Larry's Pretty Good Poetry Journal

Now then: beautiful weapons
Are inauspicious things
That creatures might hate,
So one with the Way does not employ them.
A noble man usually values only the left [side],
[But when] using weapons values only the right.
A weapon is an inauspicious thing,
Not a noble man’s thing—
Only when necessary does he use one,
For he considers calm and contentment is best.
Victory, then, is not desirable,
For a desire for that
Is a delight in slaughtering men.
He who delights in slaughter
Cannot by any means achieve his ambition in this world.
At propitious events we esteem the left,
At ominous events we esteem the right.
The second in command is employed to the left,
The commander in chief is employed to the right—
That is to say, where the rites of mourning appoint him.
He who has slaughtered multitudes
[Should] cry in mourning and grief for them—
The victor in battle [goes] where the rites of mourning appoint him.

standard:
夫佳兵者，
不祥之器，
物或恶之，
故有道者不处。
君子居则贵左，
用兵则贵右。
兵者不祥之器，
非君子之器，
不得已而用之，
恬淡为上。
胜而不美，
而美之者，
是乐杀人。
夫乐杀人者，
则不可以得志于天下矣。
吉事尚左，
凶事尚右。
偏将军居左，
上将军居右，
言以丧礼处之。
杀人之衆，
以哀悲泣之，
战胜以丧礼处之。

Continuing the theme of the previous couple chapters.

Relevant Chinese terminology not specific to Daoism: 君子 (previously met in the other texts, but not the base text) originally meant “nobleman/lord,” but by the time of Confucius and Laozi typically meant something more like “noble man/superior man/gentleman.” Here, it seems to mean a sage, but I’m hesitant to actually emend the text.

FWIW, I use [brackets] to mark a) inline glosses introduced by i.e. and b) words I’ve supplied to clarify the meaning. Not all supplied words, I should say—for example, a missing subject or conjunction that’s obvious in context gets silently added. But when I’ve had to interpret what I understand as the likely intent, I mark this with brackets by way of disclosure.

---L.

Always crouching down, looking the same all over.
To men he tries to show those great big, endless eyes.
If you really want to know if you yourself are small,
Try seeing your reflection in a filled hoof-print.

咏虾蟆
坐卧兼行总一般，
向人努眼太无端。
欲知自己形骸小，
试就蹄涔照影看。

Another from the bantering poems of Complete Tang Poems books 869-872. Jiang Yigong was a Five-Dynasties guy from Suzhou who made a name for himself for righteous satires, finding much material in his troubled times. Unlike a lot of the other comic poets from this section, he also has poems in the main part of CTP. 虾蟆, háma is used for both frogs and toads—to keep it snappy, I picked one. That really is, I'm ashamed to admit, only there to fill out the meter.

---L.

Though living men, we never see each other
Just like the constellations Shen and Shang.
Tonight we do—when will our next night be?
Together in this flickering lantern light,
We aren’t strong—how many times do we have?
Our temple-hairs already are ash-grey.
I ask about old friends—half are spirits:
A startled sigh amid my warm emotions.
How could I know that it’d be twenty years
Since I last visited your noble hall?
When we two parted you weren’t married yet—
Suddenly you’ve many sons and daughters,
Who joyfully salute their father’s friend,
Asking me, “From where have you arrived?”
Even before our greetings are complete,
You urge your children, “Set out food and wine—
Chop the spring leeks picked in the nightly rain
And cook it fresh along with yellow millet.”
You speak of how it’s difficult to meet,
Then you and I together raise ten toasts.
After ten toasts, although I’m barely drunk,
I feel that we are long-time boon companions,
Yet when the sun departs the mountain peaks,
Our worldly cares will still be vast and boundless.

赠卫八处士
人生不相见，
动如参与商，
今夕复何夕？
共此灯烛光。
少壮能几时？
鬓发各已苍。
访旧半为鬼，
惊呼热中肠。
焉知二十载，
重上君子堂。
昔别君未婚，
儿女忽成行；
怡然敬父执，
问我来何方。
问答乃未已，
驱儿罗酒浆。
夜雨剪春韭，
新炊间黄粱。
主称会面难，
一举累十觞；
十觞亦不醉，
感子故意长。
明日隔山岳，
世事两茫茫。

“Retired” here indicates that Wei is living away from the capital between appointments, rather than that he resigned all offices late in life. Written 759, while Du Fu was traveling without an imperial appointment. The two traditional constellations, which don’t have English equivalents, are on opposite sides of the sky; if I wanted to localize, I could pick Scorpio and Orion, I suppose. Idiom: in l.12 more literally, Wei has children who are ranked, as in having enough they have birth-order use-names (1st Brother, 2nd Brother, and so on).

---L.

It’s hard to have a gorgeous face in the world.
How could Xi Shi stay obscure for long?
One morning, a woman by a Yue creek—
By evening, she became a consort of Wu.
When lowly, who could tell her apart from the crowd?
When honored, they recognized her rarity.
Meeting people, she relied on makeup.
It wasn’t natural, her wearing silken robes.
Her ruler’s favor was reaped from charming airs—
Her ruler who loved regardless of right or wrong.
Back then, she had companions washing clothes
Who now cannot go riding out with her.
And now turn down the girl next door, for how
Could she hope a lady’s knitted brow would work?

西施咏
艳色天下重，
西施宁久微？
朝为越溪女，
暮作吴宫妃。
贱日岂殊众？
贵来方悟稀。
邀人傅脂粉，
不自著罗衣，
君宠益娇态，
君怜无是非。
当时浣纱伴，
莫得同车归。
持谢邻家子，
效颦安可希？

We last met Xi Shi, one of China’s Four Greatest Beauties Ever, in the collection of ghost poems as well as, before that, in #40. As a reminder, she was a commoner given by the ruler of Warring State Yue as a concubine to the ruler of rival state Wu to distract him from affairs of the realm—a sexpionage ploy that supposedly actually worked. This is not one of her more sympathetic portraits, especially compared to Li Bai’s.

---L.

The skilled traveler has no tracks nor prints;
The skilled speaker has no flaws nor faults;
The skilled counter uses no tokens nor tallies;
The skilled closer has no locks nor bolts, yet [his work] can’t be opened;
The skilled binder has no cords nor knots, yet [his work] can’t be untied.
Because of this, the sage always skillfully saves men, not discards them,
Always skillfully saves creatures, not discards them.^[27-1]
This is called Hidden Understanding.
Hence the skilled man is master of the unskilled,
And the unskilled man is a supporter of the skilled.
[He who] doesn’t honor his teacher or love his supporter,
Though he may be wise, is greatly deluded;
This is called [the?] Ultimate Subtlety.

^[27-1] Other texts have the line “[As] creatures do not discard wealth.”

善行无辙迹，
善言无瑕讁；
善数不用筹策；
善闭无关楗而不可开；
善结无绳约而不可解。
是以圣人常善救人，故无弃人；
常善救物，故无弃物。
是谓袭明。
故善人者，不善人之师；
不善人者，善人之资。
不贵其师，不爱其资，
虽智大迷；
是谓要妙。

More pedantically, in l.1 it’s “wheel-tracks or footprints,” but poetic phrasing is a higher priority here (which means I really wish I could find a better word than “closer” — “locker”? “sealer”? idk). Disk-shaped tokens and tally-marks were used for inventory management before the invention of the abacus and bookkeeping. “Master” is in the sense of teacher (师 is the shi of shifu) rather than boss or ruler. Same “subtlety” as the last line of chapter 1.

How to render these two new technical terms is giving me fits. Consider those translations more provisional than usual.

---L.

There is a thing, intermixed and complete,
That was born before heaven and earth.
Silent, ah!, undisturbed, ah!
Established alone and never changing,
Circulating widely yet never ceasing,^[25-1]
We can consider it the mother of all under heaven^[25-2].
I don’t know its name, so call it “the Way”
And strive to remember that it’s known as “Great.”
The Great [I call] “the Outflow,”
The Outflow [I call] “the Remote,”
The Remote [I call] “the Returning.”
Thus, the Way is great, heaven is great, earth is great, and kings too are great.
Within our domain^[25-3] there are four great things,
And a king is one of them.
Man’s exemplar is earth,
Earth’s exemplar is heaven,
Heaven’s exemplar is the Way,
The Way’s exemplar is indeed itself.

^[25-1] Other texts omit this line
^[25-2] Other texts have “heaven and earth”
^[25-3] Other texts have “country”

有物混成，
先天地生。
寂兮寥兮，
独立不改，
周行而不殆，
可以为天下 母。
吾不知其名，字之曰道，
强为之名曰大。
大曰逝，
逝曰远，
远曰反。
故道大，天大，地大，王亦大。
域中有四大，
而王居其一焉。
人法地，
地法天，
天法道，
道法自然。

I would have found it Very Helpful if this chapter came Much Earlier. Ahem. Regarding line 8, note that in chapter 18 the author calls it the “Great Way.” More cross-references: for expanding and returning, see chapters 14 & 16, and for the mothering Way, see chapter 6 (and possibly 10). For what it’s worth, some textual traditions (but not the three I’m using) emend “king” to “man” (understood to have a sense of “kingly/superior man”), possibly because of the switch to “man” right after. That the Mawangdui texts explicitly use “country/kingdom” argues against this, though. (The base text’s “domain” can refer to a region or the universe.)

---L.

Using few words yourself is like this:
A^[23-1] windstorm not lasting the morning
Or sudden rain not lasting the day.
What causes these things? Heaven and earth.
Heaven and earth cannot make them longer,
So indeed what more can men do?
Thus [as for] one who obediently follows the Way,
With those of the Way [he] joins in the Way,
With those of Potency [he] joins in Potency,
With those who fail [he] joins in failure.
Those joined in the Way also delight in achieving the Way;
Those joined in Potency also delight in achieving Potency;
Those joined in failure also delight in achieving failure.
When trust is insufficient, they don’t trust [him].<sup>[23-2]

[23-1]</sup> Other texts omit this word, which more literally is “an instance of”
^[23-2] Instead of the last four lines, other texts have “Those joined in Potency, the Way also acquires them; / Those joined in failure, the Way also fails them.”

希言自然，
故飘风不终朝，
骤雨不终日。
孰为此者？天地。
天地尚不能久，
而况于人乎？
故从事于道者，
道者，同于道；
德者，同于德；
失者，同于失。
同于道者，道亦乐得之；
同于德者，德亦乐得之；
同于失者，失亦乐得之。
信不足，焉有不信焉。

Testing out using whether “(the) Potency” works better than “the Virtue.” Maybe? Dunno. Keeping a pin stuck in that issue for now. The “failure” discussed is often understood as meaning “failing to partake of the Way and its Potency,” but there are other possibilities, such as talking too much—compare chapter 5. Note this first instance of dealing with both the Way and its Potency as full entities, if ones in an implicit hierarchy.

The last line is an exact repeat of ch17.5. I think in this iteration who isn’t trusted refers to those who fail and so possibly better understood as “them,” but the line feels sus (very my tail iz pastede on yay).

---L.

Accepting the pervasive Virtue is through the Way only.
The Way’s properties are indeed murky, indeed muddled^[21-1].
Muddled, ah!, murky, ah! —within those is its form;
Murky, ah!, muddled, ah! —within those are its properties;
Profound^[21-2], ah!, deep, ah! —within those is its essence.
When one’s essence is entirely true, within that there is trust.
From ancient times till now, its repute has been retained
By searching for^[21-3] the sundry origins.
How do I know the state of the sundry origins? By this.

^[21-1] Other texts have “distant” & “hazy” throughout for “murky” & “muddled”
^[21-2] Another text has “hidden”
^[21-3] Other texts have “submitting to”

孔德之容，唯道是从。
道之为物，唯恍唯惚。
忽兮恍兮，其中有象；
恍兮忽兮，其中有物；
窈兮冥兮，其中有精。
其精甚真，其中有信。
自古及今，其名不去，
以阅衆甫。
吾何以知衆甫之状哉？以此。

And with this appearance in line 1, it’s time to foreground my struggles with the titular 德 dé, as it’s only going to get worse the more the text talks about it. I’ve been rendering it as “virtue” in the sense of “having power/efficacy” rather than “being virtuous.” A basic concept of the DDJ is that people who live in harmony with and utilize the Way have dé—or more specifically, by virtue of being close to the Way they influence people, this influence being dé. This is the point of l.6, and it underlies every statement so far about the best ruler acts least, because by having dé he doesn’t need to give orders. “Virtue” is a common translation, but based on this and other passages, it’s feeling increasingly inadequate. (This is complicated by Confucian uses, including in the Analects, of dé with the sense of “being virtuous.”) However, comma, “power,” another common translation, also feels misleading because of its connotations. My current thought is that something on the lines of “potency” might be a better rendering, for some value of “better” that I can’t at the moment define. Or maybe “influence.” Or, I dunno, stick a pin in it and move on (again).

The final “this” is, as you might expect, universally assumed to refer to the Way. The author has so far not sustained a complicated thought that returns to where it started the chapter, or I’d suggest it could refer back to first line’s Virtue/Potency—as could all the its until then.

---L.

Discard sagacity and renounce wisdom,
And the people benefit a hundredfold;
Discard benevolence and renounce righteousness,
And the people return to filial piety and parental affection;
Discard cleverness and renounce profit,
And there are no bandits and thieves.
These three things I consider insufficient precepts
And so I’d have [another] to go with them:
Meet simpleness and embrace honesty,
And [you’ll] be less selfish and reduce desires.

绝圣弃智，
民利百倍；
绝仁弃义，
民复孝慈；
绝巧弃利，
盗贼无有。
此三者以为文不足。
故令有所属：
见素抱朴，
少私寡欲。

Continuing, for once, the previous chapter’s train of thought. Compare also chapter 3.

An example of the decisions and opinions this stuff involves: A common understanding of 文 wén in l.7 is “culture,” reading the clause as “insufficient for [creating/sustaining] [our] culture,” but the also common sense of “doctrine/law” (which is used by Confucians to refer to their own precepts) seems to apply better here, given the next line. (Both senses derive from 文’s other meaning of “written (prose) language,” in turn derived from its root sense of “decorated.”) I admit, “precept” might be a slightly weak rendering for this.

---L.

The best of all [rulers], [the people] don’t^[17-0] know they have him;
Next tier, they love and praise him;
Next tier, they fear him;
Next^[17-1] tier, they despise him.
When trust is insufficient, they don’t trust him.
Relaxed, ah!, are his valued words.
When his actions succeed and affairs go well,
The hundred families all cry, “We ourselves did this.”

^[17-0] All texts have 下, which can be read as “lessen” in a way that almost makes sense, but otherwise is universally assumed assumed to be a variant form of 不 “not” and frequently amended to that (as I’ve done)
^[17-1] Other texts have “lowest”

太上，不知有之；
其次，亲而誉之；
其次，畏之；
其次，侮之。
信不足，焉有不信焉。
悠兮，其贵言。
功成事遂，
百姓皆谓我自然。

“Valued” is often glossed as “rare” based on passages such as chapter 2, but that seems unnecessary here.

---L.