第二十章 Dao De Jing · Chapter 20
The speaker stands apart from the busy crowd, quiet and simple, valuing the nourishing mother.
Text
-
绝学无忧。
Get rid of "learning" and there will be no anxiety.
-
唯之与阿，相去几何？
How much difference is there between "yes" and "no"?
-
善之与恶，相去若何？
How far removed from each other are "good" and "evil"?
-
人之所畏，不可不畏。
What the people admire of cannot be disregarded.
-
荒兮其未央哉！
I am scattered, never having been in a comfortable center.
-
众人熙熙，如享太牢，
All the people are bustling about, as if they enjoy the sacrifice,
-
如春登台。
Enjoy climbing the Spring Altar.
-
我独泊兮其未兆，
I remain alone, not yet having revealed myself.
-
如婴儿之未孩。
Like an infant who has not yet laughed.
-
儽儽兮若无所归。
Weary, like one despairing of nowhere to return to.
-
众人皆有余，
All the people possess surplus,
-
而我独若遗。
While I am alone, like left behind.
-
我愚人之心也哉！
I am ignorant of the minds of others.
-
沌沌兮！
So confused!
-
俗人昭昭，我独昏昏；
Average people are clear-minded, I am alone and muddle-headed.
-
俗人察察，我独闷闷。
Average people know everything. I am alone and depressed.
-
澹兮其若海，
Tranquil like the ocean,
-
飂兮若无止。
High winds that never stop.
-
众人皆有以，而我独顽似鄙。
Everyone has a purpose, whereas I am alone, stubborn as a scoundrel.
-
我独异于人，而贵食母。
I alone differ from people, as I value the nurturing mother.
Words in this chapter
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 绝 | jué | to cut off, reject |
| 学 | xué | learning |
| 无 | wú | not have, without, no |
| 忧 | yōu | worry, anxiety |
| 唯 | wěi | yes (respectful) |
| 之 | zhī | of, 's (linking particle) |
| 与 | yǔ | with, and |
| 阿 | ē | an offhand "yeah" |
| 相 | xiāng | each other |
| 去 | qù | to leave, go away |
| 几何 | jǐ hé | how much, how far |
| 善 | shàn | good, goodness |
| 恶 | è | bad, evil |
| 若 | ruò | like, as if |
| 何 | hé | what, how |
| 人 | rén | people, others |
| 之 | zhī | that (clause particle) |
| 所 | suǒ | that which, what |
| 畏 | wèi | to fear, to dread |
| 不 | bù | not |
| 可 | kě | can be |
| 荒 | huāng | vast, boundless |
| 兮 | xī | ah (particle) |
| 其 | qí | it, he, they (subject) |
| 未央 | wèi yāng | not yet at an end |
| 哉 | zāi | exclamation particle |
| 众人 | zhòng rén | the many, everyone |
| 熙熙 | xī xī | bustling, merry |
| 如 | rú | as if, like |
| 享 | xiǎng | to enjoy, to feast |
| 太牢 | tài láo | the great sacrificial feast |
| 春 | chūn | spring |
| 登 | dēng | to climb |
| 台 | tái | terrace, tower |
| 我 | wǒ | I, me |
| 独 | dú | alone |
| 泊 | bó | calm, unmoved |
| 未 | wèi | not yet |
| 兆 | zhào | sign, first stirring |
| 婴儿 | yīng ér | the infant |
| 孩 | hái | to smile (as a baby) |
| 儽儽 | lěi lěi | weary, drifting |
| 归 | guī | to return, to go back |
| 皆 | jiē | all, everyone |
| 有余 | yǒu yú | to have plenty |
| 而 | ér | and yet, but |
| 遗 | yí | left out, lacking |
| 愚人 | yú rén | a fool |
| 心 | xīn | heart, mind |
| 也 | yě | final particle (assertion) |
| 沌沌 | dùn dùn | muddled, dull |
| 俗人 | sú rén | ordinary people |
| 昭昭 | zhāo zhāo | bright, clear-headed |
| 昏昏 | hūn hūn | dim, in the dark |
| 察察 | chá chá | keen, scrutinizing |
| 闷闷 | mèn mèn | dull, withdrawn |
| 澹 | dàn | calm, placid |
| 海 | hǎi | the sea |
| 飂 | liáo | high wind, drifting |
| 止 | zhǐ | to stop, to rest |
| 有 | yǒu | to have, to possess |
| 以 | yǐ | a use, a purpose |
| 顽 | wán | obstinate, dull |
| 似 | sì | seems, as if |
| 鄙 | bǐ | rustic, uncouth |
| 异 | yì | different |
| 于 | yú | to, at |
| 而 | ér | and, and then |
| 贵 | guì | to value, to prize |
| 食 | shí | food, to feed on |
| 母 | mǔ | mother |
Compare: James Legge (1891)
When we renounce learning we have no troubles.
The (ready) 'yes,' and (flattering) 'yea;'--
Small is the difference they display.
But mark their issues, good and ill;--
What space the gulf between shall fill?
What all men fear is indeed to be feared; but how wide and without end is the range of questions (asking to be discussed)!
The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased; as if enjoying a full banquet, as if mounted on a tower in spring. I alone seem listless and still, my desires having as yet given no indication of their presence. I am like an infant which has not yet smiled. I look dejected and forlorn, as if I had no home to go to. The multitude of men all have enough and to spare. I alone seem to have lost everything. My mind is that of a stupid man; I am in a state of chaos.
Ordinary men look bright and intelligent, while I alone seem to be benighted. They look full of discrimination, while I alone am dull and confused. I seem to be carried about as on the sea, drifting as if I had nowhere to rest. All men have their spheres of action, while I alone seem dull and incapable, like a rude borderer. (Thus) I alone am different from other men, but I value the nursing-mother (the Tao).
Public domain. Source: Wikisource.
Meaning of chapter 20
Chapter 20 is one of the most personal in the book, spoken in the first person by someone out of step with everyone else. It opens with a short line, give up learning and there is no anxiety, then asks how far apart a respectful "yes" and an offhand one really are, or good and bad.
The center of the chapter is a contrast. The crowd is merry, as if at a great feast or climbing a terrace in spring; the speaker alone is still and gives no sign, like a baby that has not yet smiled. Others have more than enough and are bright and sharp; the speaker seems left out, dull and muddled, calm as the sea, adrift like the wind. The last line names the difference: I alone value 食母, the mother who feeds.
Several readings are uncertain. Some editors move the first line, 绝学无忧, to the end of chapter 19; this site keeps Wang Bi's division. 唯 and 阿 are two ways of saying yes, one polite, one careless. Wang Bi explains the feeding mother as the root of life, which is the Way. The mother returns in chapter 52, and giving up learning in chapter 48.