Celebration Day
Tao Te Ching: Chapter 41
This week’s Tao Te Ching post is something of a milestone. With the completion of Chapter 41, Dr. Hong and I have passed the midway point of our journey through the 81 chapters of Laozi’s classic text. And if in the second half of this journey we pick up the pace and do two chapters per week, we might very well finish the project before the end of 2026. Now isn’t that something to sing about?
The Translation
When high-ranking scholars hear about Tao, They diligently pursue it. When mid-ranking scholars hear about Tao, They seem both to preserve it and to lose it. When low-ranking scholars hear about Tao, They have a big laugh over it. Without laughter it is not feasible to enact Tao. Thus, there is the following proverb: Bright Tao seems like darkness. Advancing Tao seems to retreat. Smooth Tao seems rough. Highest Virtue seems like a valley. Ample Virtue seems insufficient. Respectable Virtue seems like laziness. Excessive Whiteness seems dirty. Simple Truth seems mutable. The Great Square is without corners. The Great Weapon is the last to be forged. The Great Music is faintly heard. The Great Form is without shape. Tao is secret, nameless. It is only Tao that is good at supporting and accomplishing.
The Original
Wang Bi’s original prose:
上士聞道，勤而行之；中士聞道，若存若亡；下士聞道，大笑之。不笑不足以為道。故建言有之：明道若昧；進道若退；夷道若纇；上德若谷；太白若辱；廣德若不足；建德若偷；質真若渝；大方無隅；大器晚成；大音希聲；大象無形；道隱無名。夫唯道，善貸且成。
Our poetic reformatting (which includes at least one controversial choice):
上士聞道， 勤而行之； 中士聞道， 若存若亡； 下士聞道， 大笑之。 不笑不足以為道。 故建言有之： 明道若昧； 進道若退； 夷道若纇； 上德若谷； 廣德若不足； 建德若偷； 太白若辱； 質真若渝； 大方無隅； 大器晚成； 大音希聲； 大象無形。 道隱無名。 夫唯道，善貸且成。
Terminology
士 (shì) - here translated as “scholar(s),” the word can also mean “warrior(s),” “knight(s),” “paladin(s)”
若 (ruò) - “(is) like,” “seem(s), “appear(s); translated here as “seem(s) or “seem(s) like”
存 (cún) / 亡 (wáng) - literally, “live” / “die”; here translated as “preserve” / “lose”
白 (bái) - literally, “white(ness)”; Derek Lin translates this as “integrity”
辱 (rǔ) - here translated as “dirty” (with a nod to Usula K. Le Guin); literally it means “disgrace(ful)”
器 (qì) - this word has appeared several times thus far (most recently in Chapter 36) and may be translated as “instrument,” “device,” “tool,” “utensil,” “vessel,” “weapon” (Dr. Hong and I opt for the latter here in Chapter 41)
Notes
Following Ursula K. Le Guin, Dr. Hong and I moved the line on “Excessive Whiteness” to the position after the sequence of lines describing “Virtue.” Does this editorial decision represent a break with tradition? If you think so, please note that we couldn’t possibly corrupt the original text more than best-selling translator Stephen Mitchell has.
Chapter 41 playlist: