道德经全文和注释 (英文版)

Dr.Wayne WANG

72. Revolution
When people have nothing more to lose,
Then revolution will result.

Do not take away their lands,
And do not destroy their livelihoods;
If your burden is not heavy then they will not shirk it.

The sage maintains himself but exacts no tribute,
Values himself but requires no honours;
He ignores abstraction and accepts substance.

【原文】

民不畏威，则大威至矣。
无狎其所居，无厌其所生。
夫唯不厌，是以不厌。
是以圣人自知不自见，自爱不自贵。
故去彼取此。

Dr.Wayne WANG

71. Limitation
Who recognizes his limitations is healthy;
Who ignores his limitations is sick.
The sage recognizes this sickness as a limitation.
And so becomes immune.

【原文】
       知不知，上；
       不知知，病。
       夫唯病病，是以不病。
       圣人不病，以其病病，是以不病。

Dr.Wayne WANG

70. Individuality
My words are easy to understand
And my actions are easy to perform
Yet no other can understand or perform them.

My words have meaning; my actions have reason;
Yet these cannot be known and I cannot be known.

We are each unique, and therefore valuable;
Though the sage wears coarse clothes, his heart is jade.

【原文】
       吾言甚易知，甚易行。
       天下莫能知，莫能行。
       言有宗，事有君。
       夫唯无知，是以不我知。
       知我者希，则我者贵。
       是以圣人被褐而怀玉。

Dr.Wayne WANG

69. Ambush
There is a saying among soldiers:
It is easier to lose a yard than take an inch.

In this manner one may deploy troops without marshalling them,
Bring weapons to bear without exposing them,
Engage the foe without invading them,
And exhaust their strength without fighting them.

There is no worse disaster than misunderstanding your enemy;
To do so endangers all of my treasures;
So when two well matched forces oppose eachother,
The general who maintains compassion will win.

【原文】
       用兵有言：吾不敢为主而为客，不敢进寸而退尺。
       是谓行无行，攘无臂，执无兵，乃无敌。
       祸莫大于轻敌，轻敌几丧吾宝。
       故抗兵相加，哀者胜矣。

Dr.Wayne WANG

68. Compassion
Compassion is the finest weapon and best defence.
If you would establish harmony,
Compassion must surround you like a fortress.

Therefore,
A good soldier does not inspire fear;
A good fighter does not display aggression;
A good conqueror does not engage in battle;
A good leader does not exercise authority.

This is the value of unimportance;
This is how to win the cooperation of others;
This to how to build the same harmony that is in nature.

【原文】
       善为士者不武，
       善战者不怒，
       善胜敌者不兴，
       善用人者为之下。
       是谓不争之德，是谓用人之力。
       是谓配天古之极。

Dr.Wayne WANG

67. Unimportance
All the world says,
"I am important;
I am separate from all the world.
I am important because I am separate,
Were I the same, I could never be important."

Yet here are three treasures
That I cherish and commend to you:
The first is compassion,
By which one finds courage.
The second is restraint,
By which one finds strength.
And the third is unimportance,
By which one finds influence.

Those who are fearless, but without compassion,
Powerful, but without restraint,
Or influential, yet important,
Cannot endure.

【原文】
       天下皆谓我道大，似不肖。
       夫唯大，故似不肖。
       若肖，久矣其细也夫！
       我有三宝，持而保之：
       一曰慈；二曰俭；三曰不敢为天下先。
       慈，故能勇；俭，故能广；不敢为天下先，故能成器长。
       今舍其慈，且勇；舍其俭，且广；舍其后，且先，死矣。
       夫慈，以战则胜，以守则固。
       天将救之，以慈卫之。

Dr.Wayne WANG

66. Lead by Following
The river carves out the valley by flowing beneath it.
Thereby the river is the master of the valley.

In order to master people
One must speak as their servant;
In order to lead people
One must follow them.

So when the sage rises above the people,
They do not feel oppressed;
And when the sage stands before the people,
They do not feel hindered.

So the popularity of the sage does not fail,
He does not contend, and no one contends against him.

【原文】
       江海所以能为百谷王者，以其善下之，故能为百谷王。
       是以圣人欲上民，以其言下之；欲先民，以其身后之。
       是以处上而民不重，处前而民不害。
       是以天下乐推而不厌。
       以其不争，故天下莫能与之争。

Dr.Wayne WANG

65. Subtlety
The ancients did not seek to rule people with knowledge,
But to help them become natural.

It is difficult for knowledgeable people to become natural;
So to use law to control a nation weakens the nation,
But to use nature to control a nation strengthens the nation.

Understanding these two paths is understanding subtlety;
Subtlety runs deep, ranges wide,
Resolves confusion and preserves peace.

【原文】
       古之善为道者，非以明民，将以愚之。
       民之难治，以其智多。
       故以智治国，国之贼；
       不以智治国，国之福。
       知此两者，亦稽式。
       常知稽式，是谓玄德。
       玄德深矣，远矣，与物反矣。
       然后乃至大顺。

Dr.Wayne WANG

64a. Care at the Beginning
What lies still is easy to grasp;
What lies far off is easy to anticipate;
What is brittle is easy to shatter;
What is small is easy to disperse.

Yet a tree broader than a man can embrace is born of a tiny shoot;
A dam greater than a river can overflow starts with a clod of earth;
A journey of a thousand miles begins at the spot under one's feet.

Therefore deal with things before they happen;
Create order before there is confusion.

64b. Care at the End
He who acts, spoils;
He who grasps, loses.
People often fail on the verge of success;
Take care at the end as at the beginning,
So that you may avoid failure.

The sage desires no-desire,
Values no-value,
Learns no-learning,
And returns to the places that people have forgotten;
He would help all people to become natural,
But then he would not be natural.

【原文】
       其安易持，其未兆易谋；
       其脆易泮，其微易散。
       为之于未有，治之于未乱。
       合抱之木，生于毫末；
       九层之台，起于垒土；
       千里之行，始于足下。
       为者败之，执者失之。
       是以圣人无为故无败，无执故无失。
       民之从事，常于几成而败之。
       慎终如始，则无败事。
       是以圣人欲不欲，不贵难得之货；
       学不学，复众人之所过。
       以辅万物之自然而不敢为。

Dr.Wayne WANG

63. Difficulty
Practice no-action;
Attend to do-nothing;
Taste the flavorless,
Magnify the small,
Multiply the few,
Return love for hate.

Deal with the difficult while it is yet easy;
Deal with the great while it is yet small;

The difficult develops naturally from the easy,
And the great from the small;
So the sage, by dealing with the small,
Achieves the great.

Who finds it easy to promise finds it hard to be trusted;
Who takes things lightly finds things difficult;
The sage recognizes difficulty, and so has none.

【原文】
       为无为，事无事，味无味。
       大小多少，报怨以德。
       图难于其易，为大于其细。
       天下难事，必作于易；
       天下大事，必作于细。
       是以圣人终不为大，故能成其大。
       夫轻诺必寡信，多易必多难。
       是以圣人犹难之，故终无难矣。