第六十一章 Dao De Jing · Chapter 61

Like water and like the female, the great state wins by taking the lower place.

大dà国guó者zhě下xià流liú，

A great state is like the lower course of a river,
天tiān下xià之zhī交jiāo。

where the whole world meets.
天tiān下xià之zhī牝pìn，牝pìn常cháng以yǐ静jìng胜shèng牡mǔ，

It is the female of the world. The female always overcomes the male by stillness;
以yǐ静jìng为wéi下xià。

by stillness she takes the lower place.
故gù大dà国guó以yǐ下xià小xiǎo国guó，

So when a great state places itself below a small state,
则zé取qǔ小xiǎo国guó；

it wins the small state;
小xiǎo国guó以yǐ下xià大dà国guó，则zé取qǔ大dà国guó。

when a small state places itself below a great state, it wins the great state.
故gù或huò下xià以yǐ取qǔ，

So one wins by lowering itself,
或huò下xià而ér取qǔ。

the other wins by being low.
大dà国guó不bù过guò欲yù兼jiān畜xù人rén，

A great state wants nothing more than to unite and nourish people;
小xiǎo国guó不bù过guò欲yù入rù事shì人rén。

a small state wants nothing more than to join and serve others.
夫fú两liǎng者zhě各gè得dé其qí所suǒ欲yù，

For both to get what they want,
大dà者zhě宜yí为wéi下xià。

the great one should take the lower place.

Words in this chapter

Words in chapter 61, with pinyin and meaning
Word	Pinyin	Meaning
大	dà	great, big
国	guó	the state
者	zhě	one who, that which
下	xià	low, below
流	liú	course, flow
天下	tiān xià	all under heaven, the world
之	zhī	of, 's (linking particle)
交	jiāo	meeting place
牝	pìn	female (animal)
常	cháng	always, ever
以	yǐ	by means of, with
静	jìng	stillness, still
胜	shèng	to overcome; victory
牡	mǔ	male (animal)
为	wéi	to be, to count as
故	gù	therefore
下	xià	to place oneself below
小	xiǎo	small
则	zé	then
取	qǔ	to take, to seize
或	huò	some ... others
以	yǐ	in order to
而	ér	and, and then
不过	bù guò	no more than
欲	yù	desire, to desire
兼	jiān	to unite, to take in
畜	xù	to nurture
人	rén	people, others
入	rù	to enter
事	shì	to serve, to work at
夫	fú	now, indeed (opening particle)
两者	liǎng zhě	these two
各	gè	each
得	dé	to get, to obtain
其	qí	its, his, their
所	suǒ	that which, what
宜	yí	should, fitting

Compare: James Legge (1891)

What makes a great state is its being (like) a low-lying, down- flowing (stream);--it becomes the centre to which tend (all the small states) under heaven.

(To illustrate from) the case of all females:--the female always overcomes the male by her stillness. Stillness may be considered (a sort of) abasement.

Thus it is that a great state, by condescending to small states, gains them for itself; and that small states, by abasing themselves to a great state, win it over to them. In the one case the abasement leads to gaining adherents, in the other case to procuring favour.

The great state only wishes to unite men together and nourish them; a small state only wishes to be received by, and to serve, the other. Each gets what it desires, but the great state must learn to abase itself.

Public domain. Source: Wikisource.

Meaning of chapter 61

Chapter 61 is about how a great state should treat smaller ones, and its answer is to take the lower place. It compares the great state to the lower course of a river, where the whole world meets, and to the female, who overcomes the male by stillness and lies below.

The middle of the chapter is built as a careful symmetry. A great state that places itself below a small state wins it; a small state that places itself below a great one wins it in turn. One wins by lowering itself, the other by being low. Each wants something modest: the great state, to unite and nourish people; the small one, to join and serve. The closing line puts the burden on the stronger side: the great one should take the lower place.

The images link to others in the book: the mysterious female (玄牝) of chapter 6, keeping to the female in chapter 28, and the rivers and seas of chapter 66, which are kings of the hundred valleys because they lie below them. 下流 in line 1 is read here as "the lower course", not in its later sense of "base" or "vulgar".

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Meaning of chapter 61