| Chinese Text Project |
| (The manifestation of simplicity) | |
| 信言不美， | Sincere words are not fine; |
| 美言不信。 | fine words are not sincere. |
| 善者不辯， | Those who are skilled (in the Dao) do not dispute (about it); |
| 辯者不善。 | the disputatious are not skilled in it. |
| 知者不博， | Those who know (the Dao) are not extensively learned; |
| 博者不知。 | the extensively learned do not know it. |
| 聖人不積， | The sage does not accumulate (for himself). |
| 既以為人己愈有， | The more that he expends for others, the more does he possess of his own; |
| 既以與人己愈多。 | the more that he gives to others, the more does he have himself. |
| 天之道，利而不害； | With all the sharpness of the Way of Heaven, it injures not; |
| 聖人之道，為而不爭。 | with all the doing in the way of the sage he does not strive. |
| Character | Composition | Variants | Reading | Meaning | Hanyu | Kangxi | Cihai |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 信 | 人+7 | 伩 㐰 䚱 | xìn ㄒㄧㄣˋ | (1) 語言真實，誠實。 True, words fitting the truth. | v1,p0165#01 | p.105#25 | p.109r2c01 |
| 言 | 言+0 | 訁 𢍗 𢍬 | yán ㄧㄢˊ | Speak, say. / Discuss, debate. / Tell. / Doctrine, theory, words. / One word. / Sentence. / Particle, no meaning. | v6,p3936#01 | p.1146#01 | p.1236r5c03 |
| 不 | 一+3 | 不 𠀚 𠙐 | bù ㄅㄨˋ | (3.1) 否定副詞：用於動詞、形容詞等前面，表示否定。 Negational adverb, used before verbs, adjectives, etc. to indicate negation. | v1,p0011#06 | p.76#15 | p.30r1c01 |
| 美 | 羊+3 | 羙 | měi ㄇㄟˇ | beautiful, pretty; pleasing | v5,p3126#05 | p.951#10 | p.1069r5c01 |
| 善 | 口+9 | 譱 𦎍 𠾄 𧮟 | shàn ㄕㄢˋ | Good. / Take to be good, like. / Good person. / Strong point, merit. / Perfect. / Gentle, kind. / Friendly. / Good at doing. / Improve, make good. / Control, regulate. / Food. | v1,p0660#02 | p.197#18 | p.282r3c04 |
| 者 | 老+4 | zhě ㄓㄜˇ | Pronoun used after verbs, adjectives, etc. in place of a person or thing. / Pronoun used after numbers in place of a thing. / Pronoun used after time or negation to express "when" or "if". / Expressive particle used in a declarative sentence after the subject. / Expressive particle used in a sentence after the subject to express cause or explanation. | v4,p2780#05 | p.961#01 | p.1080r1c01 | |
| zhuó ㄓㄨㄛˊ | In, located in. | ||||||
| 不 | 一+3 | 不 𠀚 𠙐 | bù ㄅㄨˋ | Not have. / To not be. / Negational adverb, used before verbs, adjectives, etc. to indicate negation. / Negational adverb expressing prohibition: do not. / Negational adverb expressing rhetorical question: is not...? | v1,p0011#06 | p.76#15 | p.30r1c01 |
| fǒu ㄈㄡˇ | Same as 「否(1.2)」 fǒu ㄈㄡˇ: Adverb used together with an affirmative word, expressing its negative or opposite. / Same as 「否(1.3)」 fǒu ㄈㄡˇ: Adverb used at the end of a question to form a yes-no question. | ||||||
| fū ㄈㄨ | Sepal of a flower. | ||||||
| pī ㄆㄧ | Same as 「丕(1)」 pī ㄆㄧ: Large. | ||||||
| bǐ ㄅㄧˇ | Show disdain for. | ||||||
| 辯 | 辛+14 | 𧦪 𧦬 辨 辩 | biàn ㄅㄧㄢˋ | (5) 言辭漂亮，巧言。 Cunning words. | v6,p4045#01 | p.1252#14 | p.1310r4c01 |
| 知 | 矢+3 | 𢇻 𥎿 | zhī ㄓ | Know, understand. / Perception. / Recognize. / Knowledge. / Know about, make sense of. / Be friendly with. / Control, get on top of. | v4,p2581#02 | p.824#01 | p.955r5c02 |
| zhì ㄓˋ | Wisdom. | ||||||
| 博 | 十+10 | 愽 | bó ㄅㄛˊ | gamble, play games; wide, broad | v1,p0066#02 | p.157#13 | p.222r4c02 |
| 聖人 | 耳+7 人+0 | 堊 𦕡 𠄵 圣 𠔽 亻 | shèng rén ㄕㄥˋ ㄖㄣˊ | 出類拔萃的人。 Sage, outstanding person. | v4,p2789#06 v1,p0101#10 | p.967#22 p.91#01 | p.1082r6c06 p.80r2c01 |
| 積 | 禾+11 | 积 | jī ㄐㄧ | accumulate, store up, amass | v4,p2626#16 | p.859#24 | p.996r2c02 |
| 既 | 无+5 | 旣 | jì xì ㄐㄧˋ ㄒㄧˋ | already; de facto; since; then | v2,p1148#01 | p.485#27 | p.626r3c02 |
| 以 | 人+3 | 㠯 | yǐ ㄧˇ | Use. / Believe. / Command. / Lead. / Connect, implicate. / Have. / Cause, reason. / Preposition: because. / Preposition: from, in. / Preposition: at [some time]. / Preposition: using. / Preposition: in accordance with. / Preposition: relying upon. / Preposition: in the capacity of. / Preposition: with, together with. / Connective: indicates the following action is the objective of the preceding one. / Connective: used between adverbial clause and verb to express modification. / Connective: and. / Connective: but. / Connective: and so, thus. / Particle: used together with some words expressing direction and time. / Modal particle. / Same as 「已(1)」 yǐ ㄧˇ: Stop, discontinue. / Same as 「已(7.2)」 yǐ ㄧˇ: Adverb: already. / Same as 「已(7.3)」 yǐ ㄧˇ: Adverb: extremely. | v1,p0105#07 | p.94#01 | p.87r6c01 |
| 為 | 火+5 | 爲 为 | wéi ㄨㄟˊ | Create, make. / Build, construct. / Do. / Plant, grow. / Govern. / Research, study. / Serve as. / Change into, become. / As, in the role of. / Count as, be considered as. / Called, named. / Expresses judgement: is. / Make, cause (to). / Have. / Take part in. / Write, author. / Connective: if. / Particle used in the middle of a sentence to move forward the object. / Modal particle used at the end of a sentence to express a rhetorical question. | v3,p2198#11 | p.669#10 | p.844r4c03 |
| wèi ㄨㄟˋ | Help, assist. / Preposition: for, on behalf of. / Preposition: by (passive). / Preposition: because of, due to. / Preposition: with, together with. / Connective: because. / Say. / False, fake. | ||||||
| 人 | 人+0 | 𠔽 亻 | rén ㄖㄣˊ | Man, person. / Others, other people. / The people, ordinary men. / Talent, material. / [A man's] character. / Affairs of men, world of man. / Benevolence. | v1,p0101#10 | p.91#01 | p.80r2c01 |
| 己 | 己+0 | 𢀒 | jǐ ㄐㄧˇ | self, oneself; personal, private; 6th heavenly stem | v2,p0983#05 | p.326#09 | p.467r2c01 |
| 愈 | 心+9 | 癒 愉 瘉 | yù ㄩˋ | more and more, even more | v4,p2322#15 | p.394#03 | p.536r6c03 |
| 有 | 月+2 | | yǒu ㄧㄡˇ | Have, possess. / Store, collect. / Occupy. / Hold on to, retain. / Have in abundance. / Good harvest. / Obtain. / Only. / Be, exist. / Occur, happen. / Make. / Particle used before a noun with no meaning. / Particle used before a monosyllabic adjective with no meaning. / Particle used before a verb with no meaning. / Still, yet. / Some people. / Region. | v3,p2041#05 | p.504#20 | p.656r5c01 |
| yòu ㄧㄡˋ | Help, assist. / Same as 「又(3)」 yòu ㄧㄡˋ: Moreover. | ||||||
| 與 | 臼+8 | 与 𢌱 𦦲 𠔔 | yǔ ㄩˇ | Give. / Follow, go along with. / Comrade, ally. / Association, contact. / Oppose. / Engage [an enemy]. / Approve, consent to. / Help. / Wait. / Preposition indicating passive tense. / Preposition: to, with. / Preposition: with. / Preposition: as. / Preposition: in, on. / Connective: and, with. / Connective: with its ... / Connective: or. | v1,p0251#04 | p.1004#13 | p.1113r2c03 |
| yù ㄩˋ | Participate, take part in. | ||||||
| yǔ ㄩˇ | Interfere in. | ||||||
| yú ㄩˊ | Auxiliary word: used at the end of a sentence to express questioning , exclamation, or a rhetorical question. / Auxiliary word: used in the middle of a sentence to express a pause. | ||||||
| 多 | 夕+3 | 夛 𡖇 𡖈 | duō ㄉㄨㄛ | much, many; more than, over | v2,p0862#02 | p.246#11 | p.339r4c01 |
| 天 | 大+1 | 𠀡 𠀘 𦴞 兲 靝 𠕹 | tiān ㄊㄧㄢ | sky, heaven; god, celestial | v1,p0522#01 | p.248#04 | p.358r4c01 |
| 之 | 丿+3 | 㞢 | zhī ㄓ | Towards; go to. / Demonstrative pronoun: this, these. / Third person pronoun: him, her, it. / Auxiliary word: of. / Auxiliary word: used between subject and predicate, cancels independence of a clause. / Auxiliary word: used in a sentence for aesthetic purpose only, no meaning. | v1,p0043#01 | p.82#04 | p.47r2c02 |
| 道 | 辵+9 | 𨕥 衟 𡬹 | dào ㄉㄠˋ | Road, path. / Journey. / Method. / Law, reason. / Doctrine, claim. / Skill, technique. / Principle, right way. / The Dao, the origin of all things in Daoism. / Speak, talk. / Take a course of action. / Take a course of action. / Rites paid to the spirit of roads. / Ancient administrative unit. / Daoism. | v6,p3864#01 | p.1262#06 | p.1326r3c02 |
| dǎo ㄉㄠˇ | Lead. / Flow smoothly. | ||||||
| 利 | 刀+5 | 利 𥝢 𥝤 | lì ㄌㄧˋ | Sharp. / Fast, speedy. / Favourable, lucky. / Convenient, useful. / Profits, benefits. / Beneficial to, good for. / Profit, interest. / Diarrhea. | v1,p0329#02 | p.138#19 | p.180r2c02 |
| 而 | 而+0 | ér ㄦˊ | Whiskers. / Like, similar to. / Pronoun: you. / Pronoun: this, like this. / Connective: and, with. / Connective: and, then. / Connective: if, supposing. / Connective: yet, however. / Connective: therefore, hence. / Connective: expresses method or state. / Particle: of. / Expressive particle. | v4,p2810#01 | p.961#18 | p.1080r2c03 | |
| néng ㄋㄥˊ | Same as 「能(3)」 néng ㄋㄥˊ: Able to, competent. / Same as 「能(2.1)」 néng ㄋㄥˊ: Ability, talent. | ||||||
| 害 | 宀+7 | hài ㄏㄞˋ | Injure, kill. / Damage, obstruct. / Disaster. / Harm, harmful effect. / Fear. / Difficult path, dangerous area. / Jealous. | v2,p0929#05 | p.286#12 | p.419r5c01 | |
| hé ㄏㄜˊ | What. / Why not. | ||||||
| è ㄜˋ | Stop, prevent. | ||||||
| 為 | 火+5 | 爲 为 | wèi ㄨㄟˋ | (20) 助，幫助。 Help, assist. | v3,p2198#11 | p.669#10 | p.844r4c03 |
| 爭 | 爪+4 | 争 𠫩 𠄙 | zhēng zhèng ㄓㄥ ㄓㄥˋ | to dispute, fight, contend, strive | v3,p2031#03 | p.688#33 | p.863r1c01 |
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