Laozi: The Dao De Jing
(Updated, expanded and then posted on 8-13-2022) (updated again on 12-4-2023 and 1-27-24)
[Note: Words written in pinyin will be italicized]
Laozi ( 老子) (ca. 580-500 BC) is considered the founder of Daoism. It is commonly acknowledged that Laozi’s philosophy underlies the structure or formation of the overall psychology and world view of the Chinese people.
The Book of Laozi, also commonly known as the Dao De Jing (道德经) (DDJ), is the major written source of Daoism. It is composed of 81 chapters written in a poetic style with many metaphors. This creates the necessity for many footnotes and explanations. The English version that I have used is: The Classic of the Dao: A New Investigation, by Wang Keping. Having read several other English translations, this one by Keping I have found to be without the Western biases and shortcuts used by others. For this discussion, the 81 chapters have been reduced the most important and influential six chapters: numbers 1–11–40–46–48–80 in Keping’s edition.
Little is known about the life of Laozi. Of several stories, the most famous and well-known story that has been attached to him is how he came to write the DDJ. Having worked in the national library of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC), Laozi wanted to retire and go into rural seclusion. He resigned his position and traveled to the thinly-populated west. Upon arrival at the Hangguguan Pass, he was met by a border guard who insisted that he write down his philosophy and thoughts for posterity. Laozi used over 5,000 words (characters) revealing his understanding about the meaning of the Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue and Morality). He then traveled further into obscurity.
Laozi was the first person known to form the concept of the Dao (the Way or the Path, Road). De could translated as the “way of man”, human morality, code of conduct, and/or the essence of life. But Laozi expanded the Dao to include such things as the origin of the universe, the root of all things, the laws of natural changes and social development, politics and the truth of human affairs.
Dao De Jing: Chapter One
There are so many different translation and interpretation possibilities. The first character dao (道) can be translated as the road, the way, the path, the truth, orientation, course, doctrine, set of moral principles, among some others. De (德) means morality, virtue, moral character, mind and heart. Jing (经) means a scripture or canon.
There are 10 lines in chapter one. Some people say that the Dao De Jing cannot be translated at all into English. But I will try:
道 可 道，非 常 道；
名 可 名，非 常 名。
无 名 天 地 之 始；
有 名 万 物 之 母。
故 常 无， 欲 以 观 其 妙；
常 有， 欲 以 观 其 徼。
此 两 者
同 出 而 异 名
同 谓 之 玄。
玄 之 又 玄
众 妙 之 门。
Dao ke dao fei chang dao;
Ming ke ming fei chang ming.
Wu ming, tian di zhi shi;
You ming, wan wu zhi mu.
Gu chang wu, yu yi guan qi miao;
Chang you, yu yi guan qi jiao.
Cu liang zhe
Tong chu er yi ming
Tong wei zhi xuan.
Xuan zhi you xuan
Zhong miao zhi men.
Line # 1:
Dao ke dao fei chang dao;
Moving along, ke (可) means can, may, the ability to. Fei (非) can be translated as not, while chang (常) in this context means constant, invariable. Therefore some possible translations could be:
“The Dao that can be Dao-ed is not the constant and invariable Dao;
The Way that can be weighed is not the constant and invariable Way;
The Road that can be rode is not the constant invariable Road;
The Doctrine that can be indoctrinated is not the constant invariable Doctrine;
The Truth that can be expressed is not the constant invariable Truth;”
I believe Laozi’s intention here is to state that there is a lot of reality that is beyond the reach of language, reason, conventional wisdom, and the human mind. This seems to parallel the story when Buddha at one sermon simply presented to his assembled followers a single lotus flower, without the words of a sermon or lecture.
Line # 2:
Ming ke ming fei chang ming.
The second line almost repeats the first, except that instead of the Dao, it is the ming (名). Ming can be translated as name, or even label. So the second line can be rendered as:
The Name that can be named is not the constant invariable Name.
or
The Label that can be labeled is not the constant invariable Label.
Lines # 3 and 4
Wu ming tian di zhi shi;
You ming wan wu zhi mu.
In the third and fourth lines Laozi introduces two characters (words) that he will use over and over again throughout the Dao De Jing. They are central to ones understanding this text, Daoism, and the Chinese world view in general. The two characters are wu (无) and you (有).
Wu literally means “without”. So the question could arise: without what? In this context it means without form. It is being, or existence, that is without form. I do not believe that is means non-being, as so often translated. It is being, it is existence, only without having form. It can also mean that which is without substance, or without being manifested. Being-Without-Form.
You, on the other hand, means to have. To have being or existence within form. To have substance, and to be in a state of manifestation. A state of existence can be subject to our perceptions (senses) and our conceptions (minds). Being-Within-Form.
In line three, the first two characters wu and ming can mean that which is without a name, or taken together as a compound word, the “Nameless”. Tian (天) means sky or Heaven, and di (地) means earth. But if taken together as a compound word tiandi, it means the “Universe” . Zhi (之) means this, and shi (始) means the beginning or start of something.
So line three can be translated as:
“That without a name is the beginning of Heaven and Earth;
or
The Nameless is the origin of the Universe;”
Line four completes the couplet and is the complementary contrast, or parallel, to line three. You ming means “to have a name” . Wan wu (万物) together literally means “the ten thousand things”, or all the myriad, innumerable, worldly things. The last character is the line is mu (母), which means mother, or the origin. So line four can be interpreted as:
“That which has a name is the mother of ten thousand things.
or
The Named is the origin of all the innumerable things of the world.”
Laozi has set out a worldview where there is a reality, a truth, or a Way which can be named and described with language, and a reality which also cannot. There are two modes of existence: one without form and the other within form.
For Hamlet, William Shakespeare and Western civilization as a whole, “To be, or not to be. That is the question.” But for Laozi and Eastern civilization, to be or not to be is not the question. The question is, you or wu. Is this a particular example of existence within form, and therefore manifest, or is it without form and therefore not-manifested.
Lines # 5 and 6
Gu chang wu, yu yi guan qi miao;
Chang you, you yi guan qi jiao.
The second half of this chapter moves into how, and what happens when a person experiences these states of being, and/or states of consciousness: wu and you. Line five begins with gu (故), which means therefore. Yu (欲) can mean “desires”, “wants” and “needs”, or in this context it can mean “about to, or on the verge of”. Yi guan qi (以观其) means: “when on the verge of seeing“. The final character miao (妙) will appear often in Laozi as well as in many Tang Dynasty poems. It means a bright, brilliant, wondrous, and mystery. So line five can be:
“Therefore, from the viewpoint of being-without-form, one can see the wondrous Mystery;”
or
“Therefore, when on the verge of experiencing being-without-form, one can experience the wondrous Mystery;”
Once again, as with lines one and two, lines three and four, line six completes a couplet started by line five. Here the last character jiao (徼) can literally be translated as borders, or boundaries, and/or perhaps as the beginning of manifestation, or seeing the fog line. In the northern California’s rice country, during the winter there is often the phenomena of a clear line between a bank of fog and the sunny blue sky. Jiao is the opposite, and/or complement to miao. So line six can be:
“From the viewpoint of being-within-form, one can see the borders and boundaries of manifestations.”
or
“When on the verge of experiencing being-within-form, one can see the boundaries of the innumerable worldly things.”
Line # 7 and 8:
Ci liang zhe, tong chu, tong chu er yi ming
Tong wei zhi xuan.
Ci liang zhe (此两者) means “these two things” (wu and you). Tong chu (同出) literally means the “same thing that comes out, or emerges.” Er yi (而异) means “that are different“.
“These two things that are different emerge with one name”
Xuan (玄) is kind of like miao, except it is a mystery that is hidden, dark, incredible, yin-like, and not bright, brilliant, or yang-like. Wei (谓) means “to say“. So although these two things (wu and you) have different names, they both express xuan.
“Yet they both express the hidden and incredible mystery.”
So the this couplet can be rendered as:
“These two things that are different emerge with one name
Yet they both express the hidden and incredible mystery.”
Or
“These two things emerge as the same, but with different names
They both refer to the same incredible and profound mystery.”
Lines #9 and 10:
Xuan zhi you xuan
Zhong miao zhi men.
This you (又) means “also, or in addition to“. So the final four characters are set up with: “although this mystery is often hidden.”
In the last line, zhong (众) can be translated as “many“, while men (门) is “door, doorway, gate, or gateway.” So zhong miao zhi men (众妙之门) means that there are many doorways or gates to this wondrous mystery.
So the final couplet can be translated as:
“Although this mystery is often hidden and profound
There are many gateways to the brilliant and wondrous mystery.”
So the complete translation can be:
“The Truth that can be expressed is not the constant invariable Truth;
The Name that can be named is not the constant invariable Name.
The Nameless is the origin of the Universe;
The Named is the mother of all the worldly things.
Therefore, when on the verge of experiencing Existence-Without-Form, one can see the brilliant and wondrous Mystery;
When on the verge of experiencing Existence-Within-Form, one can experience the boundaries of worldly manifestations.
These two things, emerge as the same, but have different names;
They both express the same incredible, hidden, and profound mystery.
Although this mystery is often hidden and profound;
There are many gateways to the brilliant and wondrous Mystery.”
The Dao De Jing: Chapter 40
反 者 道 之 动。
弱 者 道 之 用。
天 下
万 物 生 于 有。
有 生 于 无。
Fan zhe dao zhi dong.
Ruo zhe dao zhi yong.
Tian xia, wan wu sheng yu you.
You sheng yu wu.
Reverting to its opposite is how the Dao moves;
Being pliable and weak is how the Dao is used.
Under Heaven, (down here on earth)
The ten thousand things emerge from what exists within form.
And that which exists within form, emerges from what exists without form.
Notes:
In the initial line, fan (反) is a character that appears over and over again in Laozi and the DDJ. It is a word that has many shades of meaning: to return, to revert back, go back, come back, the perpetual reversion of the contrary, such as yin (阴) to its opposite, yang (阳), to redo, to return to one’s original nature, return to one’s hometown, a return to unity or a union of opposites, a circular return of the seasons, and to rotate. Fan refers to a dynamic and circular movement of the Dao.
The last character in line one, dong (动), means movement, to stir, act, change, alter, use, arouse. It is a verb that describes a dynamic process, a process that moves easily and often.
In the second line, ruo (弱) means weak, soft, and pliable. As a process, it means to weaken, bend, and go with the flow. Laozi more than once in other chapters, expressed that it is the soft and weak that overcomes the hard and strong. The element of water is the prime example. In chapter 78 Laozi says:
“Nothing under Heaven is softer and weaker than water, and yet nothing can compare with it in attacking the hard and strong…”
Within the context of Chinese writing-painting, known as shufa (书法), it describes the critical way, or technique, on how the brush and ink (you) are applied to the white paper (wu). For shufa, although the technique may be weak and delicate, the effect should be fluid and free.
So the first two lines mean:
“Reversion to its opposite is how the Dao moves;
Being pliable and weak is how the Dao is used.”
Lines # 3 and 4, and the closing couplet:
Tian xia literally means “under the sky”, or what is down here on earth.
Wan wu are the innumerable things that can be perceived and conceived
Sheng means to give birth to, to bear, deliver, grow, life, existence, cause, make, incur, to emerge.
Yu you means “from Being-Within-Form.
You sheng you wu: and Being-Within-Form emerges from Being-Without-Form.
So chapter 40 can be translated as:
“Reversion to its opposite is how the Dao moves;
Being pliable and weak is how the Dao is used.
On earth, the innumerable worldly things emerge from Being-Within-Form;
And Being-Within-Form is born from Being-Without-Form.”
This movement back and forth makes the Dao more of a verb, as opposed to being a noun. The swinging to and fro is kind of like the young child playing peek-a-boo with a parent or adult. “First you see it, and now you don’t.” The Western mind often tends to believe that if the object is not seen, then it does not exist. This cognitive milestone is also known as “object permanence”.
This vision of existence moving back and forth between the formed and the formless, the material and the spiritual, the manifested and non-manifested, dovetails well with one of the basic tenets of Chan Fojiao (禅佛教) (Zen Buddhism): the impermanence, transitory nature of our world, which prepared the way for Buddhism’s later acceptance when first introduced into China in the early centuries of the Christian Era.
The Dao De Jing: Chapter 11
三 十 辐 共 一 毂
当 其 无 ， 有 车 之 用。
埏 填 以 为 器
当 其 无， 有 器 之 用。
凿 户 牖 以 为 室
当 其 无， 有 室 之 用。
故 有 之 以 为 利 ，无 之 以 为 用。
San shi fu gong yi gu
Dang qi wu, you che zhi yong.
Shan tian yi wei qi
Dang qi wu, you qi zhi yong.
Zao hu you yi wei shi
Dang qi wu, you shi zhi yong.
Gu you zhi yi wei li
Wu zhi yi wei yong.
Several spokes together make a wheel
The emptiness of one hub creates a useful vehicle.
Mix water and clay to create a valuable implement
The empty space inside makes it useful.
Chiseled holes for doors and windows make for a room
Their empty spaces create a place of utility.
Therefore, solid things create benefits
While emptiness makes for usefulness.
Lines #1 and 2:
The spaces between the several spokes of the wheel, as well as the hole required for the central hub, are used as examples of wu. Previously in chapters 1 and 40, “wu” was described as Being-Without-Form. In this chapter and context, the word’s meaning has been expanded to include “have-no-substance.” In this chapter, wu is approached from a spatial and manifested phenomena perspective. The word “you” in this chapter is a counterpart and complementary to “wu”, and therefore means “to-have substance”. In this context, the have-no-substance requires the presence of to-have-substance in order to exist. It is the substance upon which the human mind initially and primarily focuses. “You” is in the foreground of consciousness, while the wu appears to fade away into the background.
In the context of the arts, both “wu” and “you” are needed to create a picture or piece of music. In the visual arts world, the empty space of pictured objects is called “white space”, or “negative space”. In traditional Chinese paintings and drawings, these white spaces dominate the scene. Traditional Chinese landscape paintings use the negative spaces for most of the picture. It is considered just as important as the “positive space”. This dominate style of Chinese painting flows from the philosophy and world view of Laozi. In music, the white or negative spaces are silence. Moments of silence within the tonal patterns and harmonies.
Lines #3 to 8:
The valuable implement in line #3 may be best visualized as a cup, or water pitcher. For Laozi, the “to-have-substance” part of a wheel, cup, and room creates the benefits of such objects. While it is the “have-no-substance” of these things that creates it’s usefulness and utility.
The Dao De Jing: Chapter 46
天 下 有 道
却 马 以 粪。
天 下 无 道， 戎 马 生 于 郊。
罪 莫 大 于 多 欲
祸 莫 大 于 不 知 足
咎 莫 大 于 欲 得
故 知 足 之 足
常 足 矣。
Tian xia you dao
Que zou ma yi fen.
Tian xia wu dao
Rong ma sheng yu jiao.
Zui mo da yu duo yu
Huo mo da yu bu zhi zu.
Jiu mo da yu yu dai.
Gu zhi zu zhi zu, chang zu yi.
When the Dao is under heaven, down here on earth
Horses are used to farm and help spread manure.
When the world is without the Dao
Even pregnant foals outside the cities are used in wartime battles.
The maximum guilt and shame comes from excessive desires
The greatest misfortunes arise from not knowing what is sufficient.
Extreme disasters develop when desires become needs
Therefore it is best to know when enough is enough, and to be contented with contentment.
[Just as true today as when Laozi expressed these words.]
The Dao De Jing: Chapter 48
为 常 日 益, 为 道 日 损
损 之 又 损
以 至 于 无 为。
无 为 而 无 不 为。
将 欲 取 天 下
常 以 无 事。
及 其 有 事
不 足 以 取 天 下。
Wei xue ri yi
Wei dao ri sun.
Sun zhi you sun
Yi zhi yu wu wei.
Wu wei er wu bu wei.
Jiang yu qu tian xia
Chang yi wu shi
Ji qi you shi
Bu zu yi qu tian xia.
Knowledge and manipulations increase day by day
The Dao applied daily decreases the harmful aspects of learning and training.
Decreasing and continually decreasing
To such an extent that one allows things to take their own course.
Practicing no-action leaves nothing undone
Taking care of what is down here on earth
Frequently requires not doing a thing
One who considers doing actions in an arbitrary and whimsical manner
Is not qualified to govern worldly affairs.
Lines # 1 and 2: By learning and being programmed, people often develop cleverness and cunning, which in turn intensifies desires and wants. From here will arise competition, conspiracies and other social and political problems. Losing tract of one’s true self and purpose follows, with the accompaniment of enslavements.
But when one follows and adheres to the Dao, this leads to spiritual nourishment and freedom from desires.
Lines #4 and 5:
Wu wei: An expression used throughout the DDJ by Laozi. It literally means “without producing or making.”, as well as “do nothing”, “no-action”, and “letting things take their natural, spontaneous course.” The Dao by it’s very nature is spontaneous and natural.
Line # 7 and 8:
Wu shi: Not doing anything to disturb and control people. Letting others live their own lives. Mind your own business. The ideal leader and ruler for Laozi is one who recommends and models self-realization. To reduce what is excessive and supplement whatever is lacking.
You shi: The exact opposite of wu shi. To do anything arbitrarily. To micromanage, dictate, coerce, and try to control the actions of others. Laozi also says: “I take no action, and the people themselves become transformed…I disturb nobody, and the people of themselves become prosperous.”
The Dao De Jing: Chapter 80
小 国 寡 民。
使 有 什 伯 之 器 而 不 用；
使 民 重 死 而 不 远 徙
而 不 远 徙。
虽 有 舟 舆
无 所 乘 之；
虽 有
无 所 之。
甘 其 食
美 其 腹
安 其 居
乐 其 俗。
国 相 望
鸡 犬 之 声 相 闻
民 至 老 死
不 相 往 来。
Xiao guo gua min.
Shi you shi bai, qi er bu yong;
Shi min chong si
Er bu yuan xi.
Sui you zhou yu
Wu suo chen zhi;
Gan qi shi, mei qi fu
An qi ju, xue qi su.
Ling guo xiang wang
Ji quan zhi sheng xiang wen
Min zhi lao si
Bu xiang wang lai.
Consider a small country with a scarcity of people.
It can have hundreds of various tools and instruments
But let most of them go unused;
There should be no rush towards death
Or migrations to distant lands.
Although they have boats and carriages
Let there be no occasion to put them on display;
Or times when people tie knots on cords to record transactions.
Instead enjoy delicious food and beautifully-made clothes
Live in peace and be happy with their own customs.
Although neighboring countries are within sight of each other in the distance
They cannot hear the sounds of the other’s chickens and hunting dogs
All together these peoples live well into old age without even meeting each other.
Throughout the DDJ, Laozi proposes the principle of the Dao, a simplicity of mind and life, appreciate the environment of silence and tranquility, denounce war and excessive desires, and admires antiquity. All of these elements can add up to a conception of the ideal society, with effective and moral leadership. If not totally achieved in real life, they can be a beacon for a spiritual refuge and a living within the truth.
Commentary:
This small country with few people is basically structured on the model of a community in antiquity, while the people living there are simple, rural, hard-working, peaceful and Dao-based, (like the Jeffersonian democracy of the American founding father ). They are content with what they have, and do not chase after consumer and decadent lifestyles we see so much today. This social ideal was later extended by the Jin Dynasty poet Tao Yuanming (365-427) into a Chinese utopia he called Peach Blossom Watersource. Both can be found on my website. The history of utopias is one of a worthy goal, but only achieved on very small scales.
The Classic of the Dao: A New Investigation
By Wang Keping
Foreign Languages Press, Beijing 1998