《道德真经集注(宋太守张氏)》Vol. 3

This passage is a commentary on the line from Laozi, chapter 28, “Know honor, keep disgrace, and become the valley of the world.” Its main theme is to conduct oneself with humility and emptiness, and to return to the source.

The statement “To regard all appearances as equal, to remove attachment and return to the root—this is the utmost of De; without this, one cannot embody the numinous” means that to view all the appearances of things equally, remove attachment, and return to the root is the highest level of De. If one cannot do this, one cannot realize the mysterious Dao. In ancient times, those who cultivated the Dao, even when their bodies were broken and their clothes ragged, were content to dwell in low-lying, turbid places; the principle is the same.

On the phrase “become the valley of the world,” Heshang Gong, a Han-dynasty scholar who annotated the Laozi, says that “honor” stands for nobility and “disgrace” for turbidity. Though one may clearly possess nobility, one is willing to keep to turbidity; then the people of the world will return to one like water flowing into a deep valley. Wang Pang, a Northern Song scholar, says that a valley is empty and therefore able to contain all things, and so it symbolizes numinous subtlety. The characteristic of Shen (spirit) is that it is full and omnipresent; it cannot be grasped by seeking and cannot be exhausted by use. This probably means that one should guard the pure, refined Qi within disgrace; only when it is pure can it communicate with numinous subtlety.

On “become the valley of the world, and constant De is then sufficient,” Heshang Gong says that “sufficient” means to stop or abide. If a person can be like a valley and become that to which the world returns, then De abides within him. Wang Pang says that if one lowers oneself by one grade, with respect to original nature one is still not sufficient; therefore the ultimate of Dao lies in embodying numinous subtlety, and only this truly fulfills one’s nature.

On “return again to uncarved wood,” Emperor Ming of Tang—Xuanzong, Li Longji, who annotated the Laozi—says that although De is honorable, one always willingly guards lowliness. When external things stimulate one, one responds like a valley echo; one receives with emptiness and without exhaustion, and when constant De is complete and sufficient, one returns to Dao. “Uncarved wood” is Dao. Heshang Gong says that “returning again” means causing body and mind to return to their plain, original state, with no further adornment. Wang Bi, a Wei-Jin period Xuanxue thinker, says that these three lines speak of always returning to the root, and only at the end is De complete. The next chapter’s saying “Return is the movement of Dao” means that merit need not be deliberately sought; one need only constantly abide in the root. Wang Pang says that uncarved wood is a metaphor for the essence of nature. Nature can bring all phenomena to completion without belonging exclusively to any one vessel, and so it is called uncarved wood. Even when transcending the realm of numinous subtlety, it never departs from plainness. Broadly speaking, the perfected person acts from original nature; this is higher than guarding Qi, more sagely than establishing laws, and deeper than embodying numinous subtlety. At the utmost, it is simply returning to original nature.

“When uncarved wood disperses, it becomes vessels” is a fragmentary sentence. It means that when plain original nature scatters and is lost, it becomes various vessels having concrete forms and uses.

When Uncarved Wood Scatters, It Becomes Vessels

“Uncarved wood” refers to raw material that has not been carved or polished, like unprocessed timber. Once uncarved wood is broken apart and worked into vessels, it acquires various uses.

Heshang Gong says: When the “uncarved wood” of the myriad things scatters, it becomes various utensils. If Dao (the Way) scatters, it transforms into spiritual brightness, circulates as the sun and moon, and differentiates into the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water).

Zhang Pang says: Once the myriad things return to uncarved wood, that uncarved wood again transforms into vessels; ending and beginning anew, this is the constant condition of Dao.

The Sage Uses It and Becomes the Head of Officials

Tang Minghuang says: When De (Virtue/Power) is held inwardly and harmonized within, one returns to uncarved wood; when constant De is applied, it scatters and becomes vessels. Since vessels and implements have physical form, they differ in fineness and coarseness; therefore the sage employs them and establishes them as officials and leaders in various places.

Heshang Gong says: When the sage is promoted and employed, he becomes the head of the hundred officials.

Wang Bi says: Uncarved wood is “the real.” Once true nature disperses, various actions become differentiated, and all kinds of things, like vessels, each have their divisions. The sage follows this dispersion and therefore establishes officials and leaders, taking the good as teachers and the not-good as a mirror, transforming customs and changing mores, so that the world returns to unity.

Zhang Pang says: When the emperor realizes the Dao of plain simplicity and uses it to govern a dispersed world, he understands the way of government: it is enough simply to establish officials and leaders.

Therefore the Great Regulation Does Not Sever

“Great regulation” means governing the world by the great Dao.

Tang Minghuang says: The sage uses Dao to govern all things, enabling all living beings in the world to find their proper place. His grace is warm and enduring like the spring sun, so that plants and all things can grow without being cut or harmed.

Heshang Gong says: The sage governs the world by the great Dao and does no injury or cutting; in cultivating the self, he uses the great Dao to control desires and does not harm the spirit.

Wang Bi says: The “great regulation” takes the hearts of all under heaven as its own heart, and therefore there is no severing.

Xiu says: One who takes Dao as regulation follows the momentum of Dao and adapts to the naturalness of all things; thus, although there is some restraint, there is no injury of carving or slaughter.

This chapter’s discussion of the line about “white and black, honor and disgrace” has profound meaning and principle; words can hardly fully express it, and readers should carefully comprehend it with their minds.

Laozi believed that to try to seize the world and govern the people by methods of deliberate action (youwei) is unworkable. The world is a supremely honored sacred vessel, and it cannot be dominated by force.

Heshang Gong (“He”) says that “seizing the world” means wanting to become master of the world, while “acting upon it” means wanting to govern the people by methods of deliberate action. Wang Bi (“Bi”) glosses “acting” as “fabricating,” that is, making deliberate efforts.

Emperor Ming of Tang (Xuanzong, “Minghuang”) says that the world is the supreme treasure-throne, and only one on whom the Mandate of Heaven (the ordained succession) falls can possess it. If violent and rebellious men wish to seize it by force, Laozi long ago declared that they cannot succeed. Heshang Gong also says that the Way of Heaven detests trouble and turbidity, and the human heart detests greed; to go against these two is to fail to obtain the world.

Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song, “Pang”) says that the perfected person (one whose cultivation has reached its utmost) embodies the numinous and marvelous and complies with change, becoming one with the myriad things. Although he can rule the world, he never clings to “being,” and so he can remain unhurried in non-action (wuwei) while every affair succeeds. If one takes the self as the center and tries to reach external things through one’s own intentions, then even in a single body one will meet obstruction everywhere—how much more so in governing the world. “Seizing” is possessing external things, the private partiality of having a self; “acting” is fabrication, a matter of doing something. A person with a self and with action is troubled and anxious all day long—what leisure would he have to govern the people?

Wang Bi explains “sacred vessel”: Shen (spirit) is without form or direction, while a vessel is something composite. Because the formless Dao composes the myriad things, it is called the “sacred vessel.” Heshang Gong, by contrast, says that a vessel is simply a thing, and that the human being is formed by the numinous wonder of the world. Wang Pang holds that only one who embodies the Dao to the utmost and responds to things inexhaustibly can steer it by the way of non-action.

Therefore, this sacred vessel, the world, cannot be forcibly sought or dominated by methods of deliberate action.

“Vessel” simply means a thing. People are the most wondrous things under Heaven. Wondrous things favor stillness and cannot be governed by deliberate action. (Heshang Gong, an Eastern Han Daoist scholar who annotated the Daodejing.) Wang Pang (son of the Northern Song scholar Wang Anshi) says: Once there is an intention to act, the distinction between “self” and “things” arises, and the mind becomes attached.

Those who act ruin it: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Minghuang) says that the position of the Son of Heaven is a “sacred vessel” entrusted by the gods of Heaven and Earth, and cannot be seized by force; therefore, those who act recklessly will surely ruin it. This is a warning to treacherous ministers who usurp and rebel. Heshang Gong says that governing by methods of deliberate action means forcibly altering the original nature of things.

Those who grasp lose it: Emperor Xuanzong says that when the sequence of Heaven’s mandate already rests with one, and one has already obtained the ruler’s position, still to cling to it tightly and place oneself above the gods and spirits will cause the Heavenly Dao to send down calamity upon the licentious and make them lose it as well. This is a warning to emperors. Heshang Gong says that forcibly grasping and instructing others will cause one to lose the true circumstances of things and breed fraud and hypocrisy. Wang Bi (a Wei-Jin-era Xuanxue thinker) says that the myriad things take naturalness as their nature, so they can only be followed, not forced; they can only be penetrated, not held. Things have an inherent constant nature, yet one wants to fabricate artificially, so one must fail; things have coming and going, change and transformation, yet one wants to guard them to the death, so one must lose them.

In general, things either go ahead or follow: some walk in front, some follow behind. Heshang Gong says that however those above act, those below will necessarily follow.

Some are warm, some are cold: Heshang Gong explains that “xi” means mild warmth, and “chui” means cold. Where there are warm things, there must be cold things opposing them.

Some are strong, some are weak: where there are the strong, there are the frail.

Some are borne, some are mounded: some are carried and supported, some are heaped up with earth and raised.

This passage is a commentary on Chapter 29 of the Dao De Jing: “The world is a sacred vessel; it cannot be acted upon. Those who act upon it ruin it; those who grasp it lose it.” It discusses following nature and not forcing or acting with contrivance.

Emperor Ming of Tang (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji, who personally annotated the Dao De Jing) says: To seek something through human contrivance is bound to fail; to insist on grasping and holding it is bound to lose it. Thus some things go ahead and some follow behind; some are warmed by breath and some are chilled by blowing; supported, they become strong; broken, they become weak. If one complies with the right Dao (the Way), affairs can be sustained and completed; if one loses De (Virtue/Power), they will overturn and be discarded.

Heshang Gong (author of an early commentary on the Dao De Jing, whose notes are often cited as “He says”) says: “Zai” means stability, while “che” indicates the danger of overturning. Wherever there is stability, danger follows. This shows that a ruler must not presumptuously act with self-will; the same principle applies whether governing the state or cultivating oneself.

Wang Pang of the Northern Song (son of Wang Anshi, who also wrote a commentary on Laozi) says: The sage’s mind transcends being and nonbeing and is not entangled by external things. Therefore, as Yin-Yang alternate, the principle the sage holds does not change. To cling to “being” is to make an enemy of the myriad things; the myriad transformations become entangled and confused, and one cannot plan comprehensively. Thus one sees only the things in front moving, without knowing that followers come behind, like form and shadow inseparable; or like breathing warm and blowing cold, with cold and heat generating each other. If one knows only “strength,” then weakness will come sooner or later; if one knows only “stability,” then overturning will likewise arrive in turn. These are the constant principles of the great Dao of creation and the normal condition of all affairs. Those who cling to “being” do not understand this; because they themselves have not awakened, they generate these troubles and even contend with them. In that case, even a tiny thing can fill heaven and earth with anxiety—how much less could one hold the heavy sacred vessel of the world without being entangled?

Emperor Ming also says: The sage sees things sometimes moving and sometimes following, and knows that grasping inevitably fails; therefore he removes excessive measures, so that anxiety will not fill heaven and earth.

Therefore the sage removes excess, extravagance, and arrogance, does not do extreme things, and thereby complies with the natural Dao.

Commentary on Chapter 29 (Tang Xuanzong, Heshang Gong, Wang Bi, Wang Pang)

The sage sees that among the myriad things some advance and some follow, some exhale and some blow, some are strong and some weak, some bear up and some collapse; these changes are mutually opposed yet mutually completing, cycling back and forth. From this the sage knows that those who merely force things and deliberately grasp at them are certain to fail, and so he removes excessive measures.

(Heshang Gong’s commentary) “Excess” refers to indulgence in sensual pleasures, “extravagance” to lavishness in clothing, food, and drink, and “grandeur” to excessive splendor in palaces, towers, and terraces. Removing these three, abiding in the way of balance and harmony, and practicing Wuwei (non-action) governance, the people of the world will naturally receive transformation.

(Wang Bi’s commentary) These instances of “some” all refer to the forward and adverse changes of things, their repeated and inconstant alternation. To forcibly impose action is to cling to things and split apart their inherent nature. The sage comprehends the ultimate principle of spontaneity and understands the actual reality of the myriad things; therefore he follows along and does not act arbitrarily. He removes the root of delusion, and thus his mind is not disordered, while the myriad things can each preserve their own nature.

(Wang Pang’s commentary) The sage’s mind unites with “non-being” (the empty, void substance of the Dao), and with this he responds to all changes. When he acts, he is not encumbered by preconceptions, like a bright mirror reflecting forms, stopping precisely when it is just right. Matters beyond his proper sphere, in accordance with principle, he simply does not undertake. Those who cling to purposeful action falsely perceive various appearances, boast of their abilities, delight in action, and do not know when to stop; thus their affairs always exceed due measure. This is because they do not understand the cyclical changes of the myriad things: leading and following, exhaling and blowing, strength and weakness, bearing up and collapsing.

Opening of Chapter 30

The chapter title “Using the Dao (the Way) to Assist the Ruler” means assisting the ruler by means of the Dao. “Those who use the Dao to assist the ruler” refers to those who are able to assist the ruler with the Dao. Heshang Gong’s commentary says this refers to the ruler himself being able to assist himself with the Dao. “Not relying on arms to dominate the world” means not using military force to flaunt strength over the world.

One who assists the ruler with the Dao does not rely on arms and armor to display strength in the world. Heshang Gong (traditionally a Western Han Daoist who annotated the Daodejing) says that this accords with the Heavenly Dao and follows the way of conduct of virtuous people; enemies will naturally submit.

Wang Bi (a Wei metaphysician of the Three Kingdoms period) further says: Even one who assists the ruler with the Dao cannot use military force to make the world strong—how much less a ruler who personally practices the Great Dao?

Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song) says: One who realizes the Great Dao and possesses the world—all things will naturally come to submit; what need is there to discuss military affairs? That is why here it speaks only of one who assists the ruler. The Sage establishes the state through De and uses military force to assist virtuous governance.

Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang) says: If a minister can assist the ruler with the Dao, he should use De to soften and bring people to submit, not deploy the awe of arms and armor to seek strength in the world. Why? Weapons are inauspicious instruments; war is a dangerous affair. If one raises troops to attack another, the other will surely strike back; the matter will rebound like an echo, and the outcome of victory or defeat will be hard to predict.

Heshang Gong further explains “such affairs readily return”: after an action is taken, the result returns to oneself, so a person of the Dao reflects on himself and does not resent others.

Wang Bi says: Those who govern the world set their minds on achieving merit and stirring up affairs; but a person of the Dao seeks to return to Wuwei and does not recklessly initiate affairs. Hence it says, “such affairs readily return.”

Wang Pang further says: “Returning” means not acting recklessly outward but striving to return to the original source; this is the same meaning as “in serving Heaven and governing people, nothing is better than sparing.”

The scripture text then says: Where armies have been stationed, thorns and brambles will grow. Heshang Gong explains that this is because after war, farming is neglected and the fields are left uncultivated.

Finally it says: After a great army has passed, there will surely be years of famine.

Emperor Ming of Tang (Emperor Xuanzong, Li Longji) comments: Where armies are stationed, once battle is joined it interferes with farming. When farming is neglected, thorns and brambles grow in the fields (thorny wild shrubs; here it means the fields have gone to waste). The violent Qi of war damages the harmonious Qi between Heaven and Earth; floods and droughts ensue, and first agriculture is abandoned, then disasters follow, and there may even be years of famine.

Heshang Gong comments: Heaven responds with evil Qi; evil Qi damages the five grains, and when the five grains are completely lost, people are harmed as well.

Wang Bi comments: What is called the “army” is a vicious and harmful thing. It brings no benefit to the affairs of the world; it only wounds people’s hearts, injures the common people, and lays the fields waste. Therefore it is said, “thorns and brambles grow there.”

Xiu’s commentary says: The brutality of slaughter injures the harmonious Qi between Heaven and Earth.

The good [commander] achieves the result and stops there: Heshang Gong says that those skilled in using troops need only act decisively and achieve their aim; they must not delay or become entangled.

They dare not use it to seize strength: They do not, on account of decisive action, go about seizing a reputation for strength. Wang Bi says: “Guo” means to accomplish and to relieve; those skilled in using troops seek only to resolve danger quickly and do not rely on armed force to domineer in the world. Wang Pang says: “Guo” means completion; they seek only to complete the task quickly. Military force is like frost and snow in the heavens: if the myriad things lacked the severity of killing, they could not mature. Thus both Heaven and the sage use power to assist moral transformation. How would they dare rely on a multitude of troops to contend for strength and seek their own private advantage?

Achieve the result but do not boast: Heshang Gong says that when acting decisively one must still be humble and must not praise oneself.

Achieve the result but do not claim credit: When acting decisively, one should defer and yield; do not boast of one’s merits or take a fine reputation as one’s own.

Achieve the result but do not be arrogant: After accomplishing the task, one must not become proud and overbearing on that account.

One who is skilled in assisting the ruler and commanding the army seeks only to resolutely check the enemy’s aggression and goes no further. The fundamental aim is to bring peace to the people and harmony to the multitudes; therefore he does not dare to covet victory or to flaunt strength and claim dominance. Even when he has resolutely halted the enemy, the enemy will not on that account become a lasting marauding threat. He must be exceedingly cautious and must not boast of his merit, display the fruits of battle, and become arrogant and self-satisfied. Arrogance invites defeat; hence this special warning.

Heshang Gong (Han dynasty commentator) says: “Jiao” means to bully; it means that at the moment of resolute action one must not use arrogance to oppress others.

Wang Bi (Three Kingdoms commentator) says: I do not regard the use of military force as something to be esteemed; I employ it only when forced, so what arrogance could there be?

The various commentators say: These faults all arise from attachment to “being” and a mind bent on winning; only one who has no mind to seek victory may use military force.

“Resolute only when unavoidable”: Heshang Gong says that one should be resolute and utterly sincere, and should not wait until one is forced to the point of having no alternative before acting.

“Resolute but not forceful”: Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, commentator) says that when the enemy comes to invade and one has no choice but to stop them, one therefore uses troops to check the encroachment. In this way, resoluteness is only a response to the enemy, not a display of strength for seizure. Heshang Gong adds that when resolute one should not think oneself strong, and should not therefore don armor and wield weapons to encroach upon others. Wang Bi says that although in using troops one is resolute for the sake of success and must use them to rescue from trouble, they are only used to remove violence and quell disorder; one does not thereby flaunt strength. Wang Pang (Northern Song commentator, son of Wang Anshi) says that the four matters above are precisely the method of “not being forceful.”

“When things reach their prime, they grow old”: Heshang Gong says that when plants and trees grow to fullest flourish they wither and fall, and when people reach the height of vigor they grow old; therefore the strong and flourishing cannot endure. Wang Pang says that flourishing to the utmost and then declining is the constant principle of things; among ancient examples of suffering this calamity, the Qin dynasty is one.

“This is called not-Dao (the Way)”: Wang Pang says that one who embodies the Great Dao can encompass ten thousand transformations without becoming attached to any single thing, and therefore has no notion of the distinction between vigor and old age.

“What is not Dao soon ends”: Those who contravene the Great Dao soon come to an end.

Once a thing becomes overly strong, it moves toward decline; when one uses military force merely to flaunt strength, one moves toward defeat. Such conduct is not in accord with the Dao and should be stopped early, not undertaken. The commentator Xiu explains that “strong” refers to martial power suddenly and violently arising, a metaphor for those who rely on powerful troops to dominate the world. Just as a whirlwind cannot blow through a whole morning and a sudden rain cannot fall for a whole day, a violently arisen momentum certainly cannot last long; therefore such a sudden rise is certainly not in accord with the Dao. “Early” means “to stop.”

Weapons are inauspicious instruments. Heshang Gong (traditionally a Han-dynasty recluse who annotated the Daodejing) says that “auspicious” means “good.” Weapons can disturb people’s spirit and muddy the harmonious Qi between Heaven and Earth; they are merely instruments used by those who are not good, and should not be embellished.

Once weapons are set in motion, they cause harm, so among the myriad things none does not detest them. Therefore the person who possesses the Dao does not let himself dwell amid them. Emperor Ming of Tang (Xuanzong Li Longji, who wrote an imperial commentary to the Daodejing) explains that jia means “to like” and bing refers to military strategy. When ordinary people polish their rhetoric and establish their sincerity, they cannot use the Dao and De to keep their talents and capacities in check, but instead take pleasure in military plots and strategic schemes. The use of strategy lies only in attack, seizure, killing, and slaughter, so it is an inauspicious instrument. Even the myriad things all detest it, and so the person of Dao is unwilling to place himself therein. Heshang Gong further comments that the person of Dao does not dwell in a state afflicted by military turmoil. The Northern Song scholar Wang Pang says that “not dwelling” is only for the sake of rescuing people from calamity, not treating it as an everyday practice.

Therefore the noble person, in ordinary daily life, honors the left; when using military force, he honors the right. Heshang Gong says that in ordinary times one honors softness and weakness. Emperor Ming of Tang explains that the left belongs to Yang; when Yang Qi is harmonious and flowing, the myriad things arise, and so in ordinary times the left is honored. The right belongs to Yin; when Yin Qi congeals, there is austere killing, and so when using military force the right is honored. Heshang Gong further says that in using military force one honors hardness and strength. This means that the way of the military strategists is contrary to the way of the noble person, and what each honors is different.

Weapons are inauspicious and baleful instruments, not things the noble person should use or value. (Heshang Gong’s commentary: weapons are unwholesome things.) The noble person takes Dao and De as the foundation and does not value military strategy. (Wang Pang’s commentary: the ruler governs by the Dao of Wuwei and nurtures the people with loving kindness and beneficence, and therefore does not exalt martial force.)

To resort to arms only when forced means that in an age of decline and disorder, when disaster is about to fall upon the people, one then takes up weapons in self-defense.

Even when arms are used, one should maintain a tranquil and detached state of mind; this is the highest attainment. (Minghuang, that is, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, once annotated the Daodejing. He held that only foreign invasion justifies the forced use of arms, and that after victory not contending for credit or boasting is to make tranquility supreme. Heshang Gong’s commentary: do not covet others’ land, do not plunder others’ treasures.) Even if one wins a battle, one should not regard it as worthy of boasting.

If one regards victory as a beautiful thing and delights in talking about it, that is to delight in killing. (Wang Pang’s commentary: weapons are originally used for killing; if they are further embellished so that they appear beautiful and admirable, that is to treat killing as a beautiful thing.) One who delights in killing cannot achieve his will in the world. Minghuang’s commentary: victory is often accompanied by great slaughter; if victory is considered beautiful, people’s hearts will certainly not turn to him, and wanting to gain the world will then be difficult. Heshang Gong’s commentary: if a ruler delights in killing, monopolizes human life, and recklessly carries out executions, he cannot achieve his will in the world. Wang Pang cites Mencius: only one who is not fond of killing can unify the world.

In the ancient ritual system, auspicious and celebratory matters honor the left. (Heshang Gong’s commentary: the left is the position of life. The ancients regarded the left as yang and as life.) Inauspicious and mourning matters honor the right. (The right is yin and killing, and is therefore used for inauspicious matters.)

Heshang Gong says: Yin Qi governs killing and warfare; it is the Dao (the Way) of stern execution. Therefore the assistant general (deputy commander, lower in rank) stands on the left. Heshang Gong also says: Although the assistant general is low in rank, he occupies the yang position (the left belongs to yang and is the honored position), because he cannot decide on killing alone. The senior general (commander, higher in rank) stands on the right.

Emperor Ming of Tang (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji, who annotated the Daodejing) says: The assistant general is low in rank but stands on the left because he does not have sole charge of killing; the senior general is honored but stands on the right because he oversees military planning. Heshang Gong further says: The senior general is honored yet stands on the right, which means that he is in charge of killing and warfare.

This means that those in high positions must treat this matter with funeral rites. Emperor Ming of Tang says: Funeral rites honor the right (in ancient rites, auspicious affairs honored the left and inauspicious affairs honored the right); now the senior general stands on the right, which is to place him according to funeral rites. Heshang Gong says: The senior general stands on the right, and funeral rites honor the right, because the dead are honored as yin. When many people are killed, one should weep with grief. Emperor Ming of Tang says: Human life is precious, yet now people are killed for battle; with compassion in the heart, one expresses sorrow through mournful weeping. Heshang Gong says: This is to reflect on the shallowness of one’s own De (Virtue/Power), being unable to transform others through the great Dao and instead harming innocent people. Even if one is victorious, one must treat it with funeral rites.

Emperor Ming of Tang says: Brave and heroic men, when they win in battle, receive rewards and occupy the right position. But the right position is originally not auspicious, so it must be treated with funeral rites. ... Only regarding weapons as inauspicious, why then ... rely on white mourning garments. Heshang Gong says: In ancient times, after victory, the general would place himself in the position of one observing mourning and presiding over rites, wearing plain white garments and weeping. This shows that the noble person values De and disdains weapons, and only when unavoidable does he undertake the inauspicious task of punishment; his heart does not rejoice in this, but he faces it as if at a funeral. This is because he knows that later generations will not cease using arms, and so he is pained and grieved. Wang Bi (a Three Kingdoms period Xuanxue scholar and commentator on the Laozi) says: He suspects that this chapter was not written by Laozi.

The Dao is nameless.

The Dao cannot be called by any fixed name. Tang Xuanzong (Emperor Minghuang, Li Longji of the Tang) comments that the Dao becomes the constant Dao because it is applied to all things; its responses to the myriad things are not singular, and therefore within the constant Dao there is no fixed name. Heshang Gong (the Eastern Han recluse who annotated Laozi) comments that the Dao can be Yin and can be Yang, can unfold and can stretch, can exist and can perish, and thus has no fixed name. Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song) comments that the Dao has no concrete form—how could it have a name?

Though the uncarved block is small, none under heaven can make it their subject.

“Pu” is uncarved original wood, a metaphor for the Dao’s primordial, plain, and original state. Tang Xuanzong comments that Pu is the subtle root; because it is pure and undivided, it is called small, but in its application it brings all things to completion and is also supremely great, so no one dares to treat the Dao as a subordinate. Heshang Gong comments that although the substance of the Dao is minute, it is subtle and formless, and no one in the world dares to command the Dao. Wang Pang comments that Pu manifests in human beings as original nature and, in numerical principle, belongs to “One”; it does not belong exclusively to any one Qi, yet it can transform and generate the myriad phenomena, so it is always prior to all things and events—who could command it? But if one interprets it from the standpoint of a single thought, it can also be called small. The text also cites the Zhouyi phrase “Returning is small yet distinguishes among things” as evidence, using the ability to distinguish the myriad things within the small to explain this principle.

If lords and kings can keep it, the myriad things will of themselves become their guests.

This means: if feudal lords and rulers can preserve this Dao, the myriad things will naturally submit and attach themselves, like guests coming to court.

Emperor Ming (Tang Xuanzong) says: If rulers and feudal lords can steadfastly hold to the pure, undivided nature of the Dao (the Way; the source of all things and the natural law), follow what is natural and refrain from reckless action, then the myriad things under heaven will naturally come and submit.

Heshang Gong says: If rulers and feudal lords can guard the Dao and practice Wuwei (non-action), the myriad things will naturally submit and follow their De (Virtue/Power).

Wang Bi says: The Dao has no form and is not constrained; it is constant and cannot be named, taking “namelessness” as its norm. Therefore it is said, “The Dao is eternally nameless.” Pu (uncarved wood) is an unhewn log, a metaphor for plain simplicity and original authenticity. Pu takes Wuwei as its mind and is also without name; thus, to attain the Dao, one does better to guard Pu. The clever can be ministers, the brave can command troops, the skillful can be put to service, and the strong can bear heavy responsibilities; but Pu is whole and impartial, close to emptiness, and so it is said, “Nothing under heaven can make it a subject.” Embrace and guard Pu, remain without action, do not let external things entangle the original truth, do not let private desires injure the spirit; the myriad things will naturally submit, and the Dao will naturally be attained.

Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song) says: “Bin” means submission and seeking refuge. If rulers and feudal lords realize this nameless Pu and take it as the foundation for governing the world, they need not rely on authority and rewards to encourage people; the common people, not knowing why, will naturally submit, just as, having obtained the mother, children naturally follow.

When Heaven and Earth join in harmony, sweet dew descends.

Heshang Gong says: If the ruler’s actions resonate with the way of Heaven, Heaven sends down sweet dew; this is an auspicious omen.

The common people, without needing to be commanded, naturally become equal and uniform.

If lords and kings can firmly maintain “jingyi” (the single-minded and pure De of the Great Dao), heaven and earth will be harmonious and peaceful, Yin-Yang will intermingle, harmonious Qi will transform and nurture, and heaven will send down sweet dew. When the sweet dew falls, fragrant herbs and orchids alike receive its moisture; without any command, it naturally spreads evenly. Lords and kings in governing should also be like this, bestowing equally upon the myriad things.

Heshang Gong (Han dynasty commentator) says: When Heaven sends down auspicious signs, among the myriad things there is no need for human command; all naturally harmonize and equalize.

Wang Bi (Three Kingdoms Wei metaphysician) says: When heaven and earth unite, sweet dew descends naturally without being sought. If the ruler holds to his original true nature and practices Wuwei (non-action), the common people will naturally become equal and balanced without being commanded.

Wang Pang (Northern Song commentator) says: Govern by preserving the nameless simplicity, and the rising and descending of Yin-Yang will each follow its order, with harmonious Qi responding accordingly. Sweet dew is produced by the harmonious union of Yin and Yang; it naturally covers all, with no one making it so. This is the response of the Dao, complete everywhere. Mencius said, “Above and below, one flows together with Heaven and Earth”; this is what that means. What Zhuangzi says—“when the harmony of cold and heat is not achieved, it instead injures the human form”—is the loss of this Dao.

For the line “When order was first established, names came to exist,” Heshang Gong comments: “Beginning” refers to the Dao; “having names” refers to the myriad things. The Dao originally has no name, yet it can govern things that have names; the Dao originally has no form, yet it can govern things that have form.

On “Names have already come to exist,” Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Minghuang) comments: Only when the ruler brings about great peace through the Dao can he govern named things; therefore named things all belong to the lords and kings. “Ji” means “completely.” Heshang Gong notes, “Ji means ‘complete,’” and holds that if named things depart from the Great Dao and lose De, people will suffer ruin and disgrace in their own persons.

The general meaning of the scripture is this: if people can model themselves on the spontaneous Dao and govern by De, Heaven will naturally know it and lend its aid. Those who know when to stop will not fall into danger.

Heshang Gong (a Han-dynasty commentator known by the name “Heshang Gong” and author of an early commentary on the Dao De Jing) holds that if people can model themselves on the Dao and practice De, Heaven will also perceive their good deeds. Knowing when to stop, they will not encounter peril; if Heaven knows, it assists them through spiritual powers so that they are no longer in danger.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Li Longji, who commented on the Dao De Zhen Jing) holds that if marquises and kings can govern “things with names”—that is, all things that have names and visible traces—these things will likewise know to attach themselves to the marquises and kings, to a ruler who possesses the Dao, and thus no danger will arise.

Wang Bi (a commentator of the Wei of the Three Kingdoms) explains that “the initial institution” refers to the time when Pu (uncarved wood, a metaphor for the pristine and genuine state) begins to disperse into vessels and when officials are established. Establishing officials makes it necessary to establish names and roles in order to distinguish superior and inferior, and so it is said that “when the beginning is instituted, names arise.” Once names and roles are established, people will contend for petty advantages, and therefore one should know when to stop. If names are allowed to designate all things, the root of governance is lost; thus only by knowing when to stop can one avoid danger.

Wang Pang (a Northern Song commentator) holds that once names are established, the people will follow names in pursuit of profit and will not know how to return; various crafts and techniques proliferate, factions and schools spring up, and human nature is accordingly corrupted and dispersed. Therefore, at the very time of “when the beginning is instituted, names arise,” one should know when to stop, and only then will there be no calamity of contention. “To fashion” means to split and carve Pu into vessels.

As for the final sentence: the Dao in the world is like the waters of mountain valleys and ravines flowing into rivers and seas. This illustrates the universal presence of the Dao and the relationship whereby all things return to the Dao.

Heavenly Sweet Dew and Streams and Valleys, Rivers and Seas

The commentators take “Heaven sends sweet dew” as an auspicious omen, a metaphor for a ruler who possesses the Dao (the Way) governing the world: the people throughout the world will then respond and submit, just as the waters of streams and valleys naturally flow into rivers and seas. Tang Xuanzong (“Minghuang”), Heshang Gong (“He”), and others all understand it this way: rivers and seas do not summon the valleys and streams; the valleys and streams return to them of themselves. Wang Bi (“Bi”) goes further: one who applies the Dao to the world need not issue orders and commands, and the myriad things naturally find equilibrium; need not deliberately seek, and what is obtained comes of itself. Wang Pang (“Pang”), for his part, holds that rivers and seas do not seek water, yet water returns to them of itself, because waters of the same kind gather together. The nature of the common people is precisely the Dao; when the sage can gather this pure and complete nature, the myriad things naturally attach themselves to him, and this too arises from their nature.

Knowing Others and Knowing Oneself

“One who knows others is wise”: to be able to understand others’ likes and dislikes is to have wisdom. The commentator Xiu holds that if one’s wisdom is sufficient to know others but one cannot see oneself clearly, this is because of a selfish mind; such a person can only be called “wise” and does not yet count as understanding the principles of things. “One who knows himself is illumined”: to be able to recognize one’s own worthiness and unworthiness is illumination. Tang Xuanzong says that the wise use mental effort to understand external things, while the illumined use light to penetrate the subtle; therefore wisdom has things it does not know, whereas illumination shines everywhere. Heshang Gong says that knowing oneself means turning one’s hearing back to the soundless and looking inward at the formless; for this reason it is called illumination. Wang Bi holds that knowing others relies only on wisdom, whereas the one who knows himself transcends wisdom. Wang Pang explains by analogy: wisdom is like a person who understands principles, while illumination is like a mirror reflecting bodily form; because the mirror has no mind of its own, it can reflect the self.

Conquering Others and Conquering Oneself

“One who conquers others has force”: to be able to subdue others is merely to rely on authority and force. Wang Pang says that force may overcome others, but it cannot overcome oneself. Therefore, “one who conquers himself is strong”: only one who can overcome his own selfish desires and obsessive attachments is truly strong.

This passage is a compilation of commentaries on Chapter 33 of the Daodejing, quoting in order the annotations of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Minghuang, Li Longji), Heshang Gong, Wang Bi (a Xuanxue thinker of the Wei state during the Three Kingdoms), Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song), and others.

“One who conquers himself is strong.”

Emperor Xuanzong says: One who can overcome others can only be considered to have physical strength; one who can overcome his own selfish inclinations and make himself soft, yielding, humble, and lowly can truly preserve firmness and strength.

Heshang Gong (a Daoist commentator traditionally attributed to the Han dynasty) says: If a person can overcome his own passions and desires, he can gain the world, and no one in the world can contend with him; therefore he is called “strong.”

Wang Bi says: Overcoming others is merely having strength; it is not as good as overcoming oneself, for then external things have no way to diminish one’s power. To apply wisdom to oneself is more important than to apply it to others; to apply strength to oneself is more important than to apply it to others. When clear discernment is applied to oneself, external things have nowhere to hide; when strength is applied to oneself, external things cannot alter him.

Wang Pang says: What is called “conquering oneself” refers to restraining private desires, following the great Dao, and being able to concentrate single-mindedly on guarding and nurturing Jing and Qi. Confucius said, “Shen Cheng has too many desires; how could he be considered firm?” (Shen Cheng was a disciple of Confucius; this quotation is from the Analects.) This means that one who cannot conquer his own desires cannot be spoken of as firm.

“One who knows contentment is rich.”

Heshang Gong says: If a person knows contentment, he can long preserve blessings and emoluments; therefore he is called “rich.”

Wang Bi says: A contented person naturally does not lose what he already has; therefore he is wealthy.

Wang Pang says: Within human nature, the ten thousand things are already complete. Dwelling in poverty does not diminish them; great accomplishments do not increase them. Foolish people, however, often abandon the most noble nature and chase after rotten remnants. Understanding that all things are already complete in oneself, one will regard gain and loss in the world lightly and no longer cast longing glances after them; this is true wealth. Mencius said, “All things are complete within me.” Is this not wealth?

“One who forces himself onward has resolve.”

Emperor Xuanzong says: Those who know when to stop and are content do not greedily seek external things, and can be said to be wealthy; those who strive vigorously and do not slacken can be said to have resolve and integrity.

Heshang Gong says: If a person can strive to do good, this means his mind is directed toward the Dao, and the Dao will also respond to his will.

Those who know contentment are naturally rich in their hearts and have nothing they prize or seek. Emperor Ming of Tang (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji) held that only one who knows contentment and also strives to put it into practice can be called a person of resolve and integrity. Heshang Gong (Master on the River) held that if a person can diligently practice goodness, then he has a heart directed toward the Dao, and the Dao will in turn look favorably upon such a person. Wang Bi held that through diligent effort one’s resolve can attain something, and therefore the text says, “One who exerts himself has resolve.” Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song) held, by contrast, that single-mindedly pursuing the world is not true resolve; only persistently practicing this Dao can be called having resolve.

Not losing one’s proper station and inherent nature, one can endure. Emperor Ming held that to be content and diligent without losing one’s proper station is to be one who can endure in his Dao. Heshang Gong held that if a person can restrain and cultivate himself, not losing what he ought to guard, then the Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) of heaven and earth can long endure. Wang Bi held that to examine oneself with clear wisdom and act according to one’s capacity, without losing one’s place, will surely lead to endurance. Wang Pang held that when one’s nature is not enticed by external things, this is endurance; this is the person who can fully develop his nature.

Death is the ending of the limited principle of human life; perishing is the completion of the allotment fixed by Heaven’s mandate; longevity is the full passage through this span of life. If one simply deems oneself wise and seeks to overcome others by force, disaster will surely follow; if one is content and diligent, acting in accord with the natural constant and not enticed by external things, one can endure—this is the person who can fully exhaust his inherent nature.

The Great Dao (the fundamental source and governing principle of all things in the universe) is vast and boundless, overflowing in all directions and present everywhere. It seems to float and seems to sink, as though it exists and yet does not: it cannot be seen with the eyes, nor easily described in words. It is inherently not confined to directions such as left and right—how then could it be limited by left and right?

The great Dao is broad and pervasive, unconstrained, and yet it can accord with the myriad things. It can be applied to the left and to the right, not partial to one side; thus it cannot be defined by a single name. Heshang Gong (the Han-dynasty scholar who commented on the Daodejing) says that the Dao can be applied to the left and right, and there is nothing unsuitable. Tang Minghuang’s (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji) commentary says that the Dao spreads widely and is suited to all; it can circulate and be applied above and below, left and right, so there is no place it cannot reach. Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) says that the Dao is not fixed to any single thing; therefore, wherever it is used, there is nowhere it does not penetrate.

The myriad things rely on the Dao to grow. Heshang Gong says that “rely” means to depend upon; all things depend on the Dao for life. The Dao never refuses them or goes against the myriad things. When the work is complete, the Dao does not take it as its own possession. Tang Minghuang says that the myriad things rely on the Dao’s harmonious Qi (vital energy) of emptiness to be generated and transformed, yet the Dao does not regard this as toil; when its function is fully accomplished, it does not claim merit. Heshang Gong adds that the Dao does not take credit for its achievements.

The Dao nurtures and protects the myriad things, but does not, like a ruler, collect and possess them. Tang Minghuang says that the Dao makes no demands on the myriad things and does not act as their master; thus it can be called “small,” but this “small” cannot be used to define it. Wang Bi (a Xuanxue scholar of the Wei state in the Three Kingdoms period) says that all things are born from the Dao, yet after they are generated they do not know where they come from; therefore the world constantly abides in a state of no desire, and all things each attain their place, as if the Dao had nothing to do with them. For this reason the Dao is called “small.” Wang Pang, however, says that this “smallness” is precisely true “greatness.” To use a person who embodies the Dao as an analogy: when desires do not arise and the mind is plain, detached, and focused, is this not “smallness”? The Yijing says, “Returning is small, yet it distinguishes among things”; this too is the same idea.

The myriad things return to the Dao, yet the Dao does not consider itself their master.

Chapter Thirty-Four (Excerpt)

Heshang Gong (“He”) says: The myriad things all receive their life-giving Qi from the Dao, yet the Dao does not, like a ruler, prohibit and constrain the myriad things.

“It can be named great”: this means that the Dao nurtures the myriad things without claiming to be their master, and so it can be called “great.”

Tang Minghuang (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji, “Minghuang”) says: The Dao loves and nurtures the myriad things, and so the myriad things return to it. The myriad things are infinitely varied, yet the Dao does not become their master; therefore it can be called “great.” But the Dao is fundamentally without name or form, neither great nor small, and so it is difficult to name.

Heshang Gong says again: The myriad things move freely in all directions, and the Dao lets each dwell in its place. Therefore the text says it is “not comparable to great,” meaning that it cannot be delimited by “great.”

Wang Pang (a Song scholar and son of Wang Anshi) says: If one intentionally sets out to master the myriad things, one places oneself in opposition to them. It is precisely because the Dao masters the myriad things yet never does so deliberately that it can fill heaven and earth and be present everywhere. As for the working of the Dao: when it is minute, it is not thereby lacking in greatness; when it is vast, it has never departed from the minute. It is only that observers each perceive it differently. In sum, the Dao is neither small nor great; it is difficult to put into words and can only be grasped through the mind.

“Therefore the sage can accomplish his greatness.”

Heshang Gong says: The sage models himself on the Dao, conceals his virtue (De), hides his reputation, and never is self-satisfied or boastful.

Tang Minghuang says: The sage models himself on the Dao, forgets his own merits, and never considers his achievements great; therefore he can accomplish great undertakings. The sage leads by example and guides the people; without verbal teaching, the people transform themselves, and all affairs are brought to order. Thus he can accomplish his greatness.

Wang Bi (a Three Kingdoms Wei metaphysician) says: To accomplish great things, one must begin from the minute; to resolve difficult problems, one must start from the easy.

Wang Pang says: To regard oneself as great is to incur the limitation of “great” and instead become small. Only by not clinging to “great” and using “great” only as a reluctant designation can it be truly great.

Chapter Thirty-Five: “Hold fast to the Great Image, and all under heaven will come.”

Tang Minghuang says: “The Great Image” is the Dao. When a ruler holds fast to the great Dao and governs the world, all things under heaven will come and submit.

Heshang Gong says: “Hold” means to keep and maintain; “image” means the Dao, that is, the way of the sage.

A ruler who holds fast to the Great Dao—"the Great Image" (daxiang) being Dao—governs the world by the Dao, and all things in the world will return to him.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Minghuang) says: The Great Image is Dao. When a ruler holds fast to the Dao to govern the world, all things under heaven will return to him.

Heshang Gong says: "Hold" means to maintain; "image" means Dao. When the sage maintains the Great Dao, the common people of the world turn their hearts toward him and return. The same is true in self-cultivation: the radiance of Dao can manifest in one's own person.

Wang Bi says: The Great Image is the root of celestial images. It is neither cold nor warm, neither cool nor hot, and therefore it can encompass and govern all things without harming them. Hold fast to this Dao, and the world will return to it.

Wang Pang says: The ruler embodies the Great Dao and occupies the lordly position, without displaying traces of governance to others, causing all under heaven to roam freely in a state of self-contentment. The Great Image is the complete substance of Dao, without form or appearance. If one can hold fast to it to govern the world, the people have no use for feelings of closeness and praise; they simply go to him and do not come away. How, then, could one need to compare this to the petty advantage of coveting rich, fatty foods and fine flavors?

Going Forth Without Harm: Wang Pang says that when the sage governs the world, although there are precious things, they seem already to have been lost. Occupying the high position, he practices Wuwei (non-action), yet can enable heaven and earth, ghosts and spirits, birds and beasts, grasses and trees each to unfold its own nature, without harming one another. This may be called supreme De (Virtue/Power).

Peace, Harmony, and Ease: When all things follow their own nature and are not harmed, they can rest in peace, harmony, and unimpeded flow.

Emperor Xuanzong says: When the natures of things are not harmed, they are secure in peace and ease.

Heshang Gong says: When all things return and are not harmed, the state is secure, families are at peace, and the world is at peace. In self-cultivation, if one does not harm one's Jing and Shen (essence and spirit), the body is secure and one attains long life.

Wang Bi says: Dao is formless and without consciousness, neither partial nor conspicuous; therefore all things can return to it without being hindered or harmed.

Wang Pang says: First comes security, then harmony; only after harmony comes ease and unimpeded flow.

Music and Delicacies Make Passing Travelers Stop: Music and fine food can make passing travelers halt. This uses sensory pleasure as a metaphor for worldly temptation. By contrast, Dao is inherently plain and flavorless, and does not rely on sensory delight to attract people.

This passage comes from a commentary on Chapter 35 of the Daodejing, explaining the characteristics of the Dao: it does not attract people in the way music and fine food do, yet it can cause the people of the world to naturally turn to it.

Emperor Ming (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji) comments: “Music” means music, and “er” means food and drink. When a household has music and fine food, passing travelers are attracted and stop. If a ruler can hold fast to the great Dao, the world will attain peace, and the myriad things will naturally attach themselves. Another explanation is: music gathers people by sound, and fine food gathers people by flavor; passersby can only stay briefly and cannot remain long. Therefore, a continuous row of houses is not suitable for long dwelling, and the practice of benevolence and righteousness has many harmful consequences. Thus the ruler should awaken to the great Dao, maintain purity, stillness, and detachment, first abolish harsh, inquisitorial, and cumbersome decrees, and in the end cause the common people to return to honesty and simplicity. The statement later in the text, “When used, it cannot be exhausted,” means that the function of the Dao is inexhaustible.

Heshang Gong comments: “Er” means delicious food. “Passing guest” refers to one who merely passes by. If people can take the Dao as their joy and take the Dao as their beauty, they will remain and no longer leave. “One” means single-mindedness: removing fullness and peacefully guarding emptiness and stillness, dim and indistinct, not clinging like a passing guest.

Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song) comments: because there is sound and flavor, people rejoice and stop.

Next, it explains “When the Dao is spoken, it is bland and without flavor.” Emperor Ming’s commentary says that when a ruler takes the Dao, De, purity, and stillness as his teaching, the words he utters are plain and without flavor, unlike worldly verbal teachings, which carry emotions such as intimacy, praise, fear, and contempt. Heshang Gong comments that when the Dao is spoken from the mouth, what is called “bland” is not like the five flavors, which have the tastes of sour, salty, bitter, sweet, and pungent.

“Looking at it, it cannot be seen”: Heshang Gong comments that “zu” means to obtain. The Dao has no form; unlike the five colors—blue-green, yellow, red, white, and black—it cannot be seen.

“Listening to it, it cannot be heard”: Heshang Gong comments that the Dao is not like the five notes (gong, shang, jiao, zhi, and yu), which can be heard.

“When used, it cannot be exhausted”: Emperor Ming’s commentary says that using the Dao to bring stability and stillness, there is originally no teaching through words; therefore it is invisible and inaudible, yet pure and honest customs prevail widely, and all things attain abundance and flourishing.

Chapter 35

Tang Xuanzong (Emperor Minghuang) comments: The Dao settles the world through purity and stillness, and it has no words or teachings of its own. Thus when one looks at it, there is nothing to see; when one listens to it, there is nothing to hear. Yet once simple and unadorned customs spread, the myriad things flourish, and year after year the harvest is more than sufficient. Therefore the function of the Dao is inexhaustible. “Ji” means exhausted.

Heshang Gong says: Govern the state by the Dao, and the state will be stable and the people prosperous; cultivate the self by the Dao, and one’s lifespan will be extended. Its function will never have a time of exhaustion.

Wang Bi says: The content of the Dao is deep and vast. When people hear words discussing the Dao, it is not as delightful or stirring as listening to music or eating fine food. Music and fine food can make passersby stop in their tracks, while words of the Dao are bland and without flavor: when one looks at it, one sees no form or color to please the eyes; when one listens to it, one hears no sound to delight the ears. Precisely because it does not cater to the senses, its function is endless and inexhaustible.

Chapter 36

The scripture says: What is to be contracted must first be expanded; what is to be weakened must first be strengthened; what is to be abolished must first be raised; what is to be taken must first be given.

Heshang Gong explains: Expanding it first is meant to let its extravagance and indulgence develop to the extreme, so that it brings about its own downfall. Strengthening it first is meant to bring disaster upon it. Raising it first is meant to make it arrogant and complacent, so that it falls into danger.

This chapter discusses the principle of “wanting to take, first give; wanting to defeat, first allow to succeed.” “Xi” (xī) means to contract or draw in. Heshang Gong’s commentary takes the ruler’s perspective, pointing out that this technique of “giving first and taking later” is essentially meant to make the other side move toward its opposite.

Heshang Gong says: To give to the other first is to satisfy his greedy, covetous mind.

Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) says: The transformations of Yin-Yang cycle back and forth like a turning wheel, and push to and fro like a saw. When things reach their limit they inevitably return; when they reach their peak they inevitably decline. We see that after the moon is full it must wane, and after the sun reaches noon it must slant westward. From this we know that the changes of all things are like this, and this can be firmly established. Only the ultimate person—one of the highest moral cultivation—who deeply comprehends the pivot of how things operate, understands that transformations leave no trace before they become manifest. Therefore, in nourishing life he can remain at ease between bending and stretching; in establishing himself and conducting himself in the world he can accord with the principle of waxing and waning; in handling affairs he knows the strategies of success and failure; in resisting enemies he understands the expedient arts of capture and release. The ancients could respond to countless changes and remain safe and untroubled precisely because they grasped this principle. Even ghosts and spirits in their hidden subtlety cannot peer into it—how much less can benighted worldly people fathom its mystery? The Zhouyi says: The inchworm (a crawling insect) bends its body in order to stretch; the dragon and snake lie dormant in order to preserve themselves.

Emperor Ming of Tang (Emperor Xuanzong) says: The scripture says, “Straight words seem contrary,” and the Zhouyi says, “The Gentle is used to exercise expediency” (that is, to carry out expedient adaptation through compliant entry). Quan, or expediency, is a practice that runs contrary to the ordinary norm yet accords with the right Dao. Therefore, when the noble man exercises expediency, he values accordance with Dao and righteousness; when the petty man employs it, it becomes fraud. The dragon and snake lie dormant in order to preserve themselves.

This is what is called “subtle illumination”—the clarity of wisdom contained within the hidden and minute.

The soft can overcome the hard; the weak can overcome the strong.

Tang Minghuang (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji) comments: The scripture says, “True words seem contrary,” and the Zhouyi says, “Xun (the Gentle) is used to exercise expediency (quan).” “Expediency” is a practice that departs from ordinary norms yet accords with great righteousness. Thus when the noble person exercises expediency, what matters is that it accord with great righteousness; when a petty person uses expediency, it becomes deceit. Confucius said, “One may establish oneself together with him, but not necessarily exercise expediency together with him.” This saying is indeed true. In the preceding chapter Laozi speaks of “holding fast to the Great Image” (the Great Image refers to the overall image of the Great Dao), speaking in terms of actuality; this chapter then speaks of “contraction and expansion,” speaking in terms of expediency. Laozi wishes to use external images to clarify the relation between expediency and actuality, illuminating each other, and guide people to enter the realm of nature and life. Yet deluded people say that once one understands the Dao and De one may forget everything—how deluded and unawakened this is! Therefore, to contract the desires of sentient beings, one must first let them indulge and expand, pushing desire to its extreme, causing them to turn to the opposite through craving and attachment, and then they will naturally contract. The principle of terms such as “strong” and “weak” is roughly the same. This principle is extremely subtle, yet its effects are very evident; therefore it is called “subtle clarity.”

Heshang Gong (an early commentator on the Laozi) says: In these four matters, the principle is subtle and the effect is manifest.

Wang Bi (a Three Kingdoms Wei metaphysician and author of the Laozi zhu) says: To remove violence and quell disorder, one should employ these four methods, following the nature of things and allowing them to bring about their own ruin; therefore it is called “subtle clarity.” “Making its expansion sufficient” means letting it expand to the full; if it then seeks to expand further, it will be contracted. If one tries to change it before it has expanded sufficiently, its desire for expansion will become even more intense, and it will instead fall into danger.

Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song, who also annotated the Laozi) says: This principle is extremely subtle and yet clear; only one who can perceive the “incipient” can know it. The Zhouyi says, “To know the incipient—how divine!” The incipient is the subtle first stirring of things, the omen of good and bad fortune. The wondrous function of this Dao is the path by which the sage governs and controls the myriad things and can share the work of creation and transformation; therefore this chapter is used to summarize the essential meaning of the Daojing.

Tang Minghuang (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji) comments: A person who is respectful, compliant, and gentle can employ the art of expedient adaptation; once expedient adaptation is put into practice, he can master the myriad things. Thus one knows that the soft and weak side is certain to overcome the hard and strong side.

Heshang Gong (a Han dynasty Daoist commentator) says: The soft and weak can endure; the hard and strong will ultimately be destroyed.

Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) says: From outward traces, the hard and strong can subdue the soft and weak; but once one comprehends the principle of things, one knows that the soft and weak can overcome the hard and strong. The sage deeply understands the subtle and hidden principle, and so is humble and retiring, not contending with others; empty and still, he is not self-satisfied; he does not strive with external things, and therefore no one can strive with him. However, this is only speaking from the root of the Dao. As for the ceaseless changes of things—sometimes soft, sometimes hard; sometimes weak, sometimes strong—who can fix them in place? Even in the case of a hard and strong person, if the way of softness and weakness can still overcome him, it is because his actions accord with Heavenly principle and his mind has not departed from the principle of softness and weakness. From this we can also know that the soft and weak can overcome the hard and strong. What is called the “sharp instrument” refers precisely to these two: softness and weakness, and hardness and strength. (Another version reads, “The soft and weak overcome the hard and strong.”)

Fish cannot leave the deep pool

Heshang Gong says: Once a fish leaves the deep pool, it loses its support and becomes soft and weak; it cannot return to its former state.

The sharp instruments of the state cannot be shown to others

The strategies and instruments for governing the state must not be lightly displayed to others.

This passage comes from Daodejing, chapter 36: “Fish cannot be separated from the deep pool; the sharp instruments of the state cannot be shown to people.” It presents explanations of this line by commentators through the ages.

Tang Xuanzong (Li Longji): “Tuo” means to lose. “Sharp instruments” refers to the arts of expediency. The arts of expediency must not be seen by those who should not know them; hence the analogy that once a fish leaves the spring water it will be caught, and if the arts of expediency are known to unsuitable people, they will be stolen and used to commit fraud.

Heshang Gong: “Sharp instruments” are precisely the arts of expediency. The statecraft of governing must not be seen by officials handling affairs. “Cannot be spoken of” means it must not be known to irrelevant people.

Wang Bi: “Sharp instruments” are tools beneficial to governing the state. To govern by following the nature of things, without relying on external forms and penal orders, so that instruments remain hidden and unmanifest while the myriad things each find their place—this is the state’s sharp instrument. If one displays it to people, one must then rely on punishments. Punishments may benefit the state, but once given form and shown to people they lose efficacy. A fish that leaves the deep pool will surely be caught; once the state’s sharp instrument manifests its form, it too will surely lose its function.

Wang Pang: Fish are soft and submissive, and only by hiding in deep places can they preserve their lives. The sage withdraws into a profound and hidden place, alone grasps the highest authority, and uses it to govern the myriad transformations, while people cannot fathom him. Thus his power can turn heaven and earth, yet the world sees no limit to him; his majesty can subdue all within the four seas, yet people cannot explain its principle. Would he expose his wondrous Dao outwardly and let the multitude discuss it?

I have thought: the sage differs from ordinary people in “knowing the incipient” (zhi ji)—being able to perceive beforehand the subtle signs of things. If one meets external things with rigidity and strength, one will be overpowered by a stronger force. Everyone in the world uses rigidity and strength to overcome external things, while the sage alone dwells securely in softness, weakness, and non-contention; once he moves, who can withstand him? Observing the Dao of Heaven, the transition from autumn and winter to spring and summer is also clear proof. The sage hides himself in the deep and subtle and takes softness and weakness as his outer appearance; therefore he can move the myriad things within the workings of techniques and calculations, yet no one knows the source of his wondrous operation. This is what is meant by “secretly using and transforming alone” (miyong duhua)—secretly employing authority so that things naturally transform. The Yi says, “[Ying] exercises expediency”; Zhuangzi says, “the fish finds its plan”; their meaning accords with this. Though words are many, how could they exhaust the purport? Only one who understands can grasp it with spirit and apprehend it with mind—then may be said to understand.

The Dao constantly practices wuwei (Chapter 37)

The Dao always follows nature and does not act with arbitrary contrivance. Here, "wuwei" (non-action) does not mean doing nothing at all, but rather acting without violating the inherent nature of things.

Yet nothing is left undone: Nevertheless, there is no single affair that it does not accomplish. The myriad things all attain order and growth by following the operation of the Dao, and so it is said that "nothing is left undone." Wang Bi (a Wei-Jin era scholar of Xuanxue) held that no thing among the myriad things can be ordered and given form except through "action"; Zhang Pang (a Song dynasty commentator) said that even in the midst of wuwei, there is never a moment of not acting in some way.

If lords and kings can uphold it: If the feudal lords and rulers could maintain and uphold the Dao. Zhang Pang explained that when a ruler embodies the Dao and governs the realm, he complies with the times and follows the principles of affairs, without any mind for deliberate contrivance. Therefore, although he practices "wuwei," he does not abandon the affairs of the realm, and yet the ruler himself does not deliberately act. When has Heaven ever spoken? The four seasons naturally revolve, and the myriad things naturally grow. The principle by which a ruler governs the state has already been fully manifested in the Dao of Heaven.

The myriad things will transform themselves: Heshang Gong (a commentator on the Laozi) said that if lords and kings can uphold the Dao and practice wuwei, the myriad things will transform and nurture themselves. Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang) said that when the ruler is pure, quiet, and practices wuwei, the people will naturally return to plain simplicity. Zhang Pang said that the myriad things are daily transformed and nurtured within the Dao without being conscious of it themselves.

In the course of transformation, should desires arise, I will stabilize them with the simplicity of the nameless: When, under civilizing influence, the desires of the people begin to stir once more and they wish to engage in contrivance, I will stabilize them with the "simplicity of the nameless" (the pristine simplicity that is uncarved and undifferentiated, not yet divided by names). Zhang Pang also used this as a warning: if civilizing influence advances day by day, the desires of the human heart will, like an infant growing up, eventually become full of ambition and intent, and the natural harmonious Qi will gradually decline. Observing the history after the Three Dynasties, he held that the customs of the world gradually became carved, embellished, and corrupted, and from this one may know that this is so.

This passage is from commentaries on Chapter 37 of the Daodejing. The general meaning of the scripture is: if the ruler can hold fast to the Dao (the Way), the myriad things will naturally transform and be nurtured; if, after the common people have been transformed, they again give rise to thoughts of reckless action, then use the uncarved and plain original nature—“nameless uncarved simplicity”—to settle them, so that they are without desire and are pure and quiet, and the world will naturally return to correctness.

Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang) commentary: When the common people have already received the ruler’s transforming instruction and dwell in Wuwei (non-action) and purity and quietude, yet still wish to act recklessly, contrive, and scheme, then use “nameless uncarved simplicity” to calm them. “Nameless uncarved simplicity” is precisely the Dao.

Heshang Gong commentary: Heshang Gong takes “I” to mean the ruler himself, and “nameless uncarved simplicity” to mean the Dao. Once the common people receive transforming instruction, they will emulate the ruler. If anyone still wishes to seek opportunistic advantage through cleverness, the ruler should personally pacify them with Dao and De (Virtue/Power).

Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song) commentary: When the world receives the Dao’s transforming influence, it will gradually move toward great order. But when ordered times reach their extreme, and names and actualities have all been established, the people will chase fame and profit without knowing how to return to their original nature. Therefore one should constantly harbor “nameless uncarved simplicity,” settle the mind and will, and cause them to be single-minded in their original nature. If one waits until abuses have taken shape before trying to rescue them, it is already too late; one should stop them when desires have just begun to sprout.

Wang Bi commentary: “They are transformed, and desire arises” means that after the common people have been transformed, desires begin to stir and are about to take shape; thus one uses “nameless uncarved simplicity” to suppress them and prevent them from becoming dominant. “Also will be without desire” means there is no competitive striving of desire.

Xiu commentary: The sage’s embracing simplicity and Wuwei comes from naturalness. Even when responding to the changes of worldly affairs and being disturbed among things, he has never departed from this state; it is not that he does this in order to quell the disorder of the world. If he deliberately intends to accomplish something, he already carries the desire of deliberate action (youwei), and it is no longer true nameless uncarved simplicity. Only one who is undifferentiated and whole, who does not know why it is so and is naturally thus, does not deliberately seek simplicity, yet simplicity is naturally preserved.

Heshang Gong’s commentary on “without desire, thereby quiet”: When the lords and kings pacify the world with Dao and De, the common people will no longer wish to change; they should be guided and transformed by purity, quietude, and Wuwei.

The final sentence, “the world will naturally rectify itself”: When those above govern by the Dao, being pure, quiet, and without desire, the world will naturally return to the right way.

Commentary by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (“Minghuang says”)

Since the ruler uses “the nameless uncarved simplicity”—the unadorned, plain, and natural original nature, namely Dao (the Way)—to settle the people, he should not take this simplicity and deliberately govern with it or stir up conflict. Otherwise he will gradually lose the root and fall again into the condition of contrived action. Therefore even “the nameless uncarved simplicity” must be forgotten along with it; one should not make having desires into desire, and even the thought of “being without desire” must be forgotten. When the mind is plain, calm, and pure, the world naturally becomes upright.

Commentary by Wang Pang (“Pang says”)

Wang Pang (a Northern Song figure, son of Wang Anshi, and a commentator) holds: the moment desire stirs, one turns away from human nature; to turn away from nature is not the correct Dao. If one is not upright oneself, how can one rectify the world? Therefore only a person without desire and with calm purity can rectify himself, and the myriad things are rectified along with him. This is the efficacy of Dao. The Dao Jing ends here.

Opening of the De Jing

Wang Pang says: “De” (Virtue/Power) means “obtaining.” The myriad things arise from Dao and receive their own nature from Dao; this nature is called “nature.” To preserve this nature without losing it is the fullness of De. De and Dao are not two different things, but if someone clings to selfish intentions, he will lose Dao. The true person who obtains Dao is not like that: the reality of nature, life, Dao, and De is fused into one; only according to worldly custom do they have different names, and it is difficult to distinguish their sameness or difference. This is the most profound “De.”

Yet if “De” means “obtaining,” how can it be said that it will not be lost? Only by taking “no attainment” as De, and by not regarding oneself as having De as De, can one be called the highest realm. This is the person who embodies Dao, not the person who believes himself to have De.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: “Highest De Does Not De”

The opening line of this chapter, “Highest De does not De”: the highest De does not deliberately display that it has De, and only for this reason does it truly have De.

The scripture says that supreme De (Virtue/Power) refers to rulers in remote antiquity who had no titles. Their De was the highest, and so it is called “supreme De.” “Not De” means that they did not use De to teach and transform the people, but instead followed nature and only protected and nourished the people’s life and nature; their De was not displayed outwardly, and therefore it is called “not De.” It is precisely for this reason that it says, “Thus they have De.”

Heshang Gong (the Han-dynasty scholar who annotated the Laozi) explains that this kind of De accords with Heaven and Earth; harmonious Qi (vital energy) flows and spreads, and through this the common people are able to preserve their lives. Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) says that a person who possesses complete De comprehends the great Dao (the Way), penetrates constant principle, and has nothing apart from De; therefore there is no name of “De.”

In “lower De does not lose De,” lower De refers to rulers with titles and posthumous names (legendary ancient sovereigns). Their De does not reach that of supreme De, and so it is called “lower De.” “Not losing De” means that their De can be seen and their achievements can be recounted. Therefore it says, “Thus they have no De.” This annotation is the same as the preceding one.

The commentary of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Li Longji) says that De is the function of Dao. The Zhuangzi says that when the myriad things obtain Dao and are born, this is called De. Times differ in simplicity and decadence, and therefore De also has distinctions of higher and lower. In high antiquity, when people were simple and pure, the function of De was not conspicuous, and there was no name of De to speak of; hence it says, “not De.” The pure and thick De had not dispersed, and the transforming teaching of Wuwei (non-action) was clear; hence it says, “Thus they have De.” Later De gradually declined, and its function became increasingly manifest. Although in their minds they comprehended the great Dao, their traces fell into the realm of purposeful action; they held to De in a way that could be praised, and hence it says, “not losing De.” Their traces fell into the sphere of “having” and were one grade lower than supreme De; hence it says, “Thus they have no De.”

Heshang Gong also says that De is indicated by people who have names and titles. Wang Pang says that when De reaches its utmost, there is no name of “De”; people of lower De merely accord with De. The De of no-De is not the De spoken of by the perfected person. The scripture says, “For one who is one with De, De also obtains him.”

For “supreme De practices Wuwei,” Heshang Gong explains it as emulating the stillness of Dao and not deliberately undertaking action.

The original text ends with “and yet does not act for a purpose.” This sentence means that although nothing is done, there is also no thought of deliberately doing anything. This is how supreme De follows nature.

Laozi here distinguishes several levels of “De” (Virtue/Power). One who understands the way of Wuwei (non-action) and deliberately sets out to practice wuwei has not yet reached the highest level; not keeping “wuwei” in mind and being spontaneously wuwei—this is the supreme level.

Emperor Ming of Tang (Emperor Xuanzong) comments that the wuwei of a person of upper De (the highest cultivation) is not a pursuit of the fair name of “wuwei”; rather, such a person inwardly holds purity and simplicity and follows nature in wuwei, and so it is said to be “without contrivance.” Both the mind and its traces are wuwei. Heshang Gong (a Han-dynasty recluse who annotated the Laozi) holds that this sentence is not concerned with names or titles. Wang Pang of the Northern Song comments that the person of upper De is wuwei, but this does not mean doing nothing at all; rather, the De nature itself is already complete.

“Lower De acts,” says Heshang Gong’s commentary: the person of lower De promotes teachings and decrees and handles government affairs. “And has contrivance,” comments Emperor Xuanzong: although the person of lower De is inwardly wuwei, the effects are already evident, and on the level of traces he is involved in action; hence “acts,” that is, the mind is wuwei while the traces are active. Heshang Gong further says that this is to seek reputation for oneself. Li Xiu comments that if the person of lower De does not cultivate, he cannot reach the realm of wuwei; since he cannot be wuwei, he is bound to act. The so-called upper De actually includes the actions of lower De: when acting, it is the same as lower De, but it never departs from the nature of upper De.

“Upper Ren (benevolence) acts, but without contrivance,” says Heshang Gong’s commentary: upper De refers to a ruler who carries out benevolent government; his benevolence is already beyond addition, and so it is called “upper Ren”; “acts” means bestowing benevolent grace. Ren is the name for loving all people universally; only after lower De declined did Ren appear.

Highest Benevolence (the highest level of ren) takes universal love for all things as its heart, loving all without distinguishing between close and distant, treating all with equal care. This benevolence appears only after the lower De (Virtue/Power; the level of deliberately pursuing virtue) has declined; hence it is said to “act,” meaning to act intentionally. But Highest Benevolence can already forget its own benevolence and does not deliberately advertise it, and so it is “without acting for a purpose.” Emperor Ming of Tang (Xuanzong, Li Longji) held that Highest Benevolence is called Wuwei (non-action) with respect to its outward traces; inwardly it still has action, but its traces approximate non-action. This explanation applies only to Highest Benevolence and cannot be used to describe the youwei (contrived action) of lower De. Heshang Gong (the famous Han-dynasty commentator on the Laozi) said: “When achievements are completed and affairs are established, one no longer clings to having acted.” Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar), by contrast, held that benevolence is the leader of goodness and another name for De; since it is nevertheless distinct from De, it still belongs to intentional action. However, the sage’s benevolence can fully manifest original nature and is self-sufficient and complete, so it need not act deliberately; hence it is said to be “without acting for a purpose.”

Highest Righteousness (the highest level of yi) is intentional action. Emperor Ming of Tang explained: “Yi means judging right and wrong.” To distinguish right from wrong and to adjudicate, causing each matter to attain its proper fit—this is why it is said to “act”; because adjudication involves subjective action, it is said to “act for a purpose,” which is to harbor a mind of advancement and to have acted. Heshang Gong pointed out that if one acts by a method of cutting and severing in order to seek profit for oneself, this is to kill people to establish authority and to injure the common people in order to nourish oneself. Wang Pang held that benevolence has deficiencies, and only then is righteousness needed to supplement it.

Highest Rites (the highest level of li) refers to the ritual system promoted by a ruler in high position. “Acting” means establishing ritual norms and regulations and defining the order of superior and inferior and the dignity of bearing. “And no one responds”: Heshang Gong commented, “Although the outward ornamentation of rites is abundant, inner sincerity has already declined; there is much false decoration and cumbersome detail; once it is put into practice, it departs from the great Dao (the Way), and therefore no one responds.” Thereupon the ruler rolls up his sleeves and extends his arms, forcibly pulling the people into compliance—this is what is meant by “rolling up the sleeves and pulling them along.”

Emperor Ming of Tang (Emperor Xuanzong, Li Longji) comments: When the order of human relations—the Six Bonds (liuji, referring to relations such as ruler and minister, father and son, elder and younger brothers, husband and wife, and friends)—is not harmonious, ritual propriety is instituted to remedy it, and so the text says “act for it.” Ritual propriety stresses that there should be give and take; if the other party does not respond, people roll up their sleeves in anger and become entangled in mutual pulling and contention.

Heshang Gong (a Han-dynasty scholar who commented on the Laozi) says: Ritual regulations are so numerous and vexatious that they cannot be met one by one; those above and those below then grow angry and quarrel, and so they roll up their sleeves and pull at one another.

Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) says: Ritual propriety is used to fix high and low, superior and inferior, to distinguish close and distant, and to determine the degrees of ritual according to high and low, thick and thin. Once these various distinctions are made clear, people’s gains and losses become exposed, and the original nature of purity and sincere reverence is impaired; only then are external norms established. Since outward appearance is made solemn, the demands made on others also become severe. In name, ritual is a tool for preventing evil; in reality, it becomes the source of contention and disorder.

Another commentator privately reasons further: In the Five Phases, ritual propriety belongs to Fire, and among the four seasons it corresponds to summer. Summer is the season when the myriad things leave the root and tend toward flourishing branches and leaves. From this it can be seen that ritual propriety is something even a sage cannot avoid. If one wishes to return to the root and abandon the branches, and therefore regards ritual as wrong, this too is an unavoidable one-sidedness. The sage’s teachings are established according to the times and have no fixed method; yet the advocacy of “returning to the root” is most essential for those who study the Dao.

The original passage in the Daodejing reads: “When the Dao is lost, there is De; when De is lost, there is Ren; when Ren is lost, there is Yi; when Yi is lost, there is Li.” Heshang Gong explains: When the Dao declines, the transforming influence of De arises; when De declines, benevolence (Ren) appears; when Ren declines, names and roles and the principles of righteousness (Yi) become clear.

Only after losing “Dao (the Way)” does one come to value “De (Virtue/Power).” The “loss of Dao” spoken of here means losing the highest De. Highest De is in accord with Dao, and so it is called the “loss of Dao.” Dao, De, Ren (benevolence), and Yi (righteousness) were originally names established according to whether the customs of the age were good or bad: only when the way of the world declined did De become evident; when De was lost, Ren was spoken of; when Ren was gone, Yi was established; when Yi too was lost, Li (ritual propriety) was used to rescue it. All these are expedient measures adapted to the times. Thus in the simple and honest high antiquity, to speak of Li would make one be regarded as arrogant and perverse; in the shallow and dissipated late age, to forget Li would make one be regarded as foolish or as speaking wildly. If one can turn the situation around, one should set aside Li and practice Yi, set aside Yi and practice Ren, set aside Ren and practice De, forget De and unite with Dao, and cause people’s hearts to return to simplicity; then this is the Wuwei (non-action) of highest De.

“Li” is a manifestation of thinning loyalty and trust, and also the beginning of disaster and disorder. Heshang Gong (the Han dynasty Daoist scholar who annotated the Laozi) says: Li means abandoning the root and treating only the branches, while loyalty and trust grow thinner day by day. Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji) says: Rituals were instituted because loyalty and trust had declined, and only then was Li used to rescue a disordered age. The purpose of employing Li lies in stabilizing the ruler and governing the people—how could it be merely ceremonies involving jade and silk! Heshang Gong also says: Li values outward adornment and slighted plain truth, so upright people diminish day by day while perversity and disorder increase day by day. Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar, son of Wang Anshi) says: The Dao of remote antiquity declined into the De of emperors and kings, and when imperial De declined further, kings arose; kings began to govern the world by Li. From the age of kings onward, the changes in the customs of the world can be imagined. Seen this way, could the saying “Li is the beginning of disorder” be empty?

“Foreknowledge” means pretending to understand when one does not, and considering oneself as having prescient insight. Heshang Gong says: Such people lose the substance of Dao and obtain only its superficial splendor, and so it is the beginning of folly.

This commentary centers on Laozi’s line “Foreknowledge is the flower of the Dao and the beginning of foolishness,” discussing how, in conducting oneself and dealing with the world, one should choose weightiness and substance and reject flimsiness and empty display.

The gist of the commentary: Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji) holds that “foreknowledge” refers to people’s capacity to use wisdom to infer matters in advance. If, before the emergence of the ritual system, people use this capacity to establish elaborate external ceremonial rules, then even with good intentions to civilize the people, in practice it wears away their original simplicity and honesty; therefore it is called “the empty flower of the Dao.” Ritual was originally established to rescue society from disorder, and its value lies in harmony between high and low. If people cling only to the forms of ritual objects such as jade and silk and forget the original intent of ritual, the common people will become cunning, and this is precisely the beginning of foolishness.

Heshang Gong (a Han-dynasty Daoist commentator) says instead: those called “foreknowers” are precisely the promoters of ignorance and benightedness.

Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar and son of Wang Anshi) uses flowers and trees as an analogy: wisdom is originally stored within De (Virtue/Power), like the essence of plants and trees appearing outwardly as flowers. Although flowers can beautify for a time, when the blossoms are at their height the root and trunk have already weakened. The wise person is likewise the essence of De and should originally be hidden deep in the root. If one exposes it outwardly to display foreknowledge, this is to speculate in advance about the changes of things. Things have their own patterns of operation and will naturally be responded to when the time comes; why predict beforehand? By making all kinds of distinctions in order to display cleverness, the ordinary world sees this as foresight, but the sage regards it as the beginning of true foolishness. Confucius also said: “Do not anticipate deceit, do not guess at others’ lack of trustworthiness”—this too is a dislike of the practice of seeking only empty display.

The essential meaning of the scripture passage: Therefore, the great man establishes himself in what is thick and solid and does not dwell in what is shallow and thin; he rests in the plain and real and does not pursue empty display. Heshang Gong explains this as “dwelling in loyalty and trustworthiness, not turning against theDao.” Minghuang, on the other hand, holds that deliberate action is the thinness of the Dao, and ritual propriety is the empty flower of De. The sage rests in Wuwei (non-action), and therefore his foundation is thick and solid and he does not dwell in shallowness; discarding the elaborate forms of ritual propriety, his plainness naturally appears. Heshang Gong further explains it as “not esteeming words,” that is, not exalting empty talk.

Emperor Ming of Tang (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji, who once annotated the Daodejing) says: To act with deliberate purpose is the decline and thinning of Dao; to make much of ritual propriety and righteousness is the ornamentation of De. Therefore the sage rests content in the affair of Wuwei, values its solidity, and does not take up what is thin and declining; casting aside the practices of ritual propriety and righteousness, ornamentation naturally returns to substance.

He Shanggong (a Han dynasty Daoist commentator) says: This means not to exalt empty words.

Therefore one discards that and takes this.

Tang Minghuang’s and He Shanggong’s annotations agree. He Shanggong says: Discard that ornamentation and thinning, and take up that solidity.

Wang Bi (a Three Kingdoms Wei metaphysician who annotated the Laozi) says: What is called De is “obtaining”: constantly obtaining without losing, benefiting things without harming them; hence it is named De. How does one obtain De? By according with Dao. How does one fulfill De? By taking Wuwei as one’s function. Taking Wuwei as function, there is no thing it cannot bear. Thus although heaven and earth are vast, they take Wuwei as their mind; although the sage king is exalted, he takes emptiness as his master. Observing through “return,” the mind of heaven and earth becomes manifest; constantly pondering the Dao of the former kings, its essential purport becomes visible. If one extinguishes the selfish mind and does not cling to oneself, the four seas look up to one and the near and far submit; if one divides off oneself and harbors a selfish mind, then not even one’s own person can be kept whole.

Therefore the person of superior De takes only Dao as function and does not cling to the name-form of De; with nothing clung to and nothing employed, he can possess De and yet nothing is not done; he obtains without seeking, completes without acting, and though he has De, he has no name of De. The person of inferior De obtains only after seeking and completes only after acting; this is to establish goodness in order to govern things, and only thus is there the name of De. What is sought and obtained must involve loss; what is acted upon and completed must involve failure; once the name of goodness is established, the not-good arises along with it. Therefore inferior De is deliberate action, action with a purpose.

Whatever cannot act through Wuwei belongs to inferior De; Ren (benevolence), Yi (righteousness), Li (ritual propriety), and Jie (restraint) are precisely this. To explain the distinction between superior and inferior De, one cites inferior De in contrast to superior De, proceeding to the state of “no purpose” (wu yi wei); when inferior De is pushed to its limit, it becomes highest Ren. This means that even upon reaching the state of no-purpose, one still must act; only when one can “act without purpose” does the mind of deliberate action finally come to rest.

The foundation lies in Wuwei (non-action); the source lies in namelessness. Wuwei is not acting with reckless contrivance but according with nature; namelessness is not clinging to names and titles. If one abandons the root and pursues the concrete achievements and fame derived from it, then even if the achievements are grand, there will surely be something that cannot be accomplished; even if the fame is fair, falsehood will inevitably arise with it. True action is to act only when one has no choice; without deliberately striving to initiate, one can bring the world into natural order.

There are those who broadly extend benevolence (ren, love for others), loving people without partiality. This is already a level higher than the former case, but it still belongs to intentional action. If love cannot be universal and all-embracing, then practices of distinguishing right from wrong, crooked from straight, arise: to resent the crooked and support the upright—this is action that takes righteousness (yi, what is fitting and proper) as its standard. If the way of uprightness does not prevail, some resort to false adornment and respectful ritual forms in response; and if in their dealings there is the slightest nonconformity, anger arises in turn. Thus when one acts through ritual propriety (li, ceremonial forms and formalities), if the other does not respond, one will roll up one’s sleeves and contend.

The utmost of the Great Dao is probably only Dao (the Way) itself. What outside Dao deserves to be revered? Even with abundant De (Virtue/Power), vast undertakings, and possession of the ten thousand things, each still has its partiality and cannot be self-sufficient and complete. Thus Heaven cannot carry them all, Earth cannot cover them all, and humans cannot look up to them all. Although the ten thousand things are precious, they can only function through Wuwei; one cannot discard non-being as the root. To discard non-being is to lose the great root—this is what is called “losing Dao and then having De.” To function through Wuwei is to take De as the root, enabling one to be effortless while the ten thousand things are naturally ordered.

Going further down, one loses the root of function: unable to practice Wuwei, one values broad bestowal; unable to bestow broadly, one values uprightness; unable to be upright, one values false adornment and reverent ritual propriety. This is what is called “losing De and then having benevolence, losing benevolence and then having righteousness, losing righteousness and then having ritual propriety.” Ritual propriety is precisely the starting point of this chain of decline.

The emergence of ritual propriety arose because loyalty and trustworthiness were no longer sufficiently genuine and pure; the simple way of people dealing with one another with frank openness no longer flowed freely. Thus people could only make exacting demands on others in outward appearance, and cunning and contention arose accordingly; norms and institutions were consequently established. Benevolence and righteousness issue from the heart. If one merely forces oneself to do them, they are already hypocritical—how much less can they endure if one merely adorns the outward appearance? Therefore, what loses the root of ritual propriety is a manifestation of the decline and thinning of loyalty and trustworthiness, and it is also the beginning of calamity and disorder.

“Foreknowledge” (qianshi—assuming one knows beforehand without embodied realization) belongs to the category of “lower De” (xia De, a lower level of virtue). If people exhaust their cleverness to seek foreknowledge and drive their intelligence to manage myriad affairs, then even if they grasp the actual circumstances of things, their cunning and deceit become more meticulous; even if their reputation is abundant, their plain and sincere substance is further lost. They toil, yet affairs become more confused; they bustle, yet governance becomes more turbid. Even if they exhaust sagely wisdom, the common people suffer more deeply because of it. If one can discard one’s own intentions and comply with the myriad things, one can be Wuwei and at peace; if one guards the plainness of one’s original reality, one will not follow cumbersome institutions; if one follows the views acquired by others and abandons the original reality one oneself guards, then that is to know the superficial splendor of Dao—precisely the beginning of foolishness.

Therefore, if one can obtain the “mother” that is the root of the achievement of the myriad things—namely Dao, the source of all things—then the myriad things naturally arise and are not refused; the myriad affairs naturally continue and are not felt as toil. Employ it without relying on traces, steer it without relying on names; thus benevolence and righteousness can be displayed, and ritual reverence can be made bright.

Bearing the myriad things with the great Dao and stabilizing their root with the “nameless” (the substance of Dao, which cannot be named), then the myriad things have nothing to exalt, the mind has nothing to manage; each keeps to its own correctness, affairs proceed according to their sincerity, and thus benevolent De becomes abundant, the practice of righteousness becomes upright, and ritual reverence becomes clear. If one abandons the root borne by the great Dao and discards the myriad things it nurtures, and instead takes up already formed traces and employs one’s own cleverness, then benevolence loses its sincerity, righteousness degenerates into contention, and ritual degenerates into dispute. Therefore, the abundance of benevolent De is not something that can be achieved by deliberately applying benevolence; the uprightness of practicing righteousness is not something that can be accomplished by deliberately applying righteousness; and the clarity of ritual reverence is not something that can be brought about by deliberately applying ritual.

Bearing things with Dao and governing them with the mother, therefore one appears outwardly without exalting anything, is manifest outwardly without contending. Employing that nameless Dao, reputation thereby becomes sincere and solid, and affairs thereby achieve completion.

This scriptural passage is a commentary on the line “In ancient times, those who obtained the One” in Chapter 39 of the Daodejing.

Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi) of the Northern Song says: The Dao (the Way) governs the myriad things and takes the “Mother” (the root of the myriad things) as its guiding principle. When the Dao appears, it does not seek anything; when it is manifest, it does not contend with others. Only by employing the nameless Dao do the myriad things become determinate through “name”; only by employing the formless Dao do the myriad things become complete through “form.” Guarding the “Mother” to preserve the “child” (concrete things), and exalting the “root” to set the “branches” in motion, form and name are both rectified, and perverse thoughts do not arise; the greatest beauty is matched with Heaven, and the wind of ostentation does not rise. Therefore the “Mother” must not be departed from, and the “root” must not be lost. Benevolence and righteousness are born from the “Mother,” but benevolence and righteousness themselves are not the “Mother”; vessels are made by the craftsman, but the vessels themselves are not the craftsman.

If one abandons the Mother and uses only the child, casts aside the root and pursues the branches, then names become differentiated and forms become limited. Even if something is exceedingly great, it must have something incomplete; even if its abundance is exceedingly beautiful, it must have disaster. Achievements lie in purposeful action—how can one dwell securely for long? Wang Pang sighs: To break free from the currents of the worldly schools and wish to compare with the virtue of the supremely sage—if not a true great man, who could do this?

The following is a commentary on “In ancient times, those who obtained the One.” Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji) says: “One” is the harmonious Qi (vital energy) of the Dao, namely the Qi of harmonious balance (chongqi). Because its wondrous function is present throughout the myriad things, it is called “One.” Heshang Gong (the Han dynasty scholar who commented on Laozi) says: “Formerly” means “past”; “One” is Wuwei (non-action), the son of the Dao. Wang Bi (the Wei-Jin metaphysician) says: “Formerly” means “beginning”; “One” is the starting point of numbers and the limit of the myriad things. The generation of each thing takes “One” as its master; the myriad things each obtain the One and are thereby completed. After they have taken form, if they abandon the “One” and rest content in what has already been completed, they lose the “Mother”; therefore they all crack, decay, and stumble.

Heaven obtains the One, and therefore can manifest a clear and bright aspect; Earth obtains the One, and therefore can be stable, tranquil, and unmoving. Shen (spirit) obtains the One, and therefore can transform without form. Wang Pang says: “Shen” refers to the Shen of ghosts and spirits; “ling” (numinous efficacy) is the outward manifestation and diffusive aspect of Shen.

This passage comes from Chapter 39 of the Daodejing and is accompanied by annotations by Heshang Gong, Emperor Ming of Tang (Tang Xuanzong), Wang Bi, and Zhang Pang, a Northern Song scholar. “The One” refers to the undifferentiated whole of the Dao (the Way), the root from which all things are generated.

The valley, because it attains the One, can be full without drying up. Zhang Pang holds that the One is omnipresent; therefore, although the valley is empty, it can respond to sounds, because the One is present within it.

All things must rely on the Dao in order to grow and take form. Marquises and kings—feudal lords and rulers—who attain the One can stabilize and rectify the world.

“Their attainment of it is through the One” is a summary: Heaven’s clarity, Earth’s tranquility, the spirits’ efficacy, the valley’s fullness, the growth of all things, and the rectitude of marquises and kings are all achieved by means of the One. Tang Xuanzong explains that all things have names only because they receive the functioning of the Dao; only when the Dao exists can names be established, and when its functioning is lost, the entity too is lost. Wang Bi says that each relies on its own One to attain clarity, tranquility, efficacy, rectitude, fullness, and growth. Zhang Pang further points out that the One is the purest and most refined thing under Heaven; because it is pure and refined, it can be numinous, and the De (Virtue/Power) of numinous efficacy always resides in the One.

“Heaven, without that which makes it clear, would fear splitting apart” means that if Heaven loses the One, it cannot maintain clarity and fears it will collapse. (“Shi” is probably a mistake for “tian.”) Heshang Gong holds that Heaven also requires the alternation of Yin-Yang and the succession of day and night; it cannot one-sidedly seek perpetual clarity, for otherwise it would split apart and cease to be Heaven. Wang Bi emphasizes that it is by using the One that one seeks clarity, not by using clarity itself to seek clarity; only by guarding the One can there be clarity, and if one does not guard the One but only pursues clarity, one will instead split apart. Thus the One is the root of all functions and cannot be abandoned; otherwise one will lose one’s foundation.

Heaven and Earth, the spirits, the valleys, and the myriad things cannot single-mindedly pursue stability and immutability; they must accord with change. Heshang Gong (the famous Han-dynasty commentator on the Laozi, whose commentary is known as the Heshang Gong Zhangju) says: the earth, too, should have distinctions of high and low, hard and soft, and must follow the seasonal Qi of the four seasons and the succession of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water); it cannot merely wish to be forever still, for otherwise it would not be earth. The spirits also must have periods of flourishing and decline. The Five Phases manifest in the four seasons in six states—wang (flourishing), xiang (arising), qiu (constrained), si (declining to exhaustion), xiu (resting), and fei (discarded). If spirits sought only to be forever efficacious, they would have the worry of depletion and cessation. Valleys also must alternate between fullness and emptiness; if they sought only perpetual fullness, they would dry up. The myriad things should live and die according to the seasons; if they sought only constant growth, they would in the end move toward destruction.

Next he turns to the marquises and kings (houwang). Heshang Gong holds that marquises and kings should humble themselves before others, earnestly seek worthy men, and must not think only of preserving their noble and exalted position; otherwise there will be the calamity of overthrow.

Minghuang’s (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji; his commentary is known as the Yuzhu, or Imperial Commentary) annotation further develops this meaning: one who obtains the “One” (the unified source of the Dao) must not rely on his own capacity. If Heaven prided itself merely on clarity, it would fear splitting; if Earth prided itself merely on tranquility, it would fear dissipation and exhaustion; if spirits prided themselves, their efficacy would cease; if valleys prided themselves, their fullness would dry up; if the myriad things prided themselves, their birth and extinction would be impermanent; if marquises and kings were arrogant about nobility, they would overturn and fall. The sage’s teaching is transmitted to later generations, fundamentally in order to nourish the common people. Although here the clarity and tranquility of Heaven and Earth are used as an analogy, in the final analysis it still requires marquises and kings to guard the “female” (the posture of softness, weakness, and dwelling below) and govern the state by the Dao. The following passage is precisely a further exposition of this.

Laozi says: When one’s position is above the multitude, one fears falling and being overturned, losing one’s original place.

Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) says: “The One” (the substance of Dao, the Way) is omnipresent; no amount of words can fully explain its principle. Let us provisionally use the human body as an analogy: when a person is first born, Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) are the root; when Jing and Qi coalesce, Shen (spirit) and consciousness are generated, and then both body and Shen-consciousness are complete. Once Jing and Qi are exhausted, the body dies, and the Shen-consciousness departs with it. The principle is the same.

Heshanggong (a legendary Han dynasty commentator) says: If one wishes to be honored, one should take the lowly and humble as one’s foundation. For example, Yu and Houji personally cultivated the fields, Shun made pottery by the Yellow River, and the Duke of Zhou lowered his station to treat with courtesy scholars residing in plain white houses.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang says: Marquises and kings occupy honored positions, while the common people are below. Those who govern the state should take the people as their root, maintain humility, and thereby gather the hearts of the people, so that the people gladly accept peaceful instruction and do not scatter.

Heshanggong also says: If one wishes to be honored, one should take the low as one’s foundation. This is like building a wall or a house: one accumulates layer by layer from the low place, and only then can the high be built. If the foundation is not firm, the wall will topple.

Wang Pang also says: Among the Five Phases, the number of Water is one; it flows toward low places and does not contend with the myriad things. This precisely accords with the nature of Yin-Yang. One who understands this principle, even when occupying a noble position, does not forget the root; therefore one’s position is secure. This is like preserving Jing and Qi in cultivation, so that the Shen-consciousness can endure.

Therefore marquises and kings refer to themselves as “the lonely,” “the widowed,” and “bu gu” (“not the hub”). (The gu is the round wooden hub at the center of a wheel, where the many spokes converge. “Bu gu” means not being able, like the hub, to be encircled and supported by the many spokes.)

Heshanggong explains: “Lonely” and “widowed” are metaphors for solitude; “bu gu” is a metaphor for not being able, like the hub of a chariot wheel, to be surrounded and supported by the many spokes.

Is this not a manifestation of taking the lowly and humble as the root?

This passage from Chapter 39 of the Daodejing, together with its commentary, has as its main theme that rulers and lords should take humility as their foundation.

The scripture says that “gu” (the orphaned), “gua” (the widowed), and “bugu” (the unworthy) are humble self-designations used by rulers and lords, meaning lonely, lacking in De, and without ability; precisely in this way they take humility and lowliness as their root. Tang Xuanzong (Minghuang, Li Longji) comments that when rulers and lords call themselves orphaned and widowed, they show that they take lowliness as their foundation. Heshang Gong (“He”) sighs over these words in a tone of admiration. Wang Pang (“Pang”), a Northern Song scholar, holds that the myriad things all take the “One” as their root, and since the “One” is the smallest in number, one can know from this that the root lies in lowliness; one who understands lowliness is truly noble.

The line “Therefore, when one strives for numerous praises, one has no praise” appears in variant forms in the various editions of the Daodejing; some read “counting the carriage, no carriage.” Here I follow the Wang Bi edition, which reads “counting praises, no praise,” meaning: if one single-mindedly pursues praise, one instead fails to obtain praise. Tang Xuanzong uses a carriage as a metaphor: the wheel and the shaft are the root of the carriage, but if one counts its components one by one, one cannot find the name “carriage.” Nobility takes lowliness as its foundation; therefore original Qi is the root of all numbers, and one should guard the root in order to determine numbers. Lowliness is the foundation of nobility, and one should guard lowliness in order to settle nobility. This warns rulers and lords to take lowliness as their foundation; hence there are the expressions “counting numbers” and “counting nobility.”

Heshang Gong explains further that “zheng” means “jiu,” that is, to accomplish. The spokes, wheel, hub, and crossbar of a carriage are not individually called a carriage; only when joined together do they become a carriage. This is used to illustrate that when rulers and lords do not claim the honored title for themselves, they are instead able to accomplish their nobility.

Wang Pang says that one who understands the “One” takes lowliness as the foundation; inwardly he conceals his brilliance and nurtures himself in obscurity, yet possesses the highest nobility, so the world can neither make him noble nor make him lowly. If one merely seeks praise deliberately for the sake of self-accomplishment, how could the praise obtained be true praise?

“Not wishing to be lustrous like jade, nor hard and conspicuous like stone” means not wishing to be dazzling like fine jade, nor hard, protruding, solitary, and conspicuous like a stone. These two lines use jade and stone as comparisons, warning people not to display themselves outwardly, lest they bring disaster upon themselves.

Laozi says: “Lulu” is the look of fine jade, and “luoluo” is the look of coarse stone. This means: do not be prized by others like fine jade, nor despised by others like coarse stone; one should remain between the two. Only by taking the lowly and base as one’s root can one achieve honor and nobility.

Heshang Gong holds that jade is precious because it is rare, while stone is lowly because it is abundant. “Lulu” is a metaphor for fewness, and “luoluo” for abundance.

Wang Bi holds that clarity cannot produce its own clarity, and fullness cannot produce its own fullness; both must rely on a root in order to preserve their form. Therefore purity and quietness are not worth prizing, and fullness is not worth exalting. Honor must take the lowly as its root, and height must take the low as its foundation. Hence, in excessive pursuit of honor, one instead fails to obtain honor. In the case of jade and stone, the forms denoted by “lulu” and “luoluo” are completely exposed, and so Laozi did not wish to be like this.

Zhang Pang holds that jade and stone are hard and fixed in nature and cannot bend or change, and so they do not count as the true “One.” Only being able to remain constant through ten thousand changes is the true “One.” Jade has only nobility and cannot become base; stone has only baseness and cannot become noble. Laozi has already clarified the principle of the “One,” but feared that some might not understand and would cling to one condition without change, hard like jade or stone, thereby losing the principle of the “One.” Only one who has realized the “One” can follow nobility or baseness as they come; his De is like water—square, round, crooked, or straight—adapting to things and changing inexhaustibly, yet never departing from the “One.” Therefore he cannot be measured by noble or base. The meaning of this chapter is most profound and subtle, difficult to put into words; here I only roughly point out its outline. Broadly speaking, “Dao produces the One”; the “One” is the completeness of De, and when embodied in the myriad things it approaches Dao. The preceding section gave a general account of the main purport of the Daojing; this chapter then discusses De, just as after the Dejing concludes with “a small country with few people,” there is still “trustworthy words are not beautiful.”

Chapter 40

“Reversal is the movement of Dao.” This means: the movement of Dao is a return in the opposite direction. When things develop to their extreme, they turn into their opposite; this is the law of Dao’s movement.

Reversal is the movement of the Dao

Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong, Li Longji) says that this line discusses the principle of “expedient adaptation.” “Reversal” means being contrary to ordinary reasoning yet conforming to the Dao and what is right. When the sage practices expedient adaptation, this is precisely the Dao in operation; hence, “reversal is the movement of the Dao.” Heshang Gong (abbreviated “He”) says that “reversal” is the root, the basis by which the Dao moves and generates the myriad things; departing from it, the myriad things perish. Wang Bi (a Wei-Jin metaphysician) says that taking the high as founded on the low, the noble as rooted in the humble, and being as functioning through non-being is precisely an expression of “reversal.” In their movement, the myriad things all return to their original state of non-being; only then do things proceed smoothly. Hence, “reversal is the movement of the Dao.” Zhang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) says that returning to the root is to settle into stillness; only within stillness can movement arise, just as autumn and winter can lead again to spring and summer.

Weakness is the function of the Dao

Tang Minghuang says that this line discusses the principle of “the substantial.” “Weakness” refers to softness and feminine stillness. When the sage rests content in softness, weakness, and feminine stillness, he is abiding in “the substantial.” Abiding in the substantial is the Dao’s constant way of functioning; hence, “weakness is the function of the Dao.” Heshang Gong says that softness and weakness are what the Dao constantly employs, and therefore they can endure. Wang Bi says that softness and weakness are connected with unobstructedness, and their function is inexhaustible. Zhang Pang says that the Dao’s function conquers all and may be called firm and strong, but firmness and strength alone cannot complete themselves; they must take softness and weakness as their root. This is the principle by which the myriad things mutually generate one another; therefore the following text traces back to their source in order to explain it.

The things of the world are born from being; being is born from non-being

Heshang Gong says that all things are born from Heaven and Earth; Heaven and Earth have form and position, hence “born from being.” In another edition, “the things of the world” is given as “the myriad things.”

General Discussion

Emperor Ming of Tang (Xuanzong, Li Longji) says: The function of expediency comes from the substance of the actual; tangible “being” is generated by formless “non-being.” Therefore, for those who practice expedient strategy, the most valuable thing is to return to the original and true substance; those who employ “being” must rely on “non-being.” The Dao (the Way) is profoundly still and beyond names and words. The nature of all phenomena is empty, and they do not depend on one another. If one can forget expediency and the actual together, and obliterate being and non-being together, then attachment to “number” and “carriage” (counting and vehicles, metaphors for the distinction between being and non-being) is also gone; this may be called transcendence.

Heshang Gong (the Han-dynasty Daoist commentator) says: The gods of heaven and earth, tiny flying insects, and crawling creatures all arise from the Dao. The Dao has no form, and so it is said that they are born from “non-being.” This chapter says that the root surpasses the ornamental, the soft and weak surpass the hard and strong, and humility surpasses fullness.

Wang Bi (the Three Kingdoms-era Xuanxue thinker) says: All things in the world take “being” as the function by which they are generated, but the starting point of “being” takes “non-being” as its root. If one wishes to preserve “being,” one must return to “non-being.”

Wang Pang (a Northern Song figure, son of Wang Anshi) says: “Non-being” generates “being,” and “being” in turn returns to “non-being”; thus they generate one another repeatedly, and the ten thousand things ultimately return to unity.

The Chapter on “The Highest Type of Person Hears the Dao” (Chapter 41)

“When the highest type of person hears the Dao, he diligently practices it.” Emperor Ming of Tang says: He has understood it, and therefore he acts. Heshang Gong says: When the highest type hears the Dao, he does not feel it to be bitter or burdensome, but exerts himself fully to practice it. Wang Bi says: This is because he has resolve. Wang Pang says: “Shi” means a learner. Therefore [the text] values having resolve; if one lacks resolve, in the end one cannot be discussed with about the Dao.

“When the middle type of person hears the Dao, it seems to exist and seems to be lost.” Emperor Ming of Tang says: The middle type can advance or retreat, and so he hesitates. In that hesitation, [the Dao] is sometimes present and sometimes lost. Heshang Gong says: When the middle type hears the Dao, he wishes to cultivate himself so as to attain long life and wishes to govern the state so as to bring peace to the world; he gladly preserves this Dao-mind. But when he retreats and faces wealth, sensual beauty, and honor, he again falls into desire and passion, and so loses it again. Wang Pang says: This speaks of those who hear the Dao of Laozi (the “Master” here refers to Laozi) and rejoice inwardly.

When people of the lowest type hear of the Dao, they laugh out loud.

“Xia shi” refers to people of meager capacity and shallow understanding. Minghuang (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji) says that the lower type’s mind is deluded and does not believe, and therefore they laugh. Heshang Gong says that the lower type is greedy, ruthless, and full of desires: when they see the Dao as soft and weak, they take it to be cowardly; when they see the Dao as plain and simple, they take it to be crude and rustic, and so they laugh loudly. Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) says that the great Dao is broad, extensive, and profoundly deep, and appears not to resemble anything; people of shallow views cannot recognize it, and therefore they laugh. As the text below says, how could this be something ordinary worldly people can see through?

If it were not laughed at, it would not be worthy of being called the Dao.

Minghuang says that if it were not laughed at by the lower type, it would not be worthy of being called the mysterious and ultimate Dao. Heshang Gong says the same. Wang Pang says that if it were merely something isolated with shape and form, catering to the ears and eyes of the world, how could it still be the Dao?

Therefore, when the ancients established their words, they said:

“Jian” means to establish, to set up. Minghuang says that here the point is to explain that the upper, middle, and lower types of people each understand the Dao differently. Wang Bi (a scholar of the Wei of the Three Kingdoms) says that jian means to establish.

The clear Dao seems dim.

Heshang Gong says that those who understand the Dao appear benighted, as if they see nothing. Wang Bi says that they are luminous but do not show off. Wang Pang says that “the greatly bright seems obscure” refers to those who discriminate keenly between beauty and ugliness and consider themselves bright; they are not truly clear about the Dao.

The level Dao seems rugged.

Minghuang says that when the upper type practices the Dao, they seem bright but are actually like one in darkness, seem to advance but are like one retreating, seem level but are like one on uneven ground; therefore the middle type is puzzled and the lower type laughs loudly. Heshang Gong says that people of the great Dao do not distinguish themselves as different, and so they seem full of bumps and hollows. Wang Bi says that the way of great levelness follows the natures of the myriad things and does not insist on cutting things apart; its levelness is not displayed, and instead it seems to be accommodating. Wang Pang quotes Zhuangzi’s “to level by means of the unlevel is its leveling,” meaning that by not insisting on leveling, one reaches true levelness.

The advancing Dao seems to retreat.

The truly advancing Dao appears instead to be retreating, because it does not take ordinary shortcuts, nor does it strive to be first and show itself.

The Highest De Is Like a Valley: A person of the highest De has a mind like deep mountains and secluded valleys—empty, still, all-embracing, and able to contain all things. Heshang Gong (a legendary Han-dynasty Daoist commentator on the scriptures) says that people of the highest De are like deep valleys and do not regard turbidity as shame. Wang Bi (a Three Kingdoms Wei metaphysician and commentator on the Laozi) says that when one does not deliberately advertise one’s virtue, the mind has nothing to cling to. Yu says that people of the highest De do not claim virtue for themselves; therefore the function of their De is inexhaustible, just as a valley, being empty, can respond to the sounds of all things.

The Great White Appears Disgraced: The purest white looks as though it bears filth and disgrace. Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji) says that the pure can contain impurity. Heshang Gong says that the pure-white person seems dust-stained and disgraced, yet does not display themselves. Wang Bi says that one should know white while willingly keeping to black; only thus can one truly attain great white. Yu quotes Confucius: “Dyed in black, it does not become black”—that is, though stained with black it is not blackened, and so it appears as if it has suffered disgrace.

Vast De Appears Insufficient: A person of vast De looks dull and deficient. Tang Xuanzong says that one who achieves great completion still remains humble. Heshang Gong says that a person of vast De outwardly seems dull-witted and lacking. Wang Bi says that vast De is never self-satisfied; it is empty and formless and cannot be filled. Yu asks in return: how could those who think themselves full and overflowing count as having vast De?

Established De Appears Negligent: Those who establish De outwardly appear slack and casual. Tang Xuanzong says that even after establishing merit, one does not show it off.

Establishing De Seems Negligent

Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang) says: Achievements are established but not displayed. Heshang Gong (the Han-dynasty Daoist scholar who annotated the Laozi) says: One who builds up the Dao and De appears outwardly as if negligent and empty. Wang Bi (the Three Kingdoms-era scholar who annotated the Laozi) says: The word rendered “negligent” means “matching,” referring to matching all things. A person cultivating De follows the natural nature of all things, does not deliberately establish deeds, and does not force action, so such a person appears to follow custom and agree carelessly. Another commentator says: “Negligent” carries the sense of careless. How can those anxious for quick success and single-mindedly seeking to establish achievements accomplish true De? Only those who comply with circumstances and let things follow principle, appearing negligent, have the greatest De and achievements. Zhuangzi says, “Only when there is no alternative does one then arise.” This means acting only when compelled.

Authentic Substance Seems to Change

Tang Minghuang says: Inner purity and unity, outwardly concealing radiance. Heshang Gong says: The plain and authentic person appears as if the five colors are mixed and pale, not clearly distinguished. Wang Bi says: One of authentic substance does not boast of their authenticity, so they appear to undergo change. Another commentator says: Nurturing one’s original nature and embracing spirit, wandering among the worldly, all manner of changes follow worldly custom, yet true nature constantly remains, so people do not know their authenticity. Like the Old Man of Hanyin (the old man in “Heaven and Earth” in the Zhuangzi who refused to use machinery), aloof and self-guarding, taking “authenticity” upon himself and separating from the world, even Zigong and his kind were astonished, yet the sage considered him one who falsely cultivates primordial simplicity. Is this what is meant by authentic substance?

The Great Square Has No Corners

Tang Minghuang says: It does not reveal sharpness too early. Heshang Gong says: The greatly square and upright person has no crooked or partial corners. Wang Bi says: Square and upright but not cutting, so it has no edges or corners. Another commentator says: Great squareness is the substance of Dao. If there were four corners, its form would be fully exposed to human sight; then it would fall into the limited, and its scope would already be small.

The Great Vessel Is Completed Late

Tang Minghuang says: It is not anxious for immediate results. Heshang Gong says: The person of great capacity is as heavy and substantial as the nine tripods and cannot be completed in haste. Wang Bi says: The great vessel can encompass all under heaven and does not cling to partial details, hence it is completed late. Another commentator says: The achievements of a true king are not as quick to show results as those of a hegemon.

The Great Sound Is Faint

Here there is only the scriptural line, without commentary. “Great sound” refers to the grandest music; “faint sound” means sound so subtle it is almost inaudible. The meaning is: the grandest sound is instead difficult for the ear to hear directly; the action of Dao is subtle and unmanifest.

The Great Sound Is Rarely Audible

Emperor Ming of Tang (Emperor Xuanzong) says: These are words without adornment and without flashy embellishment.

Heshang Gong says: The greatest sound is like thunder: it issues only when the time is ripe. This is a metaphor for the person who has the Dao cherishing original Qi and speaking little.

Wang Bi says: What is listened for with the ear but cannot be heard is called “xi”; it is a sound that cannot be obtained through hearing. Once there is sound, there is differentiation; once there is differentiation, the gong note is no longer gong but becomes the shang note. Once differentiated, it can no longer encompass the myriad things. Therefore, what has a sound that can be heard is not the great sound.

The commentator “Yu” (probably an error for “Pang,” namely Wang Pang of the Northern Song) says: The Dao fills what lies beyond heaven and earth; its substance is still and silent, and the myriad things cannot touch or perceive it. Its sound is always present, yet people in the world do not hear it. Zhuangzi says, “Within no sound, one alone hears harmony.” This is probably what is meant by the “rare sound.”

The Great Image Is Formless

Emperor Ming of Tang says: Therefore it can accord with the ten thousand kinds.

Heshang Gong says: One who possesses the great image is plain in essence and has no outward form.

Wang Bi says: Where there is form, there is differentiation. Differentiated things, if not warm then hot, if not hot then cold; therefore, what has shape is not the great image.

Yu says: The Dao can give form to the myriad things, while its own substance is empty and vast and cannot be grasped as any particular thing. This is the totality of the Dao; because it transforms and gives birth to the myriad things, it is called the “great image.”

The Dao Is Hidden and Nameless

Emperor Ming of Tang says: The functions of the Dao are not revealed, so it has no name by which it can be called.

Heshang Gong says: The Dao lies hidden and subtle, so that people cannot name it.

Pang says: From “The Great Sound Is Rarely Audible” onward, all of this speaks of the complete aspect of the Dao; only because the perspectives from which it is approached differ are they separately called “great sound” and “great image.”

(“The Dao Is Hidden and Nameless” appears repeatedly in the original text; the interpretation here is the same.)

Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong, Li Longji) says: The function of the Dao is not displayed outwardly, and so it is called “nameless” (wuming).

Heshang Gong (traditionally a Han dynasty scholar who annotated the Laozi) says: The Dao is hidden and subtle, and people cannot assign a name to it.

Wang Pang (a Northern Song figure, son of Wang Anshi, and author of a Laozi Commentary) says: The several lines “from Xisheng onward” all discuss the whole of the Dao. “Xisheng” refers to the soundless sound, that is, the meaning of “the great sound is soundless” (dayin xisheng). People’s paths of realization differ, and so it speaks of the “great sound” and the “great image” (daxiang). If one can realize this great sound and great image and take them as the Dao, then one’s understanding of the Dao reaches its utmost. When the Dao reaches its utmost, it cannot be reached by thought. The Dao appears as real within formed things and as empty within the void; it is thus everywhere and is omnipresent. Therefore, when one wishes to name it, one cannot describe its form; within the nameless, it constantly abides; when one wishes to see it, one cannot see it, and so it is said to be “hidden” (yin).

“It is only the Dao that is good at bestowing and completing”: Only the Dao is good at bestowing upon all things and enabling all things to be completed. “Dai” means to bestow, to give.

Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji) says: Although the Dao (the Way) is hidden and nameless, it is in truth good at giving. Through the wondrous function of its harmonious emptiness, it supports and supplies all things, causing them to grow and mature.

Heshang Gong (the Han-dynasty commentator on the Laozi) says: “Completion” means bringing to completion. That is, the Dao is good at bestowing its own Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) upon people and enabling them to be completed.

Wang Bi (the Wei-Jin era Xuanxue thinker and commentator on the Laozi) says: These good works are all brought about by the Dao. As for “image,” the Dao is the Great Image, and the Great Image has no form; as for “sound,” the Dao is the Great Sound, and the Great Sound is scarcely audible. All things take form through the Dao, yet the Dao’s traces are not seen; hence it is said that the Dao is hidden and nameless. What is called “lending” is not merely supplying what all things lack: once it is bestowed, it is enough for all things to preserve their De (Virtue/Power) forever, and so it is called “good at lending.” What is called “completion” is the Dao completing all things without applying human cutting and trimming; there is no thing that does not take form through it, and so it is called “good at completing.”

Zhang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) says: The Dao can satisfy the needs of all things and bring them to completion, but what all things obtain will in the end return to its original source. Thus although the Dao abundantly nourishes all things, it itself never suffers any diminishment. The meaning of “lending” is to respond to the other’s lack and ultimately to take it back again.

Zhang Pang further discusses the sequence of this chapter: The Dao is not far from people, yet people in the world rarely see it because they do not understand it. Therefore the whole chapter first explains the Dao. The great Dao is exceedingly plain and easy; only those who understand can follow it and advance, so next it discusses the “level road” (the plain and level Dao) and “advancing in the Dao.” To advance in the Dao and return to the constancy of nature and life is the “De of not-De,” so next it discusses “highest De” (the highest De). Highest De naturally obtains its De and is unlike the multitude of things, and so it is “unstained yet white.” But if its whiteness is itself different from other things, how can it be empty, lowly, and all-embracing like a valley (“like a valley”)? Therefore next it discusses “as if disgraced.” To refuse disgrace and keep oneself pure is the narrowness of Bo Yi (a figure of the late Shang known for preserving lofty purity), so how could it be broad? Therefore after “as if disgraced” it discusses “broad De.”

A person of highest De (Virtue/Power), if able to broadly bestow the blessings of De, can draw close to the multitude and become their ruler and teacher. Thus it is said, “When establishing De, one appears careless and unconcerned.” The word “stealth” here means not eagerly proclaiming that one has accomplished something. As soon as one deliberately establishes De, one has a place on which to stand; one drifts farther from the root and comes close to hypocrisy. Therefore one must also not alter one’s true nature, and so the next phrase is “plain and true” (Zhi Zhen, plain and true). Following this sequence, in the portion of the Dao that is within oneself, the fundamental substance is already present; hence it is said, “The great square has no corners.” With the great square as one’s substance, one can respond to changes in all places and can extend the remainder to others; hence it is said, “great vessel” (great utility, meaning the accomplishment of great undertakings). The great vessel is achievement. The Zhiren (perfected person, one who has cultivated the Dao to the utmost), even using chaff and mud, can make vessels, and the vessels are not thereby less great. Confucius regarded Guan Zhong as a “small vessel”; then the achievements of emperors and kings are perhaps truly great vessels. Although the Dao acts in this way, when traced to the ultimate, it does not deliberately act, nor does it deliberately possess; hence it is said, “great sound” and “great image” (the greatest sound and the greatest image). Having fully realized these, one can become one with the Dao, supply what all things seek, and complete the nature of all things. Alas, this Dao cannot be grasped by cognition, much less described in words. What I discuss here is only a rough account.

Chapter on Dao Producing One (Chapter 42)

Dao produces One: What the Dao first produces is the “One.” (Heshang Gong’s commentary)

One produces Two: The “One” produces Yin-Yang. (Heshang Gong’s commentary)

Two produces Three: “One” refers to Chongqi, the wondrous Qi (vital energy) of harmonious balance. When the Dao first moves, it emits the Qi of harmonious balance, but this is not yet sufficient for the principle of transforming and generating all things; therefore it further produces Yang Qi. Yang Qi cannot generate alone, so it further produces Yin Qi. Chongqi accumulates as One, and so it is said, “One produces Two”; Yang Qi accumulates as Two, and so it is said, “Two produces Three.” (Tang Minghuang’s commentary) Another Heshang Gong commentary says: Yin-Yang generate one another and produce three Qi—harmonious Qi, clear Qi, and turbid Qi—and these three Qi differentiate into Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.

Three produces all things.

Tang Minghuang (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji) says: The two Qi (vital energy) of Yin-Yang contain and incubate; the harmonious Qi of blending harmonizes within them, and only then do the myriad things flourish and take form. Hence it is said, “Three produce the myriad things.”

Heshang Gong (the Han-dynasty scholar who annotated the Laozi) says: Heaven and Earth together transform and generate the myriad things. Heaven bestows, Earth transforms and nurtures, and humans rear and bring them to completion.

Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar and son of Wang Anshi) says: The Dao (the Way) encompasses Yin-Yang: there is Yin, there is Yang, and there is also the central harmonious Qi between Yin and Yang. These three initially correspond to the numbers “one, two, three,” and all categories of the myriad things emerge from and are generated through them. Therefore, when one examines the patterns and symbols of the dispositions and forms of the myriad things, however minute and detailed, they all fall into this category. To understand this principle is to understand the root of the myriad things; once the root is understood, what difficulty can there be with the branches? That the perfected person can know, today, matters ten thousand generations hence is probably also because he grasps this root.

“The myriad things bear Yin on their backs and embrace Yang”: Heshang Gong says that there is no thing that does not carry Yin Qi on its back and face toward Yang Qi, just as the human heart turns toward the sun.

“Chong Qi makes harmony”: The two Qi of Yin and Yang surge and intersect, thereby attaining harmony; this is the foundation for the growth of the myriad things.

All things are generated by receiving the Qi of the intersection of Yin and Yang and of harmonious blending; therefore they turn their backs to Yin and face Yang, contain and nourish the harmonious Qi (chongqi), and thereby maintain softness and gentleness. (Minghuang is Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.) Heshang Gong says that all things contain original Qi (yuanqi) within, and for this reason they can be soft and gentle. Just as in the human chest there are organs, in the bones there is marrow, and in plants and trees there are spaces through which Qi communicates, they are able to live long. Wang Pang says that all things are born from harmonious Qi, so none fails to turn its back on Yin and embrace Yang. By looking at our own physical form, we can know this principle. Only when Yin and Yang are balanced is there harmony; it is clear, then, that all things belong to the categories of Yin and Yang, are constrained by heavenly numbers, and should proceed according to the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang.

What people detest most are titles such as “orphaned,” “widowed,” and “unworthy,” yet kings and lords use them to refer to themselves. Minghuang says that all things take the Qi of harmonious blending as their root, and one who guards the root should be humble, gentle, and yielding. Though kings and lords occupy the most honored position, they call themselves “orphaned, widowed, and unworthy” because they take humility and yielding as their root. Heshang Gong says that “orphaned, widowed, and unworthy” are originally inauspicious names; kings and lords use them of themselves in order to place themselves in a humble position and emulate emptiness and softness. Wang Pang says that when Yin reaches its extreme, Yang is born; when Yang reaches its extreme, Yin is born. This is the constant principle of Yin-Yang. Therefore what is high is easily overturned, while what is low is instead filled. Lords and kings occupy the most honored position, a situation of extreme peril; therefore they take the titles people detest and use them for themselves, so as to accord with the harmony of Yin and Yang. The principle stated below also derives from this.

The scripture says: “Therefore things are sometimes diminished and thereby gain; sometimes increased and thereby suffer loss.” Minghuang says that when one diminishes oneself, others instead benefit one; when one benefits oneself, others instead diminish one. Only in this way can harmony be preserved.