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.
Character glossary
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 政zhènggovernment, politics
- 悶mèngloomy, depressed, melancholy
- 民míncitizens, subjects; a nation's people
- 淳chúnsimple, honest, genuine
- 察cháto examine, to investigate, to observe
- 缺quēto lack, to be short; vacancy, gap, defi
- 禍huòmisfortune, disaster, calamity
- 兮xīexclamatory particle
- 福fúhappiness, good fortune, blessings
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 所suǒplace, location; "that which", a particl
- 倚yǐto rely on, to depend on
- 伏fúto crouch, to crawl, to lie hidden, to c
- 孰shúwho? which? what? which one?
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 極jíextreme, top; final, furthest, utmost; p
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 正zhèngstraight, right, proper, correct, just,
- 復fùagain, repeatedly; copy, duplicate; to r
- 為wèito do, to act; to handle, to govern; to
- 奇qístrange, unusual, odd; uncanny, occult
- 善shàngood, virtuous, charitable, kind
- 妖yāostrange, weird, supernatural; bewitching
- 人rénman, person; people
- 迷míto bewitch, to charm; a fan of; infatuat
- 日rìsun; day; daytime
- 固gùto solidify; strength
- 久jiǔlong ago; a long time
- 是shìto be; indeed, right, yes; okay
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 聖shèngholy, sacred; sage, saint
- 方fāngsquare, rectangle; side; region; flag
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 割gēto cut, to divide, to partition; to cede
- 廉liánupright, honorable, honest
- 劌guìto cut, injure, stab, stick on
- 直zhístraight, vertical; candid, direct, fran
- 肆sìto indulge; excess; four (bankers' anti-
- 光guānglight; bright, brilliant; only, merely
- 燿yàoshine, dazzle; brilliant, radiant
Similar passages
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 20
- Zhuangzi Tien Tzŭ Fang
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 59
- Zhuangzi On Declining Power
- Zhuangzi The Identity of Contraries
- Analects 17.1
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.