DAO DE JING · THE DE
Chapter 45
大成若缺，其用不弊。
大盈若沖，其用不窮。
大直若屈，其用不居。
大巧若拙，其用不輟。
大辯若訥，其用不差。
躁勝寒，靜勝熱。清靜為天下正。
JAMES LEGGE · ENGLISH TRANSLATION
1.
Who thinks his great achievements poor Shall find his vigour long endure. Of greatest fulness, deemed a void, Exhaustion ne'er shall stem the tide. Do thou what's straight still crooked deem; Thy greatest art still stupid seem, And eloquence a stammering scream.
2. Constant action overcomes cold; being still overcomes heat. Purity and stillness give the correct law to all under heaven.
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.