Dao De Jing, Laozi
"Who knows his manhood's strength,
Yet still his female feebleness maintains;
As to one channel flow the many drains,
All come to him, yea, all beneath the sky.
Thus he the constant excellence retains;
The simple child again, free from all stains.
Who knows how white attracts,
Yet always keeps himself within black's shade,
The pattern of humility displayed,
Displayed in view of all beneath the sky;
He in the unchanging excellence arrayed,
Endless return to man's first state has made.
Who knows how glory shines,
Yet loves disgrace, nor e'er for it is pale;
Behold his presence in a spacious vale,
To which men come from all beneath the sky.
The unchanging excellence completes its tale;
The simple infant man in him we hail.
The unwrought material, when divided and distributed, forms vessels.
The sage, when employed, becomes the Head of all the Officers of government.
In his greatest regulations he employs no violent measures."
- Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 28
"Who his manhood shows
And his womanhood knows
Becomes the empire's river.
Is he the empire's river,
He will from virtue never deviate,
And home he turneth to a child's estate.
Who his brightness shows
And his blackness knows
Becomes the empire's model.
Is he the empire's model,
Of virtue ne'er shall he be destitute,
And home he turneth to the absolute.
Who knows his fame
And guards his shame
Becomes the empire's valley.
Is he the empire's valley,
For e'er his virtue will sufficient be,
And home he turneth to simplicity."
Simplicity, when scattered, becomes a vessel of usefulness.
The holy man, by using it, becomes the chief leader;
And truly, a great principle will never do harm."
- Translated by Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki and Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 28
But keeps to the Female
Becomes the ravine of the world.
Being the ravine of the world,
He has the original character (teh) which is not cut up.
And returns again to the (innocence of the) babe.
But keeps to the black (dark)
Becomes the model for the world.
Being the model for the world,
He has the eternal power which never errs,
And returns again to the Primordial Nothingness.
But keeps to obscurity
Becomes the valley of the world.
Being the valley of the world,
He has an eternal power which always suffices,
And returns again to the natural integrity of uncarved wood.
And it is shaped into vessel
In the hands of the Sage
They become the officials and magistrates.
Therefore the great ruler does not cut up."
- Translated by Lin Yutang, 1948, Chapter 28
"Know the masculine; cleave to the feminine.
Be the valley for the world.
To be the valley for the world,
do not swerve from your innate nature
and return to the state of infancy.
Know the bright; keep to the dull.
Be a guide for the world.
To be a guide for for the world,
follow your innate nature without changing
and return to the pre-conceptual.
Understand glory; keep to humility.
Be the valley for the world.
Innate nature completed, return to original uniqueness.
When original uniqueness is divided,
It then becomes the instrumentalities.
The Sage employs them,
They then become the officers.
Thus, subtle governance shapes not."
- Translated by
Cheng Man-Ch'ing and Tam Gibbs, 1981, Chapter 28
"Becoming
Using the male, being female,Being the entrance of the world,
You embrace harmony
And become as a newborn.
Using strength, being weak,
Being the root of the world,
You complete harmony
And become as unshaped wood.
Using the light, being dark,
Being the world,
You perfect harmony
And return to the Way."
- Translated by Peter Merel, Chapter 28
Being thus the channel of the whole Empire, the cardinal virtues will never depart from him, and he will revert to a condition of childlike innocence.
He who, conscious of light, keeps in obscurity, will become a model for the whole Empire.
Being a model for the whole Empire, the cardinal virtues will never fail him, and he will revert to the Unconditioned.
He who, conscious of his glory, guards humility, will become the valley of the whole Empire.
Being the valley of the Empire, he will revert to his original simplicity.
When this simplicity is distributed, the man becomes a thing of utility to the State.
The Sage employs men of this simplicity, and advances them to high rank; therefore his administration is on a grand scale, and never comes to an end."
- Translated by Frederick Balfour, 1884, Chapter 28
"He
who is aware of the Male
But keeps to the Female
Becomes the ravine of the world.
Being the ravine of the world,
He has the original character (teh) which is not cut up.
And returns again to the (innocence of the) babe.
He
who is conscious of the white (bright)
But keeps to the black (dark)
Becomes the model for the world.
Being the model for the world,
He has the eternal power which never errs,
And returns again to the Primordial Nothingness.
He
who is familiar with honor and glory
But keeps to obscurity
Becomes the valley of the world.
Being the valley of the world,
He has an eternal power which always suffices,
And returns again to the natural integrity of uncarved wood.
Break
up this uncarved wood
And it is shaped into vessel
In the hands of the Sage
They become the officials and magistrates.
Therefore the great ruler does not cut up."
- Translated by
Lin Yutang,
1948, Chapter 28
"Conoce lo masculino, manténte en lo femenino y sé elArroyo del Mundo.
Ser el Arroyo del Mundo es caminar constantemente por el sendero dela Virtud
sin desviarse del mismo, y retornar de nuevo a la infancia.
Conoce lo blanco, manténte en lo negro, y sé el Modelodel Mundo.
Ser el Modelo del Mundo es caminar constantemente por el sendero dela Virtud
sin errar un solo paso, y retornar de nuevo a lo Infinito.
Conoce la gloria, manténte en la humildad, y sé la Fuentedel Mundo.
Ser la Fuente del Mundo es vivir la vida fértil de la Virtud,y retornar de
nuevo a la Simplicidad Primordial.
Cuando la Simplicidad Primordial se divide, se convierte en
recipientesútiles, que, en manos del Sabio, se transforman en funcionarios.
Por ello, "un gran sastre da pocos cortes"."
- Translated into Spanish by
Alfonso Colodrón from
the English translation by John C. H. Wu, 1993, Tao Te Ching, Capítulo # 28
Chapter 28, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
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