Lao-Tzu- Te-Tao Ching
Page 9
It is with some reluctance, therefore, that I adopt the “thirteen” reading, and I do so based in part on internal evidence from elsewhere in the text, and in part on the grammatical form of these lines in the Ma-wang-tui texts.
The internal evidence is that in chapter 76 there is mention once again of the “companions” of life and death (sheng chih Vu, ssu chih Vu), and there “companions” means the qualities of the body in life or death (suppleness and softness, or rigidity and firmness), not different groups of people. The grammatical evidence from the Ma-wang-tui texts is (a) that line 4 begins “And yet people” (erh min—the erh does not occur in the standard text), seeming to indicate that two alternatives have been presented, the good one being obvious, and yet people end up choosing the other, and (b) where the standard text has i (“also”) at the end of line 4 (i.e., it says, “These are also ‘thirteen’ [or ‘three out of ten’],” supporting the idea that there are three different groups being discussed), the Ma-wang-tui texts have the possessive particle chih, giving the reading of “the thirteen (or three out of ten) that belong to the realm of death” (literally “death realm’s thirteen”).
I might add, to further this claim, that shih-yu X as “ten has [= plus] X” is a form we find in other early texts. In Confucius’ well-known words in Analects 2:4—“At the age of fifteen, I set my heart on learning”—“fifteen” is shih-yu wu.
[CHAPTER 51, TEXT A]
1 The Way gives birth to them and Virtue nourishes them;
2 Substance gives them form and their unique capacities complete them.
3 Therefore the ten thousand things venerate the Way and honor Virtue.
4 As for their veneration of the Way and their honoring of Virtue—
5 No one rewards them for it; it’s constantly so on its own.
6 The Way gives birth to them, nourishes them, matures them, completes them, rests them, rears them, supports them, and protects them.
7 It gives birth to them but doesn’t try to own them;
8 It acts on their behalf but doesn’t make them dependent;
9 It matures them but doesn’t rule them. 10 This we call Profound Virtue.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
“Periods” occur at the start of lines 1 and 6 in Text A. Texts A and B differ in minor grammatical ways; these differences do not affect the meaning or the translation.
The Ma-wang-tui texts contain a number of interesting variants. To begin with, in line 2 they have “unique capacities” or “talents” (ch’i) where the standard text has “circumstances” or “conditions” (shih). Then in line 3 they omit the words “none does not” (mo pu), which make the standard text read, “Of the ten thousand things, none does not venerate …”
In line 5 the Ma-wang-tui texts have “reward” (literally “give noble rank to”—chüeh) where the standard text has “order” (ming), but chüeh is a known and common variant.
A “therefore” at the head of line 6 in the standard text is omitted here. Also in line 6, in the standard text it is again “Virtue” that “nourishes them, matures them …,” and so on. The word “Virtue” is omitted in the Ma-wang-tui texts, as it is in many other editions of the text as well.
[CHAPTER 52, TEXT A]
1 The world had a beginning,
2 Which can be considered the mother of the world.
3 Having attained the mother, in order to understand her children,
4 If you return and hold on to the mother, till the end of your life you’ll suffer no harm.
5 Block up the holes;
6 Close the doors;
7 And till the end of your life you’ll not labor.
8 Open the holes;
9 Meddle in affairs;
10 And till the end of your life you’ll not be saved.
11 To perceive the small is called “discernment.”
12 To hold on to the pliant is called “strength.”
13 If you use the rays to return to the bright light,
14 You’ll not abandon your life to peril.
15 This is called Following the Constant.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
Lines 13 and 14 seem to parallel line 4 and the second half of line 3 above: thus one avoids harm by “knowing the children” but “returning to the mother,” and in like fashion one avoids peril by using the rays (kuang) to trace one’s way back to the source of the light (ming—i.e., the Tao). But remember that there is a “period” at the head of line 5 in Text A, possibly indicating that the copyist or an editor saw no connection between lines 1-4 and what follows.
Text B is like the standard text in adding a phrase between lines 3 and 4: “And having known the children.” Actually it says, “And having returned to know the children,” but the “returned” (fu) is smudged, indicating that the copyist realized he had made a mistake.
[CHAPTER 53]
1 Were I to have the least bit of knowledge, in walking on a Great Road, it’s only going astray that I would fear.
2 The Great Way is very level;
3 But people greatly delight in tortuous paths.
4 The courts are swept very clean;
5 While the fields are full of weeds;
6 And the granaries are all empty.
7 Their clothing—richly embroidered and colored;
8 While at their waists they carry sharp swords.
9 They gorge themselves on food, and of possessions and goods they have plenty.
10 This is called thievery!
11 And thievery certainly isn’t the Way!
COMMENTS AND NOTES
Roughly one-third of Text A is now missing (lines 10 and 11 and parts of 1 and 2). But the “period” at the head of line 1 is clear.
At the end of line 3 the Ma-wang-tui texts do not have the standard ching (“narrow path” or “byway”) but rather a character that seems best identified as the word meaning “small path through a mountain valley.”
In line 9 the standard text says they (i.e., rich nobles/ruling aristocracy) gorge themselves on food and drink (versus just food in the Ma-wang-tui texts).
In line 11, the Ma-wang-tui texts seem to have been like the Fu I text in repeating the “thievery” (tao hsi) from line 10; those two characters are normally left out.
The author makes a pun in the last two lines: “thievery” and “the Way” are both pronounced tao (fourth tone); that is, the lines read, “This is called tao! And this tao certainly isn’t the tao!”
One of the principles followed by the editor or editors who arranged the text in its present sequence was to have sections of text that use the same word or words follow one another. Here the first three lines may or may not connect well with what follows, but in both blocks of material the word “very” (shen) is a point of focus. Lines 2 and 3 literally say “great way very level, people very much like tortuous paths” while lines 4-6 literally read “courts very clean, fields very weedy, granaries very empty.”
[CHAPTER 54]
1 What is firmly set up can’t be pulled down;
2 What is firmly embraced cannot slip free.
3 And your sons and grandsons, as a result, will sacrifice without end.
4 When you cultivate it in your person, your virtue will then be genuine;
5 When you cultivate it in your family, your virtue will then overflow;
6 When you cultivate it in your village, your virtue will then be long lasting;
7 When you cultivate it in your state, your virtue will then be abundant;
8 And when you cultivate it throughout the world, your virtue will then be widespread.
9 Use the individual to examine the individual;
10 Use the family to examine the family;
[10a Use the village to examine the village;]
11 Use the state to examine the state;
12 And use the world to examine the world;
13 How do I know that the world is so?
14 By this.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
&n
bsp; Text A, like the standard text, has an additional line between lines 10 and 11—“Use the village to examine the village.” This is incorrectly omitted in Text B. All that remains from Text A are lines 9-11 (with the added line) and parts of lines 3 and 12.
The Ma-wang-tui version of this chapter is essentially the same as we find in other texts with the exception of a few synonym substitutions here and there: for example, at the end of line 3 the Ma-wang-tui texts have chüeh (“to end,” “be cut off”) instead of the normal cho (“stop,” “cease”), and at the end of line 8 they say virtue will be “widespread” (po) instead of “universal” (p’u).
[CHAPTER 55]
1 One who embraces the fullness of Virtue,
2 Can be compared to a newborn babe.
3 Wasps and scorpions, snakes and vipers do not sting him;
4 Birds of prey and fierce beasts do not seize him;
5 His bones and muscles are weak and pliant, yet his grasp is firm;
6 He does not yet know the meeting of male and female, yet his organ is aroused—
7 This is because his essence is at its height.
8 He can scream all day, yet he won’t become hoarse—
9 This is because his harmony is at its height.
10 To know harmony is called “the constant”;
11 To know the constant is called “being wise”;
12 To add on to life is called a “bad omen”;
13 For the mind to control the breath—that’s called “forcing things.”
14 When things reach their prime they get old;
15 This is called “not the Way.”
16 What is not the Way will come to an early end.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
In line 5, Text A is like the standard text in having “His bones are weak and his muscles are pliant.” In line 10, Text A has simply “Harmony is called ‘the constant.’ ”
For line 4 the Ma-wang-tui texts have a six-character sentence that parallels line 3; the standard text makes two clauses out of this and reverses the “birds of prey” and the “fierce beasts”; thus, Wing-tsit Chan translates, “Fierce beasts will not seize him. Birds of prey will not strike him.”
In line 6 the Ma-wang-tui texts have the “meeting” (hui) of male and female where other texts have the synonymous “union” (ho). And in agreement with most editions of the text, in line 6 in the Ma-wang-tui texts it is the child’s “organ” (“penis”—tsui) that is aroused, not his “perfection” (ch’üan—as in the Wang Pi text).
Line 14 might seem to be at odds with the “natural” way of the Taoists. But I think the point is that when people reach their prime, they are inclined to want more of life, to show off their strength, and to use their minds to control their lives (lines 12 and 13). But this leads to using up and wasting away one’s vital powers and hence the start of old age. (On these lines see also chapter 30, below.)
[CHAPTER 56, TEXT A]
1 Those who know don’t talk about it; those who talk don’t know it.
2 He blocks up his holes,
3 Closes his doors,
4 Softens the glare,
5 Settles the dust,
6 Files down the sharp edges,
7 And unties the tangles.
8 This is called Profound Union.
9 Therefore, there is no way to get intimate with him,
10 But there is also no way to shun him.
11 There is no way to benefit him,
12 But there is also no way to harm him.
13 There is no way to ennoble him,
14 But there is also no way to debase him.
15 For this very reason he’s the noblest thing in the world.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
The “And” (erh) at the head of line 7 is explicit in Text B (but not in Text A). In line 11, the copyist for Text B skipped ahead one line by mistake before correcting the error: as a result, Text B literally says, “There is no way to harm and benefit him.”
In line 1 the difference between the standard text—which says, “Those who know don’t speak, and those who speak don’t know”—is a difference in the negative used: the standard text uses pu (“not,” “don’t”) whereas the Ma-wang-tui texts have fu (“not———it” “don’t——-it”).
Lines 2-7 in the Ma-wang-tui texts follow a different sequence than we normally find. In the standard text the order is 2, 3, 6, 7, 4, 5. Lines 2 and 3 occur above in chapter 52, and lines 4-7 (in the order 6, 7, 4, 5) are also found in chapter 4.
The “also”s in lines 10, 12, and 14 do not occur in the standard Lao-tzu text, but they are attested in a small number of other editions.
[CHAPTER 57]
1 Use the upright and correct to order the state;
2 Use surprise tactics when you use troops;
3 Use unconcern with affairs to take control of the world.
4 How do I know that this is so?
5 Well, the more taboos and prohibitions there are in the world, the poorer the people will be;
6 The more sharp weapons the people possess, the more muddled the states will be;
7 The more knowledge and skill people have, the more novel things will appear;
8 The more legal matters are made prominent, the more robbers and thieves there will be.
9 Therefore, the words of the Sage say:
10 I do nothing, and the people of themselves are transformed;
11 I love tranquility, and the people of themselves are upright;
12 I’m unconcerned with affairs, and the people of themselves become rich;
13 I desire not to desire, and the people of themselves are [genuine and simple, like] uncarved wood.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
For the reconstruction of line 7 in Text B I have followed Cheng Liang-shu. Text A omits the word “skill” (ch’iao); the standard text has “talent and skill” (chi-ch’iao), but the reading of “knowledge and skill” (chih-ch’iao) is also attested. There is a “period” at the start of line 1 in Text A.
In the standard text, the question raised in line 4 is answered: “By this” (i-tz’u). Also, the fu (“Well,”) at the start of line 5 does not occur.
In line 8 the standard text has “laws and commands” (fa-ling) in place of “legal matters” (fa-wu—an attested reading), and in line 9, the standard reading is “Therefore the Sage says” (ku sheng-jen yün).
Finally, all other editions of the Lao-tzu have “I have no desires” (wo wu-yü) in the last line where the Ma-wang-tui texts say, “I desire not to desire” (wo yü pu-yü).
Waley, correctly I feel, notes that line 2 is surely a maxim of the Strategists (or Militarists—ping-chia) that the present author is adopting for his own use. Could it be that the author, in lines 1-3, is really posing three distinct ways to approach the problem of ruling the empire, only one of which he advocates? That is to say, those lines could be interpreted in this way: “The Confucians, on the one hand, say that we must use the upright and correct to order the state; the Strategists, on the other hand, say we must use surprise tactics when we use troops. But I say that it’s only with ‘unconcern with affairs’ that anyone will take control of the world.”
But arguing against this, perhaps, is the fact that cheng (“regular,” my “upright and correct”) and ch’i (“irregular,” my “surprise tactics”) are both part of the planning vocabulary of the Militarists (for example, see Yates, 1988).
[CHAPTER 58]
1 When the government is muddled and confused,
2 The people are genuine and sincere.
3 When the government is discriminate and clear,
4 The state is crafty and cunning.
[4a Disaster is that on which good fortune depends.]
5 Good fortune is that in which disaster’s concealed.
6 Who knows where it will end?
7 For there is no [fixed] “correct.”
8 The “correct” turns into the “deviant”;
9 And “good” turns into
“evil.”
10 People’s state of confusion
11 Has certainly existed for a long time.
12 Therefore be square but don’t cut;
13 Be sharp but don’t stab;
14 Be straightforward but not unrestrained;
15 Be bright but don’t dazzle.
COMMENTS AND NOTES
Text A is like the standard text in adding a line between lines 4 and 5—“Disaster is that on which good fortune depends.” Since the chapter concerns the relationship between opposites, the omission of this line in Text B is surely an oversight. Very little survives of Text A: Now missing are lines 1-2 and 6-15.
In the standard text it is again “the people” who are crafty and cunning in line 4.
In other editions of the Lao-tzu the last four lines are all said of the Sage: “Therefore, the Sage is square but doesn’t cut,” and so on.
In lines 12-14 the author chooses words that at one and the same time might describe wood and moral traits—“square” (= honest), “sharp” (as an angle = upright), and “straight” (= direct and frank).
[CHAPTER 59]
1 For ordering humanity and serving Heaven, nothing’s so good as being sparing.
2 For only if you are sparing can you, therefore, early submit [to the Way].
3 Early submission—this is called to repeatedly accumulate Virtue.
4 If you repeatedly accumulate Virtue, then there is nothing you can’t overcome.