《文子》Vol. 3

When chariots are mass-produced, towering walls are built, fighting forces are organized, and battle formations are laid out, soldiers are sent into danger to confront powerful enemies. Often, a hundred expeditions set out, but only a handful return. Even if this brings great renown and the annexation of other states’ lands, it leaves hundreds of thousands of corpses strewn across the ground, while countless elderly and weak people die of hunger and cold. From then on, people throughout the realm can no longer live out their nature in peace or follow their customary ways of life.

Then wise sages arise, taking Dao and De as their foundation, with benevolence and righteousness as their support. Those nearby grow in wisdom, while those far away are moved by their De. The realm is brought into unity, and their descendants carry on from generation to generation, helping govern the state. They root out the first signs of flattery and treachery, put an end to petty disputes, repeal harsh and exploitative laws, remove burdensome and severe administrative duties, cut off the channels through which rumors spread, close the paths to factional self-interest, and eliminate displays of cleverness, guiding people to follow the natural constant Dao. When people no longer cling to bodily senses and clever contrivances, they can reach the Great Dao and merge with all things, each returning to its root. Sages cannot create the times; they respond when the times arrive and seize the moment. In this way, they do not let what has already taken shape be cut off halfway.

Laozi says: Feng River, though ten ren deep, does not hold dust and grime. Gold and stone sink beneath its waters, yet their shapes remain visible from above. It is not that the water is shallow or unclear, but fish, turtles, and dragons are unwilling to dwell in it. Grain does not grow on rocky mountains, and no elk roam on bare hills, because there is nowhere to hide or take shelter. So, if those who govern a state mistake severity for discernment, harshness for intelligence, oppressing the people for loyalty, and elaborate schemes for achievement, they are like stretching leather ever wider: in the end, it will be ruined and torn apart. When governance is generous, the people are simple; when it is exacting, they are distressed.

Laozi says: Govern the state by the upright Dao and wage war with unconventional stratagems. First establish conditions in which the enemy cannot defeat you, then seek a way to defeat the enemy. If you have not yet put your own governance in order but attack disorder within another state, it is like using fire to fight fire or water to fight water. The same thing cannot overcome itself; victory through surprise therefore requires a different approach. Stillness counters agitation, order counters chaos, fullness counters hunger, and ease counters toil: different states check one another. The interplay of the orthodox and the unconventional is like water and fire, or Metal and Wood, overcoming one another; whatever the situation, there is a possibility of victory. Thus, when De is equal, the side with more people prevails over the side with fewer; when strength is equal, the more resourceful side overcomes the duller; and when resourcefulness is equal, the side with careful plans captures the side with none.