Chapter 80
"Supposing here is a small state with few people.
Though there are various vessels I will not have them put in use.
I will make the people regard death as a grave matter and not go far away.
Though they have boats and carraiges they will not travel in them.
Though they have armour and weapons they will not show them.
I will let them restore the use of knotted cords (instead of writing).
They will be satisfied with their food.
Delighted in their dress;
Comfortable in their dwellings;
Happy with their customs.
Though the neighbouring states are within sight
And their cocks' crowing and dogs' barking within hearing;
The people (of the small state) will not go there their whole lives."
- Translated by Ch'u Ta-Kao, 1904, Chapter 80
"With a small State, sparsely populated, supposing that I had weapons for a thousand men, I would not use them.
I would rather teach my subjects to think seriously of death, and not to emigrate to a distance.
Then, though they might have ships and chariots, nobody would mount them; though they might have armour and weapons, nobody would set them in array.
I would make them return to the use of the quipu, render their food toothsome, beautify their clothes by cultivating the silkworm, live tranquilly at home, be happy in their domestic usages, keep watch with neighbouring states for their mutual safety, and let the crowing of cocks and barking of dogs be heard by one another from their numbers and proximity.
Thus the people would die of old age without ever coming into hostile collision with each other."
- Translated by Frederic Henry Balfour, 1884, Chapter 80
"Suppose
I had a country small,
With people few, and
I had there
Some officers of ten,
Or of a hundred men,
I'd not employ those
men at all;
Though death were
feared, unfrightened then,
My people would not
emigrate elsewhere.
They might have
carriages and boats,
But not in them to
ride away,
They might have
warlike arms,
But never war s
alarms
Would call them with
their hateful notes;
They d even forget
how writing charms,
And knotted cords
again they would display.
Then would they
relish homely food,
Their plain clothes
would seem elegant,
Though dwellings
might be poor,
Content would guard
the door,
And simple habits,
plain and good, Far better than they knew before,
A sense of fresh
enjoyment would implant.
A neighboring state
might be in sight,
The voice of fowls
and dogs be heard,
But life like that
would make
My people such joy
take
In their own state,
that till the night
Of age should their enjoyment slake,
Of age should their enjoyment slake,
And they should die,
they'd not exchange a word."
- Translated by Isaac Winter Heysinger, 1903, Chapter 80
- Translated by Isaac Winter Heysinger, 1903, Chapter 80
people, while looking on death as a grievous thing, yet not remove elsewhere to avoid it.
Though they had boats and carriages, they should have no occasion to ride in them; though they had buff coats and sharp weapons, they should have no occasion to don or use them.
I would make the people return to the use of knotted cords instead of the written characters.
They should think their coarse food sweet; their plain clothes beautiful; their poor dwellings places of rest; and their common simple ways sources of enjoyment.
There should be a neighboring state within sight, and the voices of the fowls and dogs should be heard all the way from it to us, but I would make the people to old age, even to death, not have any
intercourse with it."
- Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 80
"Sobre la estructura del Estado, yo pienso lo siguiente:
Es major cuando el país es pequeño y la población es poca.
Aun cuando haya muchas armas, no deben usarse. Tampoco deben usarse los barcos y los carros de guerra.
Para los guerreros es mejor no batallar.
La vida en el país debe ser tal que las personas no quieran dejarlo.
Es bueno si todos tienen comida sabrosa, ropa bonita, casas cómodas y una vida alegre.
Es bueno mirar el país vecino con amor y escuchar como allí los gallos cantan y los perros ladran.
Es bueno que las personas, al llegar a la vejez en este país,
alcancen la Perfección y se vayan de alli para no volver más."
- Translated by Anton Teplyy, 2008, Capitulo 80
"The ideal land is small
Its people very few,
Where tools abound
Ten times or yet
A hundred-fold
Beyond their use;
Where people die
And die again
But never emigrate;
Have boats and carts
Which no one rides.
Weapons have they
And armor too,
But none displayed.
The folk returns
To use again
The knotted chords.
Their meat is sweet;
Their clothes adorned,
Their homes at peace,
Their customs charm.
And neighbor lands
Are juxtaposed
So each may hear
The barking dogs,
The crowing cocks
Across the way;
Where folks grow old
And folks will die
And never once
Exchange a call."
- Translated by Raymond B. Blakney, 1955, Chapter 80
Chapter 80 of the Dao De Jing by Laozi: Text and Commentaries
Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices
Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching
Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices
Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching
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