Translation and Interpretation of "Laozi's Tao Te Ching·Chapter 64: It is safe and easy to hold"
It is safe and easy to hold01, it is easy to plan without warning02, it is fragile and easy to judge03, it Weiyisan04. Treat it before it exists, and cure it before it is in chaos05. The tree of Hebao was born in Hao Mo 06. The nine-story platform starts from tired soil07. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step08.
Those who do it will lose it, and those who insist will lose it01. Therefore, the sage does nothing, so he has no defeat; he has no attachment, so he has no failure02.
People often succeed and fail in their undertakings. If you are as careful as you are at the end, you will never fail.
Therefore, the sage’s desires are 05, and the goods that are not expensive and rare are 06. Whether you learn or not, you will repeat what everyone else has done07. To supplement the nature of all things, and not dare to be 08.
Today's Translation
It is easy to control when the situation is calm, easy to plot when things are not yet born, easy to divide when fragile, and easy to disperse when small. Things are dealt with before they appear, and things are managed before chaos occurs. Hug the big tree, born from the young buds. The nine-story high platform was built from the ground. A thousand miles begins with a lift of one foot.
If you act with intention, you will fail; if you hold on with intention, you will lose. A saint does not act rashly, so he will not fail; he does not hold rashly, so he will not lose.
When people do things in the world, they often fail when they almost succeed. Therefore, when doing things, you must be careful from the beginning to the end to avoid failure.
What the saint expects is what people do not expect. The saint does not value the property that is difficult to obtain. The sage learns what the world does not learn. What the world passes by without seeing it, the saint pays great attention to. The sage assists the natural development of the world and does not dare to act rashly.
Comments
This chapter talks about being prepared for danger in times of peace and taking precautions against the slightest; those who achieve great things must start small. In particular, "Be careful at the end as you began at the beginning" is an immortal saying. This chapter has the same purpose as Chapter 63, with an inspiring and thought-provoking dialectical philosophy.
There are many chapters in the book "Laozi" where the words "governing by doing nothing" that seem to have nothing to do with the main theme are suddenly inserted into the text, and the logical connection is lost. How to understand this problem? I think that as a great philosopher, Laozi does not advocate passive retreat and inaction. However, Laozi is the founder of Taoism, and he advocates "governing by doing nothing", or "doing nothing without doing anything". Even if his so-called "governing by doing nothing" idea is interpreted as following nature and not acting rashly, this still creates an indefinable contradiction with his idea of ??actively forging ahead. This is exactly the drawback of Laozi’s theory of “governing by doing nothing”. The sentences in this chapter such as "the one who does it will lose it" are not in harmony with the main purpose, and this is the disadvantage. Therefore, when we study "Laozi", we should lift the veil of "governing by doing nothing" in order to see its true mystery.
Notes
01: Used at the end of a sentence to express expectations. An: "Shuowen Jiezi" says: "An, quiet." Zhi: "Shuowen Jiezi" says: "Hold, hold."
Lin Xiyi said: "When it comes to peace, hold on to it." It's easy; when it comes to danger, it's difficult to hold on to."
Omen: emergence, sign.
Heshang Gong said: "When there are no physical signs of the disaster caused by lust, it is easy to plan to stop it."
Lin Xiyi said: "It is easy to plan before things start; If you see it, it will be difficult to plan. "According to "Zuo Zhuan·Ai Gong Year", it is said: "It can reveal its virtue and foretell its plan." A sign is an omen.
03 Judgment: The Chu slips are originally called "Judgment". Wang Bi originally wrote "Pan". Heshang Gongben, Yan Zunben, Lin Xiyi and other original works were "broken". In ancient times, "Pan" and "Pan" were used interchangeably. "Shuowen Jiezi" says: "Judgment means division." The sentence says: When things are fragile, they are easy to divide.
04 Two sentences about "its subtlety": Heshang Gong said: "It is not obvious, and it is easy to disperse if it is small."
Lin Xiyi said: "The trace is still subtle, but it is easy to attack." If it is already strong, it will be difficult to disperse."
05 Two sentences about "for it": Lin Xiyi said: "Things must be done before they happen, and governance must be planned before there is chaos. "
06 Two sentences about "The Tree of Hebao": Lin Xiyi said: "The growth of the tree of Hebao must start from the end. "
07 Nine levels: Heshang Gongben. , Wang Bi's original work "Nine Levels". Strictly abide by the "Nine Levels" of this work. The Chu bamboo slips, silk scripts A and B, and Fu Yi's edition are "90%". "Cheng" is a borrowed word for "heavy". In ancient times, "layer" and "heavy" were used interchangeably. "Nine-story" is an adjective, which means that the earth platform is very high, not the actual meaning.
"Lei soil": There are two interpretations: (1) "Lei", a verb, means to pile up and accumulate. For example, Li Daoyuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty said in "Shui Jing Zhu·Qinshui": "I thought that the tired square stone was the door." The word "lei" means to pile up and accumulate. Therefore, "tired soil" means heaping up soil. (2) Tired soil is called "basket soil" or "bao soil". 篑, a basket containing soil. For example, Gao Heng said: "'Lei' should be read as 肂, which means earth cage. It originated from Lei Tu, which means it originated from Zhen Tu." ("Laozi Annotated Translation") Mr. Chen Guying said: "Yan Lingfeng said : 'Tired of soil, the land is low'" ("Laozi's Annotations and Commentary") are all wrong.
Note: Lin Xiyi said: "The construction of a nine-story platform must start from a piece of soil." Gao Heng and Chen Guying's explanations are all based on what Lin Xiyi said. This statement is not in line with Laozi’s original intention.
Confucius said: "It is like a mountain. If I stop before I can reach a barrier, I will stop. It is like a flat land. Even if I cover a barrier, I will advance and go." ("The Analects of Confucius: Zihan Chapter") The word "篑" means "篑". Earth. Laozi said, "Starting from tired soil" means starting from building soil.
08 A Journey of a Thousand Miles: The Heshang Gong edition, Wang Bi edition, Fu Yi edition and other editions all call it "A Journey of a Thousand Miles". The Chu bamboo slips and Yan Zun's original version are "a hundred ren high", which is wrong. Two sentences: Mr. He Shang said: "From near to far."
Lin Xiyi said: "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with self-sufficiency."
01 Two sentences about "the one who does it" :Wu Cheng said: "Those who are determined to do something for them intend to achieve success or lose them; those who are determined to hold on to their things intend to protect their gains or lose them."
02 " The four sentences "the saint does nothing": It means that the saint does nothing so he has no failure, and he has no persistence so he has no loss.
03 Cong: Weiye (Heshang Gongshuo). Ji: Lin Xiyi said: "The word 'ji' can be fine or rough, just like one of the thirteen, it is also a few; it is also a few if there is no beginning; it is natural, it is also a few."
< p> Two sentences: It means that when people do things, they often fail when they are almost successful.04 Be careful to end as you began: Heshang Gong said: "You should end as you began, and don't slack off."
05 Desire: Don't want others to want: "Want others to do what they don't want." ”
06 Inexpensive and rare goods: Inexpensive and rare goods. Lord Heshang said: "Stones are not cheap but jade is precious."
07 Fu: On the contrary (Lin Xiyi said).
Lin Xiyi said: "What everyone doesn't learn, the sage learns; what everyone fails to do but ignores, the sage will look at it instead."
Wu Cheng said: "What everyone does I don't follow the trend; others ignore it and ignore it, but I do the opposite. I don't learn what others have learned, so I say 'learning without learning'."
08 All things. : Refers to everyone.
Heshang Gong said: "Those who teach people to rebel against their original reality want to support the natural nature of all things. The saints act according to the rules and dare not create anything for fear of straying from the original."
< p> Lin Xiyi said: "Sages are like this, they dare not do anything in everything, and then they can support the nature of all things.”