《道德真经集注释文(彭耜)》

Peng Si observed that as written texts circulate over time, their interpretations frequently diverge. In the Lu Yu, for instance, the recension transmitted by He Yan already differs from Cai Yong’s Stone Classics, and the discrepancies are even greater among other canonical works. When compiling the phonetic and semantic notes to the Laozi Jing (scripture), he assembled the explanations of the Li and Lin schools in order to fill the gaps left by Lu Deming’s commentary. The main text of the Jing follows the imperial edition of the Zhenghe reign of Song Huizong, while the variant recensions and interpretations of the various commentators are also recorded in the volume, which was compiled as a single work and appended at the end of the chapters.

The teaching of Laozi takes purity and stillness, emptiness and non-being, and according with what is naturally so as its foundation, and therefore differs from the methods of Confucian classicists and scholars. There is consequently no need to be overly particular about the minute differences of a single sentence or character. Peng Si nevertheless held that if the wording and the meaning have not yet been fully clarified, it is difficult to grasp the underlying principles all at once; readers should consult the views of the various schools and verify them against one another.

The first chapter, “The Dao (the Way) that can be spoken”: the Heshang Gong recension entitles this chapter “Embodying the Dao.”

“Jiao”: Lu Deming’s Jingdian Shiwen gives the fanqie pronunciation “gu diao qie,” meaning a small path or boundary, and it may also refer to a subtle and mysterious place. The Huang Jiao recension writes the character as “qiao.”

The Heshang Gong edition titles the chapter “Nourishing the Body,” while the Five Commentaries edition titles it “All Under Heaven Know Beauty Chapter.” In the line “all under heaven know goodness as goodness,” the two characters “all under heaven” appear in the Dazhen and Qingyuan editions. In “this is already ugliness” and “this is already not-goodness,” the character yi is annotated by Li Tian in his Phonetic Explanations as read ju-li qie; the Su edition writes yi as yi. Lu Deming annotates qing as qu-ying qie, meaning an uneven or irregular appearance. Li Tian annotates fu as fu, an initial particle at the start of a sentence, a usage that also appears later in the text. Li Tian annotates qu as qiang-lü qie, meaning to remove or eliminate, not the qu of coming and going.

Not Exalting the Worthy, Chapter Three

The Heshang Gong edition titles the chapter “Pacifying the People.” In the line “causing the mind not to be disordered,” the Zuanwei edition inserts the character “people” before “mind.” After “of governing,” the Su, Five Commentaries, and Ye editions each add a ye. In the line “causing those who know not to dare to act,” Lu Deming annotates zhi as read zhi (wisdom); the Five Commentaries edition lacks gan, and the Shao edition lacks ye. In “nothing is not governed,” the Cheng edition lacks yi.

The Dao Empty, Chapter Four

The Heshang Gong edition titles the chapter “Without Source.” Lu Deming annotates chong as zhi-long qie. In “perhaps not full,” some editions write ying as man, and the Su edition adds si after huo. In “how profound,” Lu Deming and the Heshang Gong edition have yuan hu; Li Tian annotates yuan as wu-juan qie, describing a deep and tranquil appearance. Lu Deming annotates cuo as zi-wo qie, rui as yue-sui qie, fen as fu-yun qie, and zhan as zhi-jian qie.

In the line “I do not know whose child it is,” the Zuanwei, Sima, and Chen editions all lack zhi. In “resembling Di,” xiang is explained literally as meaning “like” or “as if.” Di refers to the origin and sovereign that gives rise to the myriad things and causes them to grow. Another interpretation holds that “manifesting omens” means displaying signs; here it indicates that the Di which produces the myriad things is able to display the images of the myriad things.

"Empty Functioning" is the chapter title in the Heshang Gong edition; the recensions of Su Shi, Cao Daochong, Huang Maocai, Cheng Dachang and others instead title this chapter "Heaven and Earth Are Not Humane." The graph chu is pronounced "Chu," gou as "gukou," and tuo as "tage." Li Shi explains that tuo denotes a leather bellows, an instrument used to generate a current of air. Yue is pronounced "yao"; Li Shi regards it as a flute, a musical wind instrument. Du Guangting's subcommentary states that tuo is a leather sack and yue a bamboo tube fitted to the mouth of the sack. The character qu is written in this form both in Lu Deming's Jingdian shiwen and in the Heshang Gong text, carrying the sense of exhausting. Yu admits two pronunciations, "yangzhu qie" or "yangzhu fan." Shu may be read in its ordinary sense, referring to the pattern or circumstances of affairs; Li Shi, however, reads it as shu and interprets it as frequently.

Chapter Six on the Valley Spirit is titled "Completing the Image" in the Heshang Gong edition. The editions of Su Shi, the Five Commentaries, Cao Daochong, Qingyuan and Huang Maocai all entitle it "The Valley Spirit Does Not Die." Gu is pronounced "gumu" and refers to a valley empty at its center. Heshang Gong interprets gu as possessing the sense of nourishment. Li Shi holds that the pronunciation here is the same as before; a valley echoes every sound just as the Dao (the Way) responds unceasingly to the myriad things. Pin is pronounced "pinren"; older notes also record readings such as "fubi" and "fujin." Li Shi adopts the "pinren" pronunciation and explains it as mother, meaning that it nurtures the ten thousand things in the manner of a mother.

Chapter Seven, Heaven Endures and Earth Lasts Long, is titled "Concealing the Light" in the Heshang Gong recension. In the phrase "the reason Heaven and Earth are able to last long," the Huang Maocai edition inserts a zhi after tiandi, while the Cheng Dachang edition omits the particle zhe. The term sixie is written simply as "because it is without self-interest" in both Lu Deming and the Heshang Gong edition. Li Shi regards xie as pronounced "zhe" and functioning here as a modal particle.

Chapter Eight, The Highest Good Is Like Water, bears the heading "Changing the Nature" in the Heshang Gong text. The clause "and does not contend" appears with you instead of er in the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Cao Daochong and Chen Jingyuan editions. In the expression "dwells in the place that the multitude of people abhor," the character e is pronounced "wulu" and means to detest.

The Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Cao, and Chen recensions all insert an extra “you” (又) after “er bu zheng” (而不争). In the phrase “chu zhongren suo e” (处众人所恶), Lu Deming gives “e” (恶) the fanqie “wu-lu qie” (乌路切), meaning “to detest.” Five annotated editions omit the character “ren” (人); the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao, Chen, Qingyuan, Huang, Cheng, and Shao recensions all insert an extra “zhi” (之) after “ren.”

In “gu ji yu dao” (故几于道, “hence it is close to the Dao [the Way]”), Lu Deming gives “ji” (几) the pronunciation “ji” (机), meaning “to approach” or “to be close to”; it is also read as “qi” (祈). The five annotated editions and the Dazhen pian all add an extra “yi” (矣) at the end of the sentence. The particle “yi” (矣) in “gu wu you yi” (故无尤矣) is omitted in the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao, Chen, and Qingyuan recensions.

Chapter Nine: Holding and Filling It

The Heshang Gong recension titles this chapter “Yun Yi” (运夷).

In “chi er ying zhi” (持而盈之), Sima Guang’s recension reads “chi” (持) as “shi” (恃). In “bu ru qi yi” (不如其已), Master Li gives “yi” (已) the pronunciation “yi” (以), meaning “to stop.” “Ying” (盈) means “full.” The sense is that insistently remaining full is not as good as stopping at the proper time, thereby avoiding misfortune. In the Qingyuan recension, “ru” (如) is written “zhi” (知).

Lu Deming gives “chuai” (揣) the fanqie “chu-wei qie” (初委切), as well as “ding-guo qie” (丁果切) and “zhi-rui qie” (志瑞切). Lu Deming’s note on “rui” (锐) simply reads “ye” (也); Wang Bi’s recension has “zhuo” (棁), pronounced the same as “rui,” while the Heshang Gong recension has “rui” (锐).

Some versions seen by Lu Deming write “tang” (堂) as “shi” (室). “Jiao” (骄) appears as “jiao” (憍) in the Zuanwei and Sima Guang recensions; the Guangyun records that “憍” is also written “骄” and pronounced “ju-qiao qie” (举乔切). Lu Deming gives “yi” (遗) the fanqie “wei-ji qie” (唯季切) and also “yi-zhi qie” (以之切); in one instance Lin Dong’s Yinshi writes it as “yi” (贻). Lu Deming gives “jiu” (咎) the fanqie “zuo-jiu qie” (作九切). The two characters “gong cheng” (功成) appear as “sui” (遂) in the versions seen by Lu Deming and in Wang Bi’s recension; other versions have “cheng” (成).

Chapter Ten: Carrying the Ying and Po

The Heshang Gong recension titles this chapter “Neng Wei” (能为).

Master Li reads every character in “zai ying po” (载营魄) according to its ordinary pronunciation. Lu Deming gives “li” (离) the fanqie “li-zhi qie” (力智切), while Master Li reads it according to its ordinary pronunciation. Lu Deming gives “he” (阖) the fanqie “hu-la qie” (户腊切).

Chapter Eleven: Thirty Spokes

The Heshang Gong recension titles this chapter “Wu Yong” (无用).

“Fu” (辐) is pronounced “fu” (福) and refers to the spokes of a wheel. “Gu” (毂) is pronounced “gu-mu” (古木) and refers to the hub at the center of the wheel that joins the spokes. “Dang” (当) is pronounced “ding-lang” (丁浪). “Che” (车) is read as “ju” (居) and is also read as “qu-yu” (去于). “Shan” (埏) is pronounced “shi-ran” (始然). “Hu” (户) is pronounced “hu-la” (户腊).

Chapter Eleven: Thirty Spokes

The Heshang Gong recension titles this chapter “Wu Yong” (无用).

The graphs fu (the spokes of a wheel), gu (the hub at the center of the wheel that joins the spokes), dang (fitting or appropriate), and che (cart) are phonetic annotations giving the pronunciations of the corresponding characters. Some take yan as he (to mix or blend); the Zuanwei recension and Sima’s recension write it as ting and likewise explain it as he. Zhi denotes clay.

The Chapter of the Five Colors, Twelfth

The Heshanggong recension titles this chapter “Restraining Desires,” that is, checking one’s desires.

In this chapter the graphs ling, mang, shuang, fang, and qu are supplied with variant pronunciations or glosses. Shuang here means error; Heshanggong takes it as loss, while Li Rong’s commentary holds that when the mouth savors rare delicacies it instead causes a person to go astray in distinguishing authentic flavors, and that is why the term shuang is used.

The Chapter of Honor and Disgrace, Thirteenth

The Heshanggong recension titles this chapter “Aversion to Shame.”

After the clause “What is meant by honor and disgrace,” Lu Deming’s recension and Wang Bi’s recension add the two graphs ruo jing. Jianwen explains that chong means to obtain and ru means to lose, while ruo is equivalent to “and.”

The phrase “honor as the lower” appears in the Zuanwei recension as “honor as the higher, disgrace as the lower.”

The Qingyuan recension omits the particle zhe from the sentence “The reason I have great trouble.”

Concerning the passage “Therefore one who values taking the body as the world may have the world consigned to him; one who loves taking the body as the world may have the world entrusted to him,” the Zuanwei recension inserts yu after each occurrence of shen, changes ruo ke ji tianxia to ze keyi tuo tianxia, and changes ruo ke tuo tianxia to ze keyi ji tianxia. Sima’s recension is essentially the same as the Zuanwei, and in addition inserts zhe after each wei tianxia, yi after tuo tianxia and ji tianxia, and yi after both instances of ruo ke.

The Chapter of Looking at It and Not Seeing, Fourteenth

The Heshanggong recension titles this chapter “Praising the Mysterious,” meaning to laud the mysterious Dao (the Way).

“Yi” means even and level; “Xi” has the same meaning as “Yi”; “Bo” is pronounced as “Tuan”; “Wei” refers to the minute and the subtle.

“These three cannot be interrogated to the end” means that these three states cannot be fully inquired into. “Hence mixed” means they blend into one. “Jiao” means bright and “Mei” means dark; this indicates that the Dao (the Way) does not appear bright above, nor dark below.

“Shengsheng xi” describes that which is boundless and difficult to arrange or describe, and can also be understood as the appearance of unceasing movement. “The image of no-thing” refers to an image without the bodily form of specific things; the Sima edition has “the image of no-thing” appearing twice, while the Su edition has “the image of no-image.”

The term “guanghu” is written in various editions as “huanghu,” “huanghu,” or “huhu,” and so forth. “Huang” and “huang” have the same pronunciation and can be used interchangeably.

“Chapter Fifteen: Those of Old Who Were Skilled as Shi” is titled “Xian De” (Manifesting Virtue) in the Heshang Gong edition.

Only those of the highest cultivation in the Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue/Power) are difficult for others to recognize. Lu Deming gives the character “qiang” the pronunciation “qi zhang qie.” They appear cautious yet hesitant, as solemn as guests; they are also like ice about to melt, penetrating without becoming stagnant. Who can still the muddy waters so that they slowly clarify? Who can set a settled state in motion so that it slowly generates? Those who maintain this Dao are thereby able to… Some versions write the character “bi” as “bi” or “bi,” and the various editions differ in their accounts.

Chapter Sixteen: Attaining Extreme Emptiness

The He Shang Gong edition titles this chapter “Returning to the Root.”

Some versions write “yunyun” as “yunyun.” Here “yunyun” serves as a metaphor for the myriad things: when the myriad things flourish it is movement, and when they wither and decline it is stillness; “yunyun” analogizes human affairs, in which pursuing desires is movement and stilling miscellaneous thoughts is stillness. The two interpretations are similar in meaning, perhaps because the scripture contains the word “root,” and thus the term “yunyun” is adopted.

After the character “ge” in “each returns to its root,” some versions also add the character “fu.” The four characters “one’s person perishes without danger” are omitted in some versions.

Chapter Seventeen: The Highest

The He Shang Gong edition titles this chapter “Pure Customs.”

Some versions write “taishang” as “dashang,” with “da” read as “tai.” Wang Bi considers “taishang” to refer to the great person; Gu Huan interprets it as the people of highest De in high antiquity.

In “next they fear them and insult them,” some versions add another “next” before “insult them.”

The Chen Zuo edition reads “其次畏而悔之” (“next they fear and then regret it”), after which the text continues with “故信不足焉” (“thus trust is insufficient”). The Zuanwei, Sima, Five Commentaries, Dazhen, Ye, and Cheng editions all insert the extra two characters “其次” (“next”) before “畏之” (“they fear it”).

The words “故信不足焉” are absent from the Zuanwei, Sima, Su, Cao, Chen, Lianzhen, and Cheng editions.

In the line “犹兮其贵言” (“how cautious they are, valuing their words”), the Zuanwei, Sima, Su, Cao, and Chen editions omit the particle “兮”; the Cheng edition lacks this sentence altogether.

“事遂” (“the work is accomplished”) is written “名遂” (“the name is accomplished”) in the Five Commentaries edition. In “百姓皆曰” (“the common people all say”), the Sima edition omits the character “皆” (“all”); the Zuanwei, Su, Cao, and Chen editions write “谓” in place of “曰”, and the Huang and Cheng editions likewise write “谓” instead of “曰”.

Chapter 18, “The Great Dao (Dao, the Way) Abandoned”: the Heshanggong edition titles this chapter “Decline of Customs.”

Chapter 19, “Abandon Sagehood and Discard Wisdom”: the Heshanggong edition titles this chapter “Return to Purity.” The character “倍” is pronounced like “罪”; its Qieyun fanqie, according to Lu, is “蒲罪切.” The character “令” is pronounced like “征”; its Qieyun fanqie, according to Lu, is “力征切.” The clause “此三者以为文不足” (“these three, regarded as ornament, are insufficient”) appears in the Sima edition as “以为文而未足” (“regarded as ornament and yet insufficient”); the Cheng edition omits these words entirely. The character “属” is pronounced like “欲”; its Qieyun fanqie, according to Lu, is “之欲切.” The character “见” is pronounced like “遍”; its Qieyun fanqie, according to Lu, is “贤遍切.”

Chapter 20, “Abandon Learning and Have No Worries”: the Heshanggong edition titles this chapter “Different from Common Custom.”

Some editions read “wei” (唯) as “wei” (维). “A” (阿) is read as “he” (呵). The two lines on how much difference there is between good and evil are absent from some versions. In ancient texts, “xiang” (享) and “xiang” (飨) were interchangeable, and there is also a reading as “peng” (烹); that reading is not adopted here. Most versions have the phrasing “like gazing far from a terrace on a spring day.”

Some versions write “pa xi” (怕兮) as “kuo xi” (廓兮) or “po xi” (魄兮), and others as “bo xi” (泊兮); the glosses of these characters differ, and some take them to indicate quietness. “Chengcheng xi” (乘乘兮) appears in other versions as “leilei xi” (儽儽兮) or as “kuikui xi” (魁魁兮); the related commentaries offer differing explanations. What is listed here are the textual variants of the Jing (scripture) together with the pronunciations and interpretations given by commentators through the ages.

In the line “I alone am as if left behind,” some versions insert “er” (而) before “wo” (I), while others insert “yu” (欲) after “wo.” “Chunchun” (纯纯) is written in some versions as “dundun” (沌沌) or “tuntun” (忳忳), describing a state of rustic simplicity free of desire; the Zuanwei likewise has “dundun.” “Zhaozhao” (昭昭) is written as “zhao” (照) in some versions.

“I alone am as if dim” appears in some versions as “hunhun” (昏昏). Some commentators explain “menmen” (闷闷) as generous and unhurried, while others reject this sense and point out that such a reading does not accord with the rhyme scheme of this chapter.

In “dan xi qi ruo hai” (澹兮其若海), the character “dan” (澹) has different pronunciations and written forms. Some versions have “hu xi ruo hai” (忽兮若海) or “hu xi ruo hui” (忽兮若晦), and others have “hu ruo hui” (忽若晦) or “hu ruo hai” (忽若海); still other versions change “hai” (海) to “hui” (晦), or change “xi” (兮) to “hu” (乎).

In “liu xi si wu suo zhi” (飂兮似无所止), the character “liu” (飂) is written in some versions as “piao” (飘) or “piao” (漂), and some versions have “ji ruo wu suo zhi” (寂若无所止); still others write “liuliu hu” (飂飂乎).

In the line “the multitude all have something to rely on,” some versions omit the character “you” (有). In “I alone am stubborn and rustic,” “qie” (且) is written as “si” (似) in some versions, and some versions add “er” (而) before “wo” (I).

The final line “and value seeking nourishment from the Mother” also has various variants: some versions have “er gui shi mu” (而贵食母) or “er gui shi mu” (儿贵食母), while others have “er gui shi yu mu” (而贵食於母).

The chapter beginning “The appearance of the great De (Virtue/Power)” is chapter twenty-one. In the Heshang Gong edition the chapter title is “Emptying the Heart.”

Regarding “only the Dao (the Way)”: some versions write “wei” as “wei,” both meaning simply “only.” The sentence “within the indistinct and elusive there are images, within the indistinct and elusive there are actual things” appears in many versions as “Elusive, ah, within it there are images; indistinct, ah, within it there are things.” Here “huang” and “hu” describe the Dao’s subtle, hard-to-grasp state. “Yao yao ming ming” is written in some versions as “yao xi ming jing”; “within it there is jing (essence)” also appears as “within it there is jing qi (essence and vital energy).” This means that although the Dao is deep, dark, and obscure, it nevertheless contains something subtle and genuine.

The chapter beginning “Bend and you will be whole” is chapter twenty-two. In the Heshang Gong edition the chapter title is “Increasing Humility.”

Regarding “bent then straight”: “wang” means bent or crooked; “zhi” is written as “zheng” (upright) in some versions. “Wa” refers to a low-lying place, also written “wu” in some editions. Low places can fill with water, a metaphor for how humble De can always become full. Some versions add “yi” before “become the model for the world.” “Jian” is read as “xian,” meaning to manifest. Some versions omit “you” in “therefore there is merit.” The “zheng” of “not contend” is read in the level tone. The final sentence “therefore none under heaven can contend with it” appears in some versions as “thus none under heaven can contend.”

The chapter beginning “Sparse words accord with nature” is chapter twenty-three. In the Heshang Gong edition the chapter title is “Emptiness and Nonbeing.”

Therefore, a violent wind cannot last a whole morning, and a torrential rain cannot last an entire day. If even the violent winds and torrential rains of heaven and earth cannot endure, how much less can the actions of human beings? Thus, those who devote themselves to the Dao (the Way) become identical with the Dao; those who possess De (Virtue/Power) become identical with De; those who lose the Dao become identical with the loss of the Dao.

Chapter 24: Those Who Stand on Tiptoe Cannot Stand Firm

In the Heshang Gong commentary, this chapter is titled “Bitter Kindness.”

“Qi” means standing on tiptoe, and “kua” means taking great strides. A person who stands on tiptoe cannot stand steadily, and a person who takes great strides cannot walk far. Those who regard themselves as brilliant cannot become illustrious; those who regard themselves as correct cannot become prominent; those who boast of themselves have no accomplishments; those who advertise themselves cannot last long. From the standpoint of the Dao, these practices are like leftover food or superfluous warts, which people find disgusting. Therefore, those who have the Dao do not act in this manner, nor do they allow themselves to remain in such practices.

Chapter 25: There Is Something Undifferentiated and Complete

In the Heshang Gong commentary, this chapter is titled “The Supreme Origin.”

There exists something that is an undifferentiated whole, which was already present before heaven and earth took shape. It is silent and without sound, empty and without form; it stands alone and does not change, it circulates and operates without stopping, and it can serve as the foundation of all things in the world. It may perhaps be called the “Dao.” I do not know its name, so I am compelled to call it “the Great.” Being great, it moves onward; moving onward, it travels far; traveling far, it returns again. The Dao is great, heaven is great, earth is great, and humanity is also great. There are four great existences in the world, and humanity occupies one place among them. Humanity follows the earth, the earth follows heaven, heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao conforms to its own inherent patterns.

“Hun” is pronounced “hu” and conveys the sense of being wholly undifferentiated. “Xiantian” refers to the time before heaven and earth had taken form; “xian” is pronounced according to the fanqie “xi jian qie.” Some versions write “ji” as “zong”; some versions write “liao” as “mo” or retain “liao,” indicating emptiness without form. Commentators also explain it as sparse and without substance, or as describing a state of empty stillness and luminous clarity. “Dai” is pronounced according to the fanqie “tian lai qie” and means dangerous. The phrase “qiang wei zhi ming yue da” appears in some versions as “qiang ming zhi yue da,” meaning that one provisionally names it “the Great.”

The sentence “yu zhong you si da er wang chu yi yan” is written in some versions as “yu zhong you si da, er wang ju qi yi yan,” meaning that within heaven and earth there are four great ones, and the king occupies one among them. Chen’s edition does not include these two sentences.

Chapter 26: Heaviness Is the Root of Lightness

The Heshang Gong edition titles this chapter “Chong De” (Valuing De).

“Zhong” is pronounced according to the fanqie “zhi yong qie”; “qing” according to “qi zheng qie,” although some commentators hold that they should be read according to their ordinary pronunciations. “Zao” is pronounced according to “zao bao qie”; “li” is read as “li”; “zi” according to “ce qi qie”; “guan” according to “gu luan qie.” In the phrase “yan chu,” “yan” is pronounced according to “yu jian qie,” though some commentators read it as “yan”; the following “chu” is pronounced according to “chang yu qie.” The Zuanwei edition writes “yan” as “yan.” The term “ruhe” is written as “nai” in the Zuanwei, Sima, Su, Cao, Chen, Dazhen, Ye, Huang, Cheng, and other editions.

Chapter 27: Skillful Conduct

The Heshang Gong edition titles this chapter “Qiao Yong” (Skillful Use); the Su edition titles the chapter “Shan Xing Wu Zhe Ji” (Skillful conduct leaves no tracks).

The character “xing” is read according to the fanqie xia-meng. “Zhe” denotes the ruts left on the ground by a cart’s wheels. “Xia” means a fault, and “zhe” means to blame or condemn.

On the phrase “no use of counting rods”: according to the Zuanwei, the character “suan” is written “ce” here; the Sima edition omits “yong”; the Chen edition writes “yong” as “wu.” “Jian” is read qi-yan in fanqie and refers to a door bolt; a horizontally set bolt is called a “guan,” a vertically set one a “ta.”

From “good traveling” through “good tying,” the Sima edition adds the two characters “zhe hu” at the end of the sentence. For “yet cannot be untied,” the Chen edition writes “er” as “gu.” For “hence there are no discarded people, hence no discarded things,” the Ye edition writes both instances of “gu” as “er.”

“Knowing the male” is the title of chapter 20. The Heshanggong edition heads this chapter “Returning to Simplicity.”

“Xi” is read ku-xi in fanqie, and some recensions write it “xi.” “Li” is read li-zhi; the Li edition uses the original pronunciation, which rhymes with the Jing (scripture), whereas Lu Deming’s annotated reading does not. “Te” is read du-de. “Chang” is read ding-zhang. Lin remarks that some have analyzed the chapter according to the level and oblique tones of phonology, an approach that is rather forced.

“About to” is the title of chapter 29. The Heshanggong edition has Wuwei (non-action); the Su, Qingyuan, and Huang editions all head the chapter “About to take the world.”

Regarding the phrase “those who take action,” the commentarial editions of the Zuanwei, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Chen Xianggu, and Cheng Dachang omit the character zhe after wei. For the word suoyi (“therefore”), the editions of Su Zhe, the Five Commentators, Dazhen, Ye Mengde, Qingyuan, Huang Maocai, and Cheng Dachang all write fan (“in every case”) instead.

The character xu is written as 歔 in Lu Deming and the Wang Bi recension, with a reading that combines the initial of huan and the final of xu. The Heshang Gong recension writes 呴, given the fanqie Xuju qie. The Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Dazhen, Chen Xianggu, and Ye Mengde editions likewise write 呴 and read it as Xuju qie. For the character chui, Li Lin retains the standard graph. For lei, Lu Deming records the fanqie Liwei qie.

As for the character zai, Lu Deming and the Wang Bi text write cuo, read Zuowo qie and meaning “to press down.” The Heshang Gong text writes zai, which Li Lin holds should be read as the graph itself. For hui, Lu Deming gives the fanqie Xugui qie; the Zuanwei and Sima Guang texts substitute duo for hui. In the clause “therefore the sage,” Sima Guang writes gu in place of yi.

Chapter Thirty: Those Who Assist the Ruler with the Dao (the Way)

The Heshang Gong edition titles this chapter “Jianwu” (Frugality in Arms). The two characters hao huan are given by Lu Deming as “upper: Hubao qie; lower: pronounced xuan.” In the sentence “hence the good merely achieve their end and that is all,” the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Dazhen, and Chen Xianggu editions omit the final particle yi. In the phrase “seize strength thereby,” the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, and Dazhen editions omit yan; Ye Mengde’s edition has “forcibly seize thereby.” In the phrase “achieve the end but do not force,” the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Cao Daochong, Dazhen, Chen Xianggu, and Qingyuan editions prefix it with shi; Huang Maocai and Cheng Dachang prefix it with shiwei (“this is called”). In the phrase “not the Dao, not the Dao, already ended,” the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Chen Xianggu, Qingyuan, Huang Maocai, and Cheng Dachang editions all write both instances of fei as bu.

Chapter Thirty-One: Fine Weapons

The Heshang Gong edition titles this chapter “Yanwu” (Cessation of Arms). The character jia is given by Lu Deming the fanqie Geya qie, meaning “fine” or “good”; Heshang Gong explains it as “ornament” or “decoration.” The character e is given by Lu Deming the fanqie Wulu qie. The character fei that follows “therefore” is written as bu in both Huang Maocai and Cheng Dachang.

Chapter Thirty-One: Fine Weapons

The Heshang Gong edition titles this chapter “Yanwu” (Cessation of Arms).

“Jia” is read as “Lu Geya qie,” meaning “good”; Heshang Gong’s annotated edition writes “shi” here. “E” is read as “Lu Wulu qie.”

The sentence “Therefore the gentleman ordinarily takes the left as honorable” lacks the two characters “therefore” in the annotated editions of Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Cao Daochong, Chen Xianggu, Huang Maocai and others.

The pronunciation and writing of “tiandan” differ among the various annotated editions: “tian” is read as “Shang Diexian qie”; “dan” is read as “Tu Zan qie,” and is also written as “dan” or “tan.” The ancient Heshang Gong commentary writes “kui”; Emperor Wu of Liang said it should be read as “Ku Hui qie”; Emperor Jianwen wrote “tiantian”; Lin Xiyi’s edition sometimes writes “ran.”

The sentence “Therefore it is not called beautiful; if it is called beautiful, people will certainly love it” is absent from the editions of Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Chen Xianggu, Cheng Dachang and others, which write only “victory without beauty,” that is, to prevail without adding praise as beautiful. Variants of “love it” also differ: Zuanwei, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Chen Xianggu and Cheng Dachang have “and those who beautify it”; Sima Guang has “if those who beautify it.” In Lin Xiyi’s commentary, “le” is read as “luo” or another reading of “luo,” and the whole sentence is simply “victory without beauty.”

The sentence “To love it is to love killing people” lacks the character “ye” in the editions of Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Chen Xianggu, Cheng Dachang and others. The phrase “those who love killing people” has an extra “fu” at the beginning of the sentence in the editions of Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Wuzhu, Cao Daochong, Dazhen, Chen Xianggu, Ye Mengde, Qingyuan, Cheng Dachang, Shao Ruoyu and others.

The sentence “Such a person cannot realize his aspirations in the world” lacks the final “yi” in the editions of Zuanwei, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Chen Xianggu, Qingyuan, Cheng Dachang and others; Sima Guang’s edition inserts an extra “yi” after “cannot.”

The sentence “Auspicious affairs take the left as honorable” has an extra “gu” at the beginning in the editions of Sima Guang, Wuzhu, Dazhen, Ye Mengde, Qingyuan and others; Chen Xianggu’s edition adds a “zhe” after “auspicious affairs.”

The sentence “Therefore the lieutenant general occupies the left and the senior general occupies the right” lacks the two characters “therefore” in the editions of Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Chen Xianggu and others.

The sentence “This means that when occupying a superior position one should also arrange matters according to mourning rites” lacks the four characters “occupying a superior position then” in the editions of Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Chen Xianggu and others; Cheng Dachang’s edition writes “shi” (position) as “shi” (world).

The sentence “Having won a victory, one should also treat it in the manner of mourning rites” has an extra “ze” after “victory” in the editions of Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Wuzhu, Cao Daochong, Chen Xianggu, Dazhen, Qingyuan, Cheng Dachang, Shao Ruoyu and others.

Chapter 32 is titled “The Dao (the Way) Is Constantly Nameless”; the Heshang Gong edition calls it “Sagely Virtue.” For the phrase “no one dares to treat it as a subordinate,” the versions of Lu Deming and Heshang Gong read “all under Heaven dare not,” while the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Chen Jingyuan, Cheng Dachang and other editions read “dare not make it a minister.” The term “feudal lords and kings” appears as “kings and feudal lords” in the Lu Deming and Emperor Wu of Liang editions. Regarding the statement “no one among the people issues commands, yet everything is naturally balanced,” Li Lin takes “ling” to mean teaching or command, assigning it the fanqie pronunciation “li zheng qie”; the same reading applies in the passage that follows. The comparison “just as the waters of streams and valleys flow into the rivers and seas” is written in some versions with “you” as “you” (like) or as “yu”; some versions omit the particle “ye,” and others drop the character for “river.”

Chapter 33 is titled “Those Who Know Others Are Wise”; the Heshang Gong edition calls it “Discerning Virtue.” The line “to overcome others shows that one has strength” lacks the word “has” in the Five Commentaries edition, the Ye Mengde edition, and the Qingyuan edition. The phrase “not losing one’s own position, one can last long” includes an extra character “zhi” after “suo” in the Shao Ruoyu edition.

Chapter 34 is titled “The Great Dao Overflows”; the Heshang Gong edition calls it “Allowing Completion.”

The term “fan” describes a quality of vast, unimpeded prevalence, indicating that the great Dao (the Way) is present everywhere and able to accord with the myriad things. Some versions of “gongcheng buju” read “gongcheng bumingyou,” meaning that once an accomplishment is achieved it is not claimed as one’s own. Other versions insert the character “er” after “cheng.” Some versions of “yibei” read “aiyang,” meaning to nourish and protect the myriad things just as clothing covers the body.

Some versions of “gu chang wuyu ke ming yu xiao yi” omit both “gu” and “yi,” while others read “ke ming wei xiao.” Some versions of “wanwu gui yan er buzhi zhi” read “wanwu gui zhi bu wei zhu,” meaning that the myriad things return to the Dao yet do not take the Dao as their ruler. Some versions of “ke ming yu da yi” omit “yi,” while others read “ke ming wei da.” Some versions of “zhong bu wei da” read “neng cheng qi da ye, yi qi bu zida,” meaning that precisely because it does not regard itself as great it is able to accomplish its greatness.

Chapter 35, “Zhi Daxiang,” is titled “Rende” in the Heshang Gong edition.

In the phrase “le yu er,” “le” is pronounced “yue” and refers to music, while “er” is pronounced “erzhiqie” and refers to food; here it denotes music and food. “Guo” is pronounced “guwoqie.” In “Dao zhi chuyan,” “chu” is pronounced “chileiqie”; some versions write “yan” as “kou.”

Chapter 36, “Jiang yu xi zhi,” is titled “Weiming” in the Heshang Gong edition. The character “xi” has variant writings and versions; it is pronounced “xujiqie,” and some versions write it as “xi,” meaning to contract or gather. Some versions of “rou zhi sheng gang, ruo zhi sheng qiang” omit the two “zhi” characters, while others read “rouruo sheng gangqiang.” Some versions of “bu keyi shiren” omit the character “yi.”

Chapter 37, “Dao chang wuwei,” is titled “Weizheng” in the Heshang Gong edition.

When “镇以” is used, the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Wuzhu, Cao Daochong, Dazhenzi, Chen Jingyuan, Ye Mengde, Huang Maocai, Cheng Dachang and other editions all insert the character “之” after “镇.” The phrase “亦将不欲” appears in the Lu Deming and Wang Bi versions as “夫亦将无欲,” while the Jianwen text has “不.” In the phrase “不欲以静,” Sima Guang’s edition omits the character “无.” In the phrase “天下将自正,” the Wuzhu edition prefixes four extra characters.

Chapter 30, The Highest De (Virtue/Power) Is Not De

The phrase “夫亦将无欲” is given as “不” in the Jianwen text. The phrase “不欲以静” lacks the character “无” in Sima Guang’s edition. The phrase “天下将自正” is preceded by four extra characters in the Wuzhu edition.

Chapter 38, The Highest De Is Not De

The Heshanggong edition titles this chapter “Discourse on De.” In the phrase “上德无为而无以为,” Ye Mengde’s edition writes “非” in place of “无.” Lu Deming explains the character “应” as the “ying” of response and reads it with the ordinary pronunciation. For the phrase “攘臂而仍之,” Lu Deming gives the fanqie “ruo yang” for “攘” and “bi mei” for “臂”; some other editions write “仍” as “扔,” pronounced with the fanqie “ren zheng,” or alternatively read as “reng.” Cheng Dachang’s edition omits the character “夫” from the phrase “夫礼者.” The Zuanwei, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong and Chen Jingyuan editions all omit the final “也” from the two phrases “而乱之首也” and “而愚之始也.”

Chapter 39, Those Who of Old Obtained the One

The Heshanggong edition titles this chapter “The Root of the Model.”

When lords and kings obtain the “One” (the unified root manifested by the Dao (the Way)), they become the standard of rectitude for all under Heaven. “Attaining the One” means reaching and holding fast to this fundamental principle. The various recensions differ in the wording they use at this point.

If lords and kings fail to take the “One” as their criterion and instead set themselves up in honor and exalt themselves on high, they may lose their foundation and even stumble and fall. The term “jue” means to lose one’s footing or to collapse. Honor must take the lowly as its root, and high position must take what lies below as its base. Some versions insert the character “must” before the phrase “taking the lowly as the root.”

People refer to themselves as “the orphaned,” “the solitary,” and “the unworthy,” thereby adopting humble self-appellations. The passage is asking whether those of exalted rank do not in fact take the lowly as their very foundation. “Repeated praise is no praise” means that frequent commendation amounts to the absence of genuine reputation; here “yu” refers to praise or renown. The versions write this phrase in different ways.

“Lulu” describes that which is warm, lustrous, and beautiful like jade; “luoluo” describes that which is plain, unadorned, and solid like stone. Related commentaries also record differing written forms and pronunciations for these two terms.

Chapter Forty: Reversal Is the Movement of the Dao

The Heshang Gong recension titles this chapter “Discarding Use.”

Chapter Forty: When the Highest Scholar Hears of the Dao

The Heshang Gong recension titles this chapter “Same and Different.”

At the phrase “hence establishing the One,” some versions omit the character “hence.” “Mei” means dim or obscure. “Lei” is a variant reading recorded in the commentaries.

Therefore the scripture contains the expression “establishing one side.” The Zuanwei together with the editions of Su, Cao, Chen, Ye and Cheng all lack the character “gu.” “Mei” is read as mei-dui-qie or mo-pei-qie, meaning dim and obscure. “Lei” is read as lei-dui-qie; the Heshanggong edition writes it as “lei.” The phrase “advancing and retreating as if the Dao (the Way),” in the Zuanwei, Sima Guang’s edition and the editions of Su, Cao, Chen, Huang and Cheng, is placed above “and in the even Dao as if lei.” In “the genuine quality as if yu,” “yu” is read as yang-zhu-qie, meaning to change; Sima Guang’s edition writes “zhen” as “zhi.” “Dai” is read as tu-dai-qie.

Dao Produces One, Chapter Forty-Two

The Heshanggong edition writes “sheng” as “hua.”

In the phrase “and kings and dukes take it as their title,” the Qingyuan Gong edition adds a “zi” after “wang gong.” “Therefore things sometimes diminish it and yet benefit,” Su’s edition lacks “gu”; “benefit it and yet diminish,” Su’s edition adds an “or” above “yi.” “Also its meaning teaches it,” Sima Guang’s edition lacks “yi,” while Shao’s edition reads “I also with meaning teach it.” “Qiang” is read in the level tone, referring to the designation of the rigid and violent. “Fu” is read according to the graph, meaning ancestor or root.

The Softest in the World, Chapter Forty-Three

The Heshanggong edition titles it “Pervasive Use.”

In “galloping through the hardest in the world,” “cheng” is read as chi-ling-qie; Ye’s edition lacks “cheng,” and the Dazhen edition writes “jian” as “gang.” In “the non-existent enters that which has no interval,” “jian” is read in the departing tone, meaning that the body of the Dao is an undifferentiated whole without any gap. From this one knows that Wuwei (non-action) is beneficial. The Zuanwei, Sima Guang’s edition and the editions of Su, Cao and Chen all have “wu” before “shi yi zhi” and lack “ye” at the sentence end; Ye’s edition merely lacks “ye.” At the end of “rarely attains it,” the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su, Cao, Chen, Ye and Qingyuan Gong editions all lack “yi.”

Name and Person, Chapter Forty-Four

The Heshanggong edition titles it “Establishing Precepts.”

In “therefore excessive love necessarily entails great expenditure,” Cheng’s edition lacks the two characters “shi gu.”

Great Completion as if Incomplete, Chapter Forty-Five

The Heshanggong edition titles it “Vast De (Virtue/Power).”

“Que” is read as kui-yue-qie, “bi” as bi-shi-qie, “qu” as qiu-wu-qie, “ne” as nu-hu-qie.

When the World Has the Dao, Chapter Forty-Six

The Heshang Gong recension (one transmitted version of the Daodejing) titles this chapter “Jianyu” (Frugality of Desires). In the phrase “que zou ma yi fen,” “fen” is pronounced according to the fanqie “fuwen qie.” Mr. Li holds that “que” is interchangeable with “que.” Zhu Xi believed that a “che” originally stood after “fen,” so the sense is that fleet horses are used to draw manure carts. Peng Si said he once saw the so-called manure carts of Jiangxi and only then understood the line. In “gu zhi zu zhi zu,” Sima Guang’s edition lacks the second “zu.”

Chapter 46, “Tianxia You Dao” (When All under Heaven Possess the Dao), is titled “Jianyu” (Frugality of Desires) in the Heshang Gong recension. Chapter 47, “Bu Chu Hu” (Without Going Out the Door), is titled “Jianyuan” (Discerning the Distant) in the Heshang Gong recension. In “kui you,” “kui” is read as “qigui qie” and means looking out through a window.

Chapter 48, “Wei Xue Ri Yi” (In the Pursuit of Learning One Increases Daily), is titled “Wangzhi” (Forgetting Knowledge) in the Heshang Gong recension. In “sun zhi you sun,” the recensions underlying Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Cao, and Dazhenzi all insert “zhi” after “sun.” In “yi zhi yu wuwei,” Shao’s edition lacks “yu.” In “er wu bu wei yi,” Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe and many other commentaries prefix “wuwei”; Zuanwei, Su Zhe, Cao, Dazhenzi, Chen, Ye and the Qingyuan edition omit “yi.” In “gu qu tianxia zhe,” Zuanwei, Su Zhe, Cao and Dazhenzi read “qu tianxia” without “gu”; Cheng’s edition likewise lacks “gu.”

Chapter 49, “Shengren Wu Chang Xin” (The Sage Has No Constant Heart-Mind), is titled “Rende” (Entrusting to De) in the Heshang Gong recension. In “shan zhe wu shan zhi,” the Five Commentaries edition inserts “yi” after “wu.” In “de shan kou yi, de xin yi,” Zuanwei, Su Zhe and Cao lack both “yi.” Chapter 49, “Shengren Wu Chang Xin” (The Sage Has No Constant Heart-Mind), is titled “Rende” (Entrusting to De) in the Heshang Gong recension.

Those skilled in practicing goodness I also treat with goodness; those who are not good I likewise treat with goodness. In this way everyone can be led toward goodness. Those who are trustworthy I trust; those who are not trustworthy I likewise trust. In this way everyone can be led to keep faith.

The sage, dwelling in the world, gathers in his mind and spirit, appearing cautious and uneasy. The common people all concentrate on their own ears and eyes, yet the sage treats them as infants. In some versions the character “hai” is written “ke”; the meanings are close, both referring to an infant.

Chapter Fifty: Coming into Life and Entering Death

The Heshang Gong edition titles this chapter “Valuing Life.”

People proceed from birth toward death, their life spans differing in length. Those driven toward the realm of death number about three in ten; those who greedily cling to life and excessively pursue longevity likewise number about three in ten; still another three in ten move toward death because they do not understand how to nourish life. It is said that those skilled in nourishing life, walking through mountain forests, do not fear the si (a fierce beast akin to a rhinoceros) and, entering the battle array, do not fear weapons. The si has nowhere to gore, the weapons have nowhere to pierce, because such a person has not placed himself in the land of death.

Chapter Fifty-One: The Dao Gives Birth to Them

The Heshang Gong edition titles this chapter “Nourishing De.”

Therefore among the myriad things there is none that does not revere the Dao (the Way) and treasure De (Virtue/Power). The Dao gives birth to and nurtures the myriad things; De accumulates and nurtures them, causing them to grow and mature while protecting and supporting them. The myriad things revere the Dao and treasure De not because anyone has conferred this status upon them, but because it is so of itself, naturally.

Chapter Fifty-Two: The World Has a Beginning

The Heshanggong edition titles this chapter “Returning to the Origin.” The term “dying without perishing” is written as “immersing the body” in the Zuanwei, Sima Guang’s edition, and Su Zhe’s edition. In the line “block its openings,” Li Lin’s edition reads “block” in the level tone while Su Zhe’s edition reads it in the oblique tone; “openings” is given the fanqie pronunciation tu-wai-qie. The Yijing states that “Dui means joy.” Here the word refers to the six roots (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) being drawn by external things and becoming stained. In “close its gates,” Li Lin’s edition reads “close” as bo-ji-qie, meaning to cut off completely; “gates” refers to the gates of misfortune. In “see the small,” “see” is read shang-xian-bian-qie and “small” as yue. In “following the constant,” Ye Mengde’s edition writes “constant” as “skirt.”

The chapter “If I were to have even a little knowledge” (Chapter 53) is titled “Increasing Evidence” in the Heshanggong edition and “If I Were to Have Even a Little Knowledge” in the Qingyuan edition. “If” is read in the level tone. In “yet the people love byways,” “love” is pronounced hu-bao-qie and “byways” jing-ding-qie; the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Dazhen, and Chen Jingyuan editions all write “the people greatly love byways.” “Court” is read zhi-yao-qie and “sated” yu-yan-qie. The phrase “surplus of wealth and goods” appears as “surplus of goods and wealth” in the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Cao Daochong, Chen Jingyuan, and Cheng Dachang editions; Su Zhe’s edition writes “wealth” as “goods.” In “thieves’ ostentation,” “ostentation” is pronounced kou-hua-qie; the Zuanwei, Su Zhe, and Cheng Dachang editions all write “ostentation,” while Shao Ruoyu’s edition writes “thieves” as “the Way,” which is incorrect. In “this is not the Dao (the Way)!” “not” is read according to its original graph and functions as an exclamatory particle expressing lament rather than a grammatical particle; Sima Guang’s edition still retains the two characters “thieves’ ostentation” before this sentence.

The chapter “What is well established cannot be uprooted” (Chapter 54) is titled “Cultivating Observation” in the Heshanggong edition and “What Is Well Established Cannot Be Uprooted” in the Qingyuan edition. In “descendants continue the ancestral sacrifices without cease,” “cease” is pronounced zhang-lüe-qie; the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Dazhen, and Chen Jingyuan editions all omit the character “thereby.” In “therefore observe the person through the person,” Cheng Dachang’s edition omits the character “therefore.”

The chapter “The thickness of containing De (Virtue/Power)” (Chapter 55) is titled “Mysterious Talisman” in the Heshanggong edition.

A person of deeply abundant De (Virtue/Power) is like a newborn infant. Here “sting” refers to insects piercing with their stingers, “seize” to grabbing hold, and “strike” to beating; “firm grasp” means the infant clenches its fists tightly. “Female and male” indicates the two sexes. The character “□” has various writings and pronunciations; commentators explain it as the infant’s genitals. “Jing (essence) at its utmost” means that the Jing-Qi (essence and vital energy) has reached its fullest flourishing.

The infant cries all day long yet its voice never grows hoarse, showing that its Jing-Qi has attained the extreme of purity and harmony. Recensions differ concerning the graph “yi” (嗌) and whether the sentence concludes with the particle “ye”; “yi” denotes the throat. Lin Xiyi regarded the clause “the throat does not become hoarse” as originating in the Zhuangzi and only subsequently interpolated into the Laozi, and therefore did not adopt it.

The chapter “Those who know do not speak” is titled “Mysterious De” (Xuande) in the Heshang Gong edition.

“It cannot be approached, cannot be distanced from, cannot be harmed, cannot be debased”: some versions place a “therefore” before “it cannot be approached,” while others insert “likewise” before each of the following three phrases.

The chapter “Govern the state with Zheng” is titled “Pure Customs” (Chunfeng) in the Heshang Gong edition. Some recensions write the “Zheng” of “govern the state with Zheng” as “zheng” (government). In “take the world through having no affairs,” the Dazhen edition writes “affairs” as “action.” In “How do I know that this is so?”, some versions add “pure customs” after “so.”

The collation records of various editions for the previous chapter note that in the phrase “govern the state with zheng,” the character zheng is written as zheng (in the sense of government) in the Zuanwei, Cao, and Chen editions. In “take the world through wu shi,” the character shi appears as wei in the Dazhen edition. In “How do I know that this is so,” the Zuanwei, Cao, Dazhen, and Huang editions all insert an extra yi after the character he. In “Now when the world abounds in taboos,” the Zuanwei, Su, Cao, Dazhen, Chen, Ye, and Huang editions omit the initial particle fu. In “people possess many sharp instruments,” the character ren is written as min in the Sima, Su, and Huang editions. In “people possess many skills and clever devices,” the same character ren is likewise written as min in the Sima, Five Commentaries, Dazhen, and Ye editions; the Five Commentaries and Dazhen editions further write ji as li. In “proliferate and become manifest,” the character zhang is written as zhang in the Su and Cao editions.

Chapter 58 is titled “Its Government Is Muffled,” while the Heshang Gong edition titles it “Following Transformation.” The binome menmen is read according to the fanqie mo-ben, conveying a quality of generous spaciousness that refrains from deliberate action; the more common pronunciation men also yields a coherent sense, yet it fails to rhyme with the rest of the chapter, so the former reading is adopted. In “the people’s bewilderment,” the Zuanwei, Su, Five Commentaries, Cao, Dazhen, Chen, Ye, Qingyuan, Huang, and Shao editions all omit the final particle ye. In “this has indeed already been so for a long time,” the Zuanwei, Sima, Su, Cao, and Chen editions write “this has indeed been long,” while the Qingyuan edition writes yi as yi. The character gui is pronounced according to the fanqie ju-wei; the Heshang Gong edition writes it as hai, meaning to injure, whereas the Zuanwei, Cao, and Chen editions write gui.

Chapter 59 is titled “Creating Defilement in Governing People and Serving Heaven,” and the Heshang Gong edition writes yi as yi. The character gui is pronounced according to the fanqie ju-wei; the Heshang Gong edition writes it as hai, meaning to injure, whereas the Zuanwei, Cao, and Chen editions write gui. An alternative title for the present chapter is likewise “Creating Defilement in Governing People and Serving Heaven,” while the Heshang Gong edition titles it “Guarding the Dao.” In “nothing is better than se,” the character se is pronounced according to the fanqie sheng-li, and Li Rong transcribes its sound as se; the Zuanwei, Sima, Su, Cao, Chen, and Ye editions write ruo. In “for this reason,” the Zuanwei, Sima, Su, Cao, and Chen editions write yi as wei. In “early return,” the Zuanwei, Su, Cao, and Chen editions write fu as fu. After “then none knows its limit,” the Huang edition omits the repeated phrase “none knows its limit.” The character di is pronounced according to the fanqie ding-ji and is also written di; the Zuanwei, Sima, Su, Five Commentaries, Cao, Dazhen, Chen, Qingyuan, and Huang editions all write di.

This is followed by Chapter 60, titled “Governing a Large State.”

The Heshang Gong edition titles this chapter “Occupying the Position.”

“Governing a large state is like cooking a small fish”: Lu Deming notes that “peng” is pronounced pǔ gēng qiè and cautions that the fire radical should not be added here; “xian” is read as “xian.” The Cheng edition has “ru,” while the Zuanwei edition writes “peng” as “heng.” In “presiding over the world by means of the Dao (the Way),” Lu Deming gives the pronunciation of “li” as lì zhì qiè. The Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, and Chen Xianggu editions omit the character “zhe.” In the clause about not harming the common people, the wording quoted by Sima Guang, Su Zhe, the Five Commentaries, Dazhen, Ye Mengde, Qingyuan, Huang Maocai, Cheng Dachang, and the Long edition all write “ren” in place of “min” in both sentences.

Chapter Sixty: A Large State Is the Lower Reaches

The Heshang Gong edition titles this chapter “Humble De (Virtue/Power).”

The “xia” of “lower reaches” is read in the rising tone. “The female of the world” means that the world is as yielding and still as the female; “pin” denotes the female and “mu” the male. The scripture states that stillness and softness constantly overcome hardness and movement, and that quietude likewise implies occupying a low position. Lu Deming notes that “pin” is read pín rěn qiè and “mu” mò hòu qiè. The Zuanwei, Cao Daochong, Dazhen, and Chen Xianggu editions have “the female at the confluence of the world”; Sima Guang writes “taking stillness as the low” as “taking its stillness as that which is below.” Lin Xiyi notes that “xia” is read in the rising tone.

For the “xia” of “thereby taking the low position,” Lu Deming gives the pronunciation xiá jià qiè. Li Lin explains that a large state occupies the superior place, so this “xia” means descending from above; a small state already lies beneath things, and the reading therefore follows the original character. “Qu” is read qī yú qiè or alternatively qī yù qiè; “guo” is read gǔ hé qiè or gǔ wò qiè, and likewise in what follows. The Cheng edition inserts an extra “zhi” after “ought to take the low position.”

Chapter Sixty-Two: The Dao Is the Inner Sanctum of the Myriad Things

The Heshang Gong edition titles this chapter “Practicing the Dao.”

In “the Dao is the hidden storehouse of the myriad things,” Lu Deming notes that “ao” is pronounced yū liù qiè, signifying a warm and deeply concealed place; this is the wording of the Heshang Gong text.

The deeply hidden root of the myriad things is the Dao (the Way). Here “奥” refers to the depths, the inner recesses. The substance of the Dao encompasses all things, and all things receive their nourishment from the Dao.

People of benevolent De (Virtue/Power) treasure the Dao as they would a precious jewel. Fine words readily win people’s affection, like goods sold in the marketplace; actions worthy of reverence can become models for others to emulate. Why did the ancients value the Dao so highly? Is it not precisely because it can benefit people and deserves to be honored? The phrase “不曰” in the scripture is a rhetorical question, equivalent to “is it not said that…?”

Chapter 63, “Acting through Wuwei (non-action),” is titled “En Shi” in the He Shang Gong recension.

The great affairs of the world often begin from the minute; the difficult affairs of the world often start from the easy. Therefore the sage always regards things as difficult and treats them with caution, so that in the end there are no difficulties.

Chapter 64, “What is at rest is easy to hold,” is titled “Shou Wei” in the He Shang Gong recension.

In the phrase “its brittleness,” the graph cui is given by Lu Deming the fanqie spelling qī-suì qiè. Li Rong explains it as “dangerous,” here meaning that when cravings and desires have not yet hardened into something solid, they remain as fragile as an object that is easily shattered or spoiled. In “easily dissolved,” the graph pan is given by Lu Deming the fanqie pǔ-bàn qiè; the Zuanwei and the recensions of Sima Guang, Cao Daochong, Chen Jingyuan and others read “break” instead. For hao (a fine hair), Su Zhe, the Wuzhu, Cao Daochong, Chen Jingyuan, the Dazhen, Qingyuan, Huang Maocai, Cheng Dachang, Shao Ruoyu and other recensions write the graph for downy hair (hao). For lei (a piled mass), Lu Deming gives the fanqie liè-bèi qiè; the Zuanwei reads can.

In “therefore, when the people undertake affairs,” the Zuanwei and the recensions of Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Chen Jingyuan, Ye Mengde, Qingyuan, Cheng Dachang and others omit the word “therefore.” In “then there will be no failed affairs,” the Zuanwei and the recensions of Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Chen Jingyuan, Cheng Dachang and others omit the final particle yi; Ye Mengde’s recension reads “then there will be no affairs.” In “thereby restoring what the multitude has overstepped,” the Zuanwei and the recensions of Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, the Dazhen, Chen Jingyuan, Cheng Dachang and others omit the word “thereby.”

Those of Old Who Were Good at Practicing the Dao (the Way), Chapter 65

The Heshanggong recension titles this chapter “Unadorned De (Virtue/Power)”; the Qingyuan and Huang Maocai recensions title it “Chapter on Those of Old Who Were Good at Practicing the Dao.” In the phrase “also a model and pattern,” Lu Deming and the recensions of Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, the Dazhen, Chen Jingyuan, Cheng Dachang and others omit the graph yi.

Those of Old Who Were Good at Practicing the Dao, Chapter 65

The Heshanggong recension titles this chapter “Unadorned De”; the Qingyuan and Huang Maocai recensions title it “Chapter on Those of Old Who Were Good at Practicing the Dao.” In the phrase “also a model and pattern,” Lu Deming and the Wang Bi recension write the graph kai; the Yan Zun and Heshanggong recensions write kaili. Kai is read as hai and means a model or standard pattern; Sima Guang’s recension adds the particle ye after it. In “constantly know,” the word “constantly” (chang) is written as “able to” (neng) in Su Zhe, the Wuzhu, the Dazhen, Ye Mengde, Qingyuan, Huang Maocai, Cheng Dachang and other recensions. For “only then does one reach Great Accordance,” Sima Guang’s recension reads “then one returns to and reaches Great Accordance”; Ye Mengde’s recension omits the word “reach.”

The Rivers and Seas Are Kings of the Hundred Valleys, Chapter 66

The Heshanggong recension titles this chapter “Putting Oneself After Others.” In “good at placing themselves below,” Lu Deming gives the graph xia the fanqie xiá-jià qiè; the Wuzhu, the Dazhen, and the recensions of Huang Maocai, Cheng Dachang, Shao Ruoyu and others add the particle ye after “below.” In “therefore the sage dwells above,” the Zuanwei and the recensions of Sima Guang, Su Zhe, the Wuzhu, Cao Daochong, Chen Jingyuan, Ye Mengde and others omit the two words “the sage”; Shao Ruoyu’s recension writes “hence” in place of “therefore.” In “therefore all under heaven,” Shao Ruoyu writes suo instead of “therefore.” In “none can contend with them,” Ye Mengde’s recension omits “can.”

All Under Heaven Say, Chapter 67

The Heshanggong recension titles this chapter “The Three Treasures”; the Qingyuan recension titles it “Chapter on All Under Heaven Say My Dao Is Great.”

The phrase “seems not to accord with common feeling”: here the character xiao is read as miao, meaning to resemble or to conform. Only a person of genuine distinction and far-reaching insight appears not to fit ordinary expectations. The seven characters following “It is only because it is great, therefore it seems unlike” are absent from the Qingyuan edition.

“Treasure it and hold it”: some versions read “protect it and hold it,” meaning to cherish and guard it. The Zuanwei commentary, the Sima Guang edition, and the Su Shi edition have “three treasures”; the Qingyuan edition titles this chapter “The Whole World Says My Dao Is Great.”

“Hence able to become the chief of vessels”: Sima Guang’s edition inserts the character wei after neng; Chen Jingyuan’s edition inserts the character qi after cheng.

“Used in battle, it brings victory”: some annotated editions write zhan as chen and sheng as zheng.

“Guard it with compassion”: Ye’s edition prefixes the character bi to this clause.

Chapter 68, Those Skilled as Officers. The Heshang Gong edition titles the chapter “Matching Heaven”; the Qingyuan edition titles it “Those Skilled as Officers Are Not Martial.”

Chapter 69, On the Use of Troops There Is a Saying. The Heshang Gong edition titles the chapter “Mysterious Use.”

In the phrase “marching without marching,” xing refers to the movement of troops or the dispatch of soldiers. The meaning is that although one sends out troops to meet an adversary, one does not forcibly contend for victory, and therefore it is as if no troops have been sent. Commentators differ on the pronunciation of xing.

The character rang is given the fanqie reading ruo-yang.

“Still without an enemy”: the editions of Lu Deming and Wang Bi write reng (扔), pronounced identically with reng (仍).

“To slight the enemy is nearly to lose”: the character ji is variously pronounced, some reading it as qi and others as ji. Some versions insert ze after di, others insert zhe.

“Therefore when opposing armies confront each other, the grieving one is victorious”: some versions omit ze; Cheng’s edition omits gu.

Chapter 70, My Words Are Very Easy to Understand. The Heshang Gong edition titles the chapter “Knowing Difficulty.”

The line “none under Heaven can know it” appears in the Wuzhu, Dazhen, Ye, Qingyuan, and Huang editions with an extra character you after “under Heaven.” The word yi (“easy”) has variant pronunciations. In the phrase fu wei, Li notes that fu is to be read fu (as in “to support”). The passage here laments that people of the world lack the wisdom of genuine comprehension. The Zuanwei and the Sima edition write wei (惟) as wei (唯).

In the line “this is why I am not known,” the Zuanwei, Sima, Su, Cao, Chen, Ye, and Cheng editions write wu (“I”) as wo and omit the final particle ye. In the sentence “those who know me are few, thus I am honored,” the Sima, Su, Cao, Chen, Huang, and Cheng editions write xi (稀, “rare”) as xi (希); the Su, Cao, Chen, Ye, and Cheng editions read simply “those who know me are honored,” omitting “thus I.”

In “clad in coarse cloth” (bei he), Lu notes that bei is to be read bei (as in “prepared”); he is given the fanqie spelling hu-ge qie. The Wuzhu, Dazhen, and Lin editions write bei (被) as pi (披, “to drape”).

Chapter 70: Knowing Not-Knowing

The Heshang Gong edition titles this chapter “Knowing the Illness.” The Cao edition assigns “Knowing Not-Knowing” as the title of the preceding chapter.

The phrase “how lofty”: the Zuanwei, Sima, Su, Cao, Chen, Ye, and Cheng editions have shang without the particle yi; the Dazhen edition likewise omits yi. The phrase “it is an illness”: the Zuanwei, Sima, Su, Cao, Chen, Dazhen, and Ye editions take it as the title of the “Knowing Not-Knowing” chapter; among them, the Zuanwei, Sima, Su, Cao, Chen, Dazhen, Ye, and Cheng editions all omit yi.

On “the sage’s not being ill,” Li explains: the nature of dharma is originally empty and still. The sage can see the fault of worldly people who take themselves to understand when in fact they do not, and therefore treats this “illness” as an illness to be remedied. Neither the substance itself nor its functioning is clung to, nor is there further clinging to medicine and illness; fundamentally there is no dharma of “knowing” to which one might attach, and so the sage is free of this illness. The Zuanwei, Su, Cao, and Chen editions omit the particle zhi.

Chapter 72: The People Do Not Fear Awe

The Heshang Gong edition titles this chapter “Loving Oneself.”

Doing so, great calamity will arrive. The commentaries of the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Chen Xianggu, and Ye Mengde all omit the particle yi. In the line “do not constrict your dwelling,” the Lu Deming and Wang Bi recensions write xia (狭, “narrow”) as xia (狎); the fanqie reading of 狎 is hu-jia qie, while 狭 is given in the Guangyun as xia (峡). The Zuanwei likewise writes 狎, and in Sima Guang’s edition ju (“dwelling”) appears as an (“ease”). In the sentence “only by not rejecting…,” Lu Deming reads yan (厌) with the fanqie yu-yan qie, and Li Lin takes it to mean “abandon”; the Zuanwei writes wei (惟) as wei (唯). The character jian (见) is read by Lu Deming as xian-bian qie, which Li Lin explains as “to become manifest.” In “gu qu,” Lu Deming reads qu (去) as qiang-lü qie.

Chapter Seventy-Three: Those Brave in Daring Are Killed

Heshang Gong titles this chapter “Renwei” (Entrusting Action); the Su Zhe edition, the Five Commentators edition, and the Huang edition all call it “Yongyu Gan Zhang” (Chapter on Being Brave in Daring).

In the phrase “these two,” the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Cao Daochong, and Chen Xianggu editions prefix the character zhi (“know”), while Su Zhe’s edition does not. E (恶) is read wu-lu qie. In “you nan” (“still difficult”), Lu Deming reads nan (难) as nai-dan qie; Li Lin says it should be read in the level tone. Su Zhe writes you (犹) as you (尤), and Shao Ruoyu writes it as you (由). For tanran (坦然), Lu Deming reads tan (坦) as tu-dan qie, meaning level and broad. One Heshang Gong recension writes shan (墠), a graph that conveys spaciousness. The Zuanwei writes mo (默); Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Chen Xianggu, Ye Mengde, and Cheng Dachang all write tan (谭), pronounced chan. Huihui (恢恢) is read ku-hui qie.

Chapter Seventy-Four: The People Constantly Do Not Fear

Heshang Gong titles this chapter “Zhihuo” (Restraining Delusion); Su Zhe’s edition has “Min Bu Wei Si Zhang” (Chapter on the People Not Fearing Death); the Qingyuan, Huang, and Cheng editions all have “Min Chang Bu Wei Si” (The People Constantly Do Not Fear Death).

If one lets the people pursue strange and luxurious things, how can I arrest them and kill them? Who would dare to do this? To take the place of those in charge of executions and kill people is like taking the place of a master craftsman (a highly skilled carpenter) and swinging the axe to chop wood; there are almost none who do not injure their own hands. Various annotated editions differ slightly in the wording of such phrases as “who would dare” and “taking the place of those in charge of killing.”

Chapter 75: The People Starve

The Heshang Gong edition titles this chapter “Greed and Loss.”

The Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Five Commentaries, Cao Daochong, Chen Jingyuan, Dazhenzi and Ye Mengde editions all write the character as “饥” (jī). The Guangyun states that “饥,” pronounced jū yī qiè, refers to failure of the grain harvest, while “饥,” pronounced jū yí qiè, refers to starvation. In this context it is probably “饥” that should be written.

The clause “because the rulers collect too many taxes” lacks the particle ye in the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong and Chen Jingyuan editions.

The sentence “The people are difficult to govern because the rulers take action, and therefore they are difficult to govern” lacks the particle ye in the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Chen Jingyuan and Ye Mengde editions; the Five Commentaries edition omits these fifteen characters entirely.

In the sentence “People take death lightly,” the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Qingyuanzi, Cheng Hao and other editions write “人” as “民.”

The clause “because they seek life too intensely” is written as “求生” and lacks the particle ye in the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Cao Daochong and Chen Jingyuan editions; the Su Zhe and Ye Mengde editions likewise omit ye.

The sentence “Only those who do not regard life as overly important” is prefaced by the particle fu in the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Chen Jingyuan and Dazhenzi editions.

The remark “this is wiser than placing great value on life” lacks ye in the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Cao Daochong, Su Zhe and Chen Jingyuan editions; Ye Mengde’s edition inserts yi after shi and writes ye as fu.

Chapter 76, “On Human Life”

The Heshang Gong edition titles it “Warning against Strength”; the Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Huang Maocai and other editions title it “Chapter on the Life of the People”; the Qingyuanzi edition titles it “Human Life and Death Are Soft.”

Chapter 76, “On Human Life”

The Heshang Gong edition titles it “Warning against Strength”; the Su Zhe, Cao Daochong, Huang Maocai and other editions title it “Chapter on the Life of the People”; the Qingyuanzi edition titles it “Chapter on Human Life and Death Being Soft and Weak.”

When people are alive, their bodies are soft; after death they become stiff. Grass and trees are tender and fragile while growing, but dry and hard after they wither and die. Therefore the hard and strong belong to the category of death, the soft and weak to the category of life. The harder a weapon, the more easily it breaks; the stronger a piece of wood, the more readily it occupies a lower position.

The chapter “The Dao (the Way) of Heaven” is titled “The Dao of Heaven” in the Heshanggong edition.

Does the Dao of Heaven not resemble drawing a bow? Where the string is high it is pressed down, where low it is raised; surplus is diminished, insufficiency is supplemented. Who can take what has surplus and supply it to the deficiencies of the world? Only those who practice the Dao. When the work is completed one does not occupy the merit; thus the merit never leaves oneself.

The seventy-eighth chapter, “The Soft and Weak under Heaven,” is titled “Relying on Trust” in the Heshanggong edition, while the Qingyuan edition titles it “Nothing under Heaven Is Softer or Weaker than Water.”

Nothing in the world is more yielding and weak than water, yet nothing can overcome it. This is because among all things there is nothing that can take the place of water’s function. Yielding overcomes the unyielding, the weak overcomes the strong; no one under heaven fails to know this principle, yet few are able to put it into practice.

The sage said: “Only by bearing the disasters of the state can one be called its true ruler; only by taking on the misfortunes of the state can one be called the king of the world.” Straightforward words often sound like their opposites.

Chapter 79: Harmonizing Great Resentment

The Heshang Gong edition titles this chapter “Renqi” (Taking Charge of the Tally).

After a great enmity has been reconciled, residual resentment still remains. The so-called “qi” here refers to the meeting of minds and mutual correspondence; “left” belongs to yang, and the heart likewise belongs to yang, because the heart can correspond with external circumstances and is therefore called “qi.” “Che” carries the sense of law and of thorough penetration.

Chapter 80: Small Country, Few People

The Heshanggong edition writes “独立” as “独立”; the present notes record textual variants among the different recensions.

In the sentence “使民有什伯之器,” the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Cao, and Chen editions all omit the character “民.” In the clause “而不用也,” the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su, Cao, Chen, Ye, Huang, and Cheng editions omit the particle “也.” In “使民重死而不远徙,” the Li edition annotates “徙” with the fanqie spelling “斯民切”; the Sima Guang edition writes “远徙” as “重复”; and the Su and Ye editions lack the sentence altogether. In “使民复结绳而用之,” the Li edition marks “绳” with the fanqie “食陵切” to indicate the reading, while the Qingyuan edition inserts an extra “故” before “上古之政.”

For “安其俗,” the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su, Cao, Chen, and Huang editions write “俗” as “居.” In the matching phrase “乐其业,” the same recensions write “业” as “俗.” In “邻国相望,” the Lin edition notes that “望” is to be read in the level tone, identical with the “望” of “冠盖相望.” The character “声” appears as “音” in the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su, Cao, Chen, and Huang editions. The phrase “使民至” lacks the character “使” in the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su, Cao, and Chen editions. In “不相与往来,” the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Su, Wuzhu, Cao, Chen, Dazhen, Ye, Qingyuan, Huang, and Cheng editions omit “与,” while the Huang and Cheng editions prefix an additional “而.”

The chapter heading “信言不美章第八十一” is given as “显质” in the Heshanggong edition.

In the phrase “无积,” the Zuanwei, Sima Guang, Cao, and Chen editions write “无” as “不.” In “天之道,” the Cheng edition adds a “而” at the beginning, and the Wuzhu edition omits the character “之.”

The title “道德真经集注释文” designates the collected commentaries and explanatory notes on the Daode Zhenjing.