19 But to remain firm and strong like stone.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
Text A omits “the whole land” (t’ien-hsia) in line 6, and in Text A, the word wei—“we would say” or “it would mean that”—which occurs at the end of line 7 (or the start of line 8), is repeated at the start of lines 9-12.
The particle erh (“and yet”) in the middle of lines 13 and 14 in Text A (but only in line 14 in B) suggests a possible reading of “Therefore, it must be the case that even though they are noble, nonetheless, they take the base as their root; And it must be the case that even though they are high, nonetheless, they have the low for their foundation.”
Most versions of the Lao-tzu add a line between 5 and 6 (“The myriad things obtained the One and lived and grew”), and a parallel line between 11 and 12 (“If the myriad things had not thus lived and grown, They would soon become extinct”). Also, the chih-chih (“arrive at it” or “extreme it”) in line 7, followed by “the One” (i yeh) instead of “we would say” (wei), has led us to read this line as “The thing that helped them to arrive at this state was the One” rather than “Taking this to its logical conclusion we would say.”
In lines 8-12 the Ma-wang-tui texts use the final i (“and that’s all” or “completely/finally”), where the standard text has the instrumental i (“by this means,” “using this”) nevertheless, the meaning remains unchanged.
The word “must” (pi) is added to lines 13 and 14 in the Ma-wang-tui texts, and line 16 is grammatically slightly different, the standard text using two negatives to make the same point—“Is this not regarding humble station as the basis of honor? Is it not?”
Finally, the meaning of the last three lines remains problematic, though the argument that the word “carriage” (yü) in line 17 is a corruption of an original yü meaning “praise” seems less likely since it is “carriage” we find in Text B. Following the reading of “carriage,” Chan translates: “Therefore enumerate all the parts of a chariot as you may, and you still have no chariot.” This would presumably mean that a distinction is being drawn between the whole and the sum of its parts. D.C. Lau, reading “yü” as “praise,” has “Thus the highest renown is without renown.” Neither interpretation seems to follow from what went before, and in my translation, therefore, I have followed the lead of Cheng Liang-shu.
[CHAPTER 41]
1 When the highest type of men hear the Way, with diligence they’re able to practice it;
2 When average men hear the Way, some things they retain and others they lose;
3 When the lowest type of men hear the Way, they laugh out loud at it.
4 If they didn’t laugh at it, it couldn’t be regarded as the Way.
5 Therefore, there is a set saying about this that goes:
6 The bright Way appears to be dark;
7 The Way that goes forward appears to retreat;
8 The smooth Way appears to be uneven;
9 The highest virtue [is empty] like a valley;
10 The purest white appears to be soiled;
11 Vast virtue appears to be insufficient;
12 Firm virtue appears thin and weak;
13 The simplest reality appears to change.
14 The Great Square has no corners;
15 The Great Vessel takes long to complete;
16 The Great Tone makes little sound;
17 The Great Image has no shape.
18 The Way is Great but has no name.
19 Only the Way is good at beginning things and also good at bringing things to completion.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
All that remains of Text A are the words “the Way is good at” (tao-shan) in line 19.
Line 1 is slightly different from the standard text: the Ma-wang-tui text has “with diligence they are able to practice it” (ch’in neng hsing-chih) where the standard text says “they work diligently at it and practice it” (ch’in erh hsing-chih). Also, in line 6, where the standard text has mei for “dark,” Text B has fei (“extravagant” or “wasteful”), but I follow Hsü K’ang-sheng in reading this as the fei which means “poor eyesight,” and in this way arrive at “things being in the dark.”
In line 18 the Ma-wang-tui text says the Way is “Great” (pao) instead of “hidden” (yin). And in line 19 the Ma-wang-tui text has “begin” (shih) in place of “bestow” or “give” (tai) and adds a shan (“is good at”) before the word “complete” at the end of the line. D. C. Lau’s translation of the standard text reads, “It is the way alone that excels in bestowing and in accomplishing.”
[CHAPTER 40]
1 “Reversal” is the movement of the Tao;
2 “Weakness” is the function of the Tao.
3 The things of the world originate in being,
4 And being originates in nonbeing.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
In line 3, the Ma-wang-tui texts have simply “the things” (wu) where the standard text has “the ten thousand things” (wan-wu).
[CHAPTER 42, TEXT A]
1 The Way gave birth to the One.
2 The One gave birth to the Two.
3 The Two gave birth to the Three.
4 And the Three gave birth to the ten thousand things.
5 The ten thousand things carry Yin on their backs and wrap their arms around Yang.
6 Through the blending of ch’i they arrive at a state of harmony.
7 The things that are hated by the whole world
8 Are to be orphaned, widowed, and have no grain.
9 Yet kings and dukes take these as their names.
10 Thus with all things—some are increased by taking away;
11 While some are diminished by adding on.
12 Therefore, what other men teach,
13 [I] will also consider and then teach to others.
14 Thus, “The strong and violent do not come to a natural end.”
15 I will take this as the father of my studies.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
(For the meaning of lines 8-9, see note 39.) Missing from Text B are lines 5, 10, 12-14, and portions of lines 4, 6, and 15. In what survives, it is clear that lines 10-11 were reversed in Text B. That is to say, they said, “Thus with all things—some are diminished by adding on, while some are increased by taking away.” Also, in line 7, Text B agrees with the standard text in having “what people hate” (jen) not “the whole world” (t’ien-hsia).
The “therefores” at the beginning of lines 12 and 14 are not found in the standard text. And the Ma-wang-tui texts have “studies” (hsüeh) in the last line where most editions have “teachings” (chiao).
Line 13 assumes a form in the Ma-wang-tui texts that we do not find in other editions. Normally the line simply reads, “I will also teach it” (wo i chiao-chih). The Ma-wang-tui text has hsi i erh chiao-jen (literally—“evening consider and then teach others”). I read the hsi (“evening”) as i (“also”), since the archaic pronunciations of the two were close (dziak and ziak respectively). Quite a few editions of the Lao-tzu have a line that is close to what we find in the Ma-wang-tui text—i wo i chiao-chih (“is also my meaning when teaching them”).
[CHAPTER 43, TEXT A]
1 The softest, most pliable thing in the world runs roughshod over the firmest thing in the world.
2 That which has no substance gets into that which has no spaces or cracks.
3 I therefore know that there is benefit in taking no action.
4 The wordless teaching, the benefit of taking no action—
5 Few in the world can realize these!
COMMENTS AND NOTES
It becomes clear in chapter 78—if it is not clear here—that the softest thing in the world is water and the firmest is rock.
Not much remains of Text B beyond line 1. The Ma-wang-tui version of this chapter is exactly the same as what we find in other texts, with the exception of the inclusion of a few grammatical particles, which make the syntax more precise.
[CHAPTER 44, TEXT A]
1 Fame or your health—which is more dear?
2 Your health or possessions—which is worth more?
3 Gain or loss—in which is there harm?
4 If your desires are great, you’re bound to be extravagant;
5 If you store much away, you’re bound to lose a great deal.
6 Therefore, if you know contentment, you’ll not be disgraced.
7 If you know when to stop, you’ll suffer no harm.
8 And in this way you can last a very long time.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
Text B has been completely lost save for the opening words of line 1 (“fame or”). The standard Lao-tzu text has a “therefore” at the start of line 4 but does not have one at the start of line 6. In all other ways the Ma-wang-tui text is the same as the standard text.
[CHAPTER 45, TEXT A]
1 Great completion seems incomplete;
2 Yet its usefulness is never exhausted.
3 Great fullness seems to be empty;
4 Yet its usefulness is never used up.
5 Great straightness seems to be bent.
6 Great skill seems to be clumsy.
7 Great surplus seems to stammer.
8 Activity overcomes cold;
9 Tranquility overcomes heat.
10 If you’re quiet and tranquil you can become the ruler of the world.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
Text B has “lacking” (ch’u) at the end of line 7 instead of “stammer” (reading nen [“heat”] in Text A as na), and the lacuna in Text B at this point seems to allow for another line between lines 6 and 7. Since the standard text has “Great eloquence seems to stammer” for line 7, it would appear that Text B originally read, “Great eloquence seems to stammer; Great surplus seems to be lacking.” These two lines were apparently reversed in the text copied by copyist A, and he proceeded to collapse the two, resulting in the nonsensical line “Great surplus seems to stammer.” Hsü K’ang-sheng makes the case for two lines here in Text B, and D. C. Lau also restores these two lines.
[CHAPTER 46, TEXT A]
1 When the world has the Way, ambling horses are retired to fertilize [fields].
2 When the world lacks the Way, war horses are reared in the suburbs.
3 Of crimes—none is greater than having things that one desires;
4 Of disasters—none is greater than not knowing when one has enough.
5 Of defects—none brings more sorrow than the desire to attain.
6 Therefore, the contentment one has when he knows that he has enough, is abiding contentment indeed.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
“Periods” (chapter markers?) occur at the start of lines 1 and 3 in Text A. The word “world” (t’ien-hsia) is omitted from line 2 in Text B, giving “When it lacks the Way …”
Line 3 does not occur in the Wang Pi text of the Lao-tzu, but it is commonly found in other editions. There is a common gloss of the k’o-yü (“the desirable”) in the line that reads it as to-yü (“many desires”). With this change the line would read, “Of crimes—none is greater than having many desires.”
In line 5, most texts parallel lines 3 and 4 by saying “Of defects—none is greater than the desire to attain” (mo ta yü), versus the Ma-wang-tui phrase “nothing brings more sorrow than …” (mo ts’an yü).
[CHAPTER 47]
1 No need to leave your door to know the whole world;
2 No need to peer through your windows to know the Way of Heaven.
3 The farther you go, the less you know.
4 Therefore the Sage knows without going,
5 Names without seeing,
6 And completes without doing a thing.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
The Ma-wang-tui texts are the same as the standard text for this chapter, though they are grammatically more complete and therefore more precise.
The negative in the last line—fu—posits an object to the verb it precedes—hence my “without doing a thing.” It is conceivable that the negatives in lines 4 and 5 were fu as well in the Ma-wang-tui texts. That would give us a reading of: “Therefore the Sage knows things without going to them; names things without seeing them, and completes things without doing a thing.”
[CHAPTER 48]
1 Those who work at their studies increase day after day;
2 Those who have heard the Tao decrease day after day.
3 They decrease and decrease, till they get to the point where they do nothing.
4 They do nothing and yet there’s nothing left undone.
5 When someone wants to take control of the world, he must always be unconcerned with affairs.
6 For in a case where he’s concerned with affairs,
7 He’ll be un worthy, as well, of taking control of the world.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
Only six characters remain from Text A in this chapter.
The particle che (“the one who/those who”) in lines 1 and 2 in the Ma-wang-tui text better supports the present translation than one in which the lines are treated like definitions (e.g., Wing-tsit Chan translates the standard text: “The pursuit of learning is to increase day after day. The pursuit of Tao is to decrease day after day.”) The Ma-wang-tui variant “hear/heard” (wen) in line 2 instead of “do” or “pursue” (wei) is unattested elsewhere.
On line 4, see the notes to chapter 37 below.
The “when someone wants to” (chiang-yü) at the start of line 5 is the reading in the Fu I and Yen Tsun texts. The word “therefore” (ku) is also common in this place. Also, the instrumental i at the end of line 5 in the standard text (that is, “he must always use being unconcerned with affairs”) does not occur here.
[CHAPTER 49]
1 The Sage constantly has no [set] mind;
2 He takes the mind of the common people as his mind.
3 Those who are good he regards as good;
4 Those who are not good he also regards as good.
5 [In this way] he attains goodness.
6 Those who are trustworthy he trusts;
7 And those who are not trustworthy he also trusts.
8 [In this way] he gets their trust.
9 As for the Sage’s presence in the world—he is one with it.
10 And with the world he merges his mind.
11 The common people all fix their eyes and ears on him.
12 And the Sage treats them all as his children.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
Texts A and B are in equally poor condition: lines 1, 5, 6, and 7 are all missing from Text A.
The words “constant” and “without” in line 1 are reversed in the standard text, giving “The Sage is without a constant mind [of his own].”
The first-person pronoun “I” (wu) is found in the standard text in lines 3, 4, 6, and 7, making the author “the Sage.” Thus they read, “Those who are good I regard as good; Those who are not good I also regard as good,” and so on.
The addition of the grammatical particle yen (“with it,” “on him”) at the end of lines 9 and 11 greatly clarifies the meaning.
Line 11 does not occur in all texts.
[CHAPTER 50, TEXT A]
1 We come out into life and go back into death.
2 The companions of life are thirteen;
3 The companions of death are thirteen;
4 And yet people, because they regard life as LIFE, in all of their actions move toward the thirteen that belong to the realm of death.
5 Now, why is this so?
6 It’s because they regard life as LIFE.
7 You’ve no doubt heard of those who are good at holding on to life:
8 When walking through hills, they don’t avoid rhinos and tigers;
9 When they go into battle, they don’t put on armor or shields;
10 The rhino has no place to probe with its horn;
11 The tiger finds no place to put its claws.
12 And weapons find no place to hold their blades.
13 Now, why
is this so?
14 Because there is no place for death in them.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
The Ma-wang-tui texts contain a number of interesting variants. In line 7, the standard text has those who are good at “taking care of (she) their lives, where the Ma-wang-tui texts have “holding on to” (chih) their lives. In line 8, the standard text has “on dry land” (lu) instead of through the “hills” (ling). Also in line 8, the standard text says they won’t “meet up with” (yü) rhinos and tigers instead of “avoid” (pi). In line 10, where the Ma-wang-tui texts have “probe” (ch’uai), the standard text has “throw” (t’ou). The yen (“in them”) at the end of line 14 does not normally occur, though it is a known variant. Finally, line 6 in the standard text reads, “It’s because they too intently regard life as LIFE”; the “too intently” comes from adding the characters chih-hou to the end of the Ma-wang-tui line (i.e., i chyi sheng-sheng chih-hou.)
The “thirteen” in lines 2-4 are variously identified as the four limbs and nine cavities in the body, or the four passages (ears, eyes, nose, and mouth) and the nine cavities, or the seven emotions (delight, anger, grief, fear, love, hate, and desire) and the six desires (of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind).
By no means is there universal agreement that the shih-yu san in lines 2-4 should be read as “thirteen”; in fact the preferred reading is, rather, “three out of ten.” Thus Wing-tsit Chan translates these lines, “Three out of ten are companions of life. Three out of ten are companions of death. And three out of ten in their lives lead from activity to death.” I like this interpretation and take it to mean that, roughly speaking, one-third of humanity seems to be born to live and will live a long time no matter what they do; another third seems born fated to die and will die young no matter what they do; and finally, another third can live long or die young depending on how they live, but they hasten their journey to death with their anxiety to hold on to life.
Lao-Tzu- Te-Tao Ching Page 8
