The mother and the valley
The Dao De Jing speaks of the mother of the myriad things and of the world (chapters 1, 25 and 52), calls the opening of the mystic female the root of heaven and earth (chapter 6), asks one to keep to the female and be the world's valley (chapter 28), and says the female overcomes the male by stillness (chapter 61).
The mother (母) appears in the first chapter: “The named is the mother of the myriad things.” In chapter 25 the thing “born before heaven and earth” “could be the mother of the world,” and the speaker labels it the “Way”. Chapter 52 builds a teaching on the image: “The world has a beginning, which is the mother of the world. Having found the mother, one knows the children; knowing the children, one holds again to the mother,” and is safe to the end of life. Chapter 20 ends with the speaker who stands apart from everyone, “as I value the nurturing mother,” and chapter 59 speaks of “holding the mother of the state.”
Chapter 6 adds the female, 玄牝: “it is called the mystic female, the opening of the mystic female, is called the root of heaven and earth.” It “infinitely seems to exist” and, used, “is never exhausted.” The chapter opens with 谷神, which our translation renders “the spirit of abundance”; its first character, 谷, is the valley. Chapter 10 asks, as “the mysterious gate opens and closes,” “can you be impassive?”, where the Chinese has 雌, the female.
Chapter 28 sets the female against the male: “Know masculinity, abide by femininity, be as the world's stream,” and later “be as the world's valley,” each time “ever returning” to the newborn or to the uncarved block. Chapter 61 makes it a lesson for states: a great state “is the female of the world. The female always overcomes the male by stillness; by stillness she takes the lower place.”
The valley is where these images meet: low and open. The masters of old are “Open, like a valley” (chapter 15); “the highest virtue seems like a valley” (chapter 41); the valley “attained the One and became full” (chapter 39); the Way in the world “is like streams and valleys flowing to rivers and seas” (chapter 32); and rivers and seas “can be kings of the hundred valleys because they are good at being below them” (chapter 66).
| Chapter | What it says |
|---|---|
| Chapter 1 道可道非 | The named is the mother of the myriad things. |
| Chapter 6 谷神不死 | The opening of the mystic female is the root of heaven and earth, and it never runs out. |
| Chapter 10 载营魄抱 | The question “can you be impassive?” is asked with 雌, the female, as the mysterious gate opens and closes. |
| Chapter 15 古之善为 | The masters of old were open like a valley. |
| Chapter 20 绝学无忧 | Alone among the crowd, the speaker values the nurturing mother. |
| Chapter 25 有物混成 | What was born before heaven and earth could be the mother of the world, and is labeled the Way. |
| Chapter 28 知其雄守 | Keep to the female and be the world's stream; keep to disgrace and be the world's valley. |
| Chapter 32 道常无名 | The Way in the world is like streams and valleys flowing to rivers and seas. |
| Chapter 39 昔之得一 | The valley is full through the One, and without it would run dry. |
| Chapter 41 上士闻道 | The highest virtue seems like a valley. |
| Chapter 52 天下有始 | Find the mother, know the children, and hold again to the mother. |
| Chapter 59 治人事天 | Holding the mother of the state, one can last long. |
| Chapter 61 大国者下 | A great state is the female of the world, and the female overcomes the male by stillness. |
| Chapter 66 江海所以 | Rivers and seas are kings of the hundred valleys because they are good at being below them. |
Every line on the theme
Chapter 1
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无名天地之始，
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
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有名万物之母。
The named is the mother of the myriad things.
Chapter 6
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谷神不死，
The spirit of abundance never dies,
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是谓玄牝，
it is called the mystic female,
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玄牝之门，
the opening of the mystic female,
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是谓天地根。
is called the root of heaven and earth.
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绵绵若存，
It infinitely seems to exist,
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用之不勤。
use it, it is never exhausted.
Chapter 10
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天门开阖，
As the mysterious gate opens and closes,
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能无雌乎？
can you be impassive?
Chapter 15
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旷兮其若谷，混兮其若浊。
Open, like a valley. Obscure, like muddy water.
Chapter 20
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我独异于人，而贵食母。
I alone differ from people, as I value the nurturing mother.
Chapter 25
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有物混成，先天地生。
Something formed out of chaos, born before heaven and earth.
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寂兮寥兮，独立不改。
So silent and desolate! Self-standing and invariable.
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周行而不殆，可以为天下母。
It revolves without tiring, and could be the mother of the world.
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吾不知其名，字之曰道，
I don't know its name. As a word, I label it the "Way".
Chapter 28
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知其雄，守其雌，为天下溪。
Know masculinity, abide by femininity, be as the world's stream.
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为天下溪，常德不离，
Be as the world's stream, and the enduring virtue shall not fade,
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复归于婴儿。
ever returning to the newborn.
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知其荣，守其辱，为天下谷。
Know glory, abide by disgrace, be as the world's valley.
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为天下谷，常德乃足，
Be as the world's valley, and the enduring virtue shall be sufficient,
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复归于朴。
ever returning to the uncarved block.
Chapter 32
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譬道之在天下，
The Way in the world
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犹川谷之于江海。
is like streams and valleys flowing to rivers and seas.
Chapter 39
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谷得一以盈，万物得一以生，
the valley attained the One and became full, the myriad things attained the One and came to life,
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谷无以盈将恐竭，
if the valley were not full, it might run dry;
Chapter 41
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夷道若颣，上德若谷，
the smooth Way seems rough, the highest virtue seems like a valley,
Chapter 52
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天下有始，以为天下母。
The world has a beginning, which is the mother of the world.
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既得其母，以知其子，
Having found the mother, one knows the children;
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既知其子，复守其母，
knowing the children, one holds again to the mother,
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没身不殆。
and to the end of one's life there is no danger.
Chapter 59
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有国之母，可以长久；
holding the mother of the state, one can last long.
Chapter 61
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大国者下流，
A great state is like the lower course of a river,
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天下之交。
where the whole world meets.
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天下之牝，牝常以静胜牡，
It is the female of the world. The female always overcomes the male by stillness;
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以静为下。
by stillness she takes the lower place.
Chapter 66
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江海所以能为百谷之王者，
Rivers and seas can be kings of the hundred valleys
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以其善下之，
because they are good at being below them;
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故能为百谷之王。
so they can be kings of the hundred valleys.