DAO DE JING · THE DAO
Chapter 29
將欲取天下而為之，吾見其不得已。天下神器，
不可為也，為者敗之，執者失之。
故物或行或隨，或歔或吹。或強或羸，或挫或隳。是以聖人去甚，去奢，去泰。
JAMES LEGGE · ENGLISH TRANSLATION
1. If any one should wish to get the kingdom for himself, and to effect this by what he does, I see that he will not succeed. The kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing. He who would so win it destroys it; he who would hold it in his grasp loses it.
2.
The course and nature of things is such that What was in front is now behind; What warmed anon we freezing find. Strength is of weakness oft the spoil; The store in ruins mocks our toil.
Hence the sage puts away excessive effort, extravagance, and easy indulgence.
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.