《道德真经集注(宋太守张氏)》Vol. 5

Being able to overcome all things means that no one can know the point at which one’s De (Virtue/Power) reaches exhaustion. Wang Bi (a Wei-Jin period Xuanxue scholar and commentator on the Laozi) says: The Dao (the Way) is inexhaustible. Zhang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) says: Fully developing one’s nature is “greatness”; being great and able to become one with the transformations of the Dao is “sagehood.” When transformation reaches its utmost, it becomes endless and infinite; therefore no one can know its limit.

If De reaches an unfathomable realm, one may possess a state. Emperor Ming of Tang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang) says: Only when De is endless and inexhaustible can one govern a state. Heshang Gong (a hermit traditionally said to have commented on the Laozi in the Han dynasty) says: Only when De is deep and unfathomable can one preserve the altars of state and bring blessings to the people. Wang Bi says: If De is limited yet one wishes to govern a state, one cannot truly possess the state. Zhang Pang says: Even if the De of a sage were as ordinary and unadorned as chaff and clods of earth, it would still suffice to mold figures like Yao and Shun (sage kings of antiquity), let alone govern a state.

The fundamental principle for possessing a state can keep the state enduring and stable. Emperor Ming of Tang says: When governing a state one is good at nurturing the people, the state’s fortune can last long. Heshang Gong says: The state and the body are interconnected; “mother” refers to the Dao. If a person can maintain the Dao within the body, so that Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) are not depleted and the five spirits (wushen; in Daoism, the five spirits governing body and mind—hun, po, yi, zhi, and Shen [spirit]) are not subjected to hardship, then one can endure. Wang Bi says: The foundation by which the state is stabilized is called the “mother.” To value accumulating De is to seek only the root and afterward manage the branches and tips; only then can one end well. Zhang Pang says: “Possessing the mother of the state” means being able to give a person the foundation of possessing a state, namely what was earlier called “no one knows its limit.”

This means that when the roots are planted deep and the base is firmly secured—when the foundation is stable—one can endure long and not be uprooted.

Heshang Gong: If a person takes original Qi (vital energy) as the root and Jing (essence) and Qi as the stem, it is like a tree whose roots are not planted deep: the branches and stem will not be firm and will easily fall away. This means one should deeply store original Qi and firmly guard Jing and Qi, not letting them leak outward.

Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar): People take nature and life as their root; things outside the body are all branches and leaves. One who loses original nature merely seeks the flourishing of branches and leaves while injuring the root. When the root is injured, Jing and Qi decline, the stem is not firm, and so one dies early. If one does not injure the root with external things, then when the root is deep the stem is firm; when the stem is firm, the physical form and nature and life are joined, and one will not fall away early. In some editions the character “di” is written “di,” with the same meaning.

Emperor Ming of Tang (Tang Xuanzong): Accumulating De (Virtue/Power) to govern the state is like having deep roots and a firm stem. Deep roots and a firm stem are precisely the way of long life and enduring vision (that is, long survival and the preservation of lasting vitality).

Heshang Gong: Deep roots and a firm stem are precisely the way of long life and enduring vision.

Wang Pang: Shen (spirit) manifests in the eyes, so after death the eyes close and lose their luster. If one can be sparing and restrained (“sparing”), deeply planting the root, then the root and stem are stable, and the eyes can remain bright for a long time.

The Chapter on Governing a Great State (Chapter 60): Governing a great state is like cooking a small fish.

Emperor Ming of Tang: One who cooks a small fish must not turn it frequently; one who governs a great state must not disturb it excessively. Excessive disturbance exhausts the common people, and turning makes the fish cook to mush.

Heshang Gong: “Xian” means fish.

Cooking a Small Fish and Governing a Great State

Commentary by Minghuang (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji): When cooking a small fish, one must not keep turning it over; when governing a great state, one must not harass the people. Turn it too much, and the fish falls apart; make decrees too numerous and detailed, and the people become exhausted.

Commentary by He (Heshang Gong, the legendary Han-dynasty Daoist commentator): “Xian” means small fish. When cooking a small fish, one does not remove the intestines or scales, and does not dare stir it frequently, for fear that it will break apart. If governing a state involves cumbersome decrees, those below will fall into confusion; if cultivating body and mind becomes too meddlesome, Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) will scatter.

Commentary by Bi (Wang Bi, a Xuanxue scholar of Wei in the Three Kingdoms period): One should maintain non-disturbance. Agitation breeds many harms; quietude preserves one’s original truth. Therefore, the larger the state, the more the ruler should be pure and still, so as to broadly transform the people’s hearts.

Commentary by Pang (Zhang Pang, a Northern Song scholar): To cook fish, one need only wait for it to cook itself; do not apply clever ingenuity. Stir it, and it falls apart. The way of governing a state is likewise. However large the state, if one grasps the Dao, governing it becomes very easy.

“When the World Is Governed by Dao, Its Ghosts Do Not Display Spiritual Power”

(The character in the received text, “flower,” should be “li,” meaning “to approach/oversee.”) When one governs the world by Dao (the Way), ghosts and spirits will not at will display their numinous power or work mischief.

Commentary by Minghuang: Governing the world by Dao, one does not seek blessings beyond one’s due; therefore ghosts and spirits have no way to manifest their spiritual might.

Commentary by Heshang Gong: Dwelling in one’s position and governing the world by Dao and De (Virtue/Power), ghosts and spirits dare not appear to invade and trouble people.

Commentary by Wang Bi: Governing a great state is like cooking a small fish: pure, still, and undisturbed. When one governs the world by Dao, ghosts will not display their spiritual power.

Commentary by Zhang Pang: When the people are not disturbed, they can fully realize their original nature; when the people’s nature is fully unfolded, the Qi of Heaven and Earth is harmonized, and all things can proceed smoothly. Thus ghosts too remain content in their proper place and cannot cause mischief. The paths followed by humans and ghosts are originally not the same, yet they often interfere with one another because the Qi of Yin-Yang has lost its proper order, and the myriad things thereby have an opening to exploit.

“It Is Not That Its Ghosts Lack Spiritual Power; Their Spiritual Power Does Not Harm People”

This is the concluding sentence of the scripture: it does not mean that ghosts have lost their spiritual power, but that their spiritual power no longer harms people.

This passage is a commentary on Chapter 60 of the Daodejing: “Governing the world by Dao, the ghosts do not manifest their numinous power. It is not that the ghosts lack numinosity; it is that their numinosity does not harm people. It is not that their numinosity does not harm people; the sage also does not harm people. Because the two do not harm each other, De returns to them together.”

The general meaning of the scripture is this: when one governs the world by Dao, ghosts and spirits no longer display their numinous power to harm people. It is not that ghosts have no spiritual nature; it is simply that their Shen (spirit) does not harm people. Their Shen does not harm people, and the sage also does not harm people. Since ghosts and the sage do not harm each other, the transforming power of De converges upon the world as one.

The main points of the various commentaries are as follows. Minghuang, referring to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, holds that if ghosts display traces of spiritual prodigies, they harm people, and if the sage engages in purposeful action, he likewise disturbs the people. Now ghosts do not harm people because the sage is pure, still, and practices Wuwei (non-action). Heshang Gong, the Han-dynasty scholar who annotated the Laozi, holds that ghosts are not devoid of spirit; it is simply that evil cannot overpower right. When the sage sits on the throne and does not harm the people, ghosts dare not encroach upon the human world. Wang Bi, a Three Kingdoms Wei scholar, holds that when Dao governs harmoniously, the spirits do not harm people, and people likewise do not perceive the spirits as spirits. The sage is the same: not displaying his sagely De is the utmost of Dao. Driving the people by harsh punishments and legal nets is a sign that the way of governance has declined. Zhang Pang, a Northern Song scholar, holds that only when the sage does not harm people do Heaven and Earth become harmonious and responsive, and humans and ghosts each attain their proper place, neither harming the other.

At the end, the repeated phrase “fu liang bu xiang shang, gu de jiao gui yan” emphasizes that ghosts and the sage each do not harm the other, and therefore the transforming power of De converges and returns to them both.

First Paragraph (Ghosts and Spirits and the Sage Do Not Harm Each Other)

The commentary of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang says: If ghosts and spirits harmed the people, they would endanger the state and diminish its foundation; if the sage harmed the people, the spirits would not receive sacrifices and offerings. Now that humans and ghosts and spirits do not harm one another, De (Virtue/Power) all returns to this harmony.

Heshang Gong’s commentary says: The two do not harm each other: people are well governed in the yang world, and ghosts dwell securely in the yin world; people can preserve their lives, and ghosts can preserve their spirits. Therefore virtue returns from one to the other.

Wang Bi’s commentary says: Spirits do not harm people, nor does the sage harm people; the sage does not harm people, nor do spirits harm people. Hence it says, “the two do not harm each other.” Both spirits and the sage accord with the Dao, and therefore virtue returns to both.

Wang Pang’s commentary says: People attribute virtue to ghosts, and ghosts also attribute virtue to people.

Title of Chapter Sixty-One (The Chapter on the Great State as the Lower Reaches)

This is the chapter title of Chapter Sixty-One of the Daodejing, meaning “a great state should be like the lower reaches of rivers.”

Heshang Gong’s commentary says: In governing a great state, one should be like a river in a low position, not going against the small and subtle.

Wang Bi’s commentary says: Because the rivers and seas are broad and great, they dwell in low places, and therefore the hundred rivers all flow toward them. Because a great state is strong yet willingly places itself below others, all under heaven attach themselves to it.

Wang Pang’s commentary says: This is like the relation of the rivers and seas to the hundred valleys.

“The Confluence of All Under Heaven”

This is a fragmentary line of the Jing text, and it can be interpreted only on the basis of the extant wording. Emperor Xuanzong’s commentary says that “lower reaches” refers to the virtue of humility and yielding. If a great state can occupy the lower position, the people of the world will attach themselves to it.

The confluence of all under Heaven.

This means that the place where the myriad things of the world converge and gather lies in the great state’s ability to dwell in the lower reaches, to be humble and inclusive. Emperor Ming (Tang Xuanzong) held that a river in the lower reaches symbolizes the virtue of humility and lowliness; if a great state can receive others with an open mind like rivers and seas occupying the lower reaches, people throughout the world will naturally come to attach themselves to it. Heshang Gong held that the great state is where the scholars and people of the world converge. Wang Bi held that this is the place to which all under Heaven turn and assemble.

The female of all under Heaven.

The term “female” refers to what is female, yin, and soft, representing yielding, humility, and harmony without giving rise to resentment or anger. Heshang Gong explained it as a metaphor for the place to which all under Heaven attach themselves. Wang Bi held that it is still and makes no forceful demands, so the myriad things naturally attach themselves to it. Zhang Pang held that one should receive the myriad things in a female, soft, and still attitude; in one version of the scripture, the text here reads “the confluence of all under Heaven.”

The female constantly overcomes the male through stillness,

The reason the female can subdue the male is that yin softness, through stillness, overcomes yang hardness; it willingly dwells below and does not seek first. Heshang Gong uses this to explain the principle of yin softness and stillness.

Through stillness, it is below.

Emperor Ming held that the key to people throughout the world coming to attach themselves lies in the virtue of humility: just as the female takes stillness as its foundation and always waits for the male to come seeking in his restlessness, so by stillness it occupies the lower position. Heshang Gong held that the way of the female takes stillness, humility, and lowliness as its foundation. Wang Bi explained that precisely because the female is still, it can willingly dwell below; the male is restless and eager in seeking, and the female constantly restrains him by stillness, and thus can overcome the male. Precisely because it is still and willingly dwells below, the myriad things come to attach themselves. One version cited by Zhang Pang reads, “By its stillness it is below.”

Therefore, when a great state lowers itself before a small state,

Wang Bi held that this means a great state is humble toward a small state, as if saying, “With a great state, be humble toward a small state.”

it wins the small state.

Heshang Gong held that if a great state can treat a small state with humility, it will constantly gain the small state’s allegiance. Wang Bi held that the small state will naturally attach itself to it.

When a small state lowers itself before a great state, it wins the great state.

Emperor Ming held that if a great state annexes a small state by force, the small state is reduced to servants and concubines; if a small state can serve a great state humbly, it can obtain the great state’s support. Heshang Gong held that this passage explains that whether a state is great or small, as long as it can maintain humility and lowliness and treat others well, it will not err. Wang Bi held that when a great state receives a small state, some win the other by lowering themselves, while some obtain the other because of their lowliness.

The Way for Great and Small States to Coexist

Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong, Li Longji) says: the character yi is used for the great taking from the small; the character er is used for the small taking from the great. Heshang Gong (the Han commentator, referred to here as “He”) glossed it only with the two characters “loss,” meaning that here “taking” and “being taken from” each involve a loss and are not a perfect condition.

In another passage of commentary, Heshang Gong says: “lowering oneself” means that a great state lowers itself before a small state, and a small state lowers itself before a great state; the two sides take from and give to each other according to the Dao and righteousness. Wang Bi (the Wei-Jin metaphysician) says: only by each cultivating humility can each attain its proper place. Zhang Pang (a Northern Song Daoist) says: it is not that the sage’s nature deliberately humbles itself before others; he does so from an inborn liking. He does not seek to take from others; it is simply that his nature spontaneously dwells in the lower position, and people naturally turn and attach themselves to him.

Original text: “The great state does not go beyond wishing to unite and nourish others.”

Heshang Gong comments: if the great state does not lose the virtue (De) of humility, it will unite the small states with itself and nourish them.

Original text: “The small state does not go beyond wishing to enter and serve others.”

Tang Minghuang says: the great state, by dwelling below with the virtue of humility, deals with the small state, but it does not go beyond wishing to annex and command the small state, making it a subject and servant. The small state, by paying tribute and taxes to the great state and willingly placing itself below, does not go beyond wishing to attach itself to the great state and borrow its strength to obtain assistance. Heshang Gong comments: this means making the small state a subject and servant. When both parties each obtain what they want, the great state should all the more take the initiative in being humble. Tang Minghuang further says: a great state must constantly guard against self-complacency, and so it is especially emphasized that the great state should be humble. Heshang Gong adds: both great and small states wish to attain their proper place, and the great state in particular should be humble.

Wang Bi explains: when a small state is humble, it can only preserve itself; it cannot make all under Heaven attach to it. When a great state is humble, all under Heaven will attach to it. Therefore it is said, “When each obtains what it desires, the greater should be the one to be humble.”

Zhang Pang holds: since each takes something from the other, the great state’s humbling itself before the small state is “rejoicing in Heaven,” that is, complying with the Way of Heaven; to rejoice in Heaven is to accord with the Dao. The small state’s humbling itself before the great state is “fearing Heaven,” that is, complying with circumstances out of fear.

The opening line of Chapter 62: “The Dao is the mystery and refuge of all things.”

The received text contains only this one line; it means: the Dao is the most profound source and refuge of all things.

The Dao Is the Mystery of All Things

Emperor Xuanzong (Minghuang) says: All things rely on the mysterious root—that is, the Dao—to come into being. The Dao is the source from which all things receive nourishment, and so it is said, “The Dao is the ao of all things.” “Ao” means “inner,” the core hidden deep within.

Heshang Gong, a Daoist scholar who annotated the Laozi in the Han dynasty, says: “Ao” means “storehouse.” The Dao is the place where all things are collected and kept; there is nothing it does not embrace.

Wang Bi, a Xuanxue thinker of the Wei dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period, says: “Ao” is like “ai,” meaning shelter and shade.

Wang Pang, a Northern Song scholar and son of Wang Anshi, says: The great Dao is deep and hidden; it can shelter all things and is the place where all things take refuge.

Good People Take the Dao as Their Treasure

Emperor Xuanzong says: Good people understand that keeping to the Dao brings prosperity and losing it brings ruin. Therefore they always treasure the Dao, and so no calamity entangles them.

Heshang Gong says: Good people regard the Dao as the treasure by which they establish themselves and dare not violate it.

Wang Bi says: They treat “treasure” as something useful and put it to use.

Wang Pang says: What good people treasure, the sage perceives and practices. One edition reads “what is treasured.”

The Dao on Which the Not-Good Rely

Emperor Xuanzong says: “Bao” means to employ and to rely on. The not-good do not ordinarily value the supreme Dao; only when disaster strikes do they wish to rely on the Dao for themselves, seeking only to escape misfortune.

Heshang Gong says: The Dao is also what the not-good rely on. When they encounter urgent trouble, they can still repent and humble themselves.

Wang Bi says: “Bao” means to preserve and keep safe.

Beautiful Words Can Be Marketed; Noble Conduct Can Be Applied to Others

Heshang Gong says: Beautiful words are only suited to market transactions. Once the trading at a great market is over, people disperse; buyers want to obtain quickly, and sellers want to close the deal quickly. Thus fine and beautiful words are not appropriate there.

Emperor Xuanzong says something similar: Sweet speech can only be used for trade, and once the trade is done, it disperses.

“Noble conduct can be applied to others”: lofty virtue can be applied to and influence others.

Emperor Ming (Tang Xuanzong) says: If words are sweet and pleasant to hear, they can be used to exchange for goods; if conduct is lofty and pure, it can inspire people’s respect. This means using sweet words of principle and the noble, pure virtue of lofty conduct to transform those who are not good, just as merchants in the marketplace imitate one another and one after another turn toward goodness. Hence the following text continues.

Heshang Gong says: “Jia” means “to distinguish” or “to set apart.” If a person has noble conduct, he can be distinguished from ordinary people, but this is still not enough to make people revere the great Dao (the Way).

Wang Bi says: The Dao is that which precedes all things; nothing in the world is more honorable than it. Even if one had precious treasures, fine jade, and good horses, they could not be used to rectify people’s minds. Beautiful words can win the favor of the many merchants with their goods, and so it is said, “Beautiful words can be marketed.” Noble conduct will find response even a thousand li away, and so it is said, “Noble conduct can make others respect one.”

Su Pang says: Beautiful words and noble conduct are merely the outflow of the Dao, and yet they are still sufficient to “market” (exchange) and to “be added to others” (make people respect one). How much more so for one who has attained the Dao? (In another edition, the word “yu” is absent after “noble conduct.”)

“If people are not good, how can they be abandoned?”

Emperor Ming says: As for those who are not good, it is only a matter of going to teach and transform them; how could there be anyone abandoned and forgotten?

Heshang Gong says: Even if people are not good, they should be taught and transformed by the Dao. It is probably that before the Three Sovereigns, there were no abandoned common people, because the transforming power of virtue was pure and generous.

Wang Bi says: Toward those who are not good, one should hold fast to the great Dao in order to avoid fault.

Su Pang says: Transactions in the marketplace are joined together by profit, and human nature is wary of those who place themselves above it and does not wish to be overridden by others. If there are beautiful words and noble conduct, then even profit-seeking people can associate with one, and one may stand above others without their suspicion. Seen in this way, when a person who has the Dao teaches and transforms others, what is there that cannot make people submit? Therefore, such a person does not abandon those who are not good.

“Therefore the Son of Heaven is established and the Three Dukes are appointed.”

Emperor Ming says: Together they teach and transform those who are not good.

Heshang Gong says: They are to be made to teach and transform those who are not good.

Wang Bi says: This means using noble conduct to promote the great Dao.

“Even if one has a jade disk in both hands and a team of four horses going before, it is not as good as sitting still and advancing this Dao.”

Vernacular Interpretation

Collected Commentaries on the Daode Zhenjing (Zhang, Prefect of Song)

Emperor Ming (Tang Xuanzong) says: The Three Dukes assist the Son of Heaven. Even if they present jade discs large enough to be encircled by both arms and send a team-of-four horse carriage ahead as ceremonial etiquette, this is still only for transforming those who are not good.

Heshang Gong says: This is the method by which the Son of Heaven is meant to transform those who are not good.

Wang Bi says: This speaks of using honored position to promote the great Dao.

Scripture: Although there are jade discs large enough to be encircled by both arms, and a team-of-four horse carriage is sent ahead to ritually invite worthies, this is not as good as sitting upright and still and presenting this Dao to the ruler.

Emperor Ming says: The Three Dukes assist the Son of Heaven. Even if they use jade discs large enough to be encircled by both arms and a team-of-four horse carriage as a vanguard to ritually invite worthies and bring them to submission, this is still not as good as sitting upright and presenting the Dao of Wuwei to the ruler, thereby transforming the common people.

Heshang Gong says: Even if fine jade and a team-of-four horse carriage are sent ahead, this is not as good as sitting upright and presenting this Dao.

Wang Bi says: This Dao is what was meant above. Establishing the Son of Heaven and appointing the Three Dukes, honoring their positions and valuing their persons, is for the sake of promoting the Dao. Nothing in the world is more precious than the Dao. Therefore, even if one holds precious jade and a team-of-four horse carriage to recruit worthies, this is not as good as sitting upright and presenting the Dao to the ruler.

Zhang Pang says: The Son of Heaven and the Three Dukes take transforming the people as their duty. If the ruler possesses the Dao, all under Heaven will naturally submit. Jade and horses are used to recruit worthies, and recruiting worthies is a major matter of governance. Yet even if worthies are obtained, if the ruler himself cannot promote the great Dao, the people will still not submit. Therefore, it is better not to seek outwardly, but to present to the ruler the root of promoting the great Dao.

Scripture: What was the reason the ancients prized this Dao?

Emperor Ming says: “He” is an interrogative particle.

Scripture: Is it not said, “Seek and obtain it”?

Heshang Gong says: The ancients prized this Dao because one need not travel far to seek it; by cultivating it within oneself, one obtains it.

Scripture: Can those with offenses also be freed from guilt through it?

Heshang Gong says: “Having offenses” refers to encountering a chaotic age and a benighted ruler, and thus being arbitrarily punished or killed. By cultivating this Dao, one can escape the calamity of death and avoid public censure and execution.

Zhang Pang says: Because “seek and obtain it,” good people treasure it; because “the guilty can be pardoned,” those who are not good also rely on it.

Scripture: Therefore this Dao is prized by all under Heaven.

Opening Annotation. Tang Xuanzong (Minghuang) says that the great Dao lies in realization, not in external seeking. It is unlike wealth, which can be sought day after day; hence the saying, “It is not by daily seeking that it is obtained.” Once one has realized it, naturally there is no burden of guilt—why wait until guilt arises before seeking pardon? Such a person can become honored by the world. Heshang Gong says that Dao and De are profound, far-reaching, and vast, covering all and saving all; in cultivating the self and governing the state, one remains calm and practices Wuwei, and thus can be honored by the world. Wang Bi says: seek, and it is obtained; seek pardon, and pardon is obtained. It operates everywhere, and thus can be honored by the world.

Doing Wuwei. This means acting with an attitude of Wuwei. Heshang Gong explains it as cultivating and ordering things according to their already-formed condition, and so not recklessly fabricating. Wang Pang, a Song dynasty scholar, says this is “practicing the Dao.”

Attending to Affairs as No-Affairs. This means handling affairs as though there were no affairs. Heshang Gong says one should make preparations beforehand, remove complication, and eliminate unnecessary matters. Wang Pang says this is “attending to the Dao.”

Savoring the Flavorless. This means taking the bland and flavorless as flavor and thereby apprehending the meaning of the Dao. Heshang Gong says one should think deeply and consider far ahead, and embody the savor of the Dao. Wang Bi says that taking Wuwei as one’s dwelling, non-speaking as one’s teaching, and tranquility and blandness as one’s flavor—this is the highest level of governance. Wang Pang says this is “savoring the Dao.” These three matters are all constant modes of the Dao. Although cultivators take Wuwei as constant, they do not dare therefore to slight things with form; when they encounter affairs, they treat them according to the Dao. Hence the following text goes on to discuss the handling of concrete affairs.

Great and Small, Many and Few. Heshang Gong says this states the admonitions contained therein: if one wishes to become great, one must instead begin from the small; if one wishes to become many, one must instead begin from the few—this is the way of nature. Wang Pang says: treat small matters as great matters and be cautious; treat few matters as many matters and be earnest. He also quotes Zhuangzi: “Do not slight others.”

Repay Resentment with De. This means repaying resentment with virtue and kindness. This is the original line from Laozi, chapter sixty-three, which advocates resolving enmity through generosity and goodness.

Minghuang (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji) says: In action, do not deliberately act recklessly; in handling affairs, do not create complications; in savoring, do not cling to flavor. Even if things are large or small, many or few, so long as one does not exceed one’s proper station, no one will harbor resentment. But if one gives rise to selfish thoughts in response to external circumstances, transgresses one’s proper station, and harms one’s nature, then resentment will be incurred whether the matter is large or small. Now, since one can keep to one’s proper station and preserve harmony and compliance, one therefore repays resentment with De (Virtue/Power).

Heshang Gong says: Cultivating the Dao (the Way) and practicing goodness means cutting off calamity before it has yet arisen.

Wang Bi says: Small grievances are not enough to offset great resentment. To be able to accord with the common wishes of all under Heaven—this is De.

Yu says: Repaying resentment with the way of uprightness belongs to “affairs”; repaying resentment with De belongs to “De.” If one acts according to “affairs,” good and bad fortune rise and fall together with the common people, so none of the above principles can be discarded. As for “De,” no thing is seen as graspable—how then could there be resentment? The three situations above are all the practice of those who have realized the great Dao; it is precisely because they have realized the Dao that they are so. By citing the example of “repaying resentment with De,” one may know that De can be applied everywhere.

To accomplish difficult things, one should begin while they are still easy, and deal with them before they have taken shape. To accomplish great things, one should start from the subtle and small.

The scripture says: The difficult affairs of the world must begin from what is easy; the great affairs of the world must accumulate from what is fine and small. Heshang Gong comments: “Proceeding from the easy into the difficult, difficult affairs are precisely generated from what is easy.” Tang Xuanzong (Minghuang) comments: “This explains the principle of prior planning discussed above.” Heshang Gong also says: “Affairs must gradually become manifest from the subtle.” Another commentator, Yu, says: “Easy matters often arise because of negligence; subtle matters gradually become evident from inconspicuous beginnings.”

Therefore the sage never deliberately does “great” things. Heshang Gong says: “This is to preserve humility.” Thus he can accomplish great undertakings. Tang Xuanzong comments: “This continues the preceding statement that ‘great affairs must be wrought from details,’ explaining that the sage can accomplish grand achievements precisely because he does not directly force his way through difficult and great matters; therefore he can achieve his honored and great position.” Heshang Gong says: “All under heaven will return to him.” Yu comments: “The sage constantly applies effort to subtle tasks, and so can achieve great merit; once the work is accomplished, he may be called a ‘great person.’” The Book of Songs says: “If small calamities are not entirely removed, the state will decline.” This also shows that great order in the state lies in cumulative accumulation bit by bit.

Finally it says: Those who make promises lightly will surely have little credibility; those who regard matters as too easy will afterwards surely encounter many difficulties. Tang Xuanzong comments: “Promising others casually must lack credibility; acting rashly and carelessly will surely produce many difficulties later.” Heshang Gong says: “This means doing things without caution.”

Those who make promises lightly rarely keep their word. Those who take things too easily will surely encounter many difficulties later. Therefore the sage always acts with great caution, and in the end meets no hardship.

Heshang Gong (the Han-dynasty Daoist who annotated the Laozi) says that this warns people not to act rashly. Wang Bi (a scholar of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period) says that even someone with the sage’s capacity treats small and easy matters as difficult—how much more, then, can ordinary people ignore them? Tang Xuanzong (Emperor Ming of Tang) says that the sage does not make promises lightly, and so never encounters great trouble. Heshang Gong further says that the sage keeps difficulty in mind throughout life, cautious as one avoiding a deep abyss. Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) says that the sage is not only cautious in subtle matters but also does not act lightly, and so never suffers misfortune.

Chapter 64 says: When things are settled, they are easy to maintain; when no signs have yet appeared, they are easy to plan for; when things are fragile, they are easy to dissolve; when they are minute, they are easy to scatter. Heshang Gong says that in cultivating the body and governing the state, as long as there is peace and stability, it is easy to keep hold. Tang Xuanzong says that when a person’s original nature is quiet, one can hold fast to it and keep the mind and spirit from scattering. Even when a thought has just sprouted and has not yet taken shape, it is easy to plan to cut it off so that it does not arise again. Heshang Gong says that desires and misfortunes are easy to stop before they have left any trace. Wang Pang says that precaution must come before the matter occurs—this is what the Laozi calls “wei zhi yu wei you” (act when nothing has yet arisen), that is, dealing with it before the thing has appeared.

The sentence “qi cui yi fu”—some editions read “cui yi pan”—means that fragile things are easily broken apart and scattered. In Wang Pang’s commentary it is said that some editions write the character fu as po (break).

This passage comes from commentaries on Chapter 64 of the Laozi. The commentators are, in order, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji (referred to as “Minghuang”), Heshang Gong (“He”), Wang Bi (“Bi”), and Zhang Pang (“Pang”).

When an affair has just arisen as a thought, or when desire has just been touched, it is still very fragile; to cut it off at this moment is easy. When a calamity has just shown its head and its signs are still very subtle, to guard against it while it is tiny makes it easy to disperse. Heshang Gong says: when it has not yet manifested and is very small, it is easy to scatter. Wang Bi says: even if it has already passed from “nonbeing” (not yet formed) into “being” (having a budding sign), because it is tiny and fragile, it is not yet sufficient to accomplish a great matter, and so it is easy to deal with. These four lines all speak of the need to be cautious about the final outcome of affairs: one cannot relax one’s guarding because the matter is still “nonbeing,” nor fail to eliminate it because it is tiny. If one lets “nonbeing” go unchecked and does not guard it, “being” will be born; if one lets the minute go unchecked and does not disperse it, it will grow into a great calamity. Therefore one should cautiously consider the outcome just as one would treat a calamity at its beginning; only then will one not ruin the affair. Zhang Pang says: to rescue it at the initial stage when it has already occurred is what is meant by “governing it before disorder arises.”

Act on it before it exists: Act before the affair has any trace. Tang Xuanzong says this continues the preceding text, explaining that affairs are easy to grasp and easy to plan; the reason they are easy is that one begins to manage them before they have any form or trace. Heshang Gong says: when one wishes to act, one should block the source before the sprout has yet emerged. Wang Bi says: this refers to stabilizing signs that have not yet manifested.

Govern it before disorder arises: Govern it while disorder has not yet occurred. Tang Xuanzong says this continues the preceding phrase “easy to break, easy to scatter”; the reason it is easy is that one removes and handles it before disorder has taken shape. Heshang Gong says: whether governing oneself or governing the state, one should block the gate that leads to disorder before disorder arises. Wang Bi says: this refers to closing off the tiny and fragile place.

A tree that can be encircled by both arms grows from a tiny sprout: A great tree that can be encircled by both arms grows from a tiny seedling. Heshang Gong says this is from the small to the great; Zhang Pang says it means growth.

A nine-level terrace begins with accumulated earth: A nine-level high terrace is begun from basket upon basket of piled earth. Heshang Gong says this is establishing the high from the low; Zhang Pang says it means accumulation.

A journey of a thousand li begins beneath one’s feet: A long journey of a thousand li begins with the first step beneath one’s feet. Tang Xuanzong says these two similes mean that if one does not plan good measures early, one will cause calamity to develop later. Heshang Gong says this is from the near to the far; Zhang Pang says it is advancing step by step through accumulation.

This passage comes from Chapter 64 of the Daodejing and discusses the principle of guarding against small faults before they grow. A journey of a thousand li also begins with the first step beneath one’s feet. Disaster often arises from the subtle; if one does not plan early and check it, it will later brew into grave trouble. Heshang Gong (a Han-dynasty Daoist commentator) says this refers to the process of proceeding from the near to the far and from the small to the great. Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) says these three matters all start from what is near and develop from the subtle to the manifest; this is the constant pattern of how things change. Therefore the sage does not dare lightly initiate affairs, lest small matters thereby expand, grow ever farther from the root, and leave disaster for the future. Thus it is said that as soon as things first stir, one should use “the nameless uncarved simplicity” (the pure, unadorned original reality that has not been carved up or assigned names) to calm them. In this way the sage eliminates trouble before it occurs—is that not earlier still?

Next it discusses “Those who act ruin it; those who grasp lose it.” Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Minghuang) says: if human passions and desires cannot accord with the inherent principle of things but instead demand what lies beyond one’s lot, then those who act will fail; if one cannot let go of or forget a matter, then as soon as a thought stirs one becomes attached, and to be attached and strive to obtain means that, in principle, one is certain to lose. Heshang Gong says: reckless action in affairs turns one away from nature; reckless action in moral principle discards benevolence; reckless action in sexual indulgence depletes one’s Jing and Shen (essence and spirit). To cling to profit is to lose the root; to hold fast to the Dao is to preserve oneself. If one insists and cannot let go, one must yield and turn back. Wang Bi (a Wei-Jin-era Xuanxue thinker) says one should be careful at the end in order to remove subtle troubles, and careful in small matters in order to remove the sources of disaster and disorder. If one only uses artificial arrangements and the laws of names and punishments to restrain people, this instead breeds incidents, and cunning and deceitful intentions arise along with them; therefore one fails. Wang Pang says the true and constant Dao has no fixed abode; any bias or attachment violates nature. Acting and grasping both arise from human private intent. If I have such thoughts, the people’s private desires will daily increase. How then can this count as the saying “plan for stability before things have become manifest”?

In conclusion, the sage accords with nature and does not act recklessly, and so has no failure; does not cling to things, and so has no loss.

Heshang Gong comments: When the sage possesses virtue, he uses it to teach the ignorant; when he possesses wealth, he distributes it to the poor. He does not claim virtue and wealth as his own or hoard them, and so he suffers no loss before others. Wang Pang (a Northern Song figure, son of Wang Anshi, and commentator on the Laozi) says: If I do not violate the constant Dao or lose my original nature, all under Heaven can be like this as well.

Therefore, when people undertake affairs, they often ruin them just when they are about to succeed. Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong, Li Longji) notes: When people first begin to do good, they often spoil it themselves as success approaches. Heshang Gong notes: “Cong” means “to do.” When people undertake affairs and merit and virtue are almost complete, they covet official rank, love reputation, become arrogant, extravagant, self-indulgent, self-satisfied, and self-inflated, and so ruin the matter themselves. Wang Bi (a third-century Wei scholar and commentator on the Laozi) notes: This is because they cannot be cautious about the final outcome. Wang Pang notes: Affairs have their natural course; when the time arrives, they succeed. The Zhuangzi says that fine achievements require long accumulation. The common people are foolish and ignorant, do not understand this principle, are impatient and seek speed, and want to use human force to forcibly accelerate the Heavenly Dao; therefore, whenever an affair is about to succeed, they again ruin it themselves. This is the fault of using human force to overcome the Heavenly Dao, thereby injuring the true essence of life and letting worldly affairs override the Dao.

If one is cautious about the ending as at the beginning, there will be no failed affairs. Tang Minghuang notes: Be cautious about the ending and constantly preserve the intention one had when first turning toward goodness; then there will certainly be no failure or ruin. Heshang Gong notes: The end should be like the beginning; one must not slacken or become negligent. Wang Pang notes: Affairs must be carried out by oneself, not forced through external force. It is like the farmer: he need only deepen the roots and remove pests, and in autumn there will naturally be a harvest; this principle can be awaited.

Therefore what the sage seeks is what ordinary people do not seek. Heshang Gong notes: Ordinary people want to display outward brilliance, but the sage withdraws his radiance; ordinary people pursue ornamentation and outward appearance, but the sage values plainness; ordinary people crave the sensual pleasures of sound and beauty, but the sage seeks virtue. Wang Pang notes: The so-called “desire of non-desire” is not the absence of desire; rather, desire is directed toward “non-desire,” that is, simply not valuing rare goods.

Not prizing goods that are hard to obtain. “Goods that are hard to obtain” refers to rare things beyond what human nature requires. In dealing with desires, the sage does not pursue what he does not want and does not seek beyond his proper portion; thus he can preserve the naturalness of his original nature. This is “not prizing goods that are hard to obtain.” Tang Minghuang (Tang Xuanzong) comments that the sage does not show off with fine clothes, nor does he despise stones while valuing fine jade—that is, he does not determine value by external things. Wang Bi (a Three Kingdoms Wei metaphysician) says that although the desire to possess is subtle, the mind of contention arises from it; although goods hard to obtain are trifling, the thought of theft arises from them. Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) says that for the common people to eat their fill and be warmly clothed is what their natural disposition requires; to be satisfied with this is not to have desire. Once they depart from original nature and instead prize rare goods, they are foolish people deluded and confused, far removed from their original nature. Therefore the sage constantly maintains the attitude of “desiring not to desire,” using it to correct delusion and cause people to return to their original nature.

Learning not to learn, so as to correct the faults of the multitude. What the sage learns is what the multitude do not learn. The multitude learn cunning, artifice, and deceit; the sage learns naturalness. The multitude learn to govern the world; the sage learns to cultivate himself, so as to preserve the truth of the Great Dao. Wang Pang says that “the learning of not learning” does not mean learning nothing at all; rather, what is learned lies precisely in “not learning,” that is, learning to return to plainness and naturalness, and thereby correcting the faults of the multitude. Heshang Gong says that the multitude pursue learning but abandon the root and chase the branches, taking outward ornamentation as reality; the sage, by contrast, guides people back to the root. Wang Bi says that being able without learning comes from naturalness; he uses this to explain the fault of the multitude in not learning. Wang Pang further says that the multitude chase after branch matters and create many complications; the sage therefore uses “the learning of not learning” to correct their errors and cause them to return to the Dao.

To assist the naturalness of the myriad things, and not dare to act. Heshang Gong says that teaching people to return to the root and recover reality is for the purpose of assisting the myriad things to accord with their natural disposition. The sage only assists and does not dare to recklessly fabricate or impose.

The general meaning of this passage from the chapter “Those in Antiquity Who Were Good at Practicing the Dao” in the Collected Commentaries on the Dao De Zhen Jing is as follows.

Heshang Gong’s commentary says that this refers to people in antiquity who were good at using the Dao to govern themselves and govern the state. They taught the common people by means of the Dao not in order to make them understand cunning and deceit, but to make them preserve plain simplicity and refrain from trickery.

Tang Xuanzong’s (Minghuang’s) commentary says that a ruler who possesses the Dao does not plainly display the principles of the Dao for people to see; rather, he guides the people toward harmony and compliance, causing them to return to their plain and simple original nature, as if dull and uncomprehending.

Heshang Gong adds that by teaching the people through Dao and De, he makes them simple, honest, and loyal, without fraud or hypocrisy.

Wang Bi’s commentary says that “ming” refers to having seen and understood much, so that cunning and deceit obscure plain simplicity; “yu” refers to being without worldly knowledge while guarding the true nature and complying with what is natural.

Zhang Pang’s commentary says that the “dullness” people dislike refers to those who do not understand affairs and violate the laws. Here, however, it is not so: it means returning to the constant Dao and reverting to plain simplicity, without employing cunning or falsity. As the Book of Songs says, “Without knowing, without calculating, one follows the constant norm”—that is, not deliberately using intelligence, but complying with the standards of constant principle.

The latter half of the original passage reads: “The people are difficult to govern because their cleverness is great.” This means that the reason the common people are difficult to govern is that they have too much cunning and cleverness. The original text reaches only this point; the subsequent commentary was not provided, so the interpretation is given only on the basis of the extant wording.

If a ruler manages his subjects by means of conspicuous wisdom, the subjects will likewise respond with scheming; the more scheming there is, the more fraud flourishes, and the harder the state becomes to govern.

The so-called “governing the state by wisdom” refers to the ruler appointing ministers who are full of schemes and adept at decision-making to govern the state. Such ministers will inevitably enact a multiplicity of laws and decrees; once laws and decrees proliferate, wickedness and corruption arise alongside them, and so it is said to be a calamity to the state. Heshang Gong says that to put clever and crafty people in charge of political affairs, while turning away from the Dao and De, and to arbitrarily wield authority and dispense favors and punishments, is to bring harm upon the state.

Wang Bi says that the reason the common people are difficult to govern is precisely that they have much scheming. The ruler sets up defenses, and the people seek ways to evade them; as each side responds to the other, their calculations become ever more refined, and fraud and falsehood grow day by day. Tang Xuanzong Li Longji (Minghuang) says that “by” in the phrase means “to use.” Zhang Pang, a Northern Song scholar, says that if one governs through strict surveillance and investigation, the people will vie with one another in responding through cleverness and fraud. Zhuangzi’s statement that “once people’s minds are opened, injury and theft arise” expresses the same principle.

Conversely, “not governing the state by wisdom” means governing through Wuwei (non-action) and the way of plainness, without relying on cleverness and strategy; then the people can live in peace and contentment, and this is truly the blessing of the state.

Emperor Ming of Tang (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji) comments: If one does not appoint ministers who employ cleverness and strategic calculation, but selects only people of pure and solid De (Virtue/Power), allowing the people to dwell in peace and rest and the population to flourish, then treachery and deceit will naturally diminish day by day, and simple and honest customs will gradually arise; there will be harmony among people and abundant harvests. This, therefore, is the blessing of the state.

Heshang Gong comments: If clever people are not allowed to take charge of the state’s government, the people will hold to uprightness and will not engage in deviant ornamentation; superiors and subordinates will be close to one another, and ruler and ministers will be of one mind and work together. This, therefore, is the blessing of the state.

Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song) comments: The root by which a ruler governs the people lies in modeling himself on the Heavenly Dao (the Way); modeling himself on the Heavenly Dao lies in realizing the great Dao. If he abandons the great Dao and exclusively employs cleverness, this is not the duty a ruler should undertake. As for the perfected person, who is without deliberative thought and practices Wuwei (non-action), causing all under Heaven to return to simplicity—such blessing is difficult to describe fully.

Zhuangzi says, “For one who blocks up his natural, inborn nature, De is thereby produced”—this is what is meant.

Knowing these two points is precisely the standard for governing the state and cultivating the self.

Emperor Ming of Tang comments: Employing cleverness and fraud harms others; appointing pure and solid De benefits the state. If a ruler can distinguish these two and entrusts matters to ministers of pure De, this is the standard that a ruler should emulate.

Heshang Gong comments: These two refer to having cleverness and not using cleverness. A clever person may become a harm; one who does not use cleverness can bring blessing. This is the method for cultivating the self and governing the state.

Wang Pang comments: “Kai” is given as “ji” in one edition.

To be able to know these standards is called “Mysterious De.”

Emperor Ming of Tang comments: If a ruler constantly knows what kind of person should be appointed, this is profound and subtle ultimate De.

Heshang Gong comments: “Xuan” means the Heavenly Dao. To understand the standards of cultivating the self and governing the state is to share De with Heaven.

Mysterious De is deep and far-reaching; its influence is broad and distant.

This passage in the Collected Commentaries on the Daode Zhenjing first discusses “mysterious De” (xuan De): the person of mysterious De is profound and unfathomable, lofty and boundless. Wang Bi (a Wei-dynasty scholar of the Three Kingdoms period and commentator on the Laozi) says that kai means “same”: it is the common standard followed from ancient times to the present and cannot be discarded. To be able to grasp this standard is mysterious De, and mysterious De is both deep and far-reaching.

“It goes contrary to things.” Heshang Gong (a Han-dynasty Daoist commentator) says that the conduct of the person of mysterious De runs contrary to that of the myriad things. The myriad things all wish to benefit themselves, but the person of mysterious De bestows benefit on others. Wang Bi says this is a return to the original truth of things. Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar, son of Wang Anshi, and also a commentator on the Laozi) says that “things” refers to affairs. One who holds fast to virtue appears in his actions to run contrary to ordinary feelings, yet the affairs are thereby governed; this is comparable to the doctrine of root and branches. The people of the world see only the shallow and near surface, chase the branch tips and neglect the root, and so they see only affairs and do not see De.

“Only then does one reach Great Accord.” Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji) says that mysterious De is deep and far-reaching; it can run contrary to things and return to the source of things, causing the myriad things ultimately to comply completely with their natural nature. Heshang Gong says that mysterious De runs contrary to the myriad things, and therefore it can attain Great Accord, which is compliance with heavenly principle. Wang Pang says that when one holds fast to virtue, it seems to violate the order of affairs, but in the end they are governed, because it violates near ordinary feelings and complies with the great tendency. In another edition this sentence reads, “then one again reaches Great Accord.”

Chapter 66, “The Chapter on Rivers and Seas as Kings of the Hundred Valleys.”

“The reason the rivers and seas can become kings of the hundred valleys is that they are good at dwelling in the lowly place.” Heshang Gong says that rivers and seas are low-lying, so all waters flow back to them, just as the common people submit to a ruler. Tang Minghuang says that rivers and seas can make the hundred streams gather and return to them precisely because they are good at humility and dwelling low; therefore the hundred streams all come to pay court to them. Heshang Gong also says that precisely because they are lowly, they can be kings of the hundred valleys. Wang Pang says that the way a king attracts people’s allegiance lies in not allowing things to enslave him; in this way people naturally submit.

“Therefore the sage desires that the hundred streams pay court to him”: the sage wishes the world to submit; the principle is the same as above, and likewise lies in humility, in not contending with the common people.

When the sage wishes to be above the people, he treats them with humble words; when he wishes to go before the people, he places his own person behind them. Heshang Gong’s commentary says that the sage takes the rivers and seas as his model: because they dwell in low places, they can receive the hundred streams; thus he makes humility his way of conducting himself in the world.

Therefore, when the sage occupies a high position, the people do not feel burdened by him; when he stands at the front, the people do not feel harmed by him. Heshang Gong’s commentary says that the sage does not use his noble status to lord it over the people, and so the people support him without feeling pressure. Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, one of the commentators) says that humility is the root of De (Virtue/Power); the higher one’s position, the more this humble De can be made manifest. The people gladly support him, so he occupies a high place and people do not regard it as heavy; he places himself behind others, and the people come to him as children to their parents, so he goes before them and people do not regard it as harmful.

Because he is neither burdensome nor harmful, all under Heaven delight in promoting him as ruler and never grow weary of him. Heshang Gong’s commentary says that the sage’s grace is deep and he loves the people as his children, so all under Heaven delight in promoting him and never reject him. The Song scholar Wang Pang (pāng) says that the sage does not act in this way for profit but out of virtue. Virtue that is humble instead appears noble; virtue that retires instead appears foremost. Therefore the sage can forever be honored by all under Heaven.

The sage does not contend with others, and therefore no one under Heaven can contend with him. Tang Minghuang’s commentary says that the sage is humble and retiring and does not contend with the myriad things; all under Heaven unanimously promote him—who then would contend with him? Heshang Gong’s commentary says that people in the world all contend to seek benefit for themselves, while the sage does not contend with others, so people have no way to contend with him.

Chapter 67

All under Heaven are contending. When all under Heaven jointly exalt someone, who can contend with him? Heshang Gong (author of a Laozi commentary, traditionally held to be a Han-dynasty recluse) says: This means that everyone contends for their own profit, and no one contends with me, because I practice Wuwei (non-action).

All under Heaven say that the Dao (the Way) I speak of is too great; it seems unlike any particular thing.

Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, who also annotated the Daodejing) explains: “Xiao” means “to resemble.” Laozi says: All under Heaven say my Dao is great because it has no concrete image to which it can be compared; I can only answer them in this way. Heshang Gong says: Laozi means that all under Heaven consider my De (Virtue/Power) great, but I deliberately put on a foolish appearance, as if unworthy.

It is precisely because Dao is great that it appears unlike any particular thing.

Heshang Gong says: Only those whose fame and virtue are very great easily invite calamity; therefore one deliberately feigns foolishness, appearing unworthy, making no distinctions, splitting nothing apart, and treating no one lightly, while naturally preserving a noble dignity.

“If It Resembles, It Has Long Been So”: Heshang Gong says “xiao” means “good,” referring to cleverness and cunning. The kind of person who is extremely clever, regards himself as noble, and implements harsh and scrutinizing government—this practice has a long history.

“It Is Small Indeed”: Tang Minghuang says: It is precisely because my Dao is supremely great that it has no comparison. If it could be compared to the various things of the world, it could not be called “great”; it would long ago have become small. Heshang Gong says this means that those clever and cunning people are like petty men, not virtuous elders. Wang Bi (a Three Kingdoms period commentator) says “it has been small for a long time” is like saying “it has become small for a long time.” Once it resembles another thing, it loses the very root of its greatness; therefore it is said, “If it resembles [anything], it has long been so; it is indeed small.” Wang Pang (a Northern Song commentator) says “xiao” means having a resemblance. Dao is the root of the myriad things; therefore, for one who embodies Dao, the myriad things should model themselves on me—how could I model myself on the myriad things? If I have something to model myself on, then I resemble another thing; then that other thing must become great, while I instead become small.

“I Have Three Treasures”: Wang Pang says these three treasures are all what worldly feelings regard as “small,” yet they are precisely the reason the perfected person is great. The three treasures refer to the compassion, frugality, and not daring to be first in the world mentioned below.

“Treasure Them and Hold to Them”: Regard these three as treasures and hold fast to them.

Laozi said: My Dao (the Way), though vast, cannot be compared to any concrete form, yet within it are three things that are most precious. If one can constantly preserve, rely on, and uphold them, they can be used to cultivate oneself and govern the state.

The first is compassion. Heshang Gong (traditionally a Han-dynasty hermit who annotated the Laozi) said: Love the people as one loves a newborn child. Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song and also a commentator) said: Compassion takes love as its main substance; loving all things is “benevolence.” But Laozi speaks only of “compassion” and not of “benevolence” because benevolence is broadly bestowing kindness to shelter the lower people, which is a manifestation at the branch, whereas what Laozi wants to discuss here is the root. Compassion is like the way of a father; it is the root of benevolence, arises from spontaneity, and requires no deliberate fabrication.

The second is frugality. Heshang Gong said: In levying taxes, one should be considerate of the people as if taking from oneself. Wang Pang said: The virtue of frugality contains three meanings—having few desires, valuing the root, and cherishing things—so one phrase covers three virtues. Confucius said, “In rites, rather than extravagance, frugality is preferable.” (From the Analects, “Eight Rows of Dancers”; meaning that in ritual propriety, frugality is better than lavishness.) When the sages established rites, their original aim was to exalt frugality, but in carrying out rites one cannot merely cling to frugality in external form. Were it not for Laozi, there would be no way to know the principle of the “root”; only here is the way of the sages complete.

The third is not daring to be first in the world. Emperor Ming of Tang (i.e., Xuanzong, Li Longji) said: With compassion one can broadly relieve others; with frugality wealth and resources are sufficient; by not daring to place oneself ahead of the people of the world, one is therefore delighted in and raised up by the world, and not rejected. Heshang Gong said: Maintain humility and yielding, and do not be the first to initiate or advocate. Wang Pang said: The Qian (Modesty) hexagram in the Yi [Book of Changes] is precisely this principle. Heaven, earth, humans, and spirits all prize humility, so the sage treasures it.

“Thus compassion enables courage”: this means that because one has a heart of compassion, one is able to be brave.

Being compassionate, loving, benevolent, and magnanimous, one can therefore be courageous in relieving others. (Minghuang refers to Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji; his commentary says: “With a heart of compassion and benevolence and with promptness in action, one dares to rescue the multitude.”) Heshang Gong (a Han dynasty Daoist commentator) says: “Only by taking benevolence and love as one’s foundation can one be courageous in fulfilling loyalty and practicing filial piety.” Wang Bi (a Three Kingdoms Wei metaphysician) says: “With compassion one can attack and win; with it one can defend and be secure; hence one can be courageous.” Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) says: “The compassionate person does not contend yet can win; there is no greater martial courage than this.”

Frugality is what enables breadth and generosity. Tang Xuanzong says: “Being frugal and not wasteful, one’s resources are sufficient, and so the merit of one’s giving becomes ever broader.” Heshang Gong says: “When the ruler himself is frugal, the common people’s daily needs are also ample.” Wang Bi says: “Being frugal and not wasteful, the world will not be lacking; hence one can be broad and great.” Wang Pang says: “Those who expand themselves through extravagance are in fact narrow in scope; only one who does not harm the root for the sake of peripheral details and does not damage inner virtue for the sake of external things is truly broad and great.”

Not daring to place oneself before the people of the world, one can therefore become the chief of the myriad things. Heshang Gong says: “Not to be the world’s initiator.” Tang Xuanzong says: “The virtues of compassion and frugality become more illustrious through humility and yielding; by deferring benefits to others, one is not resented by people, and so one can become the chief of the sacred vessel (referring to the realm and the authority to govern it).” Heshang Gong says: “‘Becoming the chief of vessels’ means being able to become the leader of those who attain the Dao.” Wang Bi says: “Only by placing oneself behind and having the myriad things come to attach themselves to one can one then become a useful vessel, seek benefit for the world, and become the chief of the myriad things.” Wang Pang says: “This is the conduct of the sage, so it can only be called ‘chief of vessels’; as for ‘chief of the Dao,’ it has never stood behind the myriad things.”

Nowadays people in the world abandon compassion and benevolence and seek only martial courage; abandon frugality and restraint and seek only extravagance; abandon yielding and retiring and seek only to be first. (Heshang Gong glosses “she” as “to discard”; Wang Bi glosses “qie” as “to take.”)

Laozi says, “I have three treasures that I hold and guard: the first is compassion, the second is frugality, and the third is not daring to be first in the world.” What follows is an excerpt from the commentaries.

Commentary by Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji): Now if one discards compassion and gives free rein to courage, that courage will injure the myriad things; if one discards frugality and seeks expansiveness, that expansiveness will consume goods; if one discards yielding and strives to be first, that striving will incur people’s resentment. Consuming goods, injuring the myriad things, and gathering resentment upon oneself inevitably lead to ruin; therefore it says, “death.”

Commentary by Heshang Gong (Han dynasty commentator): Acting in this way, one will actively walk into the place of death.

Commentary by Wang Pang (Song dynasty scholar): To use human effort to extinguish one’s Heavenly nature, and to use the conflicts of worldly affairs to overcome the Great Dao (the Way), even if one by luck escapes disaster, one has already lost the root of survival. The three treasures—compassion, frugality, and not daring to be first in the world—are all the root of Heavenly De (Virtue/Power).

“Now as for compassion: when it is used to array [troops], there is uprightness”: Chen is interchangeable with zhen (“formation”). Wang Bi (Wei-Jin commentator) holds that when one leads troops and arrays a formation with a heart of compassion, not shrinking from danger, one therefore acts uprightly. Wang Pang explains further that “upright” here is like the “upright” in “orthodox troops” (zheng bing), meaning that the army is orderly and does not act rashly. If one loves the people as one’s children, the people will love their ruler as their parents, and even without orders the army will naturally be orderly. Those who turn their weapons and attack from the rear do so precisely because the ruler is not compassionate. One edition has “with it in battle, one wins.”

“When used in defense, it makes one secure”: Tang Minghuang comments that using compassion in battle aims at preserving the people; using compassion in defending a city aims at bringing peace to the people. Each person obtains preservation, and therefore one can win and can be secure. Heshang Gong comments that a compassionate person wins the people’s closeness and allegiance, and they unite with one heart; therefore in battle one can defeat the enemy, and in defense one can be firm. Wang Pang says that battle and defense are essentially centered on killing, but if within them one still takes compassion as one’s De, then other matters can be inferred from this.

“When Heaven is about to rescue someone, it guards him with compassion”: Laozi says that when Heaven wishes to rescue a person, it protects him with compassion.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Chapter on Those Skilled as Officers/Warriors

Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, who annotated the Daodejing) says: Guarding with a heart of compassion not only brings harmony among people, but the Dao of Heaven also becomes clear and will rescue and protect such a person. When one wins a battle, it is Heaven rescuing him; when one holds firm, it is Heaven protecting him. All this is because of compassion; therefore it is said that Heaven will rescue him and protect him with compassion. Heshang Gong (a Han dynasty Daoist commentator) says: When Heaven wishes to rescue a good person, it invariably bestows on him a compassionate nature, enabling him to cultivate himself and support himself. Wang Pang (a Northern Song figure, son of Wang Anshi, who also annotated Laozi) says: The Three Treasures (compassion, frugality, and not daring to be first in the world, as stated in Chapter Sixty-Seven of the Daodejing) all take compassion as their root; the saying that Heaven rescues him is because he has a compassionate heart.

One skilled in being a commander does not display martial force.

Tang Minghuang says: The term shi means “affairs,” referring to one who engages in a particular office or duty. One skilled in governing the state by principle values virtue, and so is said to be “not martial.” Heshang Gong says: This emphasizes valuing moral virtue and not valuing military force. Wang Bi (a Three Kingdoms Wei xuanxue scholar who annotated Laozi) says: “Shi” is the commander of troops. “Wu” means valuing striking first and dominating others. Wang Pang says: “Shi” is not a title for one who has achieved virtue. Thus the character shi means “to examine,” and it can also be understood as “martial.” Officials in charge of criminal justice are called shi, taking the sense of clear examination; generals who command troops are called shi, taking the sense of martial courage. For one whose office is military force, his virtue lies in not displaying martial force; this is the root of everything. Therefore a martial person can be counted as a shi, but cannot be counted as a person of virtue. The good conduct of an officer or general perhaps lies in having virtue.

One skilled in battle does not become angry.

Tang Minghuang says: When affairs leave no alternative and one must respond in battle, one takes compassion as the good, and so does not fight out of anger. Heshang Gong says: One skilled in fighting by the Dao prohibits evil thoughts within his breast and cuts off calamity before it has sprouted; thus there is no killing and no anger. Wang Bi says: (The skilled warrior) acts after others and does not move first; he responds and does not initiate, so it is not a matter of becoming angry. Wang Pang says: King Wu of Zhou grew angry once and brought peace to the world; this was brought about by circumstances, but in his virtue he was never angry.

One skilled in overcoming enemies does not contend with others.

This line is the scriptural text itself. Daoism takes “non-contention” as a virtue and holds that one skilled in winning relies on cultivation and accord with circumstances, not on contending and fighting with others.

Chapter 68 of the Daodejing (Classic of the Dao and De) says, “One who is good at employing people places himself below them,” meaning that one who is good at employing people is willing to place himself below others. The following are the plain-language gist of various commentators’ annotations.

Victory in warfare lies in harmony between superiors and subordinates; only with harmony can complete victory be achieved, and therefore one does not directly contend with the enemy. (Tang Minghuang, namely Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji of the Tang; this is his commentary.)

One who is good at winning through the Dao (the Way): those near attach to him because of his benevolence, and those far come to submit because of the transformative influence of his De (Virtue/Power). If he does not struggle with the enemy, the enemy will naturally submit. (Heshang Gong, an Eastern Han Daoist commentator; abbreviated in the original as “He.”)

It simply means not contending with others. (Wang Bi, a Three Kingdoms period Xuanxue scholar; abbreviated in the original as “Bi.”)

The De of non-contention sometimes cannot avoid contending either; what it contends over is specific affairs, while De itself never contends. (Wang Pang, a Northern Song scholar; abbreviated in the original as “Pang.”)

“Placing himself below them” means placing oneself below others. This is the De of not contending with others. Wang Pang holds that what is spoken of here is “De” and not “affairs”; the Daodejing often uses the word “De” in its phrasing, and other chapters are the same.

“This is called employing the strength of others”: if one is willing to place oneself below others, one can make one’s subordinates exert all their strength in service—this is employing the strength of subordinate officials. Wang Bi holds that when employing people, if one is unwilling to place oneself below them, they will not be willing to put forth effort for you. Wang Pang says that all under Heaven come to assist him, so he can overcome the strong without expending effort.

“This is called matching Heaven, the ultimate standard of antiquity”: one who can do this has De that matches Heaven. Wang Pang explains that by not pursuing external things yet naturally possessing De, one can fully realize one’s nature; when one’s nature is fully realized, the human Dao is complete, and thus one can match Heaven. This is the highest standard since ancient times.

Laozi lamented that the rulers of his time were harming the common people, so he invoked the ancients to set forth the way of vigilance and defense. The phrase “there is a saying” refers to the passage below. Heshang Gong (the legendary Han-dynasty scholar who annotated the Laozi) says that this discusses the principles of using troops; Laozi detested the wars of his age and therefore used this occasion to establish such a doctrine.

“I dare not be the host, but become the guest”: Heshang Gong comments that “host” means to act first, that is, not daring to be the first to start a war; “guest” means to be gentle and not provoke trouble. In using troops, one should accord with the Heavenly Dao and act only when forced. Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar and son of Wang Anshi) says that taking the initiative to attack is the “host” in warfare, while being forced to respond and retreating to defend is the “guest.”

“I dare not advance an inch but retreat a foot”: Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang) comments that taking the initiative to attack means being greedy by stirring up trouble; without scheming or striving, one guards oneself with compassion. If one defends oneself, one can achieve complete victory; if one stirs up trouble, one invites defeat and destruction. Advancing troops, even slightly, is compelled by circumstances; retreating troops, even greatly, does not lose humility and yielding. Therefore one would rather retreat a foot than lightly advance an inch. Heshang Gong comments that encroaching on another state’s borders and plundering its treasures is called “advancing,” while closing the gates and defending the city is called “retreating.” Wang Pang comments that this means not being courageous in killing and attacking.

“This is called marching without marching”: this means that although one is on the march, it is as though one were not on the march.

Emperor Ming (Tang Xuanzong) believed that the way of using troops lies in not daring to provoke first: one would rather retreat a foot or an inch than lightly advance a single inch. Heshang Gong says: To encroach on another’s borders and seize another’s property is called “advancing”; to close the gates, defend the city, and not lightly send out troops is called “retreating.” Su Zhe (courtesy name Ziyou; here “Pang” refers to Wang Pang, son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song) holds: one does not display courage in killing and war.

Therefore it is said: when marching troops and deploying formations, it is as if there were no formation to deploy.

Emperor Ming says: To retreat a foot on one’s own initiative and not contend with the opponent—even if troops are sent out to meet the enemy, it is as if no troops had marched. Heshang Gong says: If the other side still does not stop and becomes a scourge to the world, then send out troops to punish them, but not with occupation as the goal. Wang Bi says: If the other side still does not stop. Wang Pang says: The most righteous army only makes a punitive expedition and does not actually join battle, which is the same as not sending out troops.

Rolling up one’s sleeves, yet as if there were no arms to roll up;

Emperor Ming says: Rolling up the sleeves is a gesture expressing anger; one skilled in using troops does not become angry, so it is as if there were no arms to roll up the sleeves. Heshang Gong says: Even if there is great anger in the heart, it is as if there were no arms with which to roll up the sleeves.

Raising a fist, yet as if there were no enemy to strike;

Emperor Ming says: “Reng” means to pull or draw. To draw the enemy is to wish to contend yet not contend, so it is as if there were no enemy to draw. Heshang Gong says: Even if in the heart one wishes to draw the enemy, it is as if there were no enemy to draw. Wang Bi says: “Xing” means deploying formations; the meaning is that with a mind of humility, retreat, compassion, and loving-kindness, one does not dare provoke first. In using troops it is like “marching without marching, rolling up the sleeves without arms, holding weapons without weapons, drawing the enemy without an enemy”—meaning there is no opponent with whom to contend.

Holding weapons, yet as if there were no weapons to hold.

Emperor Ming says: Holding weapons is meant to express killing and war; now, taking compassion and love as the root, even when holding weapons it is the same as having none. Heshang Gong says: Even if one wishes to grasp weapons, it is as if there were no blades to use. Why? Because harming the other side’s people would offend Heaven; when encountering a ruler who does not practice righteousness, one sympathizes with the suffering of their loss and death. Wang Pang says: Although there is the name of fighting, there is no enemy ahead, so it is the same as not fighting.

There is no calamity greater than underestimating the enemy,

Heshang Gong says: Among the harms of disorder, none is greater than belittling the enemy—encroaching and seizing without cease, lightly starting war, and coveting wealth.

Underestimating the enemy almost causes us to lose our treasure.

(Note: In the original text, abbreviations such as “He says” and “Pang says” are short forms for the commentators: “He” refers to Heshang Gong, “Pang” to Wang Pang, “Bi” to Wang Bi, and “Emperor Ming” to Tang Xuanzong. In the original, a passage from “He says” is mixed with “Pang says” and contains textual displacement; for example, the phrase “zao wei zhu” is repeated. This is an omission or error in the original or base text; here the repeated portion has been omitted according to the sense.)

Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji) says: There is no greater cause of disaster than underestimating the enemy. To underestimate the enemy is almost to lose the treasure of compassion that I hold dear.

Heshang Gong (the legendary Han-dynasty Daoist commentator) explains: “Ji” means “close to,” and “treasure” refers to oneself. To underestimate the enemy is equivalent to coming close to losing oneself.

Wang Bi (a famous Laozi commentator from Wei in the Three Kingdoms period) says: Laozi advocates compassion, humility, and yielding, not in order to contend for strength, nor because he wishes to have no match under heaven. Yet when circumstances leave no alternative, one may in the end reach the point of having no match; this is precisely what invites great disaster. “Treasure” refers to the Three Treasures, and so he says, “one almost loses my treasure.”

Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar and son of Wang Anshi) says: Weapons are inauspicious instruments. Even when the army of a benevolent man advances without obstruction, it does not dare to underestimate the enemy. To underestimate the enemy is to lose the compassionate mind; having lost the compassionate mind, there will be times when one cannot win.

Therefore, when two armies face each other and blades cross, the side that harbors a heart of sorrowful compassion will win.

Heshang Gong says: This describes the situation of two enemies doing battle. “Ai” means compassionate benevolence; for this reason the troops will not rashly go to their deaths.

Tang Minghuang says: “Kang” means to raise or to confront. When two states raise troops and attack each other, the side that treats others with compassionate sorrow wins.

Wang Bi says: “Kang” means to raise; “ruo” means to match, that is, to be equal or comparable. The side grounded in compassion will surely cherish one another and will not covet advantage while evading harm; therefore it is certain to win.

Wang Pang discusses further: A heart of sorrowful compassion is compassion, and compassion can make people brave; therefore one can win. Another version reads “xiangruo,” and the meaning also works: “ruo” indicates that the two armies are equal in strength. He also cites the Shangshu: “When awesomeness overcomes love, there is true success,” and “Be encouraged, O officers; be martial and awe-inspiring—what need is there for compassion?” By way of contrast, he points out that when Laozi discusses war he always emphasizes compassion and sorrow, for he is speaking of “the way of using troops”; whereas what the Shangshu says concerns concrete military affairs. The sage’s mind is fundamentally without duality; the apparent difference arises only from differences in circumstances and in the angle from which the matter is discussed.

Laozi says: My words are very easy to understand and very easy to put into practice. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Li Longji, whose commentary is quoted here) explains that Laozi’s principles accord with reason, and so they are easy to understand; his methods are simple and clear, and so they are easy to practice. Heshang Gong (traditionally regarded as a Han-dynasty commentator on Laozi) says that Laozi’s words are terse and easy to understand, concise and easy to practice.

Yet among the people of the world, none can understand them, and none can practice them.

Emperor Xuanzong’s commentary says that people cling to words and cannot comprehend, make matters complicated and refuse simplicity, and therefore no one can understand and no one can practice. Heshang Gong says that people dislike softness and weakness and delight in hardness and strength. Wang Bi (a Xuanxue scholar of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period who commented on Laozi) says that without going out the door or peering through the window one can know, and therefore it is said to be “very easy to know”; by according with nature and doing nothing artificial one can accomplish, and therefore it is said to be “very easy to practice.” People are deluded by impatient desires, and therefore it is said that “no one can know”; they are deluded by glory and profit, and therefore it is said that “no one can practice.”

Wang Pang (a Northern Song figure, son of Wang Anshi, who also wrote a commentary on Laozi) says that the sage follows human nature and the ultimate principle of heaven’s mandate, and on this basis establishes words of teaching: without being cumbersome, affairs are kept simple; without seeking the strange and clever, one can constantly reflect upon oneself. If one can follow one’s nature and act, one naturally accords with the Dao; if one wishes to know and practice it, is that not extremely easy? The difficult affairs of the world all arise from abandoning the root and pursuing the branches, from reckless fabrication; thus inner and outer are thrown into confusion, strange and anomalous things proliferate, and human intelligence cannot cope. If it were not so, a single sentence would suffice. Although they are “very easy to know and very easy to practice,” people nevertheless “cannot know and cannot practice” them because they apply their minds to branches and tips and single-mindedly pursue the clever and the difficult.

Words have their fundamental purport; affairs have their governing principle.

Laozi said that his words have a fundamental purpose and his actions a guiding principle; it is only that the people of the world do not understand these truths. This is not because he lacks virtue, but because the minds of the people of the world run counter to his teachings.

Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (a Tang emperor who annotated the Daodejing), held that words find their home in “principle”: once the principle is grasped, words may be forgotten, and so speech is rooted in “wordlessness.” Action is to be judged by its effects; after success is achieved, one does not claim merit or dominate, and so action takes “non-entanglement in affairs” as its guiding purport.

Heshang Gong (a Han-dynasty scholar who annotated the Laozi, traditionally said to have been a recluse) held that the people of the world do not understand because Laozi’s virtue is stored deeply within and not revealed outwardly, and his principle is profoundly subtle to the utmost; therefore the people of the world have no way to know him. Only those who penetrate the great Dao can understand him.

Wang Bi (a Wei-Jin Xuanxue scholar who annotated the Laozi) held that words have a purpose and actions have a guiding principle, and therefore those with insight cannot fail to understand. Precisely because the principle is profound, those who understand it are few. The fewer people who understand Laozi, the fewer rivals Laozi has, and so it is said, “Those who know me are few; therefore I am honored.”

Wang Pang (a Northern Song figure, son of Wang Anshi, who annotated the Laozi) held that because the principle is vast, few understand it. Even over ten thousand generations, one rarely meets a person who knows it, as if encountering such a person by chance in the morning or evening. He also notes that one edition reads, “Those who take me as their model are honored.”

As for “Therefore the sage wears coarse cloth and embraces jade,” the meaning is: outwardly the sage wears coarse cloth, but inwardly he embraces fine jade. This is a metaphor for the sage’s virtue, talent, and insight being deep and substantial, yet not displayed outwardly, so that the people of the world find him difficult to recognize.

Wearing Coarse Cloth and Carrying Jade

To wear coarse cloth is to conceal the luster of one’s exterior; to carry fine jade in one’s bosom is to preserve what is precious within. Thus it is because the people of the world do not understand me that I appear precious. Tang Xuanzong Li Longji comments: “Wearing coarse cloth” means that the exterior is dark and unadorned; “carrying jade” means that the interior is bright. Precisely because others find it hard to recognize my preciousness, I am precious. Zhang Pang, a Song dynasty figure, comments: The higher and deeper the Dao, the fewer those who understand it. Even after ten thousand ages, those who can understand it are no more than one person; such an encounter is as rare as a chance meeting within a single morning or evening.

The sage is likewise: outwardly plain as coarse cloth, inwardly carrying precious jade. Heshang Gong comments: Wearing coarse cloth means outward plainness and thinness; carrying jade means inner depth. The sage hides his treasure and does not display his De before others. Wang Bi, a Wei figure of the Three Kingdoms, comments: Wearing coarse cloth is to blend with the dust and the ordinary world; carrying fine jade is to treasure and guard one’s original truth. The sage is hard to understand precisely because he flows with the dust and custom without appearing different from the crowd, and carries jade without altering his original character. Thus he is hard to know, and precisely for this reason precious.

The Chapter on Knowing That One Does Not Know (Seventy-One)

To know that there are things one does not know—this is the highest wisdom. Heshang Gong comments: To understand the Dao and yet call oneself ignorant—this is the highest level of De. Zhang Pang comments: To know without using knowledge to know—this is the utmost of true knowing.

Not to know that there are things one does not know, yet to suppose that one knows—this is the flaw. Tang Xuanzong comments: To realize that the nature of all phenomena is originally empty is not, in the first place, to know phenomena through knowledge; if within knowing one can forget knowing, this is the highest De. To be ignorant yet force oneself to pretend to know—this is the flaw in cultivation. Heshang Gong comments: Not to understand the Dao but to say one understands it—this is the flaw in De.

Wang Bi comments: Not to know that one’s knowledge is insufficient to bear a heavy responsibility—this is the flaw. Zhang Pang comments: The Dao is fundamentally unknowable; even knowledge is insufficient to grasp it, yet those people plainly suppose that they know it—this shows that they have never truly known the Dao. Never having known, yet considering oneself to know—this is a deluded view of all things, and the flaw is great.

It is precisely because one can regard this flaw as a flaw that one does not have this flaw.

This passage first cites several commentaries to elucidate the meaning of Chapter 71: “To know that one does not know is best; not to know yet to suppose that one knows is a flaw. Only by treating the flaw as a flaw is one free of flaw.”

Emperor Ming of Tang (that is, Xuanzong Li Longji, who composed the Imperial Commentary on the Daodejing) held that the sage can regard “flaw” as a flaw, and therefore does not fall into the fault of “forced knowing.” “Forced knowing” means failing to accord with nature, insisting on being clever, and forcing knowledge. Heshang Gong (traditionally a Han-dynasty commentator) said instead that the sage is not without this flaw; he merely frequently, like ordinary people, becomes aware that he may have it, and thus can warn himself and so not commit it.

According to these commentaries, the sage possesses penetrating wisdom but pretends not to know, so that the common people under heaven remain plain and honest and each guards his original nature. The petty person does not understand this principle and recklessly employs “forced knowing,” wishing to display himself; as a result he internally injures his spirit and shortens his lifespan.

Wang Bi (a Wei-dynasty metaphysician of the Three Kingdoms period) said, “To treat the flaw as a flaw is to know why it is a flaw.” That is, to be able to treat the flaw as a flaw is to understand the reason the flaw is a flaw. Wang Pang (a Northern Song figure and son of Wang Anshi) said, “If one is flawed and does not know it, the flawed person will never awaken.” That is, if one has a flaw but does not know it, the patient can never come to realization.

Chapter 72 consists of only one line of scripture: “When the people do not fear power, then great power arrives.” The meaning is: when the people no longer fear the ruler’s intimidating power, then a greater calamity will come.

This line of Laozi means: if the common people no longer fear the ruler’s authority, an even greater calamity will descend.

Ming Huang (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji; this is his commentary) says: “Wei” is a power that inspires fear. If people are not alert to small harms and are not careful in subtle matters, they will eventually bring about a great disaster.

Heshang Gong (an Eastern Han Daoist commentator) says: “Wei” means harm. If people do not fear small harms, great harm will come, even to the point of death. One who understands fear should cherish his spirit and act in accordance with the Dao (the Way) of Heaven and Earth.

Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) says: When the common people are plain and unadorned, their customs are honest and generous, and so they keep a sense of awe in their hearts. If those above depart from the great Dao and act recklessly, using burdensome and harsh decrees to bind the people’s nature and block their vitality, then the people will become cunning and hypocritical, shallow and rootless; even if awe-inspiring punishments are applied, they cannot be made to submit. In this way, heavenly punishment will descend, and calamity will arise accordingly. This is what is meant by “the Great Awe arrives.”

“Do not narrow where they dwell”: “Dwell” refers to the place where Shen (spirit) resides, namely the heart/mind. “Do not narrow” means to remove desires and make the heart/mind empty and still, so that radiance arises. Heshang Gong, however, holds that since the heart/mind is where Shen resides, it should be generous and gentle, and must not be impatient or narrow.

“Do not oppress what gives them life”: “Yan” is interchangeable with “ya,” meaning to oppress or reject. This sentence warns rulers not to oppress the common people or cut off the livelihood on which they depend.

Ancient commentators’ gloss on the Laozi passage “When the people do not fear authority, great authority arrives. Do not narrow their dwelling; do not reject what gives them life” — the present section explains the phrase “do not reject what gives them life” within it.

Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong, Li Longji) held that what the human body relies on to live is Shen (spirit). “Not to reject” means to reduce thought and restrain desire so that the spirit is not worn out and exhausted.

Heshang Gong held that people can live because spirit lodges in emptiness and their nature loves purity and stillness. If food and drink are immoderate, if the mind chases after sensual beauty, and perverse thoughts fill the breast and belly, then one harms the root of life and rejects one’s own spirit.

Wang Bi (a commentator of the Three Kingdoms period) held that purity, stillness, and Wuwei (non-action) are called “dwelling,” while humility and not being full of oneself are called “living.” If, while maintaining purity and stillness, one indulges restless desires, abandons humility, and employs coercive authority, then the myriad things are thrown into disorder and the common people become crooked. Coercive authority can no longer control the situation, the people can no longer endure its oppression, and superior and inferior will collapse completely; Heaven’s punishment will soon arrive. Hence the saying, “When the people do not fear authority, great authority arrives.” “Do not narrow their dwelling; do not reject what gives them life” means that power cannot be relied upon.

Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song) held that human nature is originally broad and penetrating. It is only because the moral transformation of the age has declined that rulers cannot restore the people to pristine simplicity, but instead narrow their dwelling places and suppress the free flow of their lives. When dwellings are narrow, the people lose their honesty and become hypocritical; when life is suppressed, the people lose their sincerity and become shallow. The sage is different: he lets the people live at ease in the broad dwelling of the world, each fulfilling his vast nature, so that no one will offend against authority. In Zhuangzi’s account of the ancient golden age, from “the state of Xiwei” to “the park of the Yellow Emperor,” “the officialdom of Yao and Shun,” and “the chambers of Tang and Wu,” the dwelling places become narrower with each generation, showing the gradual decline of the world. The sage himself is not inherently higher or lower; that dwellings gradually narrow is the work of the times.

For the phrase “It is only because he does not reject,” Wang Bi explains it as “he does not reject himself,” that is, he does not disdain himself; therefore it says, “Thus he is not rejected.” Tang Minghuang held that precisely because a person does not reject his own spirit, the spirit does not reject the person. Heshang Gong emphasized that only one who does not reject the spirit can cleanse the heart and will…

The cultivation of the sage lies in self-knowledge without self-display, and in self-love without self-exaltation. Therefore one should discard self-display and self-importance and adopt the attitude of self-knowledge and self-love.

Wang Bi (a Wei metaphysician of the Three Kingdoms period and a commentator on the Laozi) says: If a person does not reject his own nature, the people of the world will not reject him. Emperor Ming of Tang (Tang Xuanzong Li Longji, who once annotated the Daodejing) says: If a person does not reject the divine clarity, the divine clarity will not reject the person. Heshang Gong (traditionally a Western Han scholar who annotated the Laozi, referred to in the text as “He”) says: Only one who does not reject the spirit can wash away the filth in the heart, become calm and desireless, and cause the spirit to dwell securely within and not depart. Wang Pang (a Northern Song figure, son of Wang Anshi, and a commentator on the Laozi) says: If a ruler does not loathe his own life and can fully develop his nature, the common people can also fully develop their nature. What the Zhuangzi calls “not rejecting one’s Heaven” refers to this principle. The “yan” here is the “yan” in “Heaven rejects him,” meaning what the Dao of Heaven rejects.

As for “self-knowledge” and “self-love”: self-knowledge means understanding one’s own nature and therefore not acting recklessly. Self-love means protecting oneself and therefore not doing what is improper. If one can be like this, one will not invite punishment from Heaven.

As for “self-display” and “self-importance”: Heshang Gong says that one should not outwardly display the beauty of one’s virtue but should keep it withdrawn within. Wang Bi says that self-importance narrows one’s space for existence and thus leads one to loathe life. Wang Pang says that self-boasting brings arrogance, and self-exaltation leads one to slight external things. In this way one both narrows one’s own dwelling and causes one’s life to be rejected, and also involves the common people’s dwelling and life.

“Those brave in daring will be killed”: those who are bold in forcing reckless action will instead bring about the calamity of death.

To be brave in resolute advance and in taking action brings on the calamity of death. (Heshang Gong says: To be brave and recklessly act with deliberate purpose means losing one’s life. Wang Bi says: Such a person will certainly not meet a good end.)

To be brave in not daring to act recklessly and to know how to yield preserves one’s life.

Emperor Xuanzong (Minghuang) explains: “Daring” means being resolute and daring to act. If people are brave in acting decisively, they readily lose humility, gentleness, and the attitude of yielding, and inevitably harm themselves; hence it says “then one is killed.” “Not daring” enables one to preserve oneself; hence it says one can live.

Wang Pang says: The brave person acts on spirited impulse, makes light of life and death in order to accomplish his own ends, and is one who takes “affairs” as the Dao. One who is brave in “not daring” acts only when compelled, does not rush ahead of the myriad things to contend for merit, and is one who treats the Dao as an affair to be attended to.

These two, sometimes benefit and sometimes harm.

Heshang Gong explains: “These two” refers to daring and not daring. Preserving one’s life is benefit; harming oneself is harm. Wang Bi says: Both are courage, but the direction in which they are applied differs, and so benefit and harm differ; hence it says “sometimes benefit, sometimes harm.” Wang Pang further says: What people consider beneficial, the Heavenly Dao may harm. Therefore those whom people regard as “petty persons” and whom the world looks down upon, the Heavenly Dao instead favors first.

What the Heavenly Dao detests—

Heshang Gong says: “Detests” means recklessly acting with deliberate purpose.

Who can know the reason for it?

Tang Xuanzong (Li Longji, who once wrote a commentary on the Daodejing) said: “‘The two’ refers to the two attitudes of ‘daring’ and ‘not daring’; ‘or’ means ‘there are.’ Those who know how to ‘not dare’ benefit, while those who ‘dare’ are harmed; therefore one should have the courage to ‘not dare’—this is true courage. Reckless action invites disaster, and this is what Heaven detests; but who can truly understand the reason for it?”

Heshang Gong (traditionally a Han-dynasty commentator whose personal name is unknown) said: “Who can know the reasons behind the will of Heaven and thus not offend it?”

Various commentators explain: “The foolish and narrow-minded see only the benefits pursued by the multitude, but do not know what Heaven detests. Therefore the following passage expounds the causes of the Dao of Heaven, and people should take this as their standard.”

“Therefore the sage still regards it as difficult.” This means that even the sage finds this difficult.

Tang Xuanzong comments: “Even the sage regards the matter of courage as difficult.” Heshang Gong comments: “This means that the sage’s De (Virtue/Power) is luminous, and even he finds ‘daring to dare’ difficult; how much more those who lack the sage’s De yet wish to do it?” Zhang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) comments: “The sage accords with the De (Virtue/Power) of the Dao of Heaven, and even he does not dare to promise lightly or act rashly.”

“The Dao of Heaven does not contend yet is good at winning.” This means that the Dao of Heaven does not contend with the myriad things, yet naturally can prevail.

Tang Xuanzong comments: “This sentence continues to speak of the humility and yielding of the Dao of Heaven, using it to warn people that they should exercise restraint in conducting themselves. Heaven does not contend with the myriad things; the four seasons alternate, and fullness and emptiness each have their proper time. None of the myriad things oppose it, and so it is said that Heaven is good at winning.” Heshang Gong comments: “Heaven does not contend with people over noble and base status, and people naturally stand in awe of it.” Wang Bi (a Wei scholar of the Three Kingdoms period, whose commentary on the Laozi had far-reaching influence) comments: “It is precisely because the Dao of Heaven does not contend that no one in the world can contend with it.” Zhang Pang comments: “Heaven is the father of the myriad things; how could it oppose an infant (the newborn child)? This is why it is good at winning.”

“It does not speak yet is good at responding.” This means that the Dao of Heaven does not issue commands, yet is good at responding to the myriad things.

This passage is a commentary on Chapter 73 of the Daodejing and cites the interpretations of Tang Xuanzong Li Longji (“Minghuang”), Heshang Gong (“He”), the Wei-Jin Xuanxue thinker Wang Bi (“Bi”), and Wang Pang (“Pang,” son of Wang Anshi) of the Northern Song.

“What does Heaven say?” Heaven does not open its mouth to speak, yet the running of the four seasons and the growth of the myriad things are all manifestations of the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao rewards good and punishes evil; misfortune and blessing, response and retribution, are not off by a hair, and so it is called “skillful response,” that is, being good at responding. Heshang Gong says that Heaven does not speak, yet the myriad things can naturally come alive in due season, in accord with the Heavenly Dao.

“It comes without being summoned”: the Heavenly Dao requires no summons, and the myriad things naturally return to it. Those who accord with the Heavenly Dao obtain good fortune; those who defy it obtain misfortune. Wang Bi calls this “when one dwells below, things return of themselves.” Wang Pang holds that ministers come only when summoned, whereas Heaven is lord and father; no one can defy it, and when the time arrives it comes naturally, not because it needs to be summoned.

“Calm and yet skillful in planning”: the Heavenly Dao is deep and far-reaching, broad and vast. It appears relaxed and unhurried, yet through celestial phenomena it reveals changes for people to emulate. It is broad and all-embracing, and yet skillful in planning human affairs: those who do good receive blessings, those who do evil receive retribution. Wang Bi says that the Heavenly Dao first manifests images of good and ill fortune and sets warnings beforehand, so that one does not forget danger even in safety and plans before a matter has shown its first signs; hence it is called “skillful in planning.” Wang Pang says instead that because it is ordinary and simple, it is calm and open; because it encounters perilous situations, it is skillful in planning.

“The net of Heaven is vast and boundless; though its mesh is sparse, it lets nothing slip”: the net of Heaven is vast and without limit; although its mesh is sparse, it does not let a single evildoer slip through.

The people constantly do not fear death: Laozi says that the common people often do not fear death. The commentator Heshang Gong holds that there are two reasons for this. First, the rulers’ punishments are cruel, harsh, and heavy, so the people cannot live and therefore regard death lightly. Second, those in high positions indulge their desires, injure their spirit, and amass wealth while harming themselves, so the people no longer know what they should revere. That being the case, how can death be used to intimidate them?

Tang Minghuang (Tang Xuanzong Li Longji) holds that some people indulge their passions and push themselves toward death; over time they become accustomed to this and no longer fear it. In response, the ruler should teach them through purity, stillness, and Wuwei (non-action), and should not establish additional laws and punishments or use killing to intimidate the people.

Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song and a commentator) further points out that when the ruler loses the proper Way, customs deteriorate, and the people are distressed and without support, they have no choice but to violate prohibitions. If those above still threaten them with death, then even if they kill ever more people, disorder will ultimately not be stopped; the history after the Qin dynasty is proof of this.

If one causes the people constantly to fear death: Heshang Gong’s commentary says that the ruler should first remove his own harm to and exploitation of the people, and then teach the people to remove greed and desire.

A Plain-Language Interpretation of the Original Passage

The first half of this passage says that if a ruler relies only on the death penalty to overawe the people, then no matter how many he kills, disorder will in the end not stop—as the period after the Qin dynasty clearly demonstrates.

Laozi says that if the people could be made constantly to fear death, then when someone practices strange and deceitful acts, I would seize and kill him; who would dare do it again?

Heshang Gong (a Han-dynasty Daoist commentator) holds that a ruler should first remove his own cruelty and harshness and teach the people to cast aside greed for profit and desire. Tang Xuanzong (Emperor Minghuang) holds that if the people all could follow the teaching of purity, stillness, and wuwei (non-action), not dare indulge their passions and desires or act recklessly, and constantly keep awe of death in their hearts, then only the occasional person practicing deceit would be seized and executed, so that others would not dare imitate him. Heshang Gong also says that Laozi was lamenting that the rulers of his time did not first educate the people by moral instruction but resorted first to punishments. Wang Bi (a Wei-Jin Xuanxue thinker) explains that “the strange” refers to weird, group-disturbing conduct. Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar) holds that the virtue of cherishing life must soak into the people’s hearts; only when the people treasure life and take death seriously can punishments be carried out and all things submit.

Tang Xuanzong explains the line “There is always the one who oversees killing who does the killing” as: the deceitful cannot escape Heaven’s net; it is the “one who oversees killing” in Heaven (the deity or the Dao of Heaven that governs life, death, and execution) who puts them to death. Heshang Gong says that the one who oversees killing is the Dao of Heaven, which looks down from on high and inspects people’s faults—exactly as it is said, “Heaven’s net is vast; though its mesh is wide, it loses nothing.”

The final sentence, “and to take the place of the one who oversees killing is to take the place of the master carpenter in cutting,” uses a metaphor to explain: if a person takes the place of the one who oversees killing and carries out executions, it is like taking the place of a highly skilled master carpenter in chopping wood—one very easily injures one’s own hand.

This passage is a commentary on chapter 74 of the Daode Zhenjing (that is, the Daodejing).

Emperor Ming (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji) says: If a ruler takes pleasure in killing with his own hands, he surely violates the heavenly principle, like a clumsy person who cuts wood in place of a skilled carpenter. Heshang Gong (a Han dynasty scholar who commented on Laozi) says: The Dao of Heaven is exceedingly clear-sighted; killing and punishment have their own regular order, just as things are born in spring, grow in summer, are harvested in autumn, and stored in winter, and as the handle of the Northern Dipper turns according to time, each with its proper measure. If a ruler wishes to kill in place of the official in charge of killing, it is like a clumsy person cutting wood in place of a master carpenter—labors in vain. Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song) says: The ruler is honored and the minister is lowly, and each has his proper role. The ruler governs through Wuwei (non-action) and the Dao; the minister handles concrete affairs through action. The Dao and affairs are far apart. Therefore, for matters of punishment and prisons there is the official in charge of killing; for working wood there is the master carpenter. The ruler need not personally take part, but only sits and enjoys the result. Everyone knows that cutting wood on another’s behalf is wrong, but they do not understand the fault of killing on another’s behalf. Zhuangzi says: “When those above act and those below also act, this is that high and low share the same De (Virtue/Power).” An ancient saying goes: “What did Shun do? He merely reverently rectified himself and faced south—that is all.” The Dao originally encompasses all things, and so the ruler can govern the ministers; but if the ruler personally does everything, he loses the proper role by which a ruler is ruler. If ministers personally do everything and also recklessly employ killing and punishment, this especially violates the Dao; hence this is specially emphasized. The scripture says, “Do not use weapons to force the world,” and also says, “Assist the lord of men with the Dao.” Probably because when the Dao is taken as the root, what leisure is there to discuss such things? (In another edition, this sentence has the character fu.)

The scripture says: When one cuts wood in place of a master carpenter, seldom does one fail to injure his own hand.

Emperor Ming says: When a clumsy person cuts wood for another, he not only damages the wood but also injures his own hand. When a ruler employs punishments and kills in place of the official in charge of killing, he not only harms the people but also loses the harmonious Qi (vital energy) of Heaven and Earth and nature. Heshang Gong says: When a ruler applies punishments, it is like a clumsy person cutting and shaping wood for a master carpenter: the square and round measures do not accord with principle, and instead he harms the one who kills on behalf of Heaven. When the guiding norms are not correct, one instead brings disaster upon oneself. Wang Bi (a Wei-Jin Xuanxue scholar) says: Those who defy principle are disliked by the multitude; those who are not benevolent are hated by the multitude. Therefore it says, “There is always one who presides over killing”—there is naturally a dedicated person in charge of killing and punishment. Wang Pang says: Cutting wood for another only injures the hand; killing for another is what violates the Dao. (Another edition lacks the character you.)

This passage says that the people’s hunger, their being difficult to govern, and their lightly risking death all have their roots in the ruler.

The reason the people go hungry is that the ruler and those above levy taxes too heavily and enjoy too much themselves. Heshanggong (a Han-dynasty scholar who annotated the Laozi, to whom the commentary is traditionally attributed) says that the people suffer hunger and cold because the sovereign taxes them too heavily from above, and so they starve. Emperor Ming of Tang (Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong, who once annotated the Laozi) says that the common people of the realm do not get enough food and warmth because the sovereign consumes and taxes too much. Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar and son of Wang Anshi) explains further that establishing offices and salaries, instituting ritual institutions, and consuming material resources were originally intended to enrich the people; but with heavy expenditures and increased taxes, secondary occupations flourish while the fundamental root declines, and in the end the people are instead made more miserable.

The people are hard to govern because the sovereign likes to act, to multiply affairs, and to stir up trouble. Heshanggong says the people are hard to govern because the ruler has many desires and is fond of reckless action. Emperor Ming of Tang says that when the sovereign engages in purposeful action, there is much trouble; when trouble increases, treachery arises, and so the people are hard to govern. Wang Pang says that harsh scrutiny and meddlesome interference were meant to govern the people, yet they leave the people exhausted and customs decayed, while cunning, deceit, and hypocrisy arise in endless succession, making them ever harder to govern. The contrast between high antiquity and later ages is clear proof.

The people lightly risk death because they seek survival and enjoyment too intensely and covet substantial profit, thereby placing themselves in danger. Heshanggong says that the people lightly commit capital offenses because their means of seeking a living are too ample; coveting profit, they trap themselves in peril, and so they easily lose their lives.

Chapter 76: The Life of Man

People in the world make light of their own lives because they go against their natural endowment. In excessively pursuing the nourishment of life, they instead move easily toward death.

Heshang Gong (the famous Han dynasty commentator on the Laozi) says: Precisely because the thought of seeking life is too intense, people easily enter the land of death.

Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar and son of Wang Anshi) says: If one does not cling to “I want to live,” life can instead be preserved for long. Once the pursuit of life becomes excessive, desires have no limit; one then violates criminal law and falls into danger, and so no longer cares about death. These three interpretations all argue from the word “seeking,” pointing out that an excessive mind of seeking life actually harms life. They are roughly explicating the principle of Wuwei (non-action).

Only those who do not make seeking life a matter of importance are wiser than those who cherish life.

Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, who also commented on the Daodejing) says: If the natural endowment bestowed by nature is already sufficient, life can be preserved; if nurturing exceeds this endowment, life will instead be lost. Therefore only those who do not make lavish nurturing of themselves their goal surpass those who treasure and value their own lives.

Heshang Gong says: Only one who does not make seeking life the chief business of life—so that titles and emoluments cannot disturb his will, wealth and profit cannot intrude into his body and mind, the Son of Heaven cannot treat him as a subject, and the feudal lords cannot command him—such a person is wiser than those who cherish life.

Wang Bi (a Three Kingdoms Wei metaphysician and commentator on the Laozi) says: The reason the common people are perverse and the state is chaotic is entirely that those above have faults, not that those below cause it; the common people merely follow the actions of those above. He suspected that this passage was not written by Laozi.

Wang Pang says: Excessively lavishing care on life necessarily leads to making light of death; only by not taking seeking life as a concern can one always preserve wholeness. Those who cherish life are only one level above those who make light of death, and still fall short of the utmost reached by those who do not make seeking life a goal at all. Of the three matters discussed in this chapter, if one understands one, the other two can be inferred.

Chapter 76: The Life of Man

When people are alive, their bodies are soft and supple; after death, their bodies become stiff.

Heshang Gong says: When a person is first born, the body contains harmonious Qi (the life Qi of balanced Yin-Yang) and also embraces Shen (spirit—the Jing, Qi, and Shen of life), so the body is soft and weak. When a person dies, the harmonious Qi is exhausted and the Shen scatters, so the body becomes hard.

When plants and trees grow, they are tender and fragile because the harmonious Qi is still within them; when plants and trees wither, they are dry and desiccated because the harmonious Qi has already departed.

Laozi says: The hard and strong belong to the category that moves toward death; the soft and weak belong to the category that moves toward life.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Minghuang) comments: All things are soft and fragile because the harmonious Qi within them is preserved intact, just as when plants and trees first sprout, their branches and stems are tender—precisely a sign of abundant vitality. Heshang Gong (He) holds that when harmonious Qi remains, there is softness; when plants and trees wither and die, it is because the harmonious Qi has already departed.

Xuanzong also says: When soft and weak, harmonious Qi is complete, and a person can preserve the body and live out his natural lifespan; when hard and violent, harmonious Qi dissipates, and one loses both body and nature. Heshang Gong concludes: From these two aspects, the hard and strong tend toward death, and the soft and weak tend toward life.

Therefore, a strong military force, on the contrary, cannot win. Xuanzong says: The side that wins sympathy can prevail; therefore, one who relies on strength is certain to fail. Heshang Gong says: A powerful army readily starts wars and delights in killing, harming the people and incurring resentment; many of the weak will join together in resistance, and thus strength, on the contrary, cannot win. Wang Bi (Bi) says: To use strong troops to tyrannize the world is what all things detest; therefore one certainly cannot win. Wang Pang (Pang) says: One skilled in winning accumulates small defeats to achieve a great victory; if one takes hardness and force as a virtue, then the outcome of affairs will inevitably turn toward decline.

When trees are too thick and hard, they are easily cut down and supplied for human use (gong, “together,” is interchangeable with gong, “to supply”). Xuanzong explains: The trunk is thick and strong, so it occupies the lower position; the branches are soft and tender, so they grow above. This takes the principle that the soft and weak are above and the hard and strong are below. Heshang Gong says: When a tree is strong and large, branches and leaves then attach to it and grow. Wang Bi says: This is where external things inflict harm. Wang Pang says: After being cut down, it is supplied for human use.

Therefore the hard and strong occupy the lower position and are the root of greatness; the soft and weak occupy the upper position. Wang Bi says: This is the root of “greatness.”

Raising Things and Accomplishing Works (Commentaries by Heshang Gong, Wang Bi, and Wang Pang)

Heshang Gong (the legendary Eastern Han commentator on the Laozi) says: That the myriad things are able to arise and undertakings are able to be accomplished is like a great tree whose roots are below and whose smaller parts are above; this is the natural efficacy of the great Dao suppressing the strong and supporting the weak. Wang Bi (the Three Kingdoms Wei philosopher and commentator on the Laozi) uses “branches and twigs” as an example, and what he says is also this principle. Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song, also a commentator on the Laozi) says: He once carefully considered that Yin-Yang belongs to Dao, with Yin first and Yang after; Heaven and Earth belong to things, with Heaven honored and Earth lowly. Therefore, when discussing De (Virtue/Power), the soft and weak are sufficient to overcome the hard and strong; when discussing affairs, the hard and strong are instead sufficient to subdue the soft and weak. People of the world see only the surface of affairs and do not understand the principle of De, and so those who consider themselves strong often move toward a condition that consorts with death. Another edition has this sentence as “the strong and great dwell below.”

Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Dao of Heaven

The Dao of Heaven—is it not like drawing a bow?

Tang Minghuang (Tang Xuanzong Li Longji) says: The Dao of Heaven is profound and mysterious; without a comparison it cannot be explained clearly, so he uses drawing a bow to reveal its function. Heshang Gong says: The Dao of Heaven is obscure and unclear, so concrete things are borrowed as analogies.

The high is pressed down, the low is raised up; what is surplus is reduced, what is insufficient is supplemented.

Tang Minghuang says: Drawing a bow is like this, and only then can one hit the target. This is like the Dao of Heaven diminishing fullness and increasing humility; it wants rulers to model themselves on the Dao of Heaven, and so shows them the principle of pressing down the high and raising up the low. Heshang Gong says: In drawing a bow, one must adjust it properly before it can be used. Pressing down the high, raising up the low, reducing the strong, and increasing the weak—this is precisely the Dao of Heaven.

The Dao of Heaven reduces what is surplus and supplements what is insufficient.

Heshang Gong says: The Dao of Heaven reduces what is surplus and increases humility, always taking centrality and harmony as superior. Wang Pang says: The Dao of Heaven follows principle and thus operates, and therefore it is balanced and equal. Another edition has “supplement” as “give to.”

The human Dao is not so.

Heshang Gong says: The human Dao is the opposite of the Dao of Heaven. Wang Bi says: Only by uniting in De with Heaven and Earth can one encompass the myriad things. The Dao of Heaven has the appearance of the Dao of Heaven, and human measure has human limits; each has its own self and cannot be made equal. If one can forget the self and selflessly accord with nature, only then can one unite in De with Heaven and Earth.

People of the world, however, do the opposite: they reduce what is insufficient to offer up to what is surplus.

The Heavenly Dao is impartial in its giving: it reduces what is in excess and supplements what is insufficient. People in the world, however, go against the Heavenly Dao; instead, they diminish the poor to provide for the rich, and take from the weak to increase the strong. Wang Pang believes that this is because people follow their private feelings, and therefore inequality arises.

Who can take his own surplus and offer it to nourish those in the world who are insufficient? Only one who has the Dao can do this. Heshang Gong says this refers to a person who occupies a position of surplus and can reflect on his own rank and salary, using them to provide for those in the world who are in need; only a ruler who has the Dao can be like this. Wang Pang, for his part, says that one who has the Dao is in accord with the Heavenly Dao.

Therefore the sage acts, but does not take credit for his achievements. After the work is accomplished, he does not claim the position. This is presumably because he does not wish to display his worthiness. Heshang Gong explains that the sage conceals his achievements and does not crave glory and fame because he fears that the Heavenly Dao will reduce those who have excess. Wang Pang holds that taking credit for one’s achievements reveals one’s worthiness; once worthiness is revealed, it becomes excess, and this is precisely the path that invites reduction.

“The Chapter on Softness and Weakness in the World, Number Seventy-Eight” is the chapter title of Chapter 78 of the Daodejing. The line “Nothing in the world is softer and weaker than water” uses water as a metaphor to say that there is nothing in the world softer and weaker than water.

There is nothing in the world softer and weaker than water, yet when it comes to breaking through hard and strong things, nothing can surpass water. (Heshang Gong, a Han dynasty commentator on the Laozi, says: Water can split mountain rocks and overflow high mountains; it can wear away iron and melt copper; nothing can surpass it in accomplishing such works.) Water has no fixed shape: it becomes round when it meets the round and square when it meets the square, changing according to things, yet its fundamental nature never changes; therefore in the end it can overcome all things. (Wang Pang, a Northern Song scholar and son of Wang Anshi, says: Jade and stone are hard, but when used to strike other things they sometimes shatter instead—precisely because they can be changed.)

Weakness can overcome strength, and softness can overcome hardness. No one in the world does not know this principle, yet no one can truly put it into practice. (Tang Minghuang, that is, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, says: The way of softness and weakness overcomes hardness and strength; no one in the world does not know this, but knowing it, they cannot do it. Heshang Gong says: People are ashamed of humility and like to show off their strength.)

Therefore the sage says: Only one who can bear the humiliation and filth of the state may be called lord of the altars of soil and grain. (The altars of soil and grain are the ancient state’s gods of soil and grain; here they stand for the state. Heshang Gong says: If a ruler can tolerate the turbidity and humiliation within the state as rivers and seas do not reject small streams, he can long preserve the state and be master of the whole country. Wang Pang says: Humiliation and filth are still not the most inauspicious things, and so such a person can only become lord of the altars of soil and grain.)

He who receives the inauspiciousness of the state is called king of the world.

Emperor Ming of Tang (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji) says: To be able to bear the pollution of the state and to call oneself “the orphaned,” “the lonely,” and “the unworthy” — ancient rulers’ humble terms, meaning one of scant virtue — such a ruler is willing to take upon himself the faults and disasters of the people. Only with De like this can the state and its altars of soil and grain receive offerings, and the people of the world will turn to him. Heshang Gong (a Han dynasty Daoist commentator) says: If a ruler can take the initiative to admit fault, draw blame upon himself, and bear disaster on behalf of the people, he can rule the world. Wang Pang (a Northern Song commentator) says: The sage can place himself in softness and weakness because he models the nature of water. Water can contain filth and endure humiliation; this is precisely “the way of the wise.”

Straight words seem contrary.

Emperor Ming says: To bear the filth of the state and be master of the altars of soil and grain; to bear the inauspiciousness of the state and be king of the world — these words at first sound contrary to ordinary worldly reasoning, and so it is said, “Straight words seem contrary.” Heshang Gong says: These are upright words; because people of the world do not understand them, they take them as contrary. Wang Pang says: They go against shallow, ordinary worldly sentiment, yet accord with the perfectly correct principle of the great Dao.

Chapter 79, “Reconciling Great Resentment”: Reconciling Great Resentment

Emperor Ming says: “Great resentment” is that which forms the greatest enmity with oneself — namely, the passions and desires. “Reconcile” means to harmonize. This means that the ruler wishes to use verbal teachings to harmonize the people and cause them to be without passions and desires; hence, “reconciling great resentment.” Heshang Gong says: One who kills pays with his life; one who injures is punished — this is seeking balance through mutual retaliation.

There must remain residual resentment.

Even if one seeks reconciliation through retaliation, resentment will inevitably remain; it cannot be completely eliminated.

General meaning of the passage: When great resentment has been reconciled, residual resentment will inevitably remain; how can this be considered a good deed? Therefore the sage holds the left tally—one half of an ancient contract, kept by the creditor, by which a claim may be made but which is not used to coerce others—yet does not demand payment or blame from others.

On “there will inevitably be residual resentment”: Tang Minghuang (Emperor Xuanzong, Li Longji) says that in educating the world it is hard to avoid leaving traces, and the harmful effects of these traces in turn create resentment with people; hence “there will inevitably be residual resentment.” Heshang Gong says that when punishment is used to govern, human feelings will inevitably produce resentment among innocent good people. Wang Bi says that if the root cause of the matter is not clarified, then once great resentment has formed, even if virtue is used to harmonize it, the wound cannot be completely removed, and so residual resentment is inevitable. Wang Pang (son of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song) says that those in superior positions restrain the people with ritual propriety, but when the people do not respond, they roll up their sleeves and forcibly impose it, and thus resentment arises in the world. If one cannot return to the constant Dao and recover one’s original nature, but instead wishes to harmonize through “joining in pleasant agreement,” resentment will inevitably increase.

On “how can this be considered good?”: Minghuang says that since residual resentment remains, it cannot be counted as good. Heshang Gong says that when one person sighs, the heart of Heaven is already lost; how then can reconciling resentment be regarded as a good deed? Wang Pang says that if the mind believes this to be good, that is precisely the root of what is not good.

On “therefore the sage holds the left tally”: Heshang Gong says that in ancient times the sage held the left tally, using the matching of tallies as proof; when there were no documents or laws, people carved tallies and matched them to establish trust. Wang Bi says that the left tally is the basis for preventing resentment from arising.

“And does not blame others”: This sentence is a fragment; its general meaning is that the sage holds the proof in hand but does not use it to make demands of others or hold them accountable, and in this way prevents resentment from arising.

I. On “Left Contract” and “Right Contract”

Emperor Ming of Tang (Tang Xuanzong, Li Longji) annotates: The left contract refers to the mind. The mind belongs to Yang, dwells within and is stored in the center, and corresponds with external circumstances; therefore it is called the “left contract.” The sage knows that establishing teachings will inevitably provoke opposition, and that making declarations will invite resentment. He therefore holds fast to this mind and keeps it pure and tranquil. When the common people are transformed by it, they have no greedy desires or emotional thoughts, and there is no need to repeatedly impose punishments and demands; they naturally accord with the Dao of Wuwei.

Heshang Gong (an early commentator on the Daodejing) annotates: Here it merely speaks of the trust token carved on a contract, used to make claims on others in other matters.

Zhang Pang (the Northern Song scholar Wang Pang) annotates: The left contract is the credential by which one takes from others; the right contract is the credential by which one gives to others. The left contract represents having no affairs, while the right contract represents holding authority; such was the ancient method of dividing contracts. The sage holds to the left contract and does not personally engage in concrete affairs, yet external things naturally come to correspond with him; he simply responds to those that correspond with him. This is the principle expressed in the “Xici” of the Zhouyi: “Stirred, he thereby penetrates the causes of all under Heaven.”

Thus the sage constantly bears the blame of all under Heaven, yet has no mind to blame others, and therefore never harbors resentment. Zhuangzi says: “To attribute what is gained to what is external, and what is lost to oneself.” Tang of Shang said: “If the myriad regions have guilt, the guilt is on my person.” This is what is meant. The Liji records that one who presented cattle and horses held the right contract, while one who remained silent presented the contract as well; from this we know that the left contract was the credential held by the party that bore responsibility. The Shiji says: “Holding the right tally in hand, one goes to demand accountability from others.”

II. On “Those with De Oversee the Contract; Those without De Oversee the Exaction”

Heshang Gong annotates: A ruler with De merely examines the trustworthiness of the contract, and that is all.

Wang Bi (a Wei-Jin metaphysician) annotates: A person with De constantly keeps that contract in mind and does not allow resentment to arise; only afterward does he make demands on others.

Zhang Pang annotates: Those below engage in concrete affairs, while he responds to those among external things that accord with him.

Emperor Ming of Tang annotates: “Si” means to oversee, and “che” means to penetrate through or understand thoroughly. The meaning is: a ruler with De oversees the contract within his mind, and the common people naturally are transformed by it. A ruler without De cannot keep this contract; resentment arises from this, and only then does he make demands on others.

The final sentence, “Those without De oversee the exaction,” is the same as above; for its explanation, see the preceding passage.

Collected Commentaries on the Daode Zhenjing (by Mr. Zhang, Prefect of Song)

1. The Passage “The Dao of Heaven has no favorites; it constantly sides with good people”

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Minghuang) said: To grasp the “contract” (qi, that is, the covenant, referring to the foundation of governing by wuwei) is to attain clarity and stillness; to establish laws and decrees is to cause the people’s livelihood to wither. The Dao of Heaven makes no distinction of close or distant toward the myriad things; it only assists those who possess De. Therefore the ruler should constantly think of returning the world to simplicity and letting it follow nature, and should not create laws or stir up affairs.

Heshanggong said: The Dao of Heaven has no partiality; it only accords with good people—that is, with those who can “oversee the contract” (siqi).

Wang Pang (Northern Song) said: Heaven is utterly selfless; as long as one does good, it extends assistance, which shows that the Dao of Heaven and the Dao practiced by the sage are the same.

2. The Chapter “Small State, Few People” (Chapter 80)

“Small state, few people” means that the state is small and the population is sparse.

Heshanggong said: Even when the sage governs a large state, he is as cautious as if governing a small one, being frugal and not extravagant. Even when the people are many, he treats them as if they were few and does not arbitrarily impose labor service on them.

Wang Bi (a Wei Xuanxue scholar during the Three Kingdoms period) said: If a state that is small and a people that are few can still lead the people back to a plain and ancient way of life, how much more so a large state with many people? Thus a small state is used as an example to show that this is feasible.

Wang Pang said: When the state is small it is easy to govern, and when the people live together in close communities their customs are honest and simple. When the state is large and the population numerous, interests conflict with one another, and cunning and deception gradually arise. One can verify this by observing the contrast in simplicity and cunning between the people of the capital and those of the countryside.

3. “Let the People Have Implements That Can Do the Work of Ten or a Hundred People, Yet Not Use Them”

Even if the people possess implements that can do the work of ten or a hundred people, they do not use them. This means not disturbing the people’s livelihood through a multiplicity of tools and an abundance of talents, but returning to the plain and simple ethos of wuwei.

This chapter describes the vision of an ideal well-governed age: the people are simple and honest in nature and have few desires, and the state does not need to mobilize manpower on a large scale. Even if local society has grassroots units such as the “shi and bo” (groups of ten called shi and groups of a hundred called bo, referring to petty leaders), they are not put to use.

Emperor Ming of Tang (Xuanzong) comments that the people have no improper pursuits; even if there are talents capable of serving as shi leaders or bo leaders, there is no need to appoint them.

Heshang Gong comments that the ruler should promote benefits and eliminate harms for the people, letting each person settle in their proper place, with clear distinctions between high and low, without encroaching on one another. The “utensils” in the text refer to farming tools and other means of production; there is no need to seize the people’s good farming seasons in order to conscript them for corvée labor.

Wang Bi comments that the people value only their own safety and do not covet goods and wealth (“huolu” refers to routes to property, that is, bribery), so each dwells in peace, cherishes life, and does not easily migrate.

Wang Pang (a Northern Song scholar and son of Wang Anshi) comments that governance of the world takes clarity, stillness, and Wuwei (non-action) as its foundation. Let the people each follow their proper livelihood and duties, and do not act rashly or launch large-scale public works; then gatherings and bands of people will not arise. Thus, even though tools and implements are fully available, they are not used.

The sentence “make the people take death seriously and not migrate far” means that the people cherish life and do not easily leave their native land. Heshang Gong holds that only when governmental orders are not numerous and harsh can the people be content in their proper occupations and not travel far to other places. Emperor Ming of Tang holds that the people have few private thoughts and few desires, do not lightly exhaust their lives, are content with the root and seek nothing, and therefore do not migrate far. Wang Bi holds that the people value only themselves and do not pursue external things, and so can dwell in peace. Wang Pang holds that the people take pleasure in life and follow their original nature, being content in their native soil, and therefore do not move far away.