《道德真经注（元吴澄）》Vol. 3

“Treasure life and death” means that the people are content in their native lands and value living where they were born. They regard their homes as places of security and take pleasure in local customs; in other words, they have no wish to travel far away or move elsewhere. Everyone wishes to live where they were born until old age and death. Who would readily move to a distant place?

“Neighboring states are within sight of one another, and the sounds of chickens and dogs can be heard across the borders. Yet the people grow old and die without visiting one another.” This means that the people are all attached to their native lands. Even when neighboring states can see one another and hear one another’s chickens crowing and dogs barking, people may still go their whole lives without visiting. This does not merely mean that they do not move to distant places.

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Truthful words are often not beautiful; beautiful words are often not truthful. Those skilled in action do not rely on argument to display themselves; those who enjoy arguing are often not skilled in action. Those with genuine insight do not boast of their wide learning; those who seek breadth of knowledge may not truly understand the Way.

Wu Cheng says that those who speak truthfully do not deliberately embellish their words. Those whose speech is beautiful are often merely dressing things up, rather than speaking from truth. People with genuine ability do not like to argue; those who boast of themselves through argument may not actually be capable of doing things well. Those with genuine insight do not single-mindedly pursue extensive learning, and those who seek broad knowledge may not truly understand its underlying principles. The book speaks this way in its final chapter because its language throughout is calm and concise, neither argumentative nor boastful of learning. Its words are therefore truthful, not embellished for the sake of beauty.

The sage does not hoard wealth or knowledge. The more he helps others, the more he himself is enriched; the more he gives to others, the more abundantly he himself has.

“Does not hoard” here means not accumulating things and claiming them as one’s own. The sage shares with others the words he believes will benefit them and teaches them the principles he understands. Because his heart does not cling to storing things up, he can respond to others’ needs without exhaustion. If he treats what he has accumulated as his own, what he can give others will naturally be limited. How could giving then make him richer? The Zhuangzi says, “Accumulate what you have, and you will find it insufficient; store nothing, and you will have more than enough.”

The Way of Heaven benefits all things without harming them; the sage acts, yet does not contend with others.

“Benefit” stands opposite “harm.” When one acts by directly conferring benefits, this often brings harm as well. The Way of Heaven may seem to benefit all things without causing harm because it does not deliberately set out to confer benefits; it benefits all things naturally. “Acting with purpose” can easily lead to contention. Though the sage acts, he does not contend, because he acts without a desire to win.

Chapter Sixty-Eight

The preceding material summarizes the second part of the Dao De Jing and shows that the central meaning of the entire work, with its more than five thousand characters, is contained here.

Many characters in Laozi’s book have become corrupted. Wu Cheng gathered collated editions from several dozen scholars, compared their differences, and examined the text. The version transmitted by Zhuang Junping divides the work into seventy-two chapters, while versions transmitted by other scholars divide it into eighty-one. In some places, passages that should not have been separated as chapters were nevertheless divided. Wu Cheng therefore revised the arrangement and established sixty-eight chapters: the first part has thirty-two chapters, totaling 2,366 characters; the second part has thirty-six chapters, totaling 2,926 characters; the entire work has 5,292 characters.

Inscribed by Wu Cheng of Linchuan.

End of Volume Four of the Commentary on the True Classic of the Dao and De.