Tao Te Ching Chapter 44
第44章
名與身孰親？身與貨孰多？得與亡孰病？是故甚愛必大費，多藏必厚亡，知足不辱，知止不殆，可以長久。
Or fame or life,
Which do you hold more dear?
Or life or wealth,
To which would you adhere?
Keep life and lose those other things;
Keep them and lose your life:--which brings
Sorrow and pain more near?
Thus we may see,
Who cleaves to fame
Rejects what is more great;
Who loves large stores
Gives up the richer state.
Who is content
Needs fear no shame.
Who knows to stop
Incurs no blame.
From danger free
Long live shall he.
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
- 名míngname; position, rank, title
- 與yǔand; with; to; for; to give, to grant
- 身shēnbody, torso; person; pregnancy
- 孰shúwho? which? what? which one?
- 親qīnrelatives, parents; intimate; the hazeln
- 貨huòproducts, merchandise; goods, commoditie
- 多duōmuch, many, multi-; more than, over
- 得déto obtain, to get, to acquire; suitable,
- 亡wángdeath, destruction; to lose; to perish
- 病bìngsickness, illness, disease
- 是shìto be; indeed, right, yes; okay
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 甚shénconsiderably; very, extremely; a great e
- 愛àito love, to like, to be fond of; love, a
- 必bìsurely, certainly; must; will
- 大dàbig, great, vast, high, deep
- 費fèiexpenses, fees; to cost, to spend; waste
- 藏cángto conceal, to hide; to hoard, to store
- 厚hòugenerous; substantial; deep (as a friend
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 足zúfoot; to attain, to satisfy; enough
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 辱rǔto insult, to humiliate, to abuse
- 止zhǐto stop, to halt; to detain; to desist
- 殆dàialmost, probably; danger, peril; to enda
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 長zhǎnglong, lasting; to excel in
- 久jiǔlong ago; a long time
Similar passages
- Zhuangzi The Empire
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 25
- Zhuangzi The Identity of Contraries
- Zhuangzi On Swords
- Zhuangzi The Tao of God
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 13
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.