道德經

Tao Te Ching 67 · 67

The Three Treasures

天下皆謂我大，似不肖。夫唯大，故似不肖。若肖久矣其細。夫我有三寶，持而寶之。一曰慈，二曰儉，三曰不敢為天下先。慈故能勇，儉故能廣，不敢為天下先，故能成器長。今捨慈且勇，舍儉且廣，舍後且先，死矣！夫慈以戰則勝，以守則固。天將救之，以慈衛之。

All the world calls me great, yet I seem to lack cleverness. Now, it is only because I am great that I seem to lack cleverness. As for the clever, they have been around a long time; they are petty. Now, I have three treasures; I hold them and treasure them. The first is called compassion, the second is called frugality, the third is called not daring to be first in the world. I am compassionate, so I can be brave; I am frugal, so I can be generous; I do not dare to be first in the world, so I can become the head of able men. People today give up compassion and just act brave, give up frugality and just live lavishly, give up staying behind and just go first: that is death! Now, if you fight with compassion, you win; if you defend with it, you hold firm. When Heaven is about to save someone, it guards him with compassion.

Word by word

天下tiān xiàthe world皆jiēAll謂wèicalls我wǒme大dàgreat，yet I似sìseemto不bùlack肖xiàocleverness。夫fúNowit is唯wéionly because大dàI am great，故gùthatI似sìseemto不bùlack肖xiàocleverness。若ruòAs for肖xiàothe clever久jiǔa long time矣yǐ(indeed)they have been around其qíthey細xìare petty。夫fúNow我wǒI有yǒuhave三sānthree寶bǎotreasures，I持chíholdthem而érand寶bǎotreasure之zhīthem。一yīThe first曰yuēis called慈cícompassion，二èrthe second曰yuēis called儉jiǎnfrugality，三sānthe third曰yuēis called不bùnot敢gǎndaring為wéito bein天下tiān xiàthe world先xiānfirst。I am慈cícompassionate故gùsoI能néngcan勇yǒngbe brave，I am儉jiǎnfrugal故gùsoI能néngcan廣guǎngbe generous，I do不bùnot敢gǎndare為wéito bein天下tiān xiàthe world先xiānfirst，故gùsoI能néngcan成chéngbecomeof器qìable men長zhǎngthe head。今jīnPeople today捨shěgive up慈cícompassion且qiěand just勇yǒngact brave，舍shěgive up儉jiǎnfrugality且qiěand just廣guǎnglive lavishly，舍shěgive up後hòustaying behind且qiěand just先xiāngo first，that is死sǐdeath矣yǐ(!)！夫fúNow慈cícompassion以yǐwithif you戰zhànfight則zé(then)勝shèngyou win，以yǐwith itif you守shǒudefend則zé(then)固gùyou hold firm。When天tiānHeaven將jiāngis about to救jiùsave之zhīsomeone，以yǐwith慈cícompassionit衛wèiguards之zhīhim。，。，。，；。，；。，，。，；，；，。，，：！，，；，。，。

The setting

Laozi names his three treasures, compassion first, and shows how each produces the opposite of what force alone can force.

A note on this passage

In Heshang Gong’s reading, Laozi’s greatness looks unimpressive because it does not perform cleverness, and the sharp, eloquent type the world has long known is really just a petty man in disguise. Each treasure yields what looks like its opposite: courage from compassion, abundance from frugality, leadership from staying back. Chasing the result while abandoning its root is fatal.

This text has Laozi “treasure” his treasures with the very word for the treasures themselves, noun and verb the same character, the wordplay chapter 1 makes with the Way; the more familiar version uses “guard” there. Its opening line has the world call Laozi himself great, where the familiar version says his Way, and Heshang Gong takes the word usually read “resembling nothing” to mean, more specifically, lacking clever eloquence.

Read the full commentary — and tap any word for its dictionary entry — in the interlinear reader.

Open Tao Te Ching 67 in the full reader

Always open passages in the reader

From the Great Library

You are reading a page of the Tao Te Ching — the whole book is free in our interlinear reader.

The Great Library Project presses the classics in their original languages, glossed word by word — free to read, always. Browse the whole library.

Also on our shelves:

❦

Tao Te Ching 67 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/tao/67/