Follow us on Facebook to receive important updates Follow us on Twitter to receive important updates Follow us on sina.com's microblogging site to receive important updates Follow us on Douban to receive important updates
Chinese Text Project
Back Forward
Daoism -> Dao De Jing -> 57

(The genuine influence)
A state may be ruled by (measures of) correction;
weapons of war may be used with crafty dexterity;
天下 (but) the kingdom is made one's own (only) by freedom from action and purpose.
How do I know that it is so?
By these facts:
天下- In the kingdom the multiplication of prohibitive enactments
increases the poverty of the people;
the more implements to add to their profit that the people have,
the greater disorder is there in the state and clan;
the more acts of crafty dexterity that men possess,
the more do strange contrivances appear;
the more display there is of legislation,
the more thieves and robbers there are.
聖人Therefore a sage has said,
'I will do nothing (of purpose),
and the people will be transformed of themselves;
I will be fond of keeping still,
and the people will of themselves become correct.
I will take no trouble about it,
and the people will of themselves become rich;
I will manifest no ambition,
and the people will of themselves attain to the primitive simplicity.'


Enjoy this site? Please help.Site design and content copyright 2006-2024. When quoting or citing information from this site, please link to the corresponding page or to https://ctext.org. Please note that the use of automatic download software on this site is strictly prohibited, and that users of such software are automatically banned without warning to save bandwidth. 沪ICP备09015720号-3Comments? Suggestions? Please raise them here.