第三十一章 Dao De Jing · Chapter 31
Weapons are instruments of ill omen; a victory in war should be mourned like a funeral.
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夫佳兵者，不祥之器。
Fine weapons are instruments of ill omen.
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物或恶之，故有道者不处。
All things may loathe them, so one who has the Way does not keep them.
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君子居则贵左，用兵则贵右。
At home, the noble one honors the left; at war, he honors the right.
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兵者，不祥之器，
Weapons are instruments of ill omen,
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非君子之器。
not the instruments of the noble one.
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不得已而用之，
When he has no choice but to use them,
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恬淡为上，胜而不美。
calm restraint is best. Victory is not beautiful.
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而美之者，是乐杀人。
To find it beautiful is to delight in killing people.
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夫乐杀人者，
One who delights in killing people
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则不可以得志于天下矣。
cannot achieve his aims in the world.
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吉事尚左，凶事尚右。
In happy affairs the left is honored; in mournful affairs, the right.
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偏将军居左，上将军居右，
The second general stands on the left, the commanding general on the right,
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言以丧礼处之。
which means war is treated as a funeral.
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杀人之众，以哀悲泣之，
When many people are killed, weep for them in grief and sorrow.
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战胜，以丧礼处之。
A victory in war is treated as a funeral.
Words in this chapter
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 夫 | fú | now, indeed (opening particle) |
| 佳 | jiā | fine, excellent |
| 兵 | bīng | arms, troops |
| 者 | zhě | one who, that which |
| 不祥 | bù xiáng | of ill omen |
| 之 | zhī | of, 's (linking particle) |
| 器 | qì | vessel, tool, instrument |
| 物 | wù | thing, beings |
| 或 | huò | perhaps, ever |
| 恶 | wù | to loathe |
| 之 | zhī | it, them (object) |
| 故 | gù | therefore |
| 有 | yǒu | to have, to possess |
| 道 | dào | the Way |
| 不 | bù | not |
| 处 | chǔ | to dwell in, abide by |
| 君子 | jūn zǐ | the noble one |
| 居 | jū | to dwell (in), claim |
| 则 | zé | then |
| 贵 | guì | to value, to prize |
| 左 | zuǒ | the left |
| 用 | yòng | to use |
| 右 | yòu | the right |
| 非 | fēi | is not |
| 不得已 | bù dé yǐ | having no other choice |
| 而 | ér | and, and then |
| 恬淡 | tián dàn | calm restraint |
| 为 | wéi | to be, to count as |
| 上 | shàng | highest, supreme |
| 胜 | shèng | to overcome; victory |
| 而 | ér | and yet, but |
| 美 | měi | beautiful, beauty |
| 是 | shì | this |
| 乐 | lè | glad; to delight in |
| 杀 | shā | to kill |
| 人 | rén | people, others |
| 可 | kě | can be |
| 以 | yǐ | by means of, with |
| 得 | dé | to get, to obtain |
| 志 | zhì | will, ambition |
| 于 | yú | to, at |
| 天下 | tiān xià | all under heaven, the world |
| 矣 | yǐ | final particle (completion) |
| 吉 | jí | auspicious, happy |
| 事 | shì | affairs, work |
| 尚 | shàng | to exalt, to honor |
| 凶 | xiōng | disaster, ill-omened |
| 偏将军 | piān jiàng jūn | the second general |
| 上将军 | shàng jiàng jūn | the commanding general |
| 言 | yán | words, to speak |
| 丧礼 | sāng lǐ | funeral rites |
| 处 | chǔ | to treat, to handle |
| 众 | zhòng | all, the many |
| 哀 | āi | grief, mourning |
| 悲泣 | bēi qì | to weep in sorrow |
| 战胜 | zhàn shèng | victory in war |
Compare: James Legge (1891)
Now arms, however beautiful, are instruments of evil omen, hateful, it may be said, to all creatures. Therefore they who have the Tao do not like to employ them.
The superior man ordinarily considers the left hand the most honourable place, but in time of war the right hand. Those sharp weapons are instruments of evil omen, and not the instruments of the superior man;--he uses them only on the compulsion of necessity. Calm and repose are what he prizes; victory (by force of arms) is to him undesirable. To consider this desirable would be to delight in the slaughter of men; and he who delights in the slaughter of men cannot get his will in the kingdom.
On occasions of festivity to be on the left hand is the prized position; on occasions of mourning, the right hand. The second in command of the army has his place on the left; the general commanding in chief has his on the right;--his place, that is, is assigned to him as in the rites of mourning. He who has killed multitudes of men should weep for them with the bitterest grief; and the victor in battle has his place (rightly) according to those rites.
Public domain. Source: Wikisource.
Meaning of chapter 31
Chapter 31 calls weapons instruments of ill omen and says that even a victory should be treated as a funeral.
The argument runs through the custom of left and right. In ordinary life the noble one, 君子, honors the left, the side of good fortune; in war the right is honored, the side of mourning. On campaign the second general stands on the left and the commanding general on the right, which shows that war is arranged like a funeral rite. The noble one uses weapons only when there is no other choice, with calm restraint, and does not find victory beautiful, since to delight in it is to delight in killing.
The chapter is unusual. The received Wang Bi commentary has no notes on it, and its repetitions have led some readers to suspect that early notes became mixed into the text, though the Guodian bamboo manuscripts already have most of it; the site recites and translates it as received. It continues chapter 30 on force, and can be read with chapter 69 on the use of troops.