Chinese Text Project Dictionary

Daoism -> Dao De Jing -> 39

	(The origin of the law)
昔之得一者：	The things which from of old have got the One (the Dao) are
	-
天得一以清；	Heaven which by it is bright and pure;
地得一以寧；	Earth rendered thereby firm and sure;
神得一以靈；	Spirits with powers by it supplied;
谷得一以盈；	Valleys kept full throughout their void
萬物得一以生；	All creatures which through it do live
侯王得一以為天下貞。	Princes and kings who from it get The model which to all they give. All these are the results of the One (Dao).
其致之，天無以清，	If heaven were not thus pure,
將恐裂；	it soon would rend;
地無以寧，	If earth were not thus sure,
將恐發；	'twould break and bend;
神無以靈，將恐歇；	Without these powers, the spirits soon would fail;
谷無以盈，將恐竭；	If not so filled, the drought would parch each vale;
萬物無以生，將恐滅；	Without that life, creatures would pass away;
侯王無以貴高將恐蹶。	Princes and kings, without that moral sway, However grand and high, would all decay.
故貴以賤為本，	Thus it is that dignity finds its (firm) root in its (previous) meanness,
高以下為基。	and what is lofty finds its stability in the lowness (from which it rises).
是以侯王自稱孤、寡、不穀。	Hence princes and kings call themselves 'Orphans,' 'Men of small virtue,' and as 'Carriages without a nave.'
此非以賤為本耶？非乎？	Is not this an acknowledgment that in their considering themselves mean they see the foundation of their dignity?
故致數譽無譽。	So it is that in the enumeration of the different parts of a carriage we do not come on what makes it answer the ends of a carriage.
不欲琭琭如玉，	They do not wish to show themselves elegant-looking as jade,
珞珞如石。	but (prefer) to be coarse-looking as an (ordinary) stone.

Character	Composition	Variants	Reading	Meaning	Hanyu	Kangxi	Cihai
昔	日+4		xī cuò xí ㄒㄧㄘㄨㄛˋ ㄒㄧˊ	formerly; ancient; in beginning	v2,p1488#11	p.492#05	p.634r5c01
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
得	彳+8	𢔶䙷𢔨	dé ㄉㄜˊ	Get, obtain. / Plunder. / Covet. / Success. / Fitting, appropriate. / Compatible. / Satisfied, pleased. / Possible, can. / Same as 「德(1)」 dé ㄉㄜˊ: Morals, morality. / Same as 「德(3)」 dé ㄉㄜˊ: Reward kindness, thank.	v2,p0828#03	p.367#31	p.513r6c02
一	一+0	弌壹	yī ㄧ	one; a, an; alone	v1,p0001#01	p.75#01	p.1r1c01
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.
天	大+1	𠀡𠀘𦴞兲靝𠕹	tiān ㄊㄧㄢ	sky, heaven; god, celestial	v1,p0522#01	p.248#04	p.358r4c01
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
清	水+8	淸	qīng qìng ㄑㄧㄥㄑㄧㄥˋ	clear, pure, clean; peaceful	v3,p1637#11	p.633#37
地	土+3	埊𨻐埅𠏂嶳	dì de ㄉㄧˋ ㄉㄜ·	earth; soil, ground; region	v1,p0420#12	p.224#06	p.312r6c01
寧	宀+11	寍𡨴宁	níng nìng zhù ㄋㄧㄥˊ ㄋㄧㄥˋ ㄓㄨˋ	repose, serenity, peace; peaceful	v2,p0949#05	p.291#08	p.428r6c01
神	示+5	神𥛠	shén shēn ㄕㄣˊ ㄕㄣ	spirit, god, supernatural being	v4,p2392#01	p.842#03
靈	雨+16	靈霛𩆮𧨈𩄀𢩙灵	líng lìng ㄌㄧㄥˊ ㄌㄧㄥˋ	spirit, soul; spiritual world	v6,p4082#12	p.1380#24	p.1458r2c07
谷	谷+0	穀	gǔ ㄍㄨˇ	Valley, gorge. / Bewildered, at a loss.	v6,p3902#01	p.1189#01	p.1259r6c04
			lù ㄌㄨˋ	See "谷蠡".
盈	皿+4		yíng ㄧㄥˊ	fill; full, overflowing; surplus	v4,p2558#12	p.793#07	p.938r5c03
萬	禸+8	万卍㸘𤍚𢁭	wàn ㄨㄢˋ	ten thousand; innumerable	v5,p3247#08	p.1042#33	p.1149r4c02
物	牛+4		wù ㄨˋ	thing, substance, creature	v3,p1805#03	p.699#09	p.869r5c01
生	生+0	𤯓	shēng ㄕㄥ	life, living, lifetime; birth	v4,p2575#01	p.754#26	p.906r5c03
侯	人+7	𥎦	hóu hòu ㄏㄡˊ ㄏㄡˋ	marquis, lord; target in archery	v1,p0167#01	p.103#07	p.104r3c06
王	玉+0		wáng ㄨㄤˊ	King, title of supreme ruler of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. / Ruler of a vassal state in the warring states period. / Highest title in feudal China. / Meet with the emperor. / Respectful term for one's paternal grandparents.	v2,p1099#10	p.727#02	p.888r1c02
			wàng ㄨㄤˋ	Rule as king, control all under heaven. / Enfeoff as king. / Flourish, abound.
			wǎng ㄨㄤˇ	To, go to.
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.
天下	大+1 一+2	𠀡𠀘𦴞兲靝𠕹丅厥𠄟	tiān xià ㄊㄧㄢㄒㄧㄚˋ	世界。 "All under heaven", the world.	v1,p0522#01 v1,p0007#01	p.248#04 p.76#10	p.358r4c01 p.28r1c01
貞	貝+2	𠨀贞	zhēn ㄓㄣ	virtuous, chaste, pure; loyal	v6,p3622#03	p.1204#03	p.1268r3c01
其	八+6	丌亓	qí ㄑㄧˊ	Third-person possessive pronoun: his, her, its, their. / Demonstrative pronoun: that, those. / Adverb expressing estimation or guess. / Adverb expressing imperative. / Adverb expressing rhetorical question. / Adverb expressing future tense. / Connective expressing hypothesis: if, supposing. / Connective expressing choice: or. / Connective expressing concession: even if. / Particle used after an adjective. / Particle: of. / Particle used for emphasis after single-character adjectives or onomatopoeia. / Particle used in the middle of a sentence to alter the tempo.	v1,p0245#01	p.127#18	p.162r5c01
			jì ㄐㄧˋ	Particle used after bi and he.
			jī ㄐㄧ	Modal particle expressing interrogative tone. / A year.
致	至+3	緻	zhì zhuì ㄓˋ ㄓㄨㄟˋ	send, deliver, present; cause	v4,p2815#06	p.1001#19	p.602r5c01
無	火+8	𣟒𣚨𠘩无橆	wú ㄨˊ	Not have. / Philosophical category referring to absence, non-existence, or vacuity. / Adverb expressing negation: not. / Adverb expressing questioning: or not. / Connective: regardless of. / Connective: even if. / Particle used at the beginning of a sentence, no meaning. / Do not. / Barren, uncultivated.	v3,p2211#15	p.673#26	p.848r2c04
將	寸+8	𤕭𢪇将畺	jiāng ㄐㄧㄤ	Take. / Use. / Push forward. / Drive. / Help, support. / Help financially. / Advance, go forward. / Carry out, execute. / Follow. / Comply, submit. / Do, carry out. / Accompany, see off. / Transmit. / Express. / Offer (as a sacrifice). / Look after, raise. / Protect. / Strong, robust. / Long time. / Carry, lead. / Side, beside. / Will, about to. / Close to, almost. / How? / Preposition: with. / Connective: and, with. / Connective: or, otherwise. / Connective: if, supposing. / Particle used after a verb. / A kind of insect.	v4,p2375#10	p.294#16	p.434r1c03
			jiàng ㄐㄧㄤˋ	Command troops. / Military commander. / Appoint as military commander.
			qiāng ㄑㄧㄤ	Please, humbly request. / [Onomatopoeia]
			zāng ㄗㄤ	Female sheep.
恐	心+6	𢖶𢙢	kǒng ㄎㄨㄥˇ	fear; fearful, apprehensive	v4,p2289#08	p.384#08	p.529r3c03
裂	衣+6	裂	liè liě ㄌㄧㄝˋ ㄌㄧㄝˇ	split, crack, break open; rend	v5,p3087#01	p.1116#18	p.1213r1c01
發	癶+7	発发	fā fà bō ㄈㄚㄈㄚˋ ㄅㄛ	issue, dispatch, send out, emit	v4,p2761#04	p.784#10	p.925r2c01
歇	欠+9		xiē yà ㄒㄧㄝㄧㄚˋ	rest, stop, lodge	v3,p2145#07	p.570#15	p.730r4c04
竭	立+9		jié ㄐㄧㄝˊ	put forth great effort; exhaust	v4,p2713#20	p.872#29	p.1005r3c04
滅	水+10	烕𣹹𢦹灭	miè ㄇㄧㄝˋ	extinguish; wipe out, exterminate	v3,p1696#09	p.642#01	p.821r1c01
貴	貝+5	𡭙𧸋贵	guì ㄍㄨㄟˋ	expensive, costly, valuable	v6,p3632#09	p.1206#15	p.1271r6c01
高	高+0	髙	gāo gào ㄍㄠㄍㄠˋ	high, tall; lofty, elevated	v7,p4593#01	p.1451#26	p.1514r4c03
蹶	足+12	蹷	jué juě guì ㄐㄩㄝˊ ㄐㄩㄝˇ ㄍㄨㄟˋ	stumble, fall down; trample	v6,p3738#09	p.1233#41	p.1294r3c02
故	攴+5		gù ㄍㄨˋ	Cause. / State of affairs. / Event, incident. / Plot. / Old. / Past, original. / Death. / On purpose. / Originally. / Hence, thus.	v2,p1453#05	p.469#25	p.601r5c01
賤	貝+8	𧶤贱	jiàn ㄐㄧㄢˋ	mean, low; cheap, worthless	v6,p3647#05	p.1209#35	p.1277r3c03
本	木+1	夲楍㮺𡴡	běn ㄅㄣˇ	root, origin, source; basis	v2,p1151#01	p.509#07	p.666r3c01
下	一+2	丅厥𠄟	xià ㄒㄧㄚˋ	under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down	v1,p0007#01	p.76#10	p.28r1c01
基	土+8	𡉝抍拯	jī ㄐㄧ	foundation, base	v1,p0449#07	p.231#12	p.321r6c01
是	日+5	昰𣆞	shì ㄕˋ	Straight. / Right, correct. / Believe accurate, affirm. / Demonstrative pronoun: this. / Be (copula). / Auxiliary word, used after moving forward the object.	v2,p1497#05	p.493#26	p.639r1c01
自	自+0	𦣹鼻	zì ㄗˋ	Oneself. / Begin, beginning. / From. / Originally. / Natural, naturally. / Supposing, if. / Even, even if.	v5,p3046#01	p.1000#07	p.1108r3c01
稱	禾+9	偁穪秤称	chēng chèng chèn ㄔㄥㄔㄥˋ ㄔㄣˋ	call; name, brand; address; say	v4,p2619#02	p.856#24	p.994r2c02
孤	子+5		gū ㄍㄨ	(3) 古代王侯的自稱。 Modest way of referring to oneself used by rulers.	v2,p1014#01	p.279#08	p.401r1c01
寡	宀+11	關	guǎ ㄍㄨㄚˇ	(3) 諸侯王自稱的謙辭。 Modest way of referring to oneself used by rulers.	v2,p0947#07	p.290#19	p.427r2c02
不穀	一+3 禾+10	不𠀚𠙐糓谷	bù gǔ ㄅㄨˋ ㄍㄨˇ	「不善」：古代君王自稱的謙辭。 Modest way of referring to oneself used by rulers.	v1,p0011#06 v3,p2164#11	p.76#15 p.858#05	p.30r1c01 p.995r1c02
此	止+2		cǐ ㄘˇ	This. / Like this. / Here. / Adverb: then.	v2,p1438#03	p.574#10	p.735r4c01
非	非+0		fēi ㄈㄟ	Violate, go against (a rule). / Wrong, bad. / Not real, untrue. / Oppose, object to. / Slander, condemn. / Sarcasm, irony. / Absence of, not have. / Adverb: not, is not.	v6,p4086#01	p.1382#11	p.1463r6c02
			fěi ㄈㄟˇ	Same as 「誹(2)」 fěi ㄈㄟˇ: Slander.
耶	耳+3	邪	yé yē xié ㄧㄝˊ ㄧㄝㄒㄧㄝˊ	used in transliteration	v4,p2784#03	p.965#12	p.1081r6c04
乎	丿+4	虖	hū ㄏㄨ	(1.1) 語氣詞：表示疑問或反問，相當於「嗎」或「呢」。 Modal particle expressing questioning or a rhetorical question.	v1,p0036#08	p.82#07	p.47r3c03
數	攴+11	数	shù shǔ cù shuò ㄕㄨˋ ㄕㄨˇ ㄘㄨˋ ㄕㄨㄛˋ	number; several; count; fate	v2,p1474#01	p.475#04	p.607r4c01
譽	言+14	𣁎域誉	yù ㄩˋ	fame, reputation; praise	v6,p4024#12	p.1185#07	p.1257r2c03
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.
欲	欠+7	慾	yù ㄩˋ	desire, want, long for; intend	v3,p2140#07	p.567#36	p.729r4c02
琭	玉+8		lù ㄌㄨˋ	jade like stone	v2,p1124#09	p.735#03	p.896r6c01
如	女+3		rú ㄖㄨˊ	Go to. / According to, in accordance with. / Like, similar to. / As good as, comparable to. / Should. / Or, alternatively. / If, should it be the case. / As for, as regards. / Adjectival suffix.	v2,p1025#09	p.255#21	p.378r5c02
玉	玉+0	𤣪	yù ㄩˋ	jade, precious stone, gem	v2,p1100#01	p.726#04	p.884r5c02
珞	玉+6	珞	luò lì ㄌㄨㄛˋ ㄌㄧˋ	kind of necklace	v2,p1112#09	p.730#27	p.894r4c03
石	石+0	𥐘	shí dàn ㄕˊ ㄉㄢˋ	stone, rock, mineral; rad. 112	v4,p2416#01	p.827#01	p.957r5c03

Enjoy this site? Please help.

Site design and content copyright 2006-2024. When quoting or citing information from this site, please link to the corresponding page or to https://ctext.org. Please note that the use of automatic download software on this site is strictly prohibited, and that users of such software are automatically banned without warning to save bandwidth. 沪ICP备09015720号-3

Comments? Suggestions? Please raise them here.