King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Tao Te Ching Chapter 58

第58章

其政悶悶，其民淳淳；其政察察，其民缺缺。禍兮福之所倚，福兮禍之所伏。孰知其極？其無正。正復為奇，善復為妖。人之迷，其日固久。是以聖人方而不割，廉而不劌，直而不肆，光而不燿。

The government that seems the most unwise,

Oft goodness to the people best supplies;

That which is meddling, touching everything,

Will work but ill, and disappointment bring.

Misery!--happiness is to be found by its side! Happiness!--misery lurks beneath it! Who knows what either will come to in the end?

Shall we then dispense with correction? The (method of) correction shall by a turn become distortion, and the good in it shall by a turn become evil. The delusion of the people (on this point) has indeed subsisted for a long time.

Therefore the sage is (like) a square which cuts no one (with its angles); (like) a corner which injures no one (with its sharpness). He is straightforward, but allows himself no license; he is bright, but does not dazzle.

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.

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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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