DAO DE JING · THE DAO
Chapter 1
道可道，非常道，名可名，非常名；
無名，天地之始，有名，萬物之母。
故常無欲，以觀其妙，
常有欲，以觀其徼；
此兩者，同出而異名，同謂之玄。玄之又玄，眾妙之門。
JAMES LEGGE · ENGLISH TRANSLATION
1. The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.
2. (Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; (conceived of as) having a name, it is the Mother of all things.
3.
Always without desire we must be found, If its deep mystery we would sound; But if desire always within us be, Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.
4. Under these two aspects, it is really the same; but as development takes place, it receives the different names. Together we call them the Mystery. Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that is subtle and wonderful.
About these texts
The Chinese follows the Wang Bi recension in the Sibu Beiyao edition, transcribed on Wikisource. The English is James Legge’s translation.
They are paired by chapter number. Wording and punctuation can differ between editions. The historical text and translation are distinct from any AI reflection.
The Chinese transcription is adapted by extracting chapter text and omitting commentary. Editorial contributions are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0; the historical work is public domain. English source: Project Gutenberg, ebook 216; the underlying Legge translation is public domain in the USA.