第五十二章 道德经 · Dào Dé Jīng
守母知子，塞兑闭门，见小守柔，是为习常。
原文
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天下有始，以为天下母。
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既得其母，以知其子，
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既知其子，复守其母，
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没身不殆。
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塞其兑，
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闭其门，终身不勤。
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开其兑，
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济其事，终身不救。
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见小曰明，守柔曰强。
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用其光，复归其明，
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无遗身殃，是为习常。
本章字词
| 字词 | 拼音 | 释义 |
|---|---|---|
| 天下 | tiān xià | 天底下，指世间、众人 |
| 有 | yǒu | 有，占有 |
| 始 | shǐ | 开端，本始 |
| 以 | yǐ | 把，拿（以……为……） |
| 为 | wéi | 是；作为；成为 |
| 母 | mǔ | 母亲，根源 |
| 既 | jì | 已经 |
| 得 | dé | 得到 |
| 其 | qí | 他的；它的；他们的 |
| 以 | yǐ | 用来；以便 |
| 知 | zhī | 知道 |
| 子 | zǐ | 子，后代 |
| 复 | fù | 再，又 |
| 守 | shǒu | 持守，守护 |
| 没 | mò | 终了 |
| 身 | shēn | 自身 |
| 不 | bù | 不 |
| 殆 | dài | 危险 |
| 塞 | sè | 堵塞 |
| 兑 | duì | 孔窍，指耳目口鼻 |
| 闭 | bì | 关闭 |
| 门 | mén | 门户 |
| 终身 | zhōng shēn | 一辈子 |
| 勤 | qín | 劳累，穷尽 |
| 开 | kāi | 开启 |
| 济 | jì | 增益，成就 |
| 事 | shì | 事情，事务 |
| 救 | jiù | 救助 |
| 见 | jiàn | 看见 |
| 小 | xiǎo | 小 |
| 曰 | yuē | 叫做，称为 |
| 明 | míng | 明智，明白 |
| 柔 | róu | 柔和 |
| 强 | qiáng | 强壮 |
| 用 | yòng | 使用 |
| 光 | guāng | 光芒 |
| 复归 | fù guī | 回归 |
| 无 | wú | 没有 |
| 遗 | yí | 留下，招致 |
| 殃 | yāng | 灾殃 |
| 是 | shì | 这 |
| 习 | xí | 承袭，习行 |
| 常 | cháng | 恒常不变 |
英译对照：理雅各（1891）
(The Tao) which originated all under the sky is to be considered as the mother of them all.
When the mother is found, we know what her children should be. When one knows that he is his mother's child, and proceeds to guard (the qualities of) the mother that belong to him, to the end of his life he will be free from all peril.
Let him keep his mouth closed, and shut up the portals (of his nostrils), and all his life he will be exempt from laborious exertion. Let him keep his mouth open, and (spend his breath) in the promotion of his affairs, and all his life there will be no safety for him.
The perception of what is small is (the secret of clear-sightedness; the guarding of what is soft and tender is (the secret of) strength.
Who uses well his light,
Reverting to its (source so) bright,
Will from his body ward all blight,
And hides the unchanging from men's sight.
公有领域。来源：Wikisource。
第五十二章解读
本章把天下追溯到它的源头“母”，并主张守护感官、守住柔弱。
开头用母与子作比：“天下有始，以为天下母。”得到了母，就能了解子；了解了子，又回过头来守住母，终身没有危险。“母”可与第一章“有名，万物之母”以及第二十五章参看。
中间几句讲感官：“塞其兑，闭其门，终身不勤”；反过来，“开其兑，济其事，终身不救”。第五十六章重复了前两句。接着本章界定两个说法：“见小曰明，守柔曰强。”最后说“用其光，复归其明”，不给自己留下祸殃，这叫“习常”。王弼本作“习常”，另有版本作“袭常”，与第二十七章的“袭明”相同，本站把二者都理解为遵循、践行常道。