Tao Te Ching, Chapter 27

Dao De Jing, Laozi
Chapter 27

"The skillful traveler leaves no trace behind him,

The skillful speaker says nothing that falsely jars,

The skillful counter keeps no checks to remind him,

The skillful locker requires no bolts or bars,

And the skillful binder no cords, or knots or strings,

Yet to afterwards open or loose are impossible things.

So the sage in his goodness is ever a saver of men,

No man he rejects or loses,

And alike in his goodness a saver of things, for then

He everything saves and uses,

And this is the inner enlightenment again,

Which comprehends and chooses.

So the good instructs the bad, the bad in turn

Is material for the good; and not to prize

One's own instructor, not to love, but spurn

One's own material, would confuse the wise.

This mutual help and love make all men kin,

And mark the spirit divine, within."
-  Translated by Isaac Winter Heysinger, 1903, Chapter 27

"The skilful traveler leaves no traces of his wheels or footsteps.
The skilful speaker says nothing that can be found fault with or blamed.
The skilful reckoner uses no tallies.
The skilful closer needs no bolts or bars, while to open what he has shut will be impossible.
The skilful binder uses no strings or knots, while to unloose what he has bound will be impossible.
In the same way the sage is always skilful at saving men, and so he does not cast away any man;
He is always skilful at saving things, and so he does not cast away anything.
This is called 'Hiding the light of his procedure.'
Therefore, the man of skill is a master to be looked up to by him who has not the skill. 
He who has not the skill is the helper of the reputation of him who has the skill.
If the one did not honor his master, and the other did not rejoice in his helper, an observer, though intelligent, might greatly err about them.
This is called 'The utmost degree of mystery.'"
-  Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 27 

"Good (shan) running leaves no tracks,
Good speech has no flaws,
Good counting uses no counters,
A good lock uses no bolts yet cannot be opened,
A good knot uses no rope yet cannot be untied.
Hence the sage is always good at saving people,
Therefore no one is rejected.
He is always good at saving things,
Therefore nothing is rejected.
This is called following the light (ming).
Therefore the good person,
Is the not-good (pu-shan) person's teacher.
The not-good (pu-shan) person,
Is the good person's capital.
One who does not honor (kuei) the teacher,
Or love (ai) the capital,
Is greatly confounded though knowledgeable (chih).
This is called the important mystery (miao)."
-  Translated by Ellen Marie Chen, 1989, Chapter 27 


"One may move so well that a foot-print never shows,
Speak so well that the tongue never slips,
Reckon so well that no counter is needed,
Seal an entrance so tight, though using no lock,
That it cannot be opened,
Bind a hold so firm, though using no cord,
That it cannot be untied.
And these are traits not only of a sound man
But of many a man thought to be unsound.
A sound man is good at salvage,
At seeing that nothing is lost.
Having what is called insight,
A good man, before he can help a bad man,
Finds in himself the matter with the bad man.
And whichever teacher
Discounts the lesson
Is as far off the road as the other,
Whatever else he may know.
That is the heart of it."
-  Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 27 


善行無轍迹.
善言無瑕讁.
善數不用籌策.
善閉無關楗而不可開.
善結無繩約而不可解.
是以聖人常善救人, 故無棄人.
常善救物.
故無棄物, 是謂襲明.
故善人者, 不善人之師.
不善人者, 善人之資.
不貴其師, 不愛其資, 雖智大迷.
是謂要妙.
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 27



shan hsing wu ch'ê chi.
shan yen wu hsia chai.
shan shu pu yung ch'ou ts'ê.
shan pi wu kuan chien erh pu k'o k'ai. 
shan chieh wu shêng yo erh pu k'o chieh.
shih yi shêng jên ch'ang shan chiu jên, ku wu ch'i jên.
ch'ang shan chiu wu.
ku wu ch'i wu shih wei hsi ming.
ku shan jên chê, pu shan jên chih shih.
pu shan jên chih, shan jên chih tzu. 
pu kuei ch'i shih, pu ai ch'i tzu, sui chih ta mi.
shih wei yao miao. 
-  Wade-Giles Romanization, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 27


"Good travelers leave no trace nor track,
Good speakers, in logic show no lack,
Good counters need no counting rack.
Good lockers bolting bars need not,
Yet none their locks can loose.
Good binders need no string nor knot,
Yet none unties their noose.
Therefore the holy man is always a good savior of men, for there are no outcast people.
He is always a good savior of things, for there are no outcast things.
This is called applied enlightenment.  
Thus the good man does not respect multitudes of men.
The bad man respects the people's wealth.
Who does not esteem multitudes nor is charmed by their wealth, though his knowledge be greatly confused,
He must be recognized as profoundly spiritual."
-  Translated by Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki and Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 27 


"A good traveler leaves neither ruts nor footprints;
A good speaker makes neither slips nor errors;
A good calculator uses neither wooden chips nor bamboo chips;
A good door-shutter has neither latch nor lock,
Yet, the door he shuts cannot be opened;
A good knot-tier has neither rope nor string,
Yet, the knot he ties cannot be untied.
Hence, the sage man
Was constantly good at rescuing men
So that there were no cast-off men;
As for things,
There were no cast-off goods.
This is called surpassing insight.
Hence, good men are good men's teachers;
Evil men, good men's wealth.
He who neither values his teachers,
Nor cherishes his wealth,
Though crafty, is but a big fool.
This is called subtle essence."
-  Translated by Chichung Huang, Chapter 27 

"Un buen caminante no deja huellas.
Un buen orador no se equivoca ni ofende.
Un buen contable no necesita útiles de cálculo.
Un buen cerrajero no usa barrotes ni cerrojos,
y nadie puede abrir lo que ha cerrado.
Quien ata bien no utiliza cuerdas ni nudos,
y nadie puede desatar lo que ha atado.
Así, el sabio siempre ayuda a los hombres,
por eso a nadie desampara.
El sabio siempre salva a las cosas,
por eso a ninguna descuida.
De él se dice que está deslumbrado por la luz.
Por esto, el hombre bueno no se considera maestro
de los hombres, sino que les enseña;
y el hombre que no es bueno estima como buenas las
riquezas que de los hombres obtiene.
No amar el magisterio ni la materia de los hombres,
y aparentar ignorancia, siendo iluminado,
Este es un principio esencial del Tao."

-  Translation from Wikisource, 2013, Capítulo 27  


"A good traveler leaves no tracks.
A good speaker is without flaw.
A good planner does not calculate.
A good doorkeeper does not lock, yet it cannot be opened.
A good knotter does not use binding, yet it cannot be undone.
Therefore, the sage is good at his earnest demands upon people.
So no one is left out.
No talent is wasted.
This is called being in the tow of enlightenment,
And it ensures the good person.
For everything that is good is the teacher of the good person.
Everything that is bad becomes a resource for the good person.
No need to honor the teachers.
No need to love the resources.
Though knowing this is a great paradox,
It is the subtle principle."
-  Translated by Tao Huang, Chapter 27 



A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes over 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter.   

Chapter 27, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

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