solve
Those who use soldiers have such words: they dare not go to war first, but would rather accept it; I dare not attack an inch, I would rather retreat a foot. So if there are no soldiers on the road, people will roll up their sleeves and lose their arms when arguing, but they are not holding weapons, and then they will be invincible in the world. The biggest disaster is that no one follows. If no one follows, I will lose my treasure. Therefore, if the troops are deployed against each other, the army loved by the monarch will win.
say
The focus of various explanations
This chapter has always been difficult to understand because there are great differences between versions of the text. The differences between versions are as follows.
Copy of silk: it means no lines, no arms, no soldiers, invincible. Disaster is greater than discomfort, and it is not suitable to approach my treasure.
Silk Book B: It means doing nothing without doing anything, being busy without force, and holding on without soldiers. Disaster is greater than invincible, invincible almost took my treasure.
Fu Yiben: It means to walk without walking, to be prosperous without fighting, to hold without fighting, and to remain invincible. Disaster is greater than invincible, invincible almost took my treasure.
Wang Bi's note: refers to wireless without arms, invincible without soldiers. There is no greater disaster than underestimating the enemy, and underestimating the enemy will lose my treasure.
The note by the river: It means no lines, no arms, no invincibility, no soldiers. There is no greater disaster than underestimating the enemy, and underestimating the enemy will lose my treasure.
It is not difficult to see that there are two main differences between each version: one is "invincible" or "still invincible"; Second, "disaster is greater than invincible" or "disaster is greater than underestimating the enemy", or "disaster is greater than discomfort" as Aben said. Due to these differences in writing, various schools of Laozi have also made different explanations. Here are the famous explanations I can see:
Chen Guying: "That is to say, although there is fighting, it seems that there is no fighting." Although you have to work hard, there seems to be no arm to lift; Although facing the enemy, it seems that there is no enemy to go; Although there are weapons, it seems that there are no weapons to take. There is nothing worse than underestimating the enemy, who almost lost my three treasures. "
Guti and Zhou Ying: "Therefore, the enemy cannot form a formation. If there are no weapons to hold and no arms to summon foot soldiers, no one can beat us. I don't know where my defender is ... there is nothing more harmful than underestimating the enemy, who almost lost his life. "
Xu: "this will make the so-called road of not starting a career feasible, with no arms to shake and no weapons to hold, and invincible people can be drawn out to attack." The greatest disaster is to ignore the enemy. Ignoring the enemy will lose my magic weapon. "
Zhang: "This is called marching without queues and weapons, sticking to weapons and attacking invincible people. No matter how big the disaster is, underestimating the enemy has almost lost my magic weapon. "
Shen Shanzeng: "This is called advancing without array, smoothing the sleeves without waving, and deterring without weapons. Then, no one can compare. There is no greater disaster than the people can't return. If the people don't return, they are close to losing me and losing what I cherish. "
As can be seen from the text listed above, for the first difference, "Nai (moving and throwing) is invincible" is interpreted by most experts as "invincible to go (attack)" in the practical sense, thus forming a parallel relationship with the previous "no line, no arm and no soldier". As for the second difference, most experts interpret "disaster is greater than invincible" or "disaster is greater than underestimating the enemy" as "the biggest disaster is underestimating the enemy". Only Shen Shanzeng, according to the statement that "disaster is greater than discomfort" in the A version of the silk book, understands that "there is no greater disaster than people not returning". I think Mr. Shen Shanzeng's explanation of the second difference is correct.
In my opinion, from the point of view of edition, because there is no such chapter in Chu bamboo slips, the expression in silk version A is the oldest and closest to the original, so it is also the most acceptable. Unless there is particularly strong evidence, you can't easily deny a version of the written expression. For the first difference mentioned above, A originally wrote "invincible", which is obviously a result expression, expressing the result of "no line, no arms and no soldiers". Even if "Nai" is considered to be related to "Still", "Still" has a usage to indicate the result. Look it up in the dictionary to get the following explanations and examples:
Still: yes, so. Historical Records Biography of Hengshan Mountain in Huainan: "Hengshan Mountain in Huainan is the same flesh and blood ... but it aims to rely on evil and circuitous plans. It is still that father and son will die again and everyone will die."
Song Wudi Ji Di of Southern History: "If you scold them, they will all disperse, but you will still accept the medicine and go against it."
Therefore, we can basically draw the result of "no line, no arms and no soldiers", which is invincible in the world.
For the second difference, I think we should learn from the diaosi version of "disaster outweighs discomfort". Although "fitness" can communicate with "enemies", there is already the word "invincible" in front. Why use foreign words right away? It doesn't make sense. So I think it should be interpreted according to the original silk book, like Mr. Shen Shanzeng.
It is believed that the characters should be interpreted according to the original logic after the silk book A.
My explanation
At the beginning of this chapter, Lao Tzu talked about what was said in the previous chapter, that is, cautious war. In the war, Lao Tzu advocated that we should not be the one who actively attacked, but the one who had to defend. That is to say, monarchs and princes should not think about fighting all day, just like the so-called "a good scholar does not use force." Since militarism is not advocated, people can naturally live their lives with peace of mind. So on the main road, you can't see people in the army. The first "line" in "line without line" is the meaning of road. For example, "Poetry in July": "Women carry baskets and follow them." Another example is "Lu Chunqiu Xia Xian": "peaches and plums hang down on the walker and cannot help him; People who leave sharp knives in the road will not make a difference. " The second "line" means to be an expert. Such as "Poetry, Elegance and Changwu": "About Chen Xing, resign from my division." Another example is Zuo Zhuan's Eleven-year Hidden Gong: "Zheng Bo made the pawn go out and made the dog and chicken curse the uncle." Du Yu's note: "One hundred people are pawns and twenty-five are walkers."
"Busy without arms" is a bit confusing. "Angry arms" is a common phrase in those days, which means to roll up your sleeves and show your arms, indicating that you want to fight fiercely. For example, in chapter 38, Lao Tzu said, "If you don't respond to a gift, you will throw it away." "Mencius with all my heart": "Mrs. Feng got off the bus with her arms in her arms and everyone was happy." Zhuangzi on Earth: "If you recruit samurai, swim among them (disabled people)." Biographies of Historical Records and Su Qin: "So Han made a splash." So what should be the explanation of "being busy but not using force"? I think what Lao Tzu is saying is that in a country that is not using force, people have an argument. Even if you are angry and angry, you will stroke your sleeves, but only a little and don't show your arms, which means you don't really want to fight.
According to this line of thinking, "not holding soldiers" is easier to explain. It means that when you walk in the street, the people you see are not weapons even if they have something in their hands. This is also the result of not advocating violence.
The monarch does not advocate martial arts, does not wage wars of aggression, and does not treat ordinary people as cannon fodder. That is true love for the people. If you can love the people so much, the people can recuperate and return to the heart of the world. Now the world belongs to the motherland, and the country is naturally invincible. So Lao Tzu went on to say that the biggest fear is that the people will not depend on you or unite with you. If the people don't unite with you, you will lose everything you have. This is "disaster is greater than discomfort, not close to my treasure."
At the end of this chapter, Lao Tzu said, "It is said that soldiers are similar, and those who mourn win." Sadness means love here. And love, which means stingy at that time, must not be confused. Then the meaning of this sentence, combined with the above, is that the party who loves the people will win in the war.
At the beginning of this chapter, it is said that careful war can help the people and help them win the hearts of the people. In the end, only those who win the hearts of the people can win. This is the logic of the whole chapter.