Chinese idioms from the Dao De Jing
大成若缺 (dà chéng ruò quē)
Word for word from chapter 45
大成若缺 (dà chéng ruò quē), “great completion seems lacking”, opens chapter 45 of the Dao De Jing and means that what is truly complete does not look perfect.
Character by character
| 大 | dà | great, big |
|---|---|---|
| 成 | chéng | to complete, accomplish |
| 若 | ruò | like, as if |
| 缺 | quē | lacking, incomplete |
| 大成若缺 | What is truly complete looks as if something were missing, and it never wears out. | |
Where it comes from
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大成若缺，其用不弊。
Great completion seems lacking, yet its use never wears out.
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大盈若冲，其用不穷。
Great fullness seems empty, yet its use is never exhausted.
How the meaning moved
Chapter 45 begins: “Great completion seems lacking, yet its use never wears out. Great fullness seems empty, yet its use is never exhausted.” Three shorter sayings follow: “Great straightness seems bent, great skill seems clumsy, great eloquence seems to stammer.” Each names a quality at its height and says it looks like its opposite.
The same turn of thought runs through chapter 41: “the great square has no corners, the great vessel is finished late”. What is finished and closed on itself can be used up; what still looks unfinished keeps its use. Today 大成若缺 is quoted, mostly in writing, to say that the finest work does not look flawless, or to tell someone that perfection is not worth chasing.
Using it today
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大成若缺，这幅画留了大片空白，反而更耐看。
dà chéng ruò quē, zhè fú huà liú le dà piàn kòng bái, fǎn ér gèng nài kàn.
Great completion seems lacking: this painting leaves large areas blank, and that makes it all the more worth looking at.
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不必追求十全十美，大成若缺，有点遗憾也很正常。
bù bì zhuī qiú shí quán shí měi, dà chéng ruò quē, yǒu diǎn yí hàn yě hěn zhèng cháng.
There is no need to chase perfection: great completion seems lacking, and a few regrets are normal.