1. Original text

The Tao can be Tao, but it is not Tao; the name can be named, but it is not famous.

Nameless, the beginning of all things, named, the mother of all things.

Therefore, always have no desire in order to observe its wonderfulness, and always have desire in order to observe its pleasure.

The two have the same origin but different names. They are both called mysteries.

2. Translation

If "Tao" can be expressed in words, then it is Chang "Tao" ("Tao" can be expressed in words, it is not ordinary "Tao"); "name" if it can be named with words, then it is a regular "name" ("name" can also be explained, it is not an ordinary "name").

"Nothing" can be used to describe the situation when the heaven and earth are in chaos; and "you" is the name of the origin of the creation of all things in the universe. Therefore, we must always observe and understand the mystery of "Tao" from "nothing"; we must always observe and understand the clues of "Tao" from "being". Nothingness and Being have the same origin but different names. They can both be called mysterious and profound.

It is not ordinary mysterious and profound, but mysterious and mysterious, profound and profound. It is the general gate of the mystery of the universe, heaven and earth (from the "named" mystery to the invisible mystery, "Tao" is The way to understand all the mysterious changes).

3. In this chapter, Laozi focuses on introducing his philosophical category-"Tao". Are the attributes of Tao materialistic or idealistic? This is a problem that has existed for a long time, and it has aroused the strong interest of many scholars since ancient times. Historically, Han Feizi lived in an era relatively close to Laozi, and he was the first scholar to annotate the Tao Te Ching.

"The Tao can be Tao but the Tao is not Tao" comes from Chapter 1 of the Tao Te Ching. Extended information

"Tao Te Ching", a philosophical work by Lao Tzu (Li Er) during the Spring and Autumn Period, also known as "Tao Te Ching", "Lao Tzu", "Five Thousand Words", and "Lao Tzu's Five Thousand Essays", It is a work written by the pre-Qin scholars in ancient China before they split up, and is an important source of Taoist philosophy. The Tao Te Ching is divided into two parts. The original text is the first part "De Jing" and the second part "Tao Jing". They are not divided into chapters. Later, they were changed to "Tao Jing". Chapter 37 comes first, and after chapter 38, it is "De Jing" and divided into chapters. For 81 chapters.

The text of the "Tao Te Ching" takes "morality" in the philosophical sense as its outline, discussing the ways of self-cultivation, governing the country, using military force, and maintaining health. Most of it takes politics as its purpose. It is the so-called "inner sage and outer king". His studies are profound and comprehensive, and he is known as the king of scriptures.

The Tao Te Ching is one of the greatest masterpieces in Chinese history and has had a profound impact on traditional philosophy, science, politics, religion, etc. According to statistics from UNESCO, the "Tao Te Ching" is the cultural classic that has been translated into foreign languages ??and published the most besides the Bible.

The Tao Te Ching is also known as the "Tao Te Ching" and "Laozi". ", "Five Thousand Words", and "Laozi's Five Thousand Essays" are works written by the pre-Qin scholars in ancient China before the family split. They were admired by the scholars at that time. It is said that it was Laozi (Li Er) in the Spring and Autumn Period. It is an important source of Taoist philosophical thought.

The Tao Te Ching is divided into two parts. The original text is the first part "De Jing" and the second part "Tao Jing". They are not divided into chapters. Later they were changed to "Tao Jing". Chapter 37 comes first, and after chapter 38 it is "De Jing", divided into 81 chapters. The text takes "morality" in the philosophical sense as its outline, and discusses the ways of self-cultivation, governing the country, using military force, and maintaining health. Most of the text focuses on politics. It is the so-called "sage within and king outside". The text is profound and comprehensive. ?

The total number of words in the "Tao Te Ching" varies depending on the version: Mawangdui silk script, version A is 5344 words, version B is 5342 words (plus 124 words of emphasis); the current version, on the river Gong's "Tao Te Ching Chapters and Sentences" is 5201 words (plus 94 words of emphasis), Wang Bi's "Laozi's Notes on the Tao Te Ching" is 5162 words (plus 106 words of emphasis), and Fu Yi's "Ancient Version of the Tao Te Ching" is 5450 words (plus 106 words of emphasis).

The modern popular version of the Tao Te Ching was annotated by Wang Bi and has 5162 words.

Reference material: Tao Te Ching - Baidu Encyclopedia