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　who　do　wrong；　and　put　them　to　death；　who　would　dare　to　do　wrong？

　　There　is　always　One　who　presides　over　the　infliction　death。　He　who　would　inflict　death　in　the　room　of　him　who　so　presides　over　it　may　be　described　as　hewing　wood　instead　of　a　great　carpenter。　Seldom　is　it　that　he　who　undertakes　the　hewing；　instead　of　the　great　carpenter；　does　not　cut　his　own　hands！

　　75

　　The　people　suffer　from　famine　because　of　the　multitude　of　taxes　consumed　by　their　superiors。　It　is　through　this　that　they　suffer　famine。

　　The　people　are　difficult　to　govern　because　of　the　（excessive）　agency　of　their　superiors　（in　governing　them）。　It　is　through　this　that　they　are　difficult　to　govern。

　　The　people　make　light　of　dying　because　of　the　greatness　of　their　labours　in　seeking　for　the　means　of　living。　It　is　this　which　makes　them　think　light　of　dying。　Thus　it　is　that　to　leave　the　subject　of　living　altogether　out　of　view　is　better　than　to　set　a　high　value　on　it。

　　76

　　Man　at　his　birth　is　supple　and　weak；　at　his　death；　firm　and　strong。　（So　it　is　with）　all　things。　Trees　and　plants；　in　their　early　growth；　are　soft　and　brittle；　at　their　death；　dry　and　withered。

　　Thus　it　is　that　firmness　and　strength　are　the　concomitants　of　death；　softness　and　weakness；　the　concomitants　of　life。

　　Hence　he　who　（relies　on）　the　strength　of　his　forces　does　not　conquer；　and　a　tree　which　is　strong　will　fill　the　out…stretched　arms；　（and　thereby　invites　the　feller。）

　　Therefore　the　place　of　what　is　firm　and　strong　is　below；　and　that　of　what　is　soft　and　weak　is　above。

　　77

　　May　not　the　Way　（or　Tao）　of　Heaven　be　compared　to　the　（method　of）　bending　a　bow？　The　（part　of　the　bow）　which　was　high　is　brought　low；　and　what　was　low　is　raised　up。　（So　Heaven）　diminishes　where　there　is　superabundance；　and　supplements　where　there　is　deficiency。

　　It　is　the　Way　of　Heaven　to　diminish　superabundance；　and　to　supplement　deficiency。　It　is　not　so　with　the　way　of　man。　He　takes　away　from　those　who　have　not　enough　to　add　to　his　own　superabundance。

　　Who　can　take　his　own　superabundance　and　therewith　serve　all　under　heaven？　Only　he　who　is　in　possession　of　the　Tao！

　　Therefore　the　（ruling）　sage　acts　without　claiming　the　results　as　his；　he　achieves　his　merit　and　does　not　rest　（arrogantly）　in　it：he　does　not　wish　to　display　his　superiority。

　　78

　　There　is　nothing　in　the　world　more　soft　and　weak　than　water；　and　yet　for　attacking　things　that　are　firm　and　strong　there　is　nothing　that　can　take　precedence　of　it；for　there　is　nothing　（so　effectual）　for　which　it　can　be　changed。

　　Every　one　in　the　world　knows　that　the　soft　overcomes　the　hard；　and　the　weak　the　strong；　but　no　one　is　able　to　carry　it　out　in　practice。

　　Therefore　a　sage　has　said；　'He　who　accepts　his　state's　reproach；　Is　hailed　therefore　its　altars'　lord；　To　him　who　bears　men's　direful　woes　They　all　the　name　of　King　accord。'

　　Words　that　are　strictly　true　seem　to　be　paradoxical。

　　79

　　When　a　reconciliation　is　effected　（between　two　parties）　after　a　great　animosity；　there　is　sure　to　be　a　grudge　remaining　（in　the　mind　of　the　one　who　was　wrong）。　And　how　can　this　be　beneficial　（to　the　other）？

　　Therefore　（to　guard　against　this）；　the　sage　keeps　the　left…hand　portion　of　the　record　of　the　engagement；　and　does　not；　insist　on　the　（speedy）　fulfilment　of　it　by　the　other　party。　（So）　he　who　has　the　attributes　（of　the　Tao）　regards　（only）　the　conditions　of　the　engagement；　while　he　who　has　not　those　attributes　regards　only　the　conditions　favourable　to　himself。

　　In　the　Way　of　Heaven；　there　is　no　partiality　of　love；　it　is　always　on　the　side　of　the　good　man。

　　80

　　In　a　little　state　with　a　small　population；　I　would　so　order　it；　that；　though　there　were　individuals　with　the　abilities　of　ten　or　a　hundred　men；　there　should　be　no　employment　of　them；　I　would　make　the　people；　while　looking　on　death　as　a　grievous　thing；　yet　not　remove　elsewhere　（to　avoid　it）。

　　Though　they　had　boats　and　carriages；　they　should　have　no　occasion　to　ride　in　them；　though　they　had　buff　coats　and　sharp　weapons；　they　should　have　no　occasion　to　don　or　use　them。

　　I　would　make　the　people　return　to　the　use　of　knotted　cords　（instead　of　the　written　characters）。

　　They　should　think　their　（coarse）　food　sweet；　their　（plain）　clothes　beautiful；　their　（poor）　dwellings　places　of　rest；　and　their　common　（simple）　ways　sources　of　enjoyment。

　　There　should　be　a　neighbouring　state　within　sight；　and　the　voices　of　the　fowls　and　dogs　should　be　heard　all　the　way　from　it　to　us；　but　I　would　make　the　people　to　old　age；　even　to　death；　not　have　any　intercourse　with　it。

　　81

　　Sincere　words　are　not　fine；　fine　words　are　not　sincere。　Those　who　are　skilled　（in　the　Tao）　do　not　dispute　（about　it）；　the　disputatious　are　not　skilled　in　it。　Those　who　know　（the　Tao）　are　not　extensively　learned；　the　extensively　learned　do　not　know　it。

　　The　sage　does　not　accumulate　（for　himself）。　The　more　that　he　expends　for　others；　the　more　does　he　possess　of　his　own；　the　more　that　he　gives　to　others；　the　more　does　he　have　himself。

　　With　all　the　sharpness　of　the　Way　of　Heaven；　it　injures　not；　with　all　the　doing　in　the　way　of　the　sage　he　does　not　strive。　　




　

　　
English_Lin_TTK
　　Das　Tao　Te　King　von　Lao　Tse
　　　Chinese　…　English　by
　　Derek　Lin

　　Vorwort/Foreword
　　Introduction　Our　Approach　and　Guiding　Principles

　　There　are　many　Tao　Te　Ching　translations　available；　and　some　of　them　vary　wildly　in　their　rendering　of　the　ancient　classic。　When　we　compare　these　variant　renditions　side…by…side；　they　can　seem　like　totally　different　books。　So　how　can　we　know；　with　a　reasonable　degree　of　certainty；　what　the　Tao　Te　Ching　actually　says？

　　This　translation　is　an　attempt　to　address　this　important　question。　We　started　out　by　envisioning　the　ideal　Tao　Te　Ching　translation；　to　see　how　close　we　could　get　to　it。　What　would　such　a　translation　be　like？　We　came　up　with　the　following　thoughts：

　　1）　Its　translator　would　be　a　native　speaker　of　both　English　and　Chinese。　Without　this　level　of　fluency；　the　translation　would　miss　many　linguistic　subtleties　and　nuances。　Native　command　and　familiarity　is　crucial；　academic　knowledge　alone　is　insufficient。

　　2）　Its　translator　would　be　someone　who　knows　ancient　Chinese　quite　well。　The　Tao　Te　Ching　originated　2；500　years　ago；　so　some　of　its　words　are　no　longer　in　modern　usage；　and　some　have　changed　meaning　over　the　centuries。　A　lack　of　understanding　in　this　respect　can　lead　to　mistranslation。

　　3）　Its　translator　would　be　held　accountable　on　accuracy。　There　are　very　few　people　with　the　qualifications　cited　above；　so　there　is　no　rigorous　peer　review　of　Tao　Te　Ching　translations。　The　lack　of　accountability　is　a　major　factor　that　contributes　to　a　situation　where　anyone　can　claim　to　have　the　most　definitive　and　authoritative　translation；　and　any　challenges　or　disagreements　can　be　labeled　as　merely　opinions。

　　4）　The　ideal　translation　would　be　a　true　translation　in　that　every　character　in　the　original　can　be　matched　to　the　nearest　equivalent　word　or　phrase　in　English；　and　no　characters　are　skipped。　If　we　were　to　scrutinize　existing　translations；　we　would　find　a　surprising　number　failing　this　basic　criterion。

　　5）　The　ideal　translation　would　also　guarantee　the　reverse：　that　every　English　word　or　phrase　in　the　translation　has　a　corresponding　character　in　the　original　Chinese。　Again；　many　translations　fail　this　basic　criterion。　They　contain　extraneous　concepts　or　meanings　not　found　in　the　source　material；　because　sometimes　translators　cannot　resist　the　temptation　to　inject　pet　notions　or　personal　opinions　into　their　work。

　　6）　The　ideal　translation　would　resolve　the　gender　issue。　Chinese　is　contextual　and　gender…neutral；　so　a　line　that　talks　about　a　sage　or　a　ruler　makes　no　assumptions　about　the　subject's　gender。　English　is　gender…specific　and　forces　one　to　choose　male　or　female　pronoun；　thereby　creating　a　distortion　of　the　original　all…inclusive　meaning。　（Some　translators　use　the　male　gender　as　a　convention　for　the　universal　third…person　reference；　some　use　the　female　gender　to　balance　the　perceived　inequality；　some　switch　arbitrarily　between　the　two；　some　use　〃his　or　her〃　in　making　the　inclusiveness　explicit。　These　are　all　attempts　to　resolve　the　issue。）

　　A　translation　that　fulfills　the　six　points　above；　if　possible　to　achieve；　would　set　a　higher　and　unprecedented　standard　for　authenticity　and　accuracy。　So　now　the　questions　become：　How　close　can　we　come　to　it？　How　realistic　is　the　ideal？We　can　fulfill　the　first　requirement；　but　cannot　claim　to　be　perfectly　qualified　for　#2　…　perhaps　no　living　person　can。　However；　we　do　have　access　to　real…life　sages　who　understand　the　Tao　Te　Ching　better　than　anyone。　We　also　have　access　to　commentaries　that　have　been　passed　down　through　the　generations。　With　these　two　helpful　assets；　we　should　be　able　to　handle　the　demands　of　the　second　point。*

　　Accountability　is　an　issue　that；　in　our　case；　would　take　care　of　itself。　Because　the　Tao　is　the　way　of　life　for　us；　and　not　just　an　academic　subject；　we　would　be　extremely　interested　in　preserving　the　original　meaning　as　much　as　huma