第三十四章 Dao De Jing · Chapter 34
The great Way nourishes all things without claiming them; because it never makes itself great, it is great.
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大道泛兮，其可左右。
The great Way flows everywhere; it can go left or right.
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万物恃之而生而不辞，
The myriad things rely on it for life, and it does not refuse them.
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功成不名有，
It completes its work but does not claim it.
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衣养万物而不为主，
It clothes and feeds the myriad things but does not act as their master.
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常无欲，可名于小；
Ever without desire, it can be called small;
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万物归焉而不为主，
the myriad things return to it, yet it does not act as their master:
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可名为大。
it can be called great.
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以其终不自为大，
Because it never makes itself great,
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故能成其大。
it can achieve its greatness.
Words in this chapter
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 大 | dà | great, big |
| 道 | dào | the Way |
| 泛 | fàn | flowing everywhere |
| 兮 | xī | ah (particle) |
| 其 | qí | it, he, they (subject) |
| 可 | kě | can be |
| 左 | zuǒ | the left |
| 右 | yòu | the right |
| 万物 | wàn wù | the myriad things |
| 恃 | shì | to rely on, presume on |
| 之 | zhī | it, them (object) |
| 而 | ér | and, and then |
| 生 | shēng | to live |
| 而 | ér | and yet, but |
| 不 | bù | not |
| 辞 | cí | to turn away; to speak |
| 功 | gōng | achievement, work done |
| 成 | chéng | to complete, accomplish |
| 名 | míng | to name |
| 有 | yǒu | to have, to possess |
| 衣 | yī | to clothe |
| 养 | yǎng | to feed, to nourish |
| 为 | wéi | to be, to count as |
| 主 | zhǔ | ruler, lord |
| 常 | cháng | always, ever |
| 无欲 | wú yù | without desire |
| 于 | yú | to, at |
| 小 | xiǎo | small |
| 归 | guī | to return, to go back |
| 焉 | yān | in it, from it |
| 以 | yǐ | because, by |
| 终 | zhōng | in the end, ever |
| 自 | zì | oneself, by oneself |
| 故 | gù | therefore |
| 能 | néng | can, to be able |
| 其 | qí | its, his, their |
Compare: James Legge (1891)
All-pervading is the Great Tao! It may be found on the left hand and on the right.
All things depend on it for their production, which it gives to them, not one refusing obedience to it. When its work is accomplished, it does not claim the name of having done it. It clothes all things as with a garment, and makes no assumption of being their lord;--it may be named in the smallest things. All things return (to their root and disappear), and do not know that it is it which presides over their doing so;--it may be named in the greatest things.
Hence the sage is able (in the same way) to accomplish his great achievements. It is through his not making himself great that he can accomplish them.
Public domain. Source: Wikisource.
Meaning of chapter 34
Chapter 34 describes the great Way as present everywhere and serving all things, yet never claiming to be their master.
It opens with an image of water spreading in every direction: the great Way flows everywhere and can go left or right. The myriad things depend on it for their life; it completes its work without claiming it, and clothes and feeds them without acting as their master. These lines echo chapters 2 and 51, where the Way and the sage give life without possessing.
The chapter then plays on two names. Because it is always without desire, the Way can be called small; because all things return to it while it does not rule them, it can be called great. The conclusion is that it never makes itself great, and that is how it achieves its greatness. Chapter 63 says nearly the same of the sage. In 功成不名有, 名 is read as a verb, to claim as one's own, as in the site's glossary.