“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”: did Laozi say it?
Genuine: chapter 64
Yes: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” is chapter 64 of the Dao De Jing, 千里之行，始于足下, which says literally that the journey starts beneath one's feet.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
What the Dao De Jing says
-
合抱之木，
A tree as wide as your arms can reach
-
生于毫末；
grows from a tiny shoot;
-
九层之台，
a tower of nine stories
-
起于累土；
rises from a heap of earth;
-
千里之行，始于足下。
a journey of a thousand miles starts beneath your feet.
What the Chinese says
千里之行 is “a going of a thousand li”: 里 (li) is a Chinese measure of distance, shorter than a mile, and 行 is walking. 始于足下 is “begins at what is below the feet”. There is no step in the Chinese: the journey starts at the ground you stand on.
How translations differ
James Legge (1891) wrote “the journey of a thousand li commenced with a single step”, and the step has stayed in most English versions since. Our translation keeps the Chinese image: “a journey of a thousand miles starts beneath your feet.”
The line in its chapter
Chapter 64 gives three images in a row: a tree as wide as your arms from a tiny shoot, a tower of nine stories from a heap of earth, the long journey from where you stand. The point is the one made in chapter 63: deal with things while they are small and easy, before they grow.