Who knows the masculine, yet maintains the feminine; as many streams flow into one channel, all come to him beneath the sky.

Thus he retains the constant excellence, and becomes the stainless, simple child again.

Who knows the attraction of white, but keeps himself in the shade of black, displays the pattern of humility in the view of all beneath the sky.

He is arrayed in unchanging excellence, He returns to man’s first limitless state.

He who knows how glory shines, yet loves disgrace and is not pales by it, he becomes like a spacious valley to which all men come from beneath the sky.


The unchanging excellence is complete: We hail the simple child infant in the man.

Divided and distributed the unworked material yields vessels.

The sage, when employed becomes the ruler and in his rule employs no violent measures.


If anyone should wish to acquire the kingdom for himself, and to effect this by doing, I see that he will not succeed.

The kingdom is a spirit like thing, and cannot be gotten by active doing.

He who would so hold it in his grasp, loses it.

The course and nature of things is such: what was once front is now behind; what was first warmed is now freezing, what was once weakness is now strength, what was once built is now ruined.

Hence the sage renounces excessive effort, extravagance and easy indulgence.


He who would assist a lord of man in harmony with the Tao, will not assert his mastery in the kingdom by force of arms.

Such a course will only rebound upon itself.

Wherever an army is stationed, briars and thorns spring up.
In the sequence of great armies there are sure to be bad years.

A skilled commander strikes a decisive blow and stops.
He does not dare to assert and complete his mastery.

He will strike the blow, but will be on his guard against being vain or boastful or arrogant.

He strikes the blow as a matter of necessity, he strikes it without a need for mastery.

When things have attained their maturity, they become old.

This may be said not to be in accordance with the Tao, what is not in accordance with it soon comes to an end.



Now weapons, however beautiful, are instruments of evil omen, hateful to all creatures.

Therefore they who have the Tao do not like to employ them.

The superior man ordinarily considers the left hand the most honourable place, but, in time of war, it is the right hand.

Those sharp weapons are instruments of the superior man; he uses them only on the compulsion of necessity.

Calm and repose are what he prizes; victory by force of arms is undesirable to him.

To consider victory desirable would be to delight in the slaughter of men; he who delights in the slaughter of men cannot get his will in the kingdom.

On occasions of festivity, the prized position is that of the left hand; on occasions of mourning, the right hand.

The second in command of the army has his place on the right, the place assigned to him by the rites of mourning.

He who has killed multitudes of men should weep for them with the bitterest of grief, and the victor in battle has his place according to those rites.

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