Tao Te Ching Chapter 4
第4章
道沖而用之或不盈，淵兮似萬物之宗；挫其銳，解其紛，和其光，同其塵，湛兮似或存。吾不知誰之子，象帝之先。
The Tao is (like) the emptiness of a vessel; and in our employment of it we must be on our guard against all fulness. How deep and unfathomable it is, as if it were the Honoured Ancestor of all things!
We should blunt our sharp points, and unravel the complications of things; we should attemper our brightness, and bring ourselves into agreement with the obscurity of others. How pure and still the Tao is, as if it would ever so continue!
I do not know whose son it is. It might appear to have been before God.
English: James Legge (1891), The Tâo Teh King, Sacred Books of the East vol. 39 (1891) — public domain. Chinese: Wang Bi recension (王弼本), commentary removed.
Character glossary
- 道dàomethod, way; path, road
- 沖chōngwash, rinse, flush; dash; soar
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 用yòngto use, to employ, to apply; use
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 或huòor, either, else; maybe, perhaps, possib
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 盈yíngfull, overflowing; surplus; to fill
- 淵yuānabyss, depth; to surge up, to bubble up
- 兮xīexclamatory particle
- 似shìresembling, similar to; as if, to seem
- 萬wànten thousand; innumerable
- 物wùthing, substance, matter; creature
- 宗zōngancestry, clan, family, lineage; religio
- 挫cuòto check, to obstruct, to push down
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 銳ruìsharp, pointed; keen, acute
- 解jiěto explain; to loosen; to unfasten, to u
- 紛fēntangled, scattered; numerous, confused
- 和héharmony, peace; calm, peaceful
- 光guānglight; bright, brilliant; only, merely
- 同tóngsame, similar; together with, alike
- 塵chéncinders, ashes, dust, dirt
- 湛zhàncalm, clear, deep (as of a lake)
- 存cúnto exist; to survive, to maintain; to ke
- 吾wúI, my, our; to resist, to impede
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 誰shuíwho? whom? whose? anyone?
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 象xiàngelephant; ivory; figure, image
- 帝dìsupreme ruler, emperor; god
- 先xiānfirst, former, previous
Similar passages
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 56
- Zhuangzi The Evidence of Virtue Complete
- Zhuangzi Tien Tzŭ Fang
- Zhuangzi Transcendental Bliss
- Analects 16.1
- Mencius 3A.4
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0); Chinese Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.
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