People　are　difficult　to　rule　over。
  That　is　because　the　government　contrives　and　wants　to　do　too　much。
  People　do　not　think　much　of　death。
  That　is　because　the　government　makes　life　a　privilege
  instead　of　treating　it　as　a　natural　right。
  Those　who　makes　living　an　unconditional　right　are　good
  in　that　they　pay　due　respect　to　life。
  76
  Strengths　and　Weaknesses
  People　at　birth　are　weak　and　supple。
  People　at　death　are　strong　and　hard。
  All　living　things　including　the　trees　and　other
  plants　are　supple　and　weak。
  When　they　die；　however；　they　all　turn　dry　and　hard。
  Being　hard　and　strong　is　the　way　of　the　dead。
  Being　soft　and　weak　is　the　way　of　the　alive。
  Armed　forces　that　show　their　strength　will　not　win。
  Trees　that　hold　strong　against　the　wind　are　likely
  to　be　blown　down。
  To　be　strong　is　a　disadvantage。
  To　be　weak　is　an　advantage。
  77
  The　Way　of　Heaven
  The　Dao　of　Heaven　is　like　pulling　a　bow。
  The　top　end　comes　down　and　the　bottom　end　goes　up。
  It　takes　away　from　those　with　surplus　to　spare
  and　gives　to　those　who　are　short。
  The　way　of　Heaven　takes　away　from　those　with　surplus　to　spare
  and　gives　to　those　who　are　short。
  The　way　of　men　is　just　the　opposite。
  It　takes　away　from　those　who　are　short
  and　offers　to　those　who　have　more　than　enough。
  The　Sage　does　his　work　but　is　not　arrogant。
  He　accomplishes　but　will　not　dwell　on　his　accomplishments。
  He　does　not　want　to　show　off　his　accomplishments。
  78
  Water　and　the　Paradoxes　of　Life
  Nothing　under　heaven　is　weaker　than　water。
  Yet　nothing　however　proficient　in　attacking　the　strong　can　win　over　water。
  The　reason　is　that　nothing　can　lay　a　handle　on　water。
  The　weak　overcomes　the　strong；
  The　soft　overcomes　the　hard。
  All　under　heaven　know　about　this　dictum
  but　few　people　can　put　it　into　practice。
  That　is　why　the　Sage　says：
  〃Those　who　take　what　other　people　discard　as　garbage
  is　the　lord　of　Society。
  Those　who　love　the　nation　when　it　is　in　the　grip　of　misfortune
  can　claim　to　be　the　king。〃
  What　is　right　often　seems　to　be　wrong。
  79
  Do　Good　Deeds；　Blame　No　One
  Trying　to　neutralize　a　wrong　with　another　wrong　will　never　work；
  because　there　is　bound　to　be　some　wrong　left　over。
  To　return　grievance　or　wrong　with　benevolence　is
  the　way　to　absolve　a　grievance。
  The　Sage　only　sees　to　it　that　what　is　agreed　is　carried　out；
  He　will　not　lay　the　blame　on　anyone。
  The　virtuous　one　only　enforces　contracts。
  The　non…virtuous　one　imposes　his　will。
  The　Way　of　Heaven　will　not　favor　any　one　in　particular；
  But　it　will　favor　those　who　do　good　deeds。
  80
  A　Peaceful；　Rich；　But　Simple　Life
  For　a　small　country　with　a　small　population；
  Let　there　be　no　need　to　use　labor…saving　gadgets。
  Let　people　love　to　die　where　they　are　born
  and　not　want　to　migrate　to　a　distant　land。
  Let　there　be　no　need　to　use　boats　for　long　trips。
  Although　the　country　has　armed　forces　ready　to　protect　the　country；
  Let　there　be　no　need　to　display　the　military　strength。
  Let　the　people　find　happiness　in　a　simple　life。
  Let　people　enjoy　their　good　foods　and　fine　clothing。
  Let　them　settle　down　peacefully　and　follow　their　traditions　happily。
  Let　neighboring　nations　eye　one　another；
  and　hear　the　calls　of　poultry　and　dogs　from　the　other　nation。
  Let　their　people　find　sufficiency　in　their　own　lands。
  Till　their　death　let　there　be　no　need　to　interact。
  81
  Doing　One抯　Duty
  Truthful　words　may　not　be　fine　to　hear。
  Words　that　are　fine　to　hear　may　not　be　truthful。
  Good　people　will　not　want　to　argue
  or　to　defend　themselves　by　word　of　mouth。
  Those　who　love　to　argue　with　others　or　to　defend　their　beliefs
  are　likely　to　be　not　so　good。
  Those　with　insight　need　not　be　well　versed　in　different　things。
  Those　who　are　well　versed　in　different　kinds　of　knowledge　may　not　really　know。
  The　Sage　does　not　set　out　to　accumulate　a　fortune　or　merit。
  Yet　as　he　serves　the　people；　he　becomes　richer；
  and　as　he　gives　to　people；　he　gets　more。
  The　way　of　heaven　is　to　benefit；　not　hurt。
  The　way　of　the　Sage　is　to　do　his　duty；　and　not　to　contest　or　struggle。
  English_Hogan_TTK
  Das　Tao　Te　King　von　Lao　Tse
  English　interpretation　by
  Ron　Hogan；　~2000
  Vorwort/Foreword
  〃Ancient　Chinese　Secret；　Huh？〃
  In　the　spring　of　1994；　I　was　handed　a　master's　degree　in　film　studies　and　politely　invited　not　to　return　to　graduate　school　in　the　fall。　So　I　went　to　work　at　Dutton's；　a　fantastic　indie　bookstore　in　Brentwood；　less　than　a　mile　from　the　Simpson　condo；　but　that's　another　story。　Doug；　the　owner；　lets　his　employees　borrow　books　from　the　inventory；　on　the　principle　that　you　can　sell　books　better　if　you　know　them　better；　and　that's　how　I　discovered　the　Tao　Te　Ching　（or　TTC；　as　I'll　abbreviate　it　from　now　on）。
  Oh；　I　knew　about　the　book　beforehand。　I　knew　it　existed；　anyway；　and　I　knew　it　was　a　classic　of　Eastern　philosophy。　But　that's　all　I　knew。　Not　that　there's　that　much　to　know　after　that；　about　all　anybody　can　really　say　about　Lao　Tzu　is　that　according　to　legend；　about　six　centuries　before　Christ；　he　got　fed　up　with　the　royal　court's　inability　to　take　his　advice　and　decided　to　leave。　Then；　the　story　goes；　he　was　stopped　at　the　Great　Wall　by　a　guard　who　begged　him　to　write　down　some　of　his　teachings　for　posterity；　and　the　result　was　this　slim　volume。　Once　I　actually　started　to　read　the　thing；　I　was　hooked。　Here　was　a　book　that　managed　to　say　with　clarity　what　I'd　been　struggling　to　figure　out　about　spirituality　for　several　years。
  The　TTC　I　found　at　Dutton's　was　written　by　Stephen　Mitchell；　a　version　which　remains　popular　nearly　twenty　years　after　its　original　composition。　Having　read　a　couple　dozen　translations　since；　it's　still　one　of　the　most　accessible　versions　I've　seen；　but　even　then；　I　found　his　style　a　bit　too　refined；　too　full　of　a　certain　〃wisdom　of　the　ancients〃　flavor。　For　example；　here's　how　Mitchell　starts　the　first　chapter：
  〃The　Tao　that　can　be　named
  is　not　the　eternal　Tao。
  The　name　that　can　be　named
  is　not　the　eternal　Name。〃
  At　the　time；　I　was　newly　infatuated　with　the　writing　of　Quentin　Tarantino　and　David　Mamet；　so　my　dream　version　of　a　TTC　reflected　the　simplicity　and　grit　of　their　dialogue：
  〃If　you　can　talk　about　it；　it　ain't　Tao。
  If　it　has　a　name；　it's　just　another　thing。〃
  Anyway；　I　grabbed　a　couple　other　translations　and　started　looking　at　the　different　ways　they　expressed　the　same　sentimentsor；　as　I　quickly　discovered；　how　much　poetic　license　Mitchell　and　other　translators　were　willing　to　take　with　the　original　text。　I　don't　think　this　necessarily　matters　all　that　much；　many　current　English…　language　versions　are　by　people　who　don't　know　Chinese　well；　if　at　all；　and　I　can't　read　or　speak　it　myself。　To　that　extent；　then；　we're　*all*　（unless　we're　fluent　in　Chinese；　that　is）　at　the　mercy　of；　at　best；　a　secondhand　understanding　of　what　Lao　Tzu　said。
  Once　I　thought　I　had　a　rough　idea　what　was　behind　the　words；　though；　I　went　about　rephrasing　the　chapters　in　my　own　voice。　My　guiding　principle　was　to　take　out　as　much　of　the　〃poetry〃　as　possible；　to　make　the　text　sound　like　dialogue；　so　the　reader　could　imagine　someone　telling　him　or　her　what　Tao's　all　about。　You　can't　take　the　〃poetry〃　out　completely；　because　the　TTC　is　always　going　to　have　those　lines　about　Tao　being　an　〃eternal　mystery〃　and　whatnot。
  But　the　beauty　of　the　book　isn't　in　its　language；　at　least　not　for　meit's　in　the　practical　advice　Lao　Tzu　offers　us　about　how　to　live　a　productive；　meaningful　life　on　a　day　to　day　basis。　What　I　wanted　to　do　was　to　make　that　advice　as　clear　to　a　modern　American　reader　as　it　would　have　been　to　the　guard　who　first　asked　Lao　Tzu　to　write　it　down。
  I　worked　through　the　first　twenty　chapters；　then　put　the　rough　draft　up　on　my　website　under　a　pseudonym　I　used　online　back　in　those　days。　A　bunch　of　fan　mail　came　in；　so　I　kept　plugging　away　at　the　text；　then　my　hard　drivecollapsed　and　all　my　files　were　completely　erased。　I　was　freelancing　pretty　steadily　then；　and　what　little　free　time　I　had　I　spent　building　my　own　website；　so　the　TTC　went　on　hold。　I　got　an　occasional　email　asking　about　the　other　chapters；　and　I　developed　a　stock　answer。　When　it　was　time　for　me　to　finish　the　job；　I　told　people；　I　would。
  Years　went　by。　I'd　left　LA　for　San　Francisco；　then　moved　up　to　Seattle；　chasing　after　big　dotcom　money。　It　was　great　for　a　while；　but　as　Lao　Tzu　says；　〃If　you　give　things　too　much　value；　you're　going　to　get　ripped　off。〃　In　the　middle　of　the　worst　of　the　frustration；　I　rediscovered　the　Tao　Te　Ching；　and　realized　I　needed　to　finish　what　I　started。
  I　dug　out　all　my　old　copies　of　the　TTC　and　went　shopping　for　more　versions；　some　of　which　were　even　better　than　the　ones　I'd　found　the　first　time。　Brian　Browne　Walker's　translation　comes　close　to　the　modern　oral　quality　I　was　striv