第一章 Dao De Jing · Chapter 1
The Way that can be spoken of is not the eternal Way; the nameless and the named share one mysterious source.
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道可道非常道，
The way that can be followed is not the eternal Way.
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名可名非常名。
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
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无名天地之始，
The nameless is the creation of heaven and earth.
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有名万物之母。
Naming is a concept born from terrestrial beings.
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故常无欲，以观其妙，
Therefore, ever desireless, one can see the cosmos' mystery,
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常有欲，以观其徼。
Ever desiring, you merely see its manifestations.
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此两者同出而异名，
These two concepts have the same origin despite their different name,
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同谓之玄，玄之又玄，
Both are considered mysteries, mysteries within mysteries,
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众妙之门。
The gateway to all marvels.
Words in this chapter
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 道 | dào | the Way |
| 可 | kě | can be |
| 道 | dào | to follow; to speak of |
| 非 | fēi | is not |
| 常 | cháng | constant, eternal |
| 名 | míng | name |
| 名 | míng | to name |
| 无名 | wú míng | the nameless |
| 天地 | tiān dì | heaven and earth |
| 之 | zhī | of, 's (linking particle) |
| 始 | shǐ | the beginning |
| 有名 | yǒu míng | the named |
| 万物 | wàn wù | the myriad things |
| 母 | mǔ | mother |
| 故 | gù | therefore |
| 常 | cháng | always, ever |
| 无欲 | wú yù | without desire |
| 以 | yǐ | in order to |
| 观 | guān | to observe |
| 其 | qí | its, his, their |
| 妙 | miào | subtle wonder |
| 有欲 | yǒu yù | with desire |
| 徼 | jiào | outer bounds, manifestations |
| 此 | cǐ | this, these |
| 两者 | liǎng zhě | these two |
| 同 | tóng | same, together |
| 出 | chū | to come out, emerge |
| 而 | ér | and yet, but |
| 异 | yì | different |
| 谓 | wèi | to call, to be called |
| 之 | zhī | it, them (object) |
| 玄 | xuán | mystery, mysterious |
| 又 | yòu | and again, further |
| 众 | zhòng | all, the many |
| 门 | mén | gate |
Compare: James Legge (1891)
The Tao that can be described is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.
(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.
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.
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.
Public domain. Source: Wikisource.
Meaning of chapter 1
Chapter 1 sets out the problem the whole book works with: what lies at the origin of things cannot be fully held in words. The opening line plays on 道 (dào), which means a way, and also to tread it or to speak it: a way that can be followed, or told, is not the eternal Way, 常道. The second line does the same with names.
The chapter then pairs the nameless (无名), the beginning of heaven and earth, with the named (有名), the mother of the myriad things. Ever without desire, one sees their hidden subtlety; ever desiring, only their outer edges. The two come from one source and are named apart, and together they are called 玄 (mystery), "mysteries within mysteries", the gateway to all marvels.
The punctuation of lines 3 to 6 is disputed. Some editors break after 无 and 有 and read "absence" and "presence" as the key terms; this site follows Wang Bi and reads 无名 and 有名, then 常无欲 and 常有欲. The nameless returns in chapter 25, and the mother in chapter 52.