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Chapter 7 — Hiding the light韜光

Daodejing (The Classic of the Way and Virtue) 道德經 · Laozi, with commentaries by Wang Bi and Heshang Gong · 4th–3rd century BC (Wang Bi's commentary, 3rd century AD) · 2 passages · 49 Chinese characters · reading time 0.2 min

Daodejing (The Classic of the Way and Virtue) Daojing (The Classic of the Way) Eighty-one chapters, five thousand characters. The silk manuscripts that came out of the tombs differ in their characters from the recension in use today, so there are many places where the reading of one and the same passage divides. Wang Bi reads the book as philosophy; Heshang Gong reads it as governing and the nurture of life.

1They do not live for themselves

天長地久。天地所以能長且久者，以其不自生，

Heaven is long and earth is lasting. Heaven and earth can be long and lasting because they do not live for themselves,

note 3
王弼

自生則與物爭，不自生則物歸也。

Live for yourself and you come to contend with things; do not live for yourself and things come home to you.

河上公

說天地長生久壽，以喻教人也。

Speaking of how heaven and earth live long and endure is a figure meant to teach people.

河上公

天地所以獨長且久者，以其安靜，施不求報，不如人居處，汲汲求自饒之利，奪人以自與也。

Heaven and earth alone can be long and lasting because they are still and quiet, giving without seeking any return. They are not like people, who stay where they are and busily seek only their own abundance, taking from others to give to themselves.

2He puts himself behind, and so comes first

故能長生。是以聖人後其身而身先；外其身而身存。非以其無私邪，故能成其私。

and so they can live long. This is why the sage puts himself behind, and finds himself in front. He puts himself outside, and finds himself preserved. Is it not because he has nothing of his own? That is how he can fulfill what is his own.

note 8
王弼

無私者，無為於身也。身先身存，故曰，能成其私也。

To have nothing of one's own is to do nothing on behalf of one's own body. Because the body comes to be in front and the body comes to be preserved, it is said that he can fulfill what is his own.

河上公

以其不求生，故能長生不終也。

Because he does not seek to live, he lives long and does not come to an end.

河上公

先人而後己也。

He puts others in front and himself behind.

河上公

天下敬之，先以為長。

All under heaven honor him, put him in front, and make him their elder.

河上公

薄己而厚人也。

He makes his own portion thin and other people's thick.

河上公

百姓愛之如父母，神明祐之若赤子，故身常存。

The people love him as they love father and mother, and the divine powers (神明) protect him as they would a newborn child. This is why his body is always preserved.

河上公

聖人為人所愛，神明所祐，非以其公正無私所致乎。

That the sage is loved by people and helped by the divine powers — is this not brought about by his being fair and having nothing of his own?

河上公

人以為私者，欲以厚己也。聖人無私而己自厚，故能成其私也。

What people do for themselves is meant to make their own portion thick. The sage has nothing of his own, and yet his own portion grows thick of itself; this is why he can fulfill what is his own.

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