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Chapter 48 — Forgetting knowledge忘知

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) · 6 passages · 40 Chinese characters · reading time 0.2 min

Daodejing (The Classic of the Way and Virtue) Dejing (The Classic of Virtue) 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.

1Do learning and you add day by day

為學日益，

Do learning, and you add day by day,

note 2
王弼

務欲進其所能，益其所習。

He works at wanting to advance what he is able to do and to add to what he has practised.

河上公

學謂政教禮樂之學也。日益者，情欲文飾日以益多。

Learning means the learning of government and teaching, of rites and music. To add day by day is for feeling, desire, and outward ornament to grow more numerous by the day.

2Do the Dao and you take away day by day

為道日損。

do the Dao, and you take away day by day.

note 2
王弼

務欲反虛無也。

He works at wanting to return to empty nothing.

河上公

道謂之自然之道也。日損者，情欲文飾日以消損。

The Dao means the Dao that is so of itself. To take away day by day is for feeling, desire, and outward ornament to dwindle away day by day.

3Take away and take away again, until you reach nonaction

損之又損，以至於無為。無為而無不為。

Take away and take away again, until you reach nonaction. Do nothing, and nothing is left undone.

note 4
王弼

有為則有所失，故無為乃無所不為也。

Where there is acting, something is lost. So only in nonaction is nothing left undone.

河上公

損情欲也。又損之，所以漸去。

This is taking away feeling and desire. They are taken away again, and so they gradually disappear.

河上公

當恬淡如嬰兒，無所造為也。

One should be as calm and plain as an infant, with nothing contrived or done.

河上公

情欲斷絕，德於道合，則無所不施，無所不為也。

When feeling and desire are cut off and one's virtue matches the Dao, there is nothing he cannot bestow and nothing he cannot do.

4All under heaven is won by having no business

取天下常以無事，

All under heaven is always won by having no business,

note 2
王弼

動常因也。

His movement is only ever a following.

河上公

取，治也。治天下當以無事，不當以勞煩也。

Qu (取) means to govern. In governing all under heaven one should go by having no business, and should not go by toil and bother.

5Once there is business

及其有事，

and once there is business,

note 2
王弼

自己造也。

It is made up out of himself.

河上公

及其好有事，則政教煩，民不安，故不足以治天下也。

Once he comes to be fond of having business, government and teaching grow burdensome and the people are not at peace; and so he falls short of governing all under heaven.

6It is not enough to win all under heaven

不足以取天下。

it is not enough to win all under heaven.

note 1
王弼

失統本也。

He has lost the stem that holds it together.

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