up, compose, write; act, perform, to regard”.

 

From here the characters differ.

 

In variations 1 and 3 we have 焉, yān, which is the picture of a bird with a special or different head. How it came to mean: “here, herein, thereupon, then, how, why, when” is beyond me. It could be a final particle indicating numerous meanings.

 

Ér is a contextual contrasting term like “but”, “otherwise”, “and yet”.

 

In variations 1 and 3 we have 不, bù, meaning “no, not; un-; negative prefix”.

 

Line two has bù replaced with 弗, fú, which is not much of a drama because it also means “not”.

 

Variations 2 and 3 use 始, shǐ as the final character. Shǐ, as in Chapter 1, has commonly been translated as “origin”. However, close examination yields a more pertinent implication. Pictographically Shǐ can represent a womb and/or breasts. It can also be seen as a stick penetrating an opening or semen fertilizing a womb. The translation of origin comes from the idea that ‘we all find origin’ in the womb. In Chapter 1 I have chosen to use the term ‘inception’ due to its more natural connotations.

 

Variation 1 however uses 辭, cí, as the final character. Though cí is commonly translated as “language, words, a phrase, an expression,” pictographically it can be pictured as departing or withdrawing in a tangle of words so it can also mean: “to decline, to refuse, to leave, to part from, to depart, to bid adieu, to resign.”

 

As a final confusion, variation 3 includes 無, wèi, which is the image of a hand feeding or leading an elephant and so we have the meanings “do, handle, govern, act; be”.

 

For this line I am forced to adopt a non-literal approach and look at the overall context of both Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. I am seeing it therefore as if the 10,000 things may rise but the sage doesn’t need to try and tangle them up with words.

 

Line 14: 生而不有, -- Shēng ér bù yǒu,

 

Shēng is the picture of a growing plant so we have the meanings of “grow, to give birth to, to live, to bear, to beget, to produce, etc”.

 

Ér is a contextual contrasting term like “but”, “otherwise”, “and yet”.

 

Bù meaning “no, not; un-; negative prefix”.

 

Yǒu is pictographically a hand grasping either flesh or the moon. It is commonly translated as “to have, possession, own” but it also denotes a sense of “existence”.

 

Line 15: 為而不恃，-- Wèi ér bù shì,

 

Wèi is the image of a hand feeding or leading an elephant and so we have the meanings “do, handle, govern, act; be”.

 

Ér is a contextual contrasting term like “but”, “otherwise”, “and yet”.

 

Bù meaning “no, not; un-; negative prefix”.

 

Shì is related to the heart and is often translated as “dependence, rely upon, to presume upon”.

 

Line 16: 功成而弗居。-- Gōng chéng ér fú jū.

 

Gōng gives us the image of a strong arm denoting power and is translated as: “achievement, merit, good result, accomplishment, usefulness, effectiveness.” This is the same as in Qigong and Gongfu.

 

Chéng is the image of either a long handled instrument or a weapon like a lance. It renders the meanings of: “completed, accomplished, finished, to accomplish”

 

Ér is a contextual contrasting term like “but”, “otherwise”, “and yet”.

 

Fú, like bù, means “not”.

 

Jū gives us the image of a baby falling from mother, so it could imply an original place of birth. The meanings include: “dwell, live, reside, sit, inhabit, occupy, to be at a standstill, to remain, assert.”

 

Line 17: 夫唯弗居，-- Fū wéi fú jū,

 

Fū is the picture of a man with head emphasized or with hair held together by a hairpin. Meanings include: “man, male adult, husband, master, a sage, a wise man, a distinguished person.”

 

Wéi is commonly translated as “to say yes, to agree, to answer promptly.” It has also been translated as “only”.

 

Fú, like bù, means “not”.

 

Jū gives us the image of a baby falling from mother, so it could imply an original place of birth. The meanings include: “dwell, live, reside, sit, inhabit, occupy, to be at a standstill, to remain, assert.”

 

Line 18: 是以不去。-- Shì yǐ bù qù.

 

Shì is a demonstrative pronoun with meanings of “yes, right, to be, this, that, which, correct, indeed”.

 

Yǐ pictographically implies something that emanates from and object, like steam rises from boiling water. One thing causes another. So in this first case the first section of the line, i.e. no desire / innocence, is something that happens because of the second part.

 

Bù meaning “no, not; un-; negative prefix”.

 

Qù shows a person leaving the privacy of their home. Meanings include: “go away, leave, remove, get rid of, be apart from, depart.”

 

 

 

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Edited December 1, 2010 by Stigweard

[dawei]

Hi Stig,

 

Have enjoyed reading your version so far. Two comments:

 

1. Where you put the "Original Chinese" it is the seal characters (although Dao looks bronze) of the Wang Bi received text, yes? To say that this is the "original text" is misleading. It is simply a seal character of the Wang Bi, not "original" in the sense that the MaWangDui and Goudian are older and do have different characters at times. I might personally label that section slightly differently than "original".

 

2. As we are discussing in the other subforum, and as Rene pointed out first and I agree that the second half does not seem to me to be about the Sage throughout. I know it is more common to translate the subject as the sage but I disagree.

 

Now, the argument could be made that Chapter 10 has some of the same lines and appears to be directed to people, so it's reasonable that it can be here as well. True. But Chapter 51 also has these lines and appear to be directed to Tao and Te; so it's a wash to use another chapter necessarily.

 

Anyways, if you stick with the sage as the subject, I will say that I think you have actually conveyed it better than most translations I have read, which read a bit awkward.

 

thanks for continuing to share your translation.

[dawei]

Line 13: 萬物作焉而不辭, -- Wànwù zuò yān bù cí,

 

Line 13 provides a challenge in that I have found several variations of the characters:

 

1. 萬物作焉而不辭, - WB and HSG (see also chapter 34 usage)

 

2. 萬物作而弗始， - MWD B, GD

 

3. 萬物作焉而不無始, - FY (Wang Bi's notes of Chapter 17 quote Chapter 2 as 'wei shi').

 

----

 

I thought I would add a few comments concerning the manuscript variations (assigned above).

 

The use of shi (始) seems well grounded as the oldest manuscripts (MWD, GD) have it and the FY is supposedly based on a Han Tomb Manuscript (ie: as the MWD were), simply replaced 'fu' with 'bu wei'.

 

Those that choose to use 'shi' do so based on the historical manuscript use AND that Wang Bi in his Chapter 17 notes cites the FY version which has 'shi'. Then why does WB text have 'ci'? This is a long story but those who have studied the WB notes found that when the notes don't match his text, his text most of the follows the HSG, which was the prevailing and popular manuscript of the day. SO blame the editors HSG bias(?).

 

Those that stick to using 'ci' cite Wang Bi's use in Chapter 34 as very parallel and justified:

chapter v2: 萬物作---焉而不辭

chapter 34: 萬物恃之而生而不辭

 

The main problem I see with that argument is that NONE of the older manuscripts have this Chapter 34 block of text at all.

 

There are a few other issues but the only one worth mentioning is the WB use of qing (傾) instead of ying (盈) which cannot be explained easily. One person told me that the Han ruler Liu Ying would of required that character to be removed (ie: Naming taboo). But I then asked why the other 9 occurrences of 'ying' were not also (they remain in the WB)?

Edited November 30, 2010 by dawei

[Apech]

Hi Stig,

 

Thanks for this. Maybe you should move it to the TTC sub forum cos it will sit nicely beside the other discussion.

 

Just a couple of comments.

 

I see why you have gone for 'collective view' but my first reaction was that it sounds a little like modern psycho-jargon. I can't suggest an alternative - its just how I reacted.

 

At the end you use 'themselves' for sage ... shouldn't it be "himself" or are you being politically correct so you don't have to put him/herself ???

 

"Truly, the sage never fixates themselves,"

 

that reads a bit odd because the verb is in the third person singular ... 'he/she/it fixates'

 

Truly, Sages never fixate themselves ... would be better maybe.

 

 

BUT ... good job I think it is excellent!

 

 

 

 

[rene]

Hi Stig,

 

Thanks for this. Maybe you should move it to the TTC sub forum cos it will sit nicely beside the other discussion.

 

Absolutely! If Stigweard (or anyone) wants to post his (their) renditions in each established Chapter thread he (they) would be most welcome to do so!

 

Now's the time to jump in; Twinner's about to start Ch 3. (-:

 

warm regards

[Stigweard]

Where you put the "Original Chinese" it is the seal characters (although Dao looks bronze) of the Wang Bi received text, yes? To say that this is the "original text" is misleading. It is simply a seal character of the Wang Bi, not "original" in the sense that the MaWangDui and Goudian are older and do have different characters at times. I might personally label that section slightly differently than "original".

Yup I was thinking the same. Thank you for reinforcing this. Have changed it to "Ancient Seal / Bronze Characters".

 

2. As we are discussing in the other subforum, and as Rene pointed out first and I agree that the second half does not seem to me to be about the Sage throughout. I know it is more common to translate the subject as the sage but I disagree.

 

Now, the argument could be made that Chapter 10 has some of the same lines and appears to be directed to people, so it's reasonable that it can be here as well. True. But Chapter 51 also has these lines and appear to be directed to Tao and Te; so it's a wash to use another chapter necessarily.

 

Anyways, if you stick with the sage as the subject, I will say that I think you have actually conveyed it better than most translations I have read, which read a bit awkward.

 

thanks for continuing to share your translation.

Sure I see your point. Lines 11 and 12 are definitely focused around shèngrén, the sage, whilst you could chose to see lines 13 through 16 as focused around wànwù, the 10,000 things. However Line 17 once again references the sage with 夫 Fū: "a sage, a wise man, a distinguished person.” So it would seem to be clumsy prose to bounce back and forward like that, at least in my view that is.

 

However, as I have mentioned, I see Chapters 1 and 2 as a framing of what I have chosen to refer to as the Taoist "Subtle View" (see line 8 of Chapter 1). I also see Chapter 2 as an instruction of how to maintain one's inner wholeness of vitality (i.e. Nourishing Life) by avoiding the internal separation created through conceptual fixation. So within that context it makes much more sense to allow lines 13 through 16 to be sage-centric.

 

Line 13: 萬物作焉而不辭, -- Wànwù zuò yān bù cí,

 

Line 13 provides a challenge in that I have found several variations of the characters:

 

1. 萬物作焉而不辭, - WB and HSG (see also chapter 34 usage)

 

2. 萬物作而弗始， - MWD B, GD

 

3. 萬物作焉而不無始, - FY (Wang Bi's notes of Chapter 17 quote Chapter 2 as 'wei shi').

 

----

 

I thought I would add a few comments concerning the manuscript variations (assigned above).

 

The use of shi (始) seems well grounded as the oldest manuscripts (MWD, GD) have it and the FY is supposedly based on a Han Tomb Manuscript (ie: as the MWD were), simply replaced 'fu' with 'bu wei'.

 

Those that choose to use 'shi' do so based on the historical manuscript use AND that Wang Bi in his Chapter 17 notes cites the FY version which has 'shi'. Then why does WB text have 'ci'? This is a long story but those who have studied the WB notes found that when the notes don't match his text, his text most of the follows the HSG, which was the prevailing and popular manuscript of the day. SO blame the editors HSG bias(?).

 

Those that stick to using 'ci' cite Wang Bi's use in Chapter 34 as very parallel and justified:

chapter v2: 萬物作---焉而不辭

chapter 34: 萬物恃之而生而不辭

 

The main problem I see with that argument is that NONE of the older manuscripts have this Chapter 34 block of text at all.

 

There are a few other issues but the only one worth mentioning is the WB use of qing (傾) instead of ying (盈) which cannot be explained easily. One person told me that the Han ruler Liu Ying would of required that character to be removed (ie: Naming taboo). But I then asked why the other 9 occurrences of 'ying' were not also (they remain in the WB)?

I have added your post here to my notes if that's OK. Very much appreciated.

 

Hi Stig,

 

Thanks for this. Maybe you should move it to the TTC sub forum cos it will sit nicely beside the other discussion.

 

Just a couple of comments.

 

I see why you have gone for 'collective view' but my first reaction was that it sounds a little like modern psycho-jargon. I can't suggest an alternative - its just how I reacted.

 

At the end you use 'themselves' for sage ... shouldn't it be "himself" or are you being politically correct so you don't have to put him/herself ???

 

"Truly, the sage never fixates themselves,"

 

that reads a bit odd because the verb is in the third person singular ... 'he/she/it fixates'

 

Truly, Sages never fixate themselves ... would be better maybe.

 

 

BUT ... good job I think it is excellent!

 

 

As always thank you

 

Absolutely! If Stigweard (or anyone) wants to post his (their) renditions in each established Chapter thread he (they) would be most welcome to do so!

 

Now's the time to jump in; Twinner's about to start Ch 3. (-:

 

warm regards

Done

Edited November 30, 2010 by Stigweard

[dawei]

Sure I see your point. Lines 11 and 12 are definitely focused around shèngrén, the sage, whilst you could chose to see lines 13 through 16 as focused around wànwù, the 10,000 things. However Line 17 once again references the sage with 夫 Fū: "a sage, a wise man, a distinguished person.” So it would seem to be clumsy prose to bounce back and forward like that, at least in my view that is.

---

---

I have added your post here to my notes if that's OK. Very much appreciated.

And I call you by seeing your point

 

But I have more to say

 

1. Interesting that the original character in the Guodian is Tian (天) but seems that all later manuscripts have changed it to Fu (夫). Of course one can see their similar form and in the Guodian their difference is sometimes not any different. Although this chapter already has Tian and so it is easy to see that in both cases of Tian, the strokes are exactly the same on the bamboo slips.

 

2. #1 aside, it seems that the main reason that later manuscripts ignore the possibility of Tian is because of the NEXT character Wei (唯). It seems that Fu Wei (夫唯) exists in the entire 81 chapters about 12 times, while Tian Wei (天唯) only occurs in the Guodian once, ergo, by the laws of probability it seems more likely that it should of been Fu Wei.

 

3. #2 aside (see where this is going ), in most translations, Fu Wei (夫唯) is translated in all these chapters as: Because of, yet only, truly, for only, etc. While not quite a compound word it appears to be treated together in meaning in most all its occurrence.

 

I'm not trying to talk you out of your usage but your free to use it as more notes

Edited December 1, 2010 by dawei

[Stigweard]

Chapter Three -- Peaceful People

 

When the worthy are not exalted,

There is no contention amongst people;

When rare goods are not treasured,

There is no theft amongst people;

When causes for desire are not seen,

There is no confusion in people’s minds.

 

Knowing this the sage counsels:

Empty their minds,

Fill their bellies,

Weaken their convictions,

Strengthen their bones.

 

Preserve people’s subtle view and innocence.

Give no cause for cunning and contrivance.

 

Leading without controlling,

Leaves nothing out of control.

 

 

Original Text:

 

 

Chinese Characters:

 

第三章 -- 安民

 

不尚賢，

使民不爭﹔

不貴難得之貨，

使民不為盜;

不見可欲，

使民心不亂 。

是以「聖人」之治，

虛其心，

實其腹，

弱其志，

強其骨。

常使民無知無 欲。

使夫智者不敢為也。

為無為，

則無不治。

 

Chinese Pinyin:

 

Ān mín

 

Bù shàng xián,

Shǐ mín bù zhēng;

Bù guì nán zhī huò,

Shǐ mín bù dào;

Bù Jiàn Kě Yù,

Shǐ mín xīn bù luàn.

 

Shì yǐ shèngrén zhī zhì,

Xū qí xīn,

Shí qí fù,

Ruò qí zhì,

Qiáng qí gǔ.

 

Cháng shǐ mín wú zhī wú yù.

Shǐ fū zhì zhě bù gǎn wèi yě.

 

Wèi wú wèi,

Zé wú bù zhì.

 

 

Ancient Seal / Bronze Characters:

 

---

 

 

Translator's Notes and Commentary:

 

 

Chapter Overview:

 

Chapter three progresses Laozi’s dialogue into the practical applications for the ruler or someone in position of authority. It is important to note the flow of principles from chapters one and two.

 

The first stanza is a forewarning about placing conceptual or contrived value on one thing over the other. By declaring a person or a thing as more valuable then other people or things we automatically create have and have not, superior and inferior. This remember is Laozi’s insight from Chapter 2. By creating these hierarchical constructs through conceptual description it instills in people a sense of lack and it is this lack that is the base cause of desire.

 

The last sentence of stanza one has often been rendered in terms of “hiding desires out of sight”. I see it differently based on the insights of the previous two chapters. When people avoid attaching hierarchically valued labels on things then the fundamental cause for desire is not “seen” -- meaning it doesn’t even become part of their view of the world.

 

With this insight in mind the sage counsels to empty people’s minds of fixated conceptual descriptions and instead nourish the things that bring natural wholesomeness; weaken fixed abstractions and rigid belief systems and strengthen what is fundamental to a good life.

 

My usage of the terms “subtle view” and “innocence” comes from Chapter 1:

 

Therefore, enduring innocence

Comes from the subtle view;

Incessant desire for things

Comes from the superficial view.

 

The last stanza is also different from common translations. Wèi wú wèi is one of the most quoted Taoist principles and most people take it to mean “doing without doing” or “acting without action”. But if you closely at the seal script, wèi is actually a hand leading an elephant – it is the image of artificial control of one thing over the other – of mans interference with something natural. Thus I have chosen: “Leading without controlling” which ties in with the fact that Laozi certainly seems to be addressing this chapter to someone in authority.

 

Line 1: 不尚賢，-- Bù shàng xián,

 

Bù meaning “no, not; un-; negative prefix”.

 

Shàng means: “uphold, honor, esteem, value, surpass, ascend, exalt”. Pictographically it is a roof of building with window. It could also be seen as to divide in one direction, or in other words, to give preference to one thing over the other. As a personal take on the seal character, it could be seen as elevating upwards thus giving one thing “higher standing”.

 

Xián has the central image of a cowrie shell which was used as currency, so we have the underlying meaning of “worthy, valuable, able, good”. The character explicitly places this worth in reference to a person, of note a “statesman”, so also rendered are: “talented, virtuous, sage.”

 

Line 2: 使民不爭﹔-- Shǐ mín bù zhēng;

 

Shǐ is the image of a government person, like a diplomat, envoy, officer, deputy, ambassador, emissary, or a government servant. Meanings include: “cause, enable, make, use, employ, send on a mission, order; envoy, messenger, ambassador.”

 

Mín has a few variants in its imagery. It could be either an eye being pricked by an awl (referencing a slave), a vagina (from which people come), or a sprouting plant. It is fairly universally rendered as “people, citizen, subjects, public.”

 

Bù meaning “no, not; un-; negative prefix”.

 

Zhēng is the image of two hands fighting to grab a lance or a string. So meanings include: “dispute, fight, contend, strive, wrangle, compete, argue, struggle, quarrel.”

 

Line 3: 不貴難得之貨, -- Bù guì nán zhī huò,

 

Bù meaning “no, not; un-; negative prefix”.

 

Guì is a repeat of the imagery of xián in that the central image is of the cowrie shell hence something with value. This time it shows either two hands or a basket full of cowrie shells so we have the meanings of: “expensive, costly, valuable, precious, high-placed, high-ranking, honorable, distinguished, noble.”

 

Nán is a little obscure without knowing the cultural context. Pictographically meaning a yellow bird, common translations include “difficult, arduous, hard, unable, unpleasant, troublesome.” I can only assume that the bird in question was a troublesome, unpleasant critter.

 

Dé is also centered around the cowrie shell. This time it’s the image of walking out to grab the shell / money. So meanings include: “obtain, get, gain, acquire, win, purchase, need, must, greed.”

 

Zhī is merely a preceding phrase as a modifier, like the word ‘it’.

 

Huò is this time focused directly on the cowrie shell as an item. So we have the meanings: “money, currency, goods, commodities, products, produce, trade, sell, bribe.”

 

Line 4: 使民不為盜﹔-- Shǐ mín bù dào;

 

Shǐ is the image of a government person, like a diplomat, envoy, officer, deputy, ambassador, emissary, or a government servant. Meanings include: “cause, enable, make, use, employ, send on a mission, order; envoy, messenger, ambassador.”

 

Mín has a few variants in its imagery. It could be either an eye being pricked by an awl (referencing a slave), a vagina (from which people come), or a sprouting plant. It is fairly universally rendered as “people, citizen, subjects, public.”

 

Bù meaning “no, not; un-; negative prefix”.

 

Dào is the image of spitting in a bowl which is an oath among robbers.

 

Line 5: 不見可欲，-- Bù Jiàn Kě Yù,

 

Bù meaning “no, not; un-; negative prefix”.

 

Jiàn is person with a big eye, so the meanings include: “see, observe, behold, perceive, meet, appear, observe, examine, view, opinion.”

 

Kě shows a couple of images. First is the image of someone carrying a load, but it can also be seen as a mouth consenting. It is commonly translated as: “may, can, to be able to, permission, certainly”.

 

Yù is almost universally translated as ‘desire’ and I feel it requires some extra investigation just for a point of interest. Yù implies a sense of lack, like a man who has ‘lost his wind’ and therefore has a strong want or desire for breath. So Yù is to want, to long for and to desire.

 

Line 6: 使民心不亂 。-- Shǐ mín xīn bù luàn.

 

Shǐ is the image of a government person, like a diplomat, envoy, officer, deputy, ambassador, emissary, or a government servant. Meanings include: “cause, enable, make, use, employ, send on a mission, order; envoy, messenger, ambassador.”

 

Mín has a few variants in its imagery. It could be either an eye being pricked by an awl (referencing a slave), a vagina (from which people come), or a sprouting plant. It is fairly universally rendered as “people, citizen, subjects, public.”

 

Xīn is the picture of a heart. In Taoist ontology the heart is often seen as the seat of the mind, so meanings include: “heart; mind, intelligence; soul, conscience, moral nature, intention.”

 

Bù meaning “no, not; un-; negative prefix”.

 

Luàn is the image of a man kneeling on right trying to unravel a mess of string on the left. So meanings include: “confusion, chaos, revolt, distraction, disarranged, perplexed, disorderly, upheaval.”

 

Line 7: 是以聖人之治，-- Shì yǐ shèngrén zhī zhì,

 

Shì is a demonstrative pronoun with meanings of “yes, right, to be, this, that, which, correct, indeed”.

 

Yǐ pictographically implies something that emanates from an object, like steam rises from boiling water. One thing causes another. So the meanings include: “

 

Shèngrén is normally read together with shèng meaning “holy; sacred; saint; sage” and rén meaning “man; person; people”. Thus the popular “sage” rendition is achieved.

 

Zhī is merely a preceding phrase as a modifier, like the word ‘it’.

 

Zhì gives us the image of controlling or harnessing the flow of a river or water. Thus we have the meanings: “control, govern, manage, rule, regulate, harness.”

 

Line 8: 虛其心，-- Xū qí xīn,

 

Xū gives us the imagery of mountains, a place that is empty perhaps in the sense of “no-one lives there”. Meanings include: “devoid of content; void; false; empty, hollow, vain, unoccupied, unreal, false, deceptive.”

 

Qí is a pronoun like he, she, it, they etc. and usually refers to somebody or something mentioned earlier.

 

Xīn is the picture of a heart. In Taoist ontology the heart is often seen as the seat of the mind, so meanings include: “heart; mind, intelligence; soul, conscience, moral nature, intention.”

 

Line 9: 實其腹，-- Shí qí fù,

 

Shí gives us the image of a building with string of cowrie shells or coins – perhaps a sign of “real” wealth. Meanings include: “real, true, honest, really, solid, substantial, concrete, genuine, full.”

 

Qí is a pronoun like he, she, it, they etc. and usually refers to somebody or something mentioned earlier.

 

Fù indicates the belly of the body so meanings include: “stomach, belly, abdomen; inside, front part.”

 

Line 10: 弱其志，-- Ruò qí zhì,

 

Ruò shows two young birds wings. So meanings include: “weak, fragile, tender, delicate, lesser, inferior.”

 

Qí is a pronoun like he, she, it, they etc. and usually refers to somebody or something mentioned earlier.

 

Zhì presents the image of the heart (i.e. mind) and the character for scholar or an educated person. Used in the sense of “make up ones mind” meanings include: “purpose, will, determination, pursue some object, bent on doing something, ambition, interest.”

 

Line 11: 強其骨。-- Qiáng qí gǔ.

 

Qiáng gives us the image of a strong bow, which shoots the arrow above several acres of land. Hence meanings include: “Strong, powerful, energetic, vigorous, better, violent, inflexible, obstinate, stubborn.”

 

Qí is a pronoun like he, she, it, they etc. and usually refers to somebody or something mentioned earlier.

 

Gǔ shows bones with flesh. Some say it is the bones without the flesh, others the bones at the core of flesh. Meanings include: “bone, frame, framework, skeleton.”

 

Line 12: 常使民無知無欲。-- Cháng shǐ mín wú zhī wú yù.

 

Cháng has a degree of controversy around it. Apparently the original character was héng 恒, but was replaced in all texts by 常 cháng out of respect to one Emperor Héng. Because of this, however, we can assume that cháng and héng imply the same meaning.

 

Cháng, the image of cloth on a loom, means: common, normal, frequent, constant, eternal or regular. Héng 恒 provides the image of a heart 忄 beside a sun or moon which is moving between two points 亘, thus we again have the meanings of: regularity, constancy, continually, persevering, or eternal. Important to note that Hexagram 32 of the I Ching is called Héng, which is often translated as: constancy, persevering, enduring.

 

Shǐ is the image of a government person, like a diplomat, envoy, officer, deputy, ambassador, emissary, or a government servant. Meanings include: “cause, enable, make, use, employ, send on a mission, order; envoy, messenger, ambassador.”

 

Mín has a few variants in its imagery. It could be either an eye being pricked by an awl (referencing a slave), a vagina (from which people come), or a sprouting plant. It is fairly universally rendered as “people, citizen, subjects, public.”

 

Wú 無 simply means an absence or negative like the terms “no, not, have no”. It can either be the image of cleared patch of forest, thus negation, or it has also been pictographically linked to shaman dancers holding tassels with my implication of that the tassels become the focus of attention and the dancer “disappears”.

 

Zhī, commonly translated as “to know” or “regards”, is a composite of an arrow and an open mouth. So in a sense this is saying when we point or aim at something with our speech, so “declare” might be used.

 

Wú 無 simply means an absence or negative like the terms “no, not, have no”.

 

Yù is almost universally translated as ‘desire’ and I feel it requires some extra investigation just for a point of interest. Yù implies a sense of lack, like a man who has ‘lost his wind’ and therefore has a strong want or desire for breath. So Yù is to want, to long for and to desire.

 

Line 13: 使夫智者不敢為也。-- Shǐ fū zhì zhě bù gǎn wèi yě.

 

Shǐ is the image of a government person, like a diplomat, envoy, officer, deputy, ambassador, emissary, or a government servant. Meanings include: “cause, enable, make, use, employ, send on a mission, order; envoy, messenger, ambassador.”

 

Fū is the picture of a man with head emphasized or with hair held together by a hairpin. Meanings include: “man, male adult, husband, master, a sage, a wise man, a distinguished person.”

 

Zhì shows an aspect of the sun, a dart or arrow and a mouth. Meanings include: “wisdom, knowledge, cleverness, prudence, intelligence, wit, talented, capable, intelligent, clever, wise.”

 

Zhě is a pronoun: “this, that, it, which, what, he who, those who”

 

Bù meaning “no, not; un-; negative prefix”.

 

Gǎn is either the image of a hand holding a stick or two hands holding off an animal that can bite. Meanings include: “dare, to presume, bold, to venture, have courage to

to have the confidence to, to be sure, to be certain, courageous, daring, to make bold.”

 

Wèi is a picture of a hand feeding or leading an elephant, or it could be an image of a mother monkey. Admittedly somewhat ambiguous, the common translation is “to act,” however we also have “to be, to do, to make”.

 

Yě is either the image of a vessel from which something is pouring out, or a snake. It commonly means: “and, also, as well, besides, either, too, still, even.”

 

Line 14: 為無為，-- Wèi wú wèi,

 

Wèi is a picture of a hand feeding or leading an elephant, or it could be an image of a mother monkey. Admittedly somewhat ambiguous, the common translation is “to act,” however we also have “to be, to do, to make”.

 

Wú 無 simply means an absence or negative like the terms “no, not, have no”. It can either be the image of cleared patch of forest, thus negation, or it has also been pictographically linked to shaman dancers holding tassels with my implication of that the tassels become the focus of attention and the dancer “disappears”.

 

Wèi is a picture of a hand feeding or leading an elephant, or it could be an image of a mother monkey. Admittedly somewhat ambiguous, the common translation is “to act,” however we also have “to be, to do, to make”.

 

Line 15: 則無不治。-- Zé wú bù zhì.

 

Zé presents the image of a knife separating cowries shells. Meanings include: “rule, a law, a pattern, standard, list, regulation; grades, result, standard, then, consequently.”

 

Wú 無 simply means an absence or negative like the terms “no, not, have no”. It can either be the image of cleared patch of forest, thus negation, or it has also been pictographically linked to shaman dancers holding tassels with my implication of that the tassels become the focus of attention and the dancer “disappears”.

 

Bù meaning “no, not; un-; negative prefix”.

 

Zhì gives us the image of controlling or harnessing the flow of a river or water. Thus we have the meanings: “control, govern, manage, rule, regulate, harness.”

 

 

 

^ Back to index ^

Edited December 10, 2010 by Stigweard

[Marblehead]

Nicely done Stig. Thanks for sharing.

[shontonga]

OoOo!

Am so excited to read all this!!!

Can't wait!!!

[thelerner]

[Stigweard]

Thank you Shontonga and thelearner for your kind comments. Thanks also for the gentle reminder that I have to get back to this project.

 

[Stigweard]

Chapter Four -- Without Source

 

Dao flows forth,

And yet its capacity is never exhausted.

So fathomless,

It seems to be the ancestor of all things.

 

It erodes sharpness,

It dissolves obstruction,

It softens glare,

It settles dust.

 

So deep, it seems not to exist.

I don’t know whose offspring it is,

It appears to precede the first cause.

 

 

Original Text:

 

 

Chinese Characters:

第四章 -- 無源

 

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﹔

 

湛兮似或存。

吾不知誰之子？

象帝之先。

 

Chinese Pinyin:

 

Yǎng shēn

 

Dào chōng

ér yòng zhī huò bù yíng.

Yuān xī,

sì wànwù zhī zōng;

 

Cuò qí ruì,

Jiě qí fēn,

Hé qí guāng,

Tong qí chén,

Zhàn xī sì huò cún.

Wú bù zhī shéi zhī zǐ?

Xiàng dì zhī xiān.

 

 

Ancient Seal / Bronze Characters:

 

.....

 

 

Translator's Notes and Commentary:

 

 

Chapter Overview:

 

For all intents and purposes I could well call this chapter the “Water Chapter.” Everything intonates the properties and likeness of water and gives rise to the idea that the Dao of Laozi is a water-way.

 

Right from the title we are presented with the issuing of water and this theme runs through the first paragraph. Dao is given the character of the sourceless origin whose fountain head nor capacity knows no delineation or measurement.

 

Lines 3 through 6 I have deliberately rendered to show the properties of water, i.e. erodes, dissolves, softens, settles.

 

The last paragraph returns us again to an infinite, watery, unfathomable depth.

 

Title: 無源-- Wú yuán

 

Wú 無 simply means an absence or negative like the terms “no, not, have no”. It can either be the image of cleared patch of forest, thus negation, or it has also been pictographically linked to shaman dancers holding tassels with my implication of that the tassels become the focus of attention and the dancer “disappears”.

 

Yuán gives us the image of a natural spring of water. Meanings include: “source, origin, spring, head, surname.”

 

Line 1: 道沖，而用之或不盈。-- Dào chōng ér yòng zhī huò bù yíng.

 

Dào 道 has several common meanings, including: Way, path, road, nature, reason, say, speak, theory, doctrine.

 

Pictographically, 道 shows a man 首 walking 辶 on a road. Furthermore, shǒu首 indicates: first, leader, or chief, so we have the sense of Dào being a noble ‘way’, or a path of prime significance.

 

Chōng gives us the image of water flowing from a receptacle or portal. Meanings include: pour, flow, rinse, infuse, wash, flush, to empty, to make void.

 

Ér is a contextual contrasting term like “but”, “otherwise”, “and yet”.

 

Yòng presents us with perhaps the image of a container or a bell, something that is useful. Meanings include: useful, usage, employ, apply, operate, to put into practice, practical.

 

Zhī is merely a preceding phrase as a modifier of shǐ, like the word ‘it’.

 

Huò is another one of those interesting characters. Pictographically it can be seen as a city protected by weapons. Commonly used it means: maybe, perhaps, might, possibly, or, else, whether, uncertain, doubtful.

 

Bù means “no, not; un-; negative prefix”.

 

Yíng is the image of a container that has been filled to overflowing. Meanings include: full, overflow, surplus, to have a surplus, be filled with, to fill.

 

Line 2: 淵兮，似萬物之宗﹔Yuān xī, sì wànwù zhī zōng;

 

Yuān 淵 continues the association with water found in this chapter. Here we see the idea of an abyss or a very deep pool of water. Fathomless works quite nicely because “fathom” is a measure of the depth of water.

 

Xī is an exclamatory particle often used in Han and Qin dynasty poetry. In this sense it is like an exclamation mark for yuān.

 

Sì is an obscure character whose pictography seems to portray a man appearing as another (??). It common usage includes: appear, as if, resemble, seems to, similar to.

 

Wànwù once again returns us to the concept of “the 10,000 things” or, as I have rendered in chapter 1, “the many separate things”. “All of life” could also be used.

 

Zhī is merely a preceding phrase as a modifier of shǐ, like the word ‘it’.

 

Zōng shows the image of an altar inside of a house. In this sense it is like an ancestral shrine, thus translations include: ancestor, clan, sect, religion, great master.

 

Line 3: 挫其銳，Cuò qí ruì,

 

Cuò is something forced by the hand, or done by the force of the hand. So meanings include: frustrate, defeat, subdue, push down; be obstructed, fail, oppress, repress, lower the tone, bend back, dampen, chop down, grind.

 

Qí 其 is a pronoun like he, she, it, they etc. and usually refers to somebody or something mentioned earlier.

 

Ruì relates to the property of metal. Translations include: sharp, keen, acute, pointed, quick-witted, intelligent, clever, energetic, vigorous.

 

Line 4: 解其紛，Jiě qí fēn,

 

Jiě shows the image of a knife that separates the horn from the ox, or an ox horn that is cut by a knife. Translations include: separate, divide, to break up, disperse

to untie, to undo, allay, loosen, unfasten, untie; also to explain, to clarify, to interpret, explanation, interpretation, to understand. Of note is that it is the 40th hexagram of the I Ching, thunder over water. In this hexagram the water is like the obstacle of ice and thunder is like the first clap of thunder in spring that signals the thawing of winter. So meanings of dissolving or dissolution are also implied. The knife that separates the horn is like Zhuangzi’s butcher whose knife separates the carcass without finding obstruction.

 

Qí 其 is a pronoun like he, she, it, they etc. and usually refers to somebody or something mentioned earlier.

 

Fēn shows us many threads in confusion, like a knot of string. Meanings include: in disorder, scattered, tangled, confused.

 

Line 5: 和其光，Hé qí guāng,

 

Hé shows us the image of a mouth and is most commonly translated as: harmony, peace; peaceful, calm.

 

Qí 其 is a pronoun like he, she, it, they etc. and usually refers to somebody or something mentioned earlier.

 

Guāng is the image of fire above a man. Meanings include: light, brilliant, shine, glorious, honor, to illume.

 

Line 6: 同其塵﹔Tong qí chén,

 

Tong shows the image of a sail or fan covering the mouth or objects. So it is like things are under a common cover. Meanings include: same, similar; together with, agree. I have chosen to follow Robert G. Henricks rendition of tong as “settle” because when our mouths come to an agreement, under the same “cover”, we settle our differences or settle a deal.

 

Qí 其 is a pronoun like he, she, it, they etc. and usually refers to somebody or something mentioned earlier.

 

Chén is the image of soil flying from running deer. Translations are: dust, dirt, ashes, cinders.

 

Line 7: 湛兮似或存。Zhàn xī sì huò cún.

 

Zhàn returns us again to water with meanings including: deep; profound; clear; tranquil, placid.

 

Xī is an exclamatory particle often used in Han and Qin dynasty poetry. In this sense it is like an exclamation mark for yuān.

 

Sì is an obscure character whose pictography seems to portray a man appearing as another (??). It common usage includes: appear, as if, resemble, seems to, similar to.

 

Huò is another one of those interesting characters. Pictographically it can be seen as a city protected by weapons. Commonly used it means: maybe, perhaps, might, possibly, or, else, whether, uncertain, doubtful.

 

Cún shows us the image of a child. Meanings include: exist, live, be; survive; remain, to keep, preserve, store, deposit.

 

Line 8: 吾不知誰之子？Wú bù zhī shéi zhī zǐ?

 

Wú is the commonly used “I”.

 

Bù means “no, not; un-; negative prefix”.

 

Zhī, commonly translated as “to know” or “regards”, is a composite of an arrow and an open mouth. So in a sense this is saying when we point or aim at something with our speech, so “declare” might be used.

 

Shéi designates speak or speech, commonly translated as: who, whom, whose, anyone.

 

Zhī is merely a preceding phrase as a modifier of shǐ, like the word ‘it’.

 

Zǐ presents us with a picture of baby with outstretched arms, legs still hidden by a blanket. Meanings include: offspring, child; fruit, seed of.

 

Line 9: 象帝之先。Xiàng dì zhī xiān.

 

Xiàng shows an elephant with big head and tusks. Translations include: appearance; shape; image , imitate, be like; resemble; take after, look as if, seem , likeness.

 

Dì is the image of a sacrificial altar or the emperor's "flowing robes and a fine head-gear." Meanings include: supreme ruler, emperor; god, natural force, supreme ruler, the Supreme Being, the great ancestor, imperialism, imperial.

 

Zhī is merely a preceding phrase as a modifier of shǐ, like the word ‘it’.

 

Xiān represents the forward footprint of person or a person walking ahead of another. Meanings include: first, foremost, before, former, in front, earlier, in advance,

elder generation, ancestor.

 

 

 

 

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Edited July 1, 2011 by Stigweard