Jing Shen Xun (Essence and Spirit)
楚莊王問詹何曰：「治國奈何？」對曰：「何明於治身，而不明於治國？」楚王曰：「寡人得立宗廟社稷，願學所以守之。」詹何對曰：「臣未嘗聞身治而國亂者也，未嘗聞身亂而國治者也。故本任於身，不敢對以末。」楚王曰：「善。」故老子曰：「修之身，其德乃眞也。」
King Zhuang of Chu asked Zhan He: "How should a state be governed?" He replied: "Do I understand how to govern the body but not how to govern a state?" The King of Chu said: "I have been able to establish ancestral temples and altars of land and grain, and I hope to learn how to keep them." Zhan He replied: "I have never heard of a body that was in order and a state in disorder, nor of a body in disorder and a state in order. So the root lies in the body, and I dare not answer with the branches." The King of Chu said: "Good." So Laozi said: "Cultivate it in the body, and virtue is genuine."
桓公讀書於堂，輪扁斫輪於堂下。釋其椎鑿，而問桓公曰：「君之所讀者，何書也？」桓公曰：「聖人之書。」輪扁曰：「其人焉在？」桓公曰：「已死矣。」輪扁曰：「是直聖人之糟粕耳。」桓公曰悖然作色而怒曰：「寡人讀書，工人焉得而譏之哉！有説則可，無説則死！」輪扁曰：「然。有説。臣試以臣之斫輪語之。大疾則苦而不入，大徐則甘而不固，不甘不苦，應於手，厭於心，而可以至妙者，臣不能以教臣之子，而臣之子亦不能得之於臣。是以行年七十，老而為輪。今聖人之所言者，亦以懷其實，窮而死，獨其糟粕在耳。」故老子曰：「道可道，非常道；名可名，非常名。」
Duke Huan was reading in the hall, and Wheelwright Bian was cutting a wheel below the hall. He put down his mallet and chisel and asked Duke Huan: "What book is your lordship reading?" Duke Huan said: "The books of the sages." Wheelwright Bian said: "Where are those people?" Duke Huan said: "They are already dead." Wheelwright Bian said: "Then what you read is only the dregs of the sages." Duke Huan flushed with anger and said: "I read books; how can a craftsman criticize it! If you have an explanation, fine; if not, you die!" Wheelwright Bian said: "Yes, I have one. Let me use my work of cutting wheels to explain. If I go too fast, it is rough and does not fit in; if too slowly, it is slippery and not firm; neither slippery nor rough, it responds in the hand and is satisfied in the mind, and one can reach the marvelous; I cannot teach it to my son, and my son cannot get it from me. So at seventy I am old and still make wheels. Now what the sages said also held its reality within, and they died having exhausted it, leaving only the dregs." So Laozi said: "The Dao that can be spoken is not the constant Dao; the name that can be named is not the constant name."
昔者，司城子罕相宋，謂宋君曰：「夫國家之安危，百姓之治亂，在君行賞罰。夫爵賞賜予，民之所好也，君自行之；殺戮刑罰，民之所怨也，臣請當之。」宋君曰：「善。寡人當其美，子受其怨。寡人自知不為諸侯笑矣。」國人皆知殺戮之專，制在子罕也，大臣親之，百姓畏之，居不至期年，子罕遂卻宋君而專其政。故老子曰：「魚不可脫於淵，國之利器，不可以示人。」
In the past Zihan, Minister of Works, served as chancellor of Song and said to the lord of Song: "The safety or danger of the state and the order or disorder of the hundred clans lie in how the lord carries out rewards and punishments. Granting rank and reward is what the people like, so let the lord carry it out himself; killing and punishment are what the people resent, so let me bear them." The lord of Song said: "Good. I will take the fine part and you will take the resentment. I know I will not be laughed at by the lords." The people of the state all knew that the power of killing was in Zihan's hands, the great ministers drew close to him, the hundred clans feared him, and before a full year had passed, Zihan forced out the lord of Song and took over his government. So Laozi said: "A fish cannot leave the deep pool; the sharp tools of the state cannot be shown to people."
王壽負書而行，見徐馮於周，徐馮曰：「事者，應變而動，變生於時，故知時者無常行。書者，言之所出也。言出於知者，知者藏書。」於是王壽乃焚書而舞之。故老子曰：「多言數窮，不如守中。」
Wang Shou was walking carrying books on his back, and in Zhou he met Xu Feng. Xu Feng said: "Affairs move in response to change, and change arises from the time, so one who knows the time has no fixed rules of conduct. Books are where words come from. Words come from the one who knows, and the one who knows hides the book." Then Wang Shou burned his books and danced. So Laozi said: "With much speech, the numbers run out; it is better to hold to the center."
令尹子佩請飲莊王。莊王許諾。子佩疎揖，北面立於殿下。曰：「昔者君王許之，今不果往。意者臣有罪乎？」莊王曰：「吾聞子具於強臺。強臺者，南望料山，以臨方皇，左江而右淮，其樂忘死，若吾薄德之人，不可以當此樂也。恐留而不能反。」故老子曰：「不見可欲，使心不亂。」
The Prime Minister Zipei asked King Zhuang to drink wine. King Zhuang agreed. Zipei respectfully bowed with clasped hands and stood facing north below the hall, and said: "Earlier Your Majesty agreed, yet now you do not really come. I wonder if I have committed an offense?" King Zhuang said: "I heard that you prepared it at Qiang Terrace. From Qiang Terrace one looks south to Mount Liao, below is Fanghuang, the Yangtze is on the left and the Huai on the right; the joy there makes one forget death, and a man of thin virtue like me cannot bear such joy. I fear I would stay and not be able to return." So Laozi said: "Not seeing what can be desired keeps the mind from disorder."
晉公子重耳出亡，過曹，無禮焉。釐負羈之妻謂釐負羈曰：「君無禮於晉公子，吾觀其從者，皆賢人也。若以相夫子反晉國，必伐曹，子何不先加德焉？」釐負羈遺之壺飯而加璧焉。重耳受其飯而反其璧。及其反國，起師伐曹，克之。令三軍無入釐負羈之里。故老子曰：「曲則全，枉則正。」
Prince Chong'er of Jin was in exile and passed through Cao, and the lord of Cao treated him without courtesy. Xi Fuji's wife said to Xi Fuji: "The lord was discourteous to the Prince of Jin, and I see that his followers are all worthy men. If they help that gentleman return to Jin, he will surely attack Cao; why do you not first show him kindness?" Xi Fuji sent him a jug of food with a jade disc added. Chong'er accepted the food and returned the jade. When he returned to his state, he raised troops to attack Cao and took it. He ordered the three armies not to enter Xi Fuji's lane. So Laozi said: "Bent, it is preserved; crooked, it becomes straight."
越王勾踐與呉戰而不勝，國破身亡，困於會稽。忿心張膽，氣如湧泉，選練甲卒，赴火若滅。然而請身為臣，妻為妾，親執戈，為呉兵先馬走，果禽之於幹遂。故老子曰：「柔之勝剛也，弱之勝強也，天下莫不知，而莫之能行。」越王親之，故霸中國。
King Goujian of Yue fought Wu and did not win; his state was broken and he himself nearly perished, trapped at Kuaiji. His heart was filled with indignation and his courage swelled, his spirit like a gushing spring; he selected and trained armored soldiers and would charge into fire as if to put it out. Yet he asked to be a servant himself, with his wife as a concubine, and himself carried a halberd and served as a forerunner and foot soldier for Wu's army, and in the end captured the King of Wu at Gansui. So Laozi said: "The soft overcomes the hard and the weak overcomes the strong; everyone in the world knows it, yet none can practice it." The King of Yue practiced it himself, and so became hegemon of the Central States.
趙簡子死，未葬，中牟入齊。已葬五日，襄子起兵攻圍之。未合而城自壞者數十丈。襄子撃金而退之。軍吏諫曰：「君誅中牟之罪，而城自壞，是天助我，何故去之？」襄子曰：「吾聞之叔向曰：『君子不乘人於利，不迫人於險。』使之治城，城治而後攻之。」中牟聞其義，乃請降。故老子曰：「夫唯不爭，故天下莫能與之爭。」
When Zhao Jianzi died and was not yet buried, Zhongmu rebelled and went over to Qi. Five days after the burial, Xiangzi raised troops and besieged it. Before the encirclement was complete, the city wall collapsed of itself for several dozen zhang. Xiangzi struck the gong and had the army retreat. The military officers remonstrated: "Your lordship is punishing Zhongmu's crime, and the wall has collapsed of itself, which is Heaven helping us; why leave?" Xiangzi said: "I heard from Shuxiang: 'A gentleman does not take advantage when others are in profit, and does not press when others are in danger.' Let them repair the city, and attack after the city is repaired." When Zhongmu heard of his righteousness, they asked to surrender. So Laozi said: "Precisely because he does not contend, no one in the world can contend with him."
秦穆公謂伯樂曰：「子之年長矣。子姓有可使求馬者乎？」對曰：「良馬者，可以形容筋骨相也。相天下之馬者，若滅若失，若亡其一。若此馬者，絶塵弭轍。臣之子皆下材也，可告以良馬，而不可告以天下之馬。臣有所與供儋纏採薪者方九堙，此其於馬，非臣之下也。請見之。」穆公見之，使之求馬。三月而反報曰：「已得馬矣。在於沙丘。」穆公曰：「何馬也？」對曰：「牡而黃。」使人往取之，牝而驪。穆公不説。召伯樂而問之曰：「敗矣。子之所使求者。毛物、牝牡弗能知，又何馬之能知？」伯樂喟然大息曰：「一至此乎！是乃其所以千萬臣而無數者也。若堙之所觀者，天機也。得其精而忘其粗，在內而忘其外，見其所見而不見其所不見，視其所視而遺其所不視。若彼之所相者，乃有貴乎馬者！」馬至，而果千里之馬。故老子曰：「大直若屈，大巧若拙。」
Duke Mu of Qin said to Bo Le: "Your years are advanced. Is there any of your descendants whom I can have seek horses?" He replied: "For a good horse, one can judge by looking at its form and sinews. To judge a horse of the world, it is as if it vanishes, as if it is lost, as if one forgets oneself. A horse like that can run without raising dust or leaving tracks. My sons are all of lower talent; I can tell them about good horses but cannot tell them about horses of the world. I have a man who carried firewood ropes with me, called Fang Jiuyin, and he is not below me in horses. Please let him come to see you." Duke Mu met him and sent him to seek a horse. After three months he returned and reported: "I have found a horse. It is at Shaqiu." Duke Mu said: "What kind of horse?" He replied: "A stallion, yellow." Men were sent to fetch it, and it was a mare, black. Duke Mu was displeased. He summoned Bo Le and asked him: "It has failed. The man you sent to seek the horse cannot even tell color or sex; how could he know horses?" Bo Le sighed deeply and said: "Has it come to this! This is exactly why he surpasses me ten thousand times over and beyond counting. What Yin looks at is the working of Heaven. He obtains the essence and forgets the coarse, sees the inside and forgets the outside, sees what is to be seen and does not see what is not to be seen, looks at what is to be looked at and discards what is not to be looked at. What he judges is perhaps more valuable than horses!" When the horse arrived, it was indeed a thousand-li horse. So Laozi said: "The greatest straightness seems bent; the greatest skill seems clumsy."
呉起為楚令尹，適魏。問屈宜若曰：「王不知起之不肖，而以為令尹。先生試觀起之為人也。」屈子曰：「將奈何？」呉起曰：「將衰楚國之爵，而平其制祿；損其有餘，而綏其不足；砥礪甲兵，時爭利於天下。」屈子曰：「宜若聞之，昔善治國家者，不變其故，不易其常。今子將衰楚國之爵，而平其制祿；損其有餘，而綏其不足；是變其故，易其常也。行之者不利。宜若聞之曰：『怒者，逆德也，兵者兇器也。爭者人之所本也。』今子陰謀逆德，好用㐫器，始人之所本，逆之至也。且子用魯兵，不宜得志於齊，而行志焉；子用魏兵，不宜得志於秦，而得志焉。宜若聞之，非禍人不能成禍。吾固惑吾王之數逆天道，戾人理，至今無禍。差須夫子也。」呉起惕然曰：「尚可更乎？」屈子曰：「成形之徒，不可更也。子不若敦愛而篤行之。」老子曰：「挫其鋭，解其紛，和其光，同其塵。」
Wu Qi, serving as prime minister of Chu, went to Wei. He asked Qu Yiruo: "The king does not know that Qi is unworthy and has made me prime minister. Master, try to see what kind of person I am." Master Qu said: "What do you intend to do?" Wu Qi said: "I intend to reduce the ranks of Chu and equalize its salary system, cut from those with surplus and comfort those who lack, hone armor and weapons, and contend for profit in the world at the right time." Master Qu said: "I, Yiruo, have heard that in the past those who were good at governing states did not change the old ways and did not alter the constant rules. Now you are going to reduce the ranks of Chu, equalize the salary system, cut from those with surplus and comfort those who lack; this is changing old ways and altering constant rules. Those who carry it out will not benefit. I have heard: 'Contrary virtue is righteousness; weapons are ill-omened instruments (the base text writes a variant of 'ill-omened'); contention is the root of man.' Now you secretly plan against virtue, love to use ill-omened instruments, and begin from the root of man; this is going against it to the utmost. Moreover when you used Lu troops, you should not have achieved your aim in Qi, yet you carried out your aim; when you used Wei troops, you should not have achieved your aim in Qin, but you did. I have heard that unless one harms others one cannot bring about disaster. I have long wondered that our king has so often gone against the Way of Heaven and violated human principle and yet no disaster has come; perhaps he was waiting for you, sir." Wu Qi was alarmed and said: "Can it still be changed?" Master Qu said: "Things that have already taken shape cannot be changed. You had better love with generosity and act with sincerity." Laozi said: "Blunt its sharpness, untie its tangles, soften its glare, and merge with its dust."
晉伐楚，三舍不止。大夫請撃之。莊王曰：「先君之時，晉不伐楚。及孤之身，而晉伐楚，是孤之過也。若何其辱群大夫？」曰：「先臣之時，晉不伐楚。今臣之身，而晉伐楚，此臣之罪也。請三撃之。」王俯而泣，涕沾襟，起而拜群大夫。晉人聞之，曰：「君臣爭以過為在己，且輕下其臣，不可伐也。」夜還師而歸。老子曰：「能受國之垢，是謂社稷主。」
When Jin attacked Chu, it retreated three days' march and still did not stop. The grand masters asked to strike. King Zhuang said: "In the time of the former lord, Jin did not attack Chu. Now that it has come to me, Jin attacks Chu; this is my fault. How can I let the grand masters be humiliated?" The grand masters said: "In the time of our predecessors, Jin did not attack Chu. Now it has come to us, and Jin attacks Chu; this is our fault. We ask to strike out three times." The king bent over and wept, his tears soaking his collar, and rose and bowed to the grand masters. When the people of Jin heard of it, they said: "Ruler and ministers vie to take the fault on themselves, and the ruler is willing to place himself below his ministers; he cannot be attacked." At night they withdrew their army. Laozi said: "One who can bear the filth of the state is called the master of the altars of land and grain."
宋景公之時，熒惑在心。公懼，召子韋而問焉。曰：「熒惑在心，何也？」子韋曰：「熒惑，天罰也；心，宋分野，禍且當君。雖然，可移於宰相。」公曰：「宰相，所使治國家也。而移死焉。不祥。」子韋曰：「可移於民。」公曰：「民死，寡人誰為君乎？寧獨死耳！」子韋曰：「可移於歳。」公曰「歳，民之命；歳饑，民必死矣。為人君而欲殺其民以自活也，其誰以我為君者乎？是寡人之命，固已盡矣！子韋無復言矣。」子韋還走，北面再拜曰：「敢賀君。天之處髙而聽卑。君有君人之言三，天必有三賞君。今夕星必徙三舍，君延年二十一歳。」公曰：「子奚以知之？」對曰：「君有君人之言三，故有三賞，星必三徙舍。舍行七里，三七二十一，故君移年二十一歳。臣請伏於陛下以伺之。星不徙，臣請死之。」公曰：「可」。是夕也，星果三徙舍。故老子曰：「能受國之不祥，是謂天下王。」
In the time of Duke Jing of Song, the planet Yinghuo stayed in the Heart constellation. The duke was afraid and summoned Zi Wei to ask: "Yinghuo is in the Heart; what does it mean?" Zi Wei said: "Yinghuo is Heaven's punishment; the Heart is the field-allotment of Song, and calamity will fall on my lord. Even so, it can be transferred to the chancellor." The duke said: "The chancellor is the one I use to govern the state. To shift death onto him is ill-omened." Zi Wei said: "It can be transferred to the people." The duke said: "If the people die, whom would I rule as lord? I would rather die alone!" Zi Wei said: "It can be transferred to the year star." The duke said: "The year is the people's life; if the year has famine, the people will surely die. To be a ruler and want to kill the people so as to live myself, who would still take me as ruler? This is my fate, and it was already used up! Say no more, Zi Wei." Zi Wei withdrew, faced north and bowed twice, saying: "I dare to congratulate my lord. Heaven dwells high and hears what is low. My lord has spoken three sentences of a true ruler, and Heaven will surely give my lord three rewards. Tonight the star will surely move three lodgings, and my lord will have twenty-one more years." The duke said: "How do you know?" He replied: "My lord has spoken three sentences of a true ruler, so there are three rewards, and the star will surely move three lodgings. One lodging is seven li, three times seven is twenty-one, so my lord's years are extended by twenty-one. Please let me lie below the steps in attendance. If the star does not move, let me die for it." The duke said: "Very well." That night the star did indeed move three lodgings. So Laozi said: "One who can bear the ill omens of the state is called the king of the world."
昔者，公孫龍在趙之時，謂弟子曰：「人而無能者，龍不能與遊。」有客衣褐帶索而見曰：「臣能呼。」公孫龍顧謂弟子曰：「門下故有能呼者乎？」對曰：「無有。」公孫龍曰：「與之弟子籍。」後數日，往説燕王。至於河上，而航在一汜，使善呼者呼之。一呼而航來。故曰：聖人之處世，不逆有伎能之士。故老子曰：「人無棄人，物無棄物，是謂襲明。」
In the past, when Gongsun Long was in Zhao, he said to his disciples: "A person with no ability, I will not associate with." A guest wearing coarse clothes and tied with a rope came to see him and said: "I can shout." Gongsun Long turned to his disciples and said: "Is there someone among us who can shout?" They replied: "No." Gongsun Long said: "Give him a disciple's registration." A few days later he went to persuade the King of Yan. When they reached the river, the boat was on the other side, and he had the man good at shouting call it. At one shout the boat came. So it is said: when a sage deals with the world, he does not reject a person with skill. So Laozi said: "No person is abandoned, no thing is abandoned; this is called following the brightness."
子發攻蔡，逾之。宣王郊迎，列田百頃，而封之執圭。子發辭不受。曰：「治國立政，諸侯入賓，此君之德也；發號施令，師未合而失敵遁，此將軍之威也；兵陳戰而勝敵者，此庶民之力也。夫乘民之功勞，而取其爵祿者，非仁義之道也。」故辭而弗受。故老子曰：「功成而不居。夫惟不居，是以不去。」
Zifa attacked Cai and passed through it. King Xuan met him in the outskirts, and set out a hundred qing of fields to enfeoff him with the jade tablet. Zifa declined and did not accept, saying: "To govern the state and set up policies so that the lords come in and submit is the virtue of the ruler; to issue orders so that the army has not yet met the enemy before it flees is the awe of the general; to draw up ranks and fight and defeat the enemy is the strength of the common soldiers. To ride on the people's merit and take their rank and stipend is not the way of benevolence and righteousness." So he declined and did not accept. So Laozi said: "Merit is accomplished and one does not dwell on it. Precisely because he does not dwell on it, it does not leave him."
晉文公伐原，與大夫期三日。三日而原不降。文公令去之。軍吏曰：「原不過一二日將降矣。」君曰：「吾不知原三日而不得下也。以與大夫期，盡而不疲，失信得原，吾弗為也。」原人聞之，曰：「有君若此，可弗降也？」遂降。溫人聞，亦請降。故老子曰：「窈兮冥兮，其中有精，其精甚眞，其中有信。」故「美言可以市尊，美行可以加人」。
Duke Wen of Jin attacked Yuan and agreed with his grand masters on a three-day limit. After three days Yuan did not surrender. Duke Wen ordered withdrawal. The military officers said: "Yuan will surrender in a day or two." The ruler said: "I did not know that Yuan could not be taken in three days. I agreed with the grand masters on a time limit; if the time is up and the army is not worn out, to lose good faith and gain Yuan, I would not do." When the people of Yuan heard this, they said: "With a ruler like this, could we not surrender?" Then they surrendered. When the people of Wen heard, they also asked to surrender. So Laozi said: "Dim and dark, within it there is essence; the essence is very real, and within it there is good faith." So "fine words can buy respect, and fine conduct can be added above others."
公儀休相魯，而嗜魚。一國獻魚，公儀子弗受。其弟子諫曰：「夫子嗜魚。弗受，何也？」答曰：「夫唯嗜魚，故弗受。夫受魚而免於相，雖嗜魚，不能自給魚；毋受魚而不免於相，則能長自給魚。」此明於為人為己者也。故老子曰：「後其身而身先，外其身而身存。非以其無私邪？故能成其私。」一曰：知足不辱。
Gongyi Xiu was prime minister of Lu, yet he was fond of fish. Everyone in the state offered him fish, and Master Gongyi did not accept. His disciple remonstrated: "Master, you are fond of fish. Why do you not accept?" He replied: "Precisely because I am fond of fish, I do not accept. If I accept fish and am dismissed as prime minister, even though I am fond of fish, I would not be able to supply myself with fish; if I do not accept fish and am not dismissed as prime minister, I can long supply myself with fish." This is someone who understands how to act for others and for himself. So Laozi said: "Place oneself behind, and the self comes forward; place the self outside, and the self is preserved. Is it not because he has no selfishness that he can achieve his selfishness?" Another saying: knowing sufficiency brings no disgrace.
狐丘丈人謂孫叔敖曰：「人有三怨，子知之乎？」孫叔敖曰：「何謂也？」對曰：「爵髙者，士妬之；官大者，主惡之；祿厚者，怨處之。」孫叔敖曰：「吾爵益髙，吾志益下；吾官益大，吾心益小；吾祿益厚，吾施益博。是以免三怨，可乎？」故老子曰：「貴必以賤為本，髙必以下為基。」
The old man of Huqiu said to Sunshu Ao: "People have three kinds of resentment; do you know them?" Sunshu Ao said: "What are they?" He replied: "When rank is high, scholars envy him; when office is great, the ruler dislikes him; when stipend is generous, resentment lies there." Sunshu Ao said: "The higher my rank, the lower my aims; the greater my office, the smaller my heart; the more generous my stipend, the broader my giving. In this way, may I avoid the three resentments?" So Laozi said: "The noble must take the humble as root, and the high must take the low as base."
大司馬捶鉤者，年八十矣，而不失鉤芒。大司馬曰：「子巧邪？有道邪？」曰：「臣有守也。臣年二十好捶鉤，於物無視也。非鉤無察也。」是以用之者，必假於弗用也，而以長得其用。而況持而不用者乎？物孰不濟焉！故老子曰：「從事於道者，同於道。」
The man who hammered belt hooks at the Grand Marshal's, at eighty years old, had never lost the edge of the hook. The Grand Marshal said: "Are you skilled? Do you have a Way?" He said: "I have something I keep to. At twenty I liked hammering hooks, and toward things I had nothing to look at; if it was not a hook, I did not examine it." So what one uses must rely on what one does not use, and one can long preserve its use. How much more for what one holds and does not use! What is there that does not give help! So Laozi said: "Those who pursue the Dao are the same as the Dao."
文王砥德修政，三年而天下二垂歸之。紂聞而患之，曰：「余夙興夜寐，與之競行，則苦心勞形，縱而置之，恐伐余一人。」崇侯虎曰：「周伯昌行仁義而善謀，太子發勇敢而不疑，中子旦恭儉而知時。若與之從，則不堪其殃；縱而赦之，身必危亡。冠雖弊，必加於頭。及未成，請圖之。」屈商乃拘文王於羑里。於是散宜生乃以千金求天下之珍怪，得騶虞、鷄斯之乘，玄玉百工，大貝百朋，玄豹、黃羆、靑豻、白虎文皮千合，以獻於紂。因費仲而通。紂見而説之，乃免其身，殺牛而賜之。文王歸，乃為玉門，築靈臺，相女童，撃鐘鼓，以待紂之失也。紂聞之，曰：「周伯昌改道易行，吾無憂矣。」乃為炮烙，剖比干，剔孕婦，殺諫者。文王乃遂其謀。故老子曰：「知其榮，守其辱，為天下穀。」
King Wen honed his virtue and cultivated government, and in three years the world turned toward him from two sides. Zhou heard of it and was worried, saying: "If I rise early and sleep late to compete with him in action, I will exhaust my mind and body; if I let him go and set him aside, I fear he will attack me alone." Chong Hou Hu said: "The Earl of Zhou, Chang, practices benevolence and righteousness and is good at planning; Crown Prince Fa is brave and without doubt; Zhongzi Dan is respectful, frugal, and knows the time. If one goes along with them, one cannot bear the calamity; if one lets them go and pardons them, one will surely perish. Even if a cap is worn out, it is still put on the head. Take advantage while it is not yet done and plan." Qu Shang then detained King Wen at Youli. Then San Yisheng used a thousand gold to seek rare and strange things of the world, and obtained a Zouyu and a Jisi mount, a hundred pieces of black jade, a hundred pairs of great cowries, and a thousand sets of patterned skins of black leopard, yellow bear, blue wild dog, and white tiger, and presented them to Zhou. He made the connection through Fei Zhong. Zhou saw them and was pleased, and so freed him, killed an ox and gave it to him. King Wen went back and made the Jade Gate, built the Spirit Terrace, looked at young girls, struck bells and drums, to wait for Zhou's faults. Zhou heard of it and said: "The Earl of Zhou, Chang, has changed his ways; I no longer have worries." So he made the hot-pillar punishment, cut open Bi Gan, slit open pregnant women, and killed those who remonstrated. King Wen then completed his plan. So Laozi said: "Know its glory but keep to its disgrace, and become the valley of the world."
成王問政於尹佚曰：「吾何德之行，而民親其上？」對曰：「使之時而敬順之。」王曰：「其度安在？」曰：「如臨深淵，如履薄冰。」王曰：「懼哉！王人乎。」尹佚曰：「天地之間，四海之內，善之則吾畜也，不善則吾仇也。昔夏、商之臣反仇桀、紂，而臣湯、武，宿沙之民皆自攻其君，而歸神農，此世之所明知也。如何其無懼也？」故老子曰：「人之所畏，不可不畏也。」
King Cheng asked Yin Yi about government: "What virtue should I practice so that the people draw close to those above?" He replied: "Employ them in season and respectfully follow them." The king said: "Where is that measure?" He said: "Like facing a deep abyss, like treading on thin ice." The king said: "Frightening! To be a ruler." Yin Yi said: "Between Heaven and Earth and within the four seas, if you treat them well they are my livestock, and if you treat them badly they are my enemies. In the past the ministers of Xia and Shang turned and became hostile to Jie and Zhou and submitted to Tang and Wu; the people of Su Sha all attacked their own ruler and turned to Shennong, which is clearly known in the world. How could one not fear?" So Laozi said: "What people fear, one must not fail to fear."
蹠之徒問蹠曰：「盜亦有盜乎？」蹠曰：「奚適其無道也！夫意而中藏者，聖也；入先者，勇也；出後者，義也；分均者，仁也；知可否者，智也。五者不備，而能成大盜者，天下無之。」由此觀之，盜賊之心，必托聖人之道而後可行。故老子曰：「絶聖棄智，民利百倍。」
The followers of Zhi asked Zhi: "Do robbers also have a Way?" Zhi said: "How could there not be a Way! To guess correctly where things are hidden is sageliness; to enter first is bravery; to come out last is righteousness; to divide evenly is benevolence; to know whether it is feasible or not is wisdom. There is no one in the world who has become a great robber without having all five. From this we see that the heart of a robber must rely on the Way of the sages before it can be put into practice. So Laozi said: 'Cut off sageliness and abandon wisdom, and the people's benefit will be a hundredfold.'"
楚將子發好求技道之士。楚有善為偸者，往見曰：「聞君求技道之士。臣，偸也，願以技齎一卒。」子發聞之，衣不給帶，冠不暇正，出見而禮之。左右諫曰：「偸者，天下之盜也。何為之禮？」君曰：「此非左右之所得與。」後無幾何，齊興兵伐楚，子發將師以當之，兵三卻。楚賢良大夫皆盡其計而悉其誠，齊師愈強。於是市偸進請曰：「臣有薄技，願為君行之。」子發曰：「諾」。不問其辭而遣之。偸則夜解齊將軍之幬帳而獻之。子發因使人歸之。曰：「卒有出薪者，得將軍之帷，使歸之於執事。」明又復往，取其枕。子發又使人歸之。明日又復往，取其簪。子發又使歸之。齊師聞之，大駭。將軍與軍吏謀曰：「今日不去，楚君恐取吾頭。」乃還師而去。故曰：無細而能薄，在人君用之也。故老子曰：「不善人，善人之資也。」
The Chu general Zifa liked to seek scholars with skill in some art. In Chu there was a man good at stealing who went to see him and said: "I have heard that you seek scholars with skill in some art. I am a thief, and I hope to serve as a soldier by my skill." When Zifa heard of it, he could not tie his sash in time and could not set his cap straight, but went out to see him and treated him with courtesy. Those at his side remonstrated: "A thief is a robber of the world. Why treat him with courtesy?" He said: "This is not something you can take part in." Not long afterward, Qi raised troops to attack Chu, and Zifa led the army to resist, and his troops retreated three times. The worthy grand masters of Chu all exhausted their schemes and offered all their sincerity, but the Qi army grew ever stronger. Then the thief from the market came forward and asked: "I have a slight skill and hope to carry it out for you." Zifa said: "Good." Without asking his words, he sent him out. The thief that night untied the curtain of the Qi general and brought it back. Zifa then sent someone to return it, saying: "A soldier who went out to gather firewood obtained the general's curtain, and I have sent it back to your attendants." The next day he went again and took his pillow. Zifa again sent it back. The next day he went again and took his hairpin. Zifa again had it returned. When the Qi army heard of it, they were greatly alarmed. The general planned with his officers: "If we do not leave today, the Chu ruler may take my head." So they withdrew their army and left. So it is said: nothing is so minor, no skill so slight, but it depends on the ruler's using it. So Laozi said: "The bad person is the resource of the good person."
顏回謂仲尼曰：「回益矣。」仲尼曰：「何謂也？」曰：「回忘禮樂矣。」仲尼曰：「可矣。猶未也。」異日復見，曰：「回益矣。」仲尼曰：「何謂也？」曰：「回忘仁義也。」仲尼曰：「可矣。猶未也。」異日復見。曰：「回坐忘矣。」仲尼遽然曰：「何謂坐忘？」顏回曰：「墮支體，黜聰明，離形去知，洞於化通。是謂坐忘。」仲尼曰：「洞則無善也，化則無常矣。而夫子薦賢。丘請從之後。」故老子曰：「載營魄抱一，能無離乎！專氣至柔，能如嬰兒乎！」
Yan Hui said to Zhongni: "Hui has made progress." Zhongni said: "What do you mean?" He said: "Hui has forgotten ritual and music." Zhongni said: "Good, but not yet there." Some days later they met again, and he said: "Hui has made progress." Zhongni said: "What do you mean?" He said: "Hui has forgotten benevolence and righteousness." Zhongni said: "Good, but not yet there." Some days later they met again, and he said: "Hui can sit and forget." Zhongni was startled and said: "What is sitting and forgetting?" Yan Hui said: "I drop my limbs and body, discard hearing and sight, leave form and discard knowing, and penetrate into the great transformation. This is called sitting and forgetting." Zhongni said: "Penetrating, there is no good; transforming, there is no constancy. And you, sir, are the worthy one. May I, Qiu, ask to follow behind you." So Laozi said: "Carrying the soul and embracing the One, can you not separate? Concentrating the breath to reach softness, can you be like an infant?"
秦穆公興師，將以襲鄭。蹇叔曰：「不可。臣聞襲國者，以車不過百里，以人不過三十里，為其謀未及發洩也，甲兵未及鋭弊也，糧食未及乏絶也，人民未及疲病也。皆以其氣之髙與其力之盛至，是以犯敵能威。今行數千里，又數絶諸侯之地；以襲國，臣不知其可也。君重圖之。」穆公不聽。蹇叔送師，衰絰而哭之。師遂行，過周而東。鄭賈人絃髙矯鄭伯之命，以十二牛勞秦師而賓之。三師乃懼而謀曰：「吾行數千里以襲人，未至而人已知之。其備必先成，不可襲也。」還師而去。當此之時，晉文公適薨，未葬。先軫言於襄公曰：「昔吾先君與穆公交，天下莫不聞，諸侯莫不知，今君薨未葬，而不弔吾喪，而不假道，是死吾君而弱吾孤也。請撃之。」襄公許諾。先軫舉兵而與秦師遇於殽。大破之，禽其三帥以歸。穆公聞之，素服廟臨，以説於眾。故老子曰：「知而不知，尚矣；不知而知，病也！」
Duke Mu of Qin raised troops and was about to attack Zheng by surprise. Jian Shu said: "It cannot be done. I have heard that in attacking a state by surprise, chariots go no more than a hundred li and men no more than thirty li, so that the plan does not leak, the weapons are not yet blunt and worn, the provisions are not yet scarce, and the people are not yet exhausted. All rely on the height of morale and the abundance of strength on arrival, and so the attack on the enemy has awe. Now to travel several thousand li and repeatedly pass through the lands of the lords to attack a state by surprise, I do not know how it can be done. My lord, plan again." Duke Mu did not listen. Jian Shu saw the army off wearing mourning clothes and wept over them. The army set out and passed Zhou going east. Xian Gao, a merchant of Zheng, pretended to have the order of the Earl of Zheng and, with twelve oxen, rewarded the Qin army and received them as guests. The three commanders were then afraid and planned: "We have traveled several thousand li to attack, and before we arrive they already know. Their defenses will surely be ready first; we cannot attack." They turned the army back and left. At that time Duke Wen of Jin had just died and was not yet buried. Xian Zhen said to Duke Xiang: "In the past our former ruler had friendly relations with Duke Mu, and there was no one in the world who had not heard of it and no lord who did not know it; now our ruler has died and is not yet buried, yet they do not condole at our funeral and do not ask for passage, treating our ruler as dead and our orphan as weak. Please attack." Duke Xiang agreed. Xian Zhen raised troops and met the Qin army at Xiao. He defeated them utterly, and captured the three commanders and returned. When Duke Mu heard of it, he wore plain clothes and wept at the temple to explain it to the people. So Laozi said: "To know yet seem not to know is best; not to know yet think one knows is a disease!"
齊王后死，王欲置後而未定。使群臣議。薛公欲中王之意，因獻十珥而美其一。旦日，因問美珥之所在。因勸立以為王后。齊王大説，遂尊重薛公。故人主之意欲見於外，則為人臣之所制。故老子曰：「塞其兌，閉其門，終身不勤。」
When the Queen of Qi died, the king wanted to set up a new queen but had not decided. He had his ministers discuss it. Lord Xue wanted to match the king's mind, so he presented ten earrings and made one of them especially beautiful. The next day he asked whom the beautiful earring belonged to. Then he urged that she be made queen. The King of Qi was greatly pleased and so valued Lord Xue. So when a ruler's wishes show on the outside, he is controlled by his ministers. So Laozi said: "Block its holes, shut its doors, and for life you will not toil."
盧敖游乎北海，經乎太陰，入乎玄闕，至於蒙穀之上。見一士焉，深目而玄鬢，涙注而鳶肩，豐上而殺下。軒軒然方迎風而舞。顧見盧敖，慢然下其臂，遁逃乎碑。盧敖就而視之，方倦龜殼而食蛤梨。盧敖與之語曰：「唯敖為背群離黨，窮觀於六合之外者，非敖而已乎？敖幼而好遊，至長不渝。周行四極，唯北陰之未窺。今卒睹夫子於是，子殆可與敖為友乎？」若士者，齤然而笑曰：「嘻！子，中州之民，寧肯而遠至此，此猶光乎日月而載列星，陰陽之所行，四時之所生，其比夫不名之地，猶窔奧也。若我南遊乎岡㝗之野，北息乎沉墨之鄕，西窮窅冥之黨，東關鴻蒙之光，此其下無地而上無天，聽焉無聞，視焉無眴。此其外猶有汰沃之汜。其餘一舉而千萬里，吾猶未能之在。今子游始於此，乃語窮觀，豈不亦遠哉！然子處矣！吾與汗漫期於九垓之外，吾不可以久駐。」若士舉臂而竦身，遂入雲中。盧敖仰而視之，弗見，乃止駕，柸治，悖若有喪也。曰：「吾比夫子，猶黃鵠與壤蟲也。終日行，不離咫尺，而自以為遠。豈不悲哉！」故莊子曰：「小年不及大年，小知不及大知，朝菌不知晦朔，蟪蛄不知春秋。」此言明之有所不見也。
Lu Ao was roaming in the North Sea, passed through Taiyin, entered Xuanque, and arrived above the Meng Valley. He saw a scholar with deep-set eyes and dark black hair, a face with streaming tears and shoulders like a kite's, with a full upper body and a narrow lower body. He was dancing high-spiritedly facing the wind. Turning his head and seeing Lu Ao, he slowly lowered his arms and fled behind a stone stele. Lu Ao approached and looked: he was leaning on a tortoise shell eating clams. Lu Ao spoke to him: "I, Ao, am someone who has turned away from the crowd and sought to see everything beyond the six directions; is it not so that only I am like that? I loved roaming since youth and have not changed even in adulthood. I have traveled to the four extremes, and only the Northern Shade I had not yet peeped into. Now suddenly I see you here, sir; perhaps you could be a friend to me?" The scholar laughed with his teeth showing: "Ha! You are a person of the Central Land, and you are willing to come so far. This place is still lit by the sun and moon, bears the ranked stars, and is moved by yin and yang and where the four seasons arise; compared with the nameless lands, it is still like the inner depths of a room. As for me, in the south I roam to the empty wilds (the base text has a rare character here), in the north I rest in the land of deep ink, in the west I exhaust the dim and dark places, in the east I pass through the light of the primal chaos; here there is no earth below and no sky above, listening there is nothing heard, looking there is no dazzle. Beyond this there are still the shores of the Taiwo waters. The rest is a single leap of thousands and ten thousands of li, and I have not yet been there. Now your roaming has only just begun here, and you speak of seeing everything; is that not far off the mark! But you stay! I have an appointment with Hanman beyond the nine corners of the world, and cannot stay long." The scholar raised his arms and leapt up, and then entered the clouds. Lu Ao looked up at him but could not see him, so he stopped his carriage and, dismayed, felt as if he had lost something. He said: "Compared to you, sir, I am like a swan beside a worm in the dirt. All day I travel without leaving a few inches, and yet think myself far-traveled. Is that not sad!" So Zhuangzi said: "Small years do not reach great years, small knowledge does not reach great knowledge; the morning mushroom does not know the dark and bright of the month, the cicada does not know spring and autumn." This explains that there are things one cannot see.
季子治亶父三年，而巫馬期絻衣短褐，易容貌，往觀化焉。見得魚釋之。巫馬期問焉，曰：「凡子所為魚者，欲得也。今得而釋之，何也？」漁者對曰：「季子不欲人取小魚也。所得者小魚，是以釋之。」巫馬期歸，以報孔子曰：「季子之德至矣。使人暗行，若有嚴刑在其側者。季子何以至於此？」孔子曰：「丘嘗問之以治，言曰：『誡於此者刑於彼。』季子必行此術也。」故老子曰：「去彼取此。」
When Jizi governed Danfu for three years, Wuma Qi wore hemp clothes and short coarse cloth and changed his appearance to observe the transformation by teaching. He saw a man who caught a fish and then released it. Wuma Qi asked him: "What one fishes for is to catch. Now you have caught it and released it; why?" The fisherman replied: "Jizi does not want people to take small fish. What I caught was a small fish, so I released it." Wuma Qi returned and reported to Confucius: "Jizi's virtue is at its utmost. He makes people act in secret as if a severe punishment were at their side. How did Jizi reach this point?" Confucius said: "I once asked him about government, and he said: 'If you are sincere here, it takes shape there.' Jizi must be carrying out this method." So Laozi said: "Discard that and take this."
罔兩問於景曰：「昭昭者，神明也？」景曰：「非也。」罔兩曰：「子何以知之？」景曰：「扶桑受謝，日照宇宙，昭昭之光，輝燭四海，闔戸塞牖，則無由入矣。若神明，四通並流，無所不極，上際於天，下蟠於地。化育萬物而不可為象，俯仰之間而撫四海之外。昭昭何足以明之！」故老子曰：「天下之至柔，馳騁天下之至堅。」
The Penumbra asked the Shadow: "Is what is bright the spirit?" The Shadow said: "No." The Penumbra said: "How do you know?" The Shadow said: "The Fusang tree changes in turn, and sunlight shines over the cosmos; the bright light shines on and illuminates the four seas; but if you shut the door and block the window, it cannot get in. As for the spirit, it flows through all four directions at once, there is nowhere it does not reach the utmost, above it touches heaven and below it coils over earth. It transforms and nurtures the ten thousand things but cannot be made into an image, and between bowing and rising it reaches beyond the four seas. How could brightness be enough to explain it!" So Laozi said: "The softest thing in the world gallops over the hardest thing in the world."
光耀問於無有曰：」子果有乎？其果無有乎？」無有弗應也。光耀不得問，而就視其狀貌，冥然、忽然，視之不見其形，聽之不聞其聲，搏之不可得，望之不可極也。光耀曰：「貴矣哉！孰能至於此乎！予能有無矣，未能無無也；及其為無無，又何從至於此哉！」故老子曰：「無有入於無間，吾是以知無為之有益也。」
Light asked Non-Being: "Do you truly exist, or do you truly not exist?" Non-Being did not answer. Light, unable to get an answer, looked closely at its appearance: dim, vague, and when he looked he saw no form, when he listened he heard no sound, when he grasped it he could not get it, and when he gazed he could not reach its limit. Light said: "How noble! Who can reach this point! I can have non-being, but I cannot yet have non-non-being; when it comes to non-non-being, from where could one reach this point!" So Laozi said: "Non-being enters where there is no gap, and from this I know that non-action is beneficial."
白公勝慮亂。罷朝而立，倒杖策，錣上貫頤，血流至地而弗知也。鄭人聞之，曰：「頤之忘，將何不忘哉！」此言精神之越於外，智慮之蕩於內，則不能漏理其形也。是故神之所用者遠，則所遺者近也。故老子曰：「不出戸以知天下，不窺牖以見天道。其出彌遠，其知彌少。」此之謂也。
Bai Gong Sheng brooded over plans for rebellion. After leaving court he stood holding a horse staff upside down, with the sharp end piercing up through his chin, blood flowing to the ground, yet he did not know. The people of Zheng heard of it and said: "He has forgotten even his own chin; what is there that he has not forgotten!" This means that the more the spirit goes outward and the more knowing and thought toss within, the less one can attend thoroughly to one's own form. So when what the spirit uses is far, what it overlooks is near. So Laozi said: "Without going out the door one knows the world; without peeping out the window one sees the Way of Heaven. The farther one goes out, the less one knows." This is what it means.