Rectitude Under Heaven
Tao Te Ching: Chapter 45
My focus on 正 (Zhèng)—translated here in Chapter 45 as “Rectitude,” but also meaning “right(ness),” “correct(ness),” “straight(ness),” “upright(ness),” “just(ice),” “order(ed),” “stable/stability,” etc.—probably misses the point of this week’s dose of Tao. Surely Laozi means to emphasize the “Stillness” (靜, Jìng) of the last two lines rather than “Rectitude”—which seems not to be a very Taoist concept at all. Still, I find 正 to be a very interesting lexical choice. So far as I can remember, this marks its first appearance in the Tao Te Ching, and it greatly surprises me because in modern times the term has been used by nefarious political actors to give the semblance of legitimacy and inevitability to their crimes and machinations. That old pirate and heroin trafficker Chiang Kai-Shek, for example, called himself 中正 (Zhōngzhèng), and he is the last person under Heaven I—or, hopefully, Laozi—would call “centered and upright.” But perhaps, by highlighting it in this way, we can reclaim the word “Rectitude,” which has been so much corrupted by power-hungry exploiters and manipulators. Is there an esoteric and more “correct” meaning of 正 which eludes mainstream normies and is known only to the initiated?
The Translation
Great Success seems deficient, But its function is not disadvantaged. Great Fullness seems empty, But its function is not exhausted. Great Straightness seems bent, Great Skill seems clumsy, Great Eloquence seems inarticulate. Restlessness overcomes Cold, Stillness overcomes Heat. Pure Stillness facilitates Rectitude under Heaven.
The Original
Wang Bi’s original prose:
大成若缺，其用不弊。大盈若沖，其用不窮。大直若屈，大巧若拙，大辯若訥。躁勝寒靜勝熱。清靜為天下正。
Our poetic reformatting:
大成若缺， 其用不弊。 大盈若沖， 其用不窮。 大直若屈， 大巧若拙， 大辯若訥。 躁勝寒， 靜勝熱。 清靜為天下正。
Terminology
用 (Yòng) - translated here as “Function,” the word also appeared most recently in Chapter 40, where it was translated as “utility”
沖 (chōng) - translated here as “empty,” the word also appeared most recently in Chapter 42, where it was translated, somewhat reluctantly, as “mingling”; I still think a case can be made for translating 沖 as “dilute(d)”
靜 (Jìng) - translated here as “Stillness” (as mentioned above), the word can also mean “Calmness,” “Tranquility,” “Quietude,” “Motionlessness,” etc.
Notes
Derek Lin aptly describes the “Great Skill” of line 6 as the “ultimate technique of no technique.”
Referring to line 7—which he translates as “Great eloquence [with lower-case E] seems inarticulate”—Lin further says: “Test this teaching for yourself. Dedicate an entire day to the practice of minimal speech. Every time you want to say something, either say it with the fewest words possible or say nothing at all. Observe what happens. You may be surprised by how little you really need to talk.” This makes me question the entire enterprise of podcasting.