Two Types of Horses
Tao Te Ching: Chapter 46
It is fitting that in this current Year of the Fire Horse we have a chapter of the Tao Te Ching featuring equine imagery. A horse which is under the influence of Tao, Laozi tell us, is used for peaceful purposes. On the other hand, a horse without the influence of Tao is trained for war. In the second stanza, the Old Master revisits the theme of contentment within limits, which most recently was touched upon in the vaguely Blakean forty-fourth chapter.
The Translation
When there is Tao under Heaven, Galloping horses retreat to manure. When there is not Tao under Heaven, War horses breed in no man's land. There is no disaster greater than not knowing what is enough. There is no fault greater than wanting to acquire. Therefore, knowing that enough is enough Is always enough!
The Original
Wang Bi’s original prose:
天下有道，卻走馬以糞。天下無道，戎馬生於郊。禍莫大於不知足；咎莫大於欲得。故知足之足，常足矣。
Our poetic reformatting:
天下有道， 卻走馬以糞。 天下無道， 戎馬生於郊。 禍莫大於不知足； 咎莫大於欲得。 故知足之足， 常足矣。
Terminology
馬 (mǎ) - this marks the first appearance in the Tao Te Ching of the very common word for “horse”; the character is also used, incidentally, in the Chinese version of “Mark” (as in “Mark Will”): 馬克 (Mǎkè)
糞 (fèn) - I desperately wanted to translate this as “shit,” but Dr. Hong persuaded me to use “manure” (which, like “shit,” can be both noun and verb)
郊 (jiāo) - here translated as “no man’s land,” it could also mean “suburbs” or “outskirts”
知足 (zhīzú) - “knowing what is enough” can also mean simply “contentment”
Notes
Of the first stanza, Derek Lin aptly says: “These are among the most powerful and evocative images from the Tao Te Ching. The peaceful, pastoral scene of horses used for farming contrasts sharply with the misery and suffering of warfare.”
Several English translations (Lin, Le Guin, Stephen Mitchell, et al.) feature an extra line at the beginning of the first stanza saying something like “There is no sin greater than desire,” but Dr. Hong and I cannot find a Chinese version of the text which would justify the inclusion of this line in our translation.
Horse Playlist: