


Lao Tzu for Everyone
Students, Scholars,
& Seekers
Chinese-English Interlinear
Peter Gilboy, Ph. D.

Tao
the Way
regarding the characters
used in this translation.
Lesson 36
Life's Subtle
Wisdom
弱ruò
( Two 弓 curved bows)
flexible, weak, soft, gentle
Interlinear
Line 1
If you wish to
gather something to you,
first give it space.
將jiāng 欲yù 拾shī 之zhī
(future action) desire gather (pron.)
必bì 古gǔ 張zhāng 之zh
must old/first stretch/expand (pron.)
You desire to gather something,
fist you must expand it.
. . . . . .
Line 2
If you wish to
weaken something,
first let it grow strong.
將jiāng 欲yù 弱ruò 之zhī
(future action) desire weak (pron.)
必bì 古gǔ 強qiáng 之zhī
must old/first strong (pron.)
You desire to weaken it,
must first strengthen it.
. . . . . .
Line 3
If you wish to
desert something,
first be its ally.
將jiāng 欲yù 去qù 之zhī
(future action) desire separate/depart (pron.)
必bì 古gǔ 與yǔ* 之zhī
must old/first with/give (pron.)
You desire to leave it,
must first be with it.
______
*In place of 與yǔ, "with," "give," the standard editions have a similar graph, 興xīng, "rise," "flourish." That is the reason for translations having with sense of, "If you wish to overthrow something, first let build up."
. . . . . .
Line 4
If you wish to
snatch something away,
first give it.
將jiáng 欲yù 奪duó 之zhī
(future action) desire snatch (pron.)
必bì 古gǔ 予yǔ 之zhī
must old/first give (pron.)
You desire to snatch it,
must first give it.
Line 5
This is the
subtle wisdom of life–
that the soft and the weak
overcome the strong.
是shì 胃wèi 微wēi* 明míng
this say subtle/tiny bright
柔róu 弱ruò 勝shèng 強qiáng
soft weak victory strong
This is called the subtle brightness;
the soft and weak are victorious over the strong.
Some may view this line as Lao Tzu's handy prescription for being victorious over others. But that would to view Lao Tzu's teachings as just one more self-serving means to a greedy end. It would also be to ignore Lao Tzu's understanding of what 勝shēng victory and 強qiáng strength really are. As he tells us elsewhere:
To 勝shēng triumph over others
is to have power.
To 勝shēng triumph over
oneself is be 強qiáng mighty.
Lesson 45
Activity 勝shèng overcomes the cold.
Calmness 勝shèng overcomes the heat.
Lesson 61
Through constant tranquility,
the female energy 勝shèng overcomes
the male energy.
Lesson 67
Those who do battle with compassion
are 勝shèng victorious.
Those who hold on
become 強qiáng strong.
Rather than seeing this lines as a covert means to victory over others, consider that Lao Tzu is simply stating what is the case: That the soft and the weak overcome the strong.
_____
*微wēi, has the sense of "subtle," "small," "hidden," "dark," and "obscure." We saw this in Lesson 14, where Lao Tzu tells us:
Look for it,
and you won't see it.
Call it 微wēi 'imperceptible.'
And in Lesson 15:
Of old, sages
in accord with the Way
were so 微wēi profound in their
insight, that it cannot be fathomed.
. . . . . .
The line above is a fitting close to this lesson. But there's a sixth line which appears to be unrelated to the previous five.
As already mentioned, Lao Tzu’s writings originally had no lesson breaks. When the text was segmented into lessons (believed to be in the first century A.D.), what we know of a Line 6 may have been wrongly appended to this lesson. Perhaps it originally stood alone, as its own chapter; or it may be a later commentary by the Chinese Legalists who sought to usurp Lao Tzu's teachings for their own rigid and harsh system of governing.
Line 6
Just as fish should not be taken
from their deep waters,
so too the potent weapons
of the state should not
be displayed to the people.
魚yú 不bù 脫tuō 於yú 瀟xiāo
fish not remove prep. deep water
邦bāng 利lì 器qì
country sharp instruments
不bù 可kě 以yǐ 視xhì 人rén
not can/able by means show person
As for fish, not remove them from deep water;
as to a country’s sharp instruments,
should not be used for people to look at.
What good does it do for a ruler to put a nation's weapons on display to its people? This only invites fear and foreboding, and these only invite conflict. Let the people be.
And as for an enemy, this is also practical advice. What is unknown is more fearsome than what they know. If there is an enemy, let them be afraid of what they cannot see. If they do choose to attack, let them be surprised.
. . . . . .