1、道德经中英文对照版第一章：道可道，非常道；名可名，非常名。无名，天地之始；有名，万物之母。故常无欲，以观其妙；常有欲，以观其徼(叫)。此两者，同出而异名，同谓之玄。玄之又玄，众妙之门。The way that can be told of is not an Unvarying Way; The names that can be named are not unvarying names. It was from the Nameless that Heaven and Earth sprang; The named is but the mother that rears the ten
2、thousand creatures, each after its kind. Truly, Only he that rids himself forever of desire can see the Secret Essences ; He that has never rid himself of desire can see only the Outcomes. These two things issued from the same mould, but nevertheless are different in name. This same mould we can but
3、 call the Mystery, Or rather the Darker than any Mystery, The Doorway whence issued all Secret Essences.第二章：天下皆知美之为美，斯恶已；皆知善之为善，斯不善已。故有无相生，难易相成，长短相形，高下相倾，音声相和，前后相随。是以圣人处无为之事，行不言之教，万物作焉而不辞，生而不有，为而不恃，功成而弗居。夫唯弗居，是以不去。It is because everyone under Heaven recognizes beauty as beauty, that the idea of ugli
4、ness exists. And equally if everyone recognized virtue as virtue, this would merely create fresh conceptions of wickedness. For truly Being and Not-being grow out of one another; Difficult and easy complete one another. Long and short test one another; High and low determine one another. Pitch and m
5、ode give harmony to one another. Front and back give sequence to one another. Therefore the Sage relies on actionless activity, Carries on wordless teaching, But the myriad creatures are worked upon by him; he does not disown them. He rears them, but does not lay claim to them, Controls them, but do
6、es not lean upon them, Achieves his aim, but does not call attention to what he does; And for the very reason that he does not call attention to what he does He is not ejected from fruition of what he has done.1Because action can only make one thing high at the expense of making something else low,
7、etc.2Literally, does not place (i.e.classify) himself as a victor. cf. Mencius, ;第三章：不尚贤，使民不争；不贵难得之货，使民不为盗；不见可欲，使民心不乱。是以圣人之治，虚其心，实其腹；弱其志，强其骨。常使民无知无欲，使夫智不敢为也。为无为，则无不治。If we stop looking for persons of superior morality (hsien) to put in power, there will be no more jealousies among the people. If we
8、cease to set store by products that are hard to get , there will be no more thieves. If the people never see such things as excite desire, their hearts will remain placid and undisturbed. Therefore the Sage rules By emptying their hearts, And filling their bellies, Weakening their intelligence1, And
9、 toughening their sinews, Ever striving to make the people knowledgeless and desireless. Indeed he sees to it that if there be any who have knowledge, they dare not interfere. Yet through his actionless activity all things are duly regulated.1Particularly in the sense of having ideas of ones own.第四章
10、：道冲而用之，或不盈。渊兮，似万物之宗。 （挫其锐，解其纷，和其光，同其尘。 ）湛兮，似或存。吾不知谁之子，象帝之先。The Way is like an empty vessel That yet may be drawn from Without ever needing to be filled. It is bottomless; the very progenitor of all things in the world. In it all sharpness is blunted, All tangles untied, All glare tempered, All dust1
11、 smoothed. It is like a deep pool that never dries. Was it too the child of something else? We cannot tell. But as a substanceless image2 it existed before the Ancestor.31Dust is the Taoist symbol for the noise and fuss of everyday life.2A hsiang, an image such as the mental images that float before
12、 us when we think.3The Ancestor in question is almost certainly the Yellow Ancestor who separated Earth from Heaven and so destroyed the Primal Unity, for which he is frequently censured is Chuang Tzu.第五章：天地不仁，以万物为刍狗；圣人不仁，以百姓为刍狗。天地之间，其犹橐(驮)籥(月)乎！虚而不屈，动而愈出。多言数穷，不如守中。Heaven and Earth are ruthless; To
13、them the Ten Thousand Things are but as straw dogs. The Sage too is ruthless; To him the people are but as straw dogs. Yet1 Heaven and Earth and all that lies between Is like a bellows In that it is empty, but gives a supply that never fails. Work it, and more comes out . Whereas the force of words2
14、 is soon spent. Far better is it to keep what is in the heart3.1Though ruthless nature is perpetually bounteous.2Laws and proclamations.3For chung as what is within the heart, see Tso Chuan(左传), Yin Kung 3rd year and Kuan Tzu,37, beginning. The comparison of Heaven and Earth to a bellows is also fou
15、nd in Kuan Tzu (Pien 11, beginning).第六章：谷神不死，是谓玄牝(聘)。玄牝之门，是谓天地根。绵绵若存，用之不勤。The Valley Spirit never dies. It is named the Mysterious Female. And the Doorway of the Mysterious Female Is the base from which Heaven and Earth sprang. It is there within us all the while; Draw upon it as you will, it never
16、runs dry.11Lieh Tzu quotes these lines as coming from the Book of the Yellow Ancestor; but it does not follow that the Tao Ching is actually quoting them from this source. They may belong to the general stock of early Taoist rhymed teaching. For ch in compare below, Chapter 52, line 9, and Huai-nan
17、Tzu I, vol.2.第七章：天长地久，天地所以能长且久者，以其不自生，故能长生。是以圣人后其身而身先，外其身而身存。非以其无私邪？故能成其私。Heaven is eternal, the Earth Everlasting. How come they to be so? It is because they do not foster their own lives; That is why they live so long. Therefore the Sage Puts himself in the background; but is always to the fore. R
18、emains outside; but is always there. Is it not just because he does not strive for any personal end that all his personal ends are fulfilled?第八章：上善若水，水善利万物而不争。处众人之所恶，故几于道。居善地，心善渊，与善仁，言善信，正善治，事善能，动善时。夫唯不争，故无尤。The highest good is like that of water. The goodness of water is that it benefits the ten th
19、ousand creatures; yet itself does not scramble, but is content with the places that all men disdain. It is this that makes water so near to the Way. And if men think the ground the best place for building a house upon, If among thoughts they value those that are profound, If in friendship they value
20、 gentleness, In words, truth; in government, good order; In deeds, effectiveness; in actions, timeliness- In each case it is because they prefer what does not lead to strife,1 And therefore does not go amiss.1Even ordinary people realize the importance of the Taoist principle of water-like behaviour
21、, i.e. not striving to get on top or to the fore.第九章：持而盈之，不如其已；揣而锐之，不可长保。金玉满堂，莫之能守。富贵而骄，自遗其咎。功遂身退，天之道也！Stretch a bow1 to the very full, And you will wish you had stopped in time;Temper a sword-edge to its very sharpest, And you will find it soon grows dull. When bronze and jade fill your hall It can
22、 no longer be guarded. Wealth and place breed insolence That brings ruin in it strain. When your work is done, then withdraw! Such is Heavens2 Way.1the expression used can also apply to filling a vessel to the brim; butstretching a bow makes a better parallel to sharpening a sword.2 as opposed to th
23、e Way of man第十章：载营魄抱一，能无离乎。专气致柔，能如婴儿乎。涤除玄鉴，能如疵乎。爱国治民，能无为乎。天门开阖，能为雌乎。明白四达，能无知乎。When the intelligent and animal souls are held together in one embrace, they can be kept from separating. When one gives undivided attention to the (vital) breath, and brings it to the utmost degree of pliancy, he can beco
24、me as a (tender) babe. When he has cleansed away the most mysterious sights (of his imagination), he can become without a flaw. In loving the people and ruling the state, cannot he proceed without any (purpose of) action? In the opening and shutting of his gates of heaven, cannot he do so as a femal
25、e bird? While his intelligence reaches in every direction, cannot he (appear to) be without knowledge? (The Tao) produces (all things) and nourishes them; it produces them and does not claim them as its own; it does all, and yet does not boast of it; it presides over all, and yet does not control th
26、em.This is what is called The mysterious Quality (of the Tao).第 十 一 章：三十辐 ，共一毂，当其无，有车之用。埏 (山)埴以为器，当其无，有器之用。凿户牖(有)以为室，当其无，有室之用。故有之以为利，无之以为用。The thirty spokes unite in the one nave; but it is on the empty space (for the axle), that the use of the wheel depends. Clay is fashioned into vessels; but it i
27、s on their empty hollowness, that their use depends. The door and windows are cut out (from the walls) to form an apartment; but it is on the empty space (within), that its use depends. Therefore, what has a (positive) existence serves for profitable adaptation, and what has not that for (actual) us
28、efulness.第十二章：五色令人目盲五音令人耳聋五味令人口爽驰骋畋(田)猎，令人心发狂难得之货，令人行妨。是以圣人为腹不为目，故去彼取此。Colours five hues from th eyes their sight will take; Musics five notes the ears as deaf can make;The flavours five deprive the mouth of taste; The chariot course, and the wild hunting wasteMake mad the mind; and objects rare and
29、 strange, Sought for, mens conduct will to evil change.Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving of) the belly, and not the (insatiable longing of the) eyes. He puts from him the latter, and prefers to seek the former.第十三章：宠辱若惊，贵大患若身。何谓宠辱若惊。宠为下，得之若惊，失之若惊，是谓宠辱若惊。何谓贵大患若身。吾所以有大患者，为吾有身，及吾无身，吾有何患。
30、故贵以身为天下，若可寄天下爱以身为天下，若可托天下。Favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared; honour and great calamity, to be regarded as personal conditions (of the same kind). What is meant by speaking thus of favour and disgrace? Disgrace is being in a low position (after the enjoyment of favour). The getting
31、that (favour) leads to the apprehension (of losing it), and the losing it leads to the fear of (still greater calamity):-this is what is meant by saying that favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared. And what is meant by saying that honour and great calamity are to be (similarly) regarded
32、 as personal conditions? What makes me liable to great calamity is my having the body (which I call myself); if I had not the body, what great calamity could come to me? Therefore he who would administer the kingdom, honouring it as he honours his own person, may be employed to govern it, and he who
33、 would administer it with the love which he bears to his own person may be entrusted with it.第十四章：视之不见，名曰夷听之不闻，名曰希搏之不得，名曰微。此三者不可致诘，故混而为一。其上不皦(脚)，其下不昧。绳绳兮不可名，复归于物。是谓无状之状，无物之象，是谓惚恍。迎之不见其首，随之不见其后。执古之道，以御今之有。能知古始，是谓道纪。We look at it, and we do not see it, and we name it the Equable. We listen to it, and
34、we do not hear it, and we name it the Inaudible. We try to grasp it, and do not get hold of it, and we name it the Subtle. With these three qualities, it cannot be made the subject of description; and hence we blend them together and obtain The One. Its upper part is not bright, and its lower part i
35、s not obscure. Ceaseless in its action, it yet cannot be named, and then it again returns and becomes nothing. This is called the Form of the Formless, and the Semblance of the Invisible; this is called the Fleeting and Indeterminable.We meet it and do not see its Front; we follow it, and do not see
36、 its Back. When we can lay hold of the Tao of old to direct the things of the present day, and are able to know it as it was of old in the beginning, this is called (unwinding) the clue of Tao.第十五章：古之善为道者，微妙玄通，深不可识。夫唯不可识，故强为之容：豫兮若冬涉川；犹兮若畏四邻俨(眼)兮其若客涣兮其若凌释敦兮其若朴旷兮其若谷混兮其若浊；澹(淡)兮其若海飂(六)兮若无止。孰能浊以静之徐清。孰能安以
37、动之徐生。保此道者，不欲盈。夫唯不盈，故能蔽而新成。The skilful masters (of the Tao) in old times, with a subtle and exquisite penetration, comprehended its mysteries, and were deep (also) so as to elude mens knowledge. As they were thus beyond mens knowledge, I will make an effort to describe of what sort they appeared to b
38、e.Shrinking looked they like those who wade through a stream in winter; irresolute like those who are afraid of all around them; grave like a guest (in awe of his host); evanescent like ice that is melting away; unpretentious like wood that has not been fashioned into anything; vacant like a valley,
39、 and dull like muddy water. Who can (make) the muddy water (clear)? Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear. Who can secure the condition of rest? Let movement go on, and the condition of rest will gradually arise. They who preserve this method of the Tao do not wish to be full (of thems
40、elves). It is through their not being full of themselves that they can afford to seem worn and not appear new and complete.第十六章：致虚极，守静笃万物并作，吾以观复。夫物芸芸，各复归其根。归根曰静，静曰复命。复命曰常，知常曰明。不知常，妄作凶。知常容，容乃公，公乃全，全乃天，天乃道，道乃久，没身不殆。The (state of) vacancy should be brought to the utmost degree, and that of stillness gu
41、arded with unwearying vigor. All things alike go through their processes of activity, and (then) we see them return (to their original state). When things (in the vegetable world) have displayed their luxuriant growth, we see each of them return to its root. This returning to their root is what we c
42、all the state of stillness; and that stillness may be called a reporting that they have fulfilled their appointed end.The report of that fulfillment is the regular, unchanging rule. To know that unchanging rule is to be intelligent; not to know it leads to wild movements and evil issues. The knowled
43、ge of that unchanging rule produces a (grand) capacity and forbearance, and that capacity and forbearance lead to a community (of feeling with all things). From this community of feeling comes a kingliness of character; and he who is king-like goes on to be heaven-like. In that likeness to heaven he
44、 possesses the Tao. Possessed of the Tao, he endures long; and to the end of his bodily life, is exempt from all danger of decay. 第十七章：太上，不知有之其次，亲而誉之其次，畏之其次，侮之。信不足焉，有不信焉。悠兮其贵言。功成事遂，百姓皆谓：我自然 。In the highest antiquity, (the people) did not know that there were (their rulers). In the next age they love
45、d them and praised them. In the next they feared them; in the next they despised them. Thus it was that when faith (in the Tao) was deficient (in the rulers) a want of faith in them ensued (in the people). How irresolute did those (earliest rulers) appear, showing (by their reticence) the importance
46、 which they set upon their words! Their work was done and their undertakings were successful, while the people all said, We are as we are, of ourselves!第十八章：大道废，有仁义智慧出，有大伪六亲不和，有孝慈国家昏乱，有忠臣。When the Great Tao (Way or Method) ceased to be observed, benevolence and righteousness came into vogue. (Then)
47、appeared wisdom and shrewdness, and there ensued great hypocrisy. When harmony no longer prevailed throughout the six kinships, filial sons found their manifestation; when the states and clans fell into disorder, loyal ministers appeared.第十九章：绝圣弃智，民利百倍绝仁弃义，民复孝慈绝巧弃利，盗贼无有。此三者以为文，不足。故令有所属：见素抱朴，少思寡欲，绝学无
48、忧。If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it would be better for the people a hundredfold. If we could renounce our benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people would again become filial and kindly. If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our (scheming for
49、) gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers. Those three methods (of government) thought olden ways in elegance did fail. And made these names their want of worth to veil; But simple views, and courses plain and true would selfish ends and many lusts eschew.二十章：唯之与阿，相去几何。之与恶，相去若何。人之所畏，不可不畏。荒兮，其未央哉。众人熙熙，如享太牢，如春登台。我独泊兮，其未兆沌沌兮，如婴儿之未孩儽儽(雷)兮，若无所归。众人皆有余，而我独若遗。我愚人之心也哉。俗人昭昭，我独昏昏。俗人察察，我独闷闷。众人皆有以，而我独顽且鄙。我独异于人，而贵食母。When we renounce learning we have no troubles. The (ready) yes, and
