Classical grammar words in the Dao De Jing
兮 xī
In the Dao De Jing, 兮 (xī) is a particle of rhythm and feeling, used 27 times, mostly after a descriptive word, as in 渊兮, “so deep”.
兮 carries no meaning, only rhythm and feeling, like a sung “ah” or a held breath. It belongs to early poetry, above all the songs of Chu (楚辞), and the Dao De Jing uses it in its most poetic passages, chapters 15, 20 and 21: 寂兮寥兮 (chapter 25), “So silent and desolate!”
Translators render it with an exclamation or with “so …”. Modern Chinese has no word like it; 兮 appears only in quotations and imitations of old poetry.
兮 as “ah (particle)”
Pattern descriptive word + 兮
A particle placed after a word, most often a descriptive one, to hold the voice on it: 渊兮似万物之宗 (chapter 4), “So deep as to be the ancestor of the myriad things.” Pairs such as 惚兮恍兮 (chapter 21), “How obscure! How vague!”, repeat it for rhythm. After a noun it marks a pause before what is said about it: 祸兮福之所倚 (chapter 58), “Misfortune is what fortune leans on.”
27 times in 22 lines.
渊兮似万物之宗。
So deep as to be the ancestor of the myriad things.
Chapter 4, line 2湛兮似或存，
So profound as to possibly have a remainder.
Chapter 4, line 5豫兮若冬涉川，
Apprehend it akin to wade across a river in the winter.
Chapter 15, line 3犹兮若畏四邻，
Just like one afraid of his neighbors on all sides.
Chapter 15, line 4俨兮其若容，
Respectful, toward its outer appearance.
Chapter 15, line 5涣兮若冰之将释，
Like ice, ever melting away before revealing itself.
Chapter 15, line 6
Show 16 more lines
敦兮其若朴，
Considerate toward its simplicity.
Chapter 15, line 7旷兮其若谷，混兮其若浊。
Open, like a valley. Obscure, like muddy water.
Chapter 15, line 8悠兮其贵言。
Unhurried, he is sparing with his words.
Chapter 17, line 6荒兮其未央哉！
I am scattered, never having been in a comfortable center.
Chapter 20, line 5我独泊兮其未兆，
I remain alone, not yet having revealed myself.
Chapter 20, line 8儽儽兮若无所归。
Weary, like one despairing of nowhere to return to.
Chapter 20, line 10沌沌兮！
So confused!
Chapter 20, line 14澹兮其若海，
Tranquil like the ocean,
Chapter 20, line 17飂兮若无止。
high winds that never stop.
Chapter 20, line 18惚兮恍兮，其中有象；
How obscure! How vague! In it there is form.
Chapter 21, line 3恍兮惚兮，其中有物。
How vague! How obscure! In it there is materiality.
Chapter 21, line 4窈兮冥兮，其中有精；
How deep! How dark! In it there is essence.
Chapter 21, line 5寂兮寥兮，独立不改。
So silent and desolate! Self-standing and invariable.
Chapter 25, line 2大道泛兮，其可左右。
The great Way flows everywhere; it can go left or right.
Chapter 34, line 1祸兮福之所倚，
Misfortune is what fortune leans on;
Chapter 58, line 3福兮祸之所伏。
fortune is where misfortune hides.
Chapter 58, line 4
How to tell them apart
兮 never asks a question and never states a judgment: it only marks a pause with feeling. Inside a line it follows the word it lingers on; at the end of a line it is an exclamation, as in 沌沌兮 (chapter 20), “So confused!”
Compare 淡乎其无味 (chapter 35), “it is bland and has no flavor”: 乎 after an adjective plays much the same part as 兮 in 豫兮若冬涉川 (chapter 15). Both make the description vivid; the line goes on to say what it is like.