道德經

Tao Te Ching 25 · 25

Imaging the Origin

有物混成，先天地生。寂兮寥兮，獨立而不改，周行而不殆，可以為天下母。吾不知其名，字之曰道，強為之名曰大。大曰逝，逝曰遠，遠曰反。故道大，天大，地大，王亦大。域中有四大，而王居其一焉。人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。

There is a thing formed out of chaos, born before heaven and earth. Silent and formless, it stands alone and does not change; it goes round everywhere and comes to no harm. It can be the mother of the world. I do not know its name; I style it “the Way.” Forced to give it a name, I call it “Great.” Great means going away; going away means far off; far off means coming back. So the Way is great, heaven is great, earth is great, and the king too is great. Within the realm there are four greats, and the king holds one of them. Man models himself on earth; earth models itself on heaven; heaven models itself on the Way; and the Way models itself on what is so of itself.

Word by word

有yǒuThere is物wùa thing混hùnout of chaos成chéngformed，先xiànbefore天地tiān deheaven and earth生shēngborn。寂jìSilent兮xī(ah)and寥liáoformless兮xī(ah)，獨dúaloneit立lìstands而érand不bùdoes not改gǎichange，周zhōuround everywhereit行xínggoes而érandto不bùnoharm殆dàicomes to harm，It可kěcan以yǐto為wéibeof天下tiān xiàthe world母mǔthe mother。吾wúI不bùdo not知zhīknow其qíits名míngname，I字zìstyle之zhīit曰yuē(say)道dàothe Way，強qiǎngForced為wéito give之zhīit名mínga nameI曰yuēcallit大dàGreat。大dàGreat曰yuēmeans逝shìgoing away，逝shìgoing away曰yuēmeans遠yuǎnfar off，遠yuǎnfar off曰yuēmeans反fǎncoming back。故gùSo道dàothe Way大dàis great，天tiānheaven大dàis great，地dìearth大dàis great，and王wángthe king亦yìtoo大dàis great。域yùthe realm中zhōngWithin有yǒuthere are四sìfour大dàgreats，而érand王wángthe king居jūholds其qíof them一yīone焉yānthere。人rénMan法fǎmodels himself on地dìearth，地dìearth法fǎmodels itself on天tiānheaven，天tiānheaven法fǎmodels itself on道dàothe Way，and道dàothe Way法fǎmodels itself on自然zì ránwhat is so of itself。，。，；。。；。，。；；。，，，。，。；；；。

The setting

Chapter 25. Heshang Gong titles it 象元, "Imaging the Origin."

A note on this passage

This is the book’s most direct attempt to describe what came before heaven and earth, and even here the names are makeshift: “the Way” is given reluctantly, and “Great” only under pressure. Follow Great far enough and the chain of motion ends where it started.

The famous four greats carry an equally famous crux. This text, like Wang Bi’s, makes the king one of them (王亦大, 域中有四大而王居其一焉). The Mawangdui silk copies, buried in 168 BCE, put 人 “the human being” among the four greats (人亦大); silk A keeps 人 in the next line too, while silk B returns to 王. With 人, the chapter is about a different kind of greatness. This reader follows the Heshang Gong text’s 王.

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