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Ho-Shang-Kung's Commentary On Lao-Tse Part 3
Ho-Shang-Kung's Commentary On Lao-Tse Part 3
III (Concluded)
Author(s): Eduard Erkes and Ho-Shang-Kung
Source: Artibus Asiae, Vol. 12, No. 3 (1949), pp. 221-251
Published by: Artibus Asiae Publishers
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3248386 .
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HO-SHANG-KUNG'S
TRANSLATED
COMMENTARY ON LAO-TSE
AND
ANNOTATED
BY
EDUARD ERKES
III
Conclusion
*j
ii
When one owns the mother of the country, he may thereby last long.
The country is identicalwith the body. The motheris Tao. When a man is able
to proted Tao within the body, he therebycauseshis breathnot to become heavy
and the five spirits [of the viscera]not to become troubled. Then he is able to
last long.
Insteadof X. "to last"v. 1. T "to live".
"they
Ch. 60o
How to remain on the throne.
Rule a large country as if you were cooking small fish.
Hsien f are fishes. When cooking small fishes, the intestines are not taken out
and the scales not scraped off. One does not dare to scratch them, for fear that
they might go to pieces. When in governing a country one causes trouble, then
the subjeds will become confused. When in pradtisingasceticism one causes trouble,
then the spirit will become distrait.
Instead of P1]J"scrapedoff" v. 1. i~ "removed". Instead of it "will become distrait"v. 1. $
"will flee".
Not only do its demons not hurt men, but neither does the saint hurt men.
Not only are its demons and spirits not able to hurt anybody, but also by the saint
on the throne nobody is hurt. Therefore the demons do not risk giving offence.
Now when both do not hurt each other,
The demons and the saint, both of them do not hurt each other.
then Te will unite and return.
As both do not hurt each other, man is able to govern the Yang, and the demon is
able to govern the Yin. Man is able to fulfil his natural destiny, and the demon is
able to save his spirituality. Therefore Te unites and returns.
Ch. 61
On the Te of humility.
A great country is the undercurrent,
222
Who governs a large country must be like the [Yang-tse-]chiang and the sea. He
must belong to the undercurrent and not be opposed to what is smalland insignificant.
The words "the [Yang-tse-]chiang and the sea" are missing in one edition. Then the meaning
would be "must behave as if he belonged to the undercurrent". Instead of
"to be opposthe
same
ed" v. 1. I
meaning.
, with
*W "wins" v. 1.
"possesses".
Ch. 62
How to exert Tao.
F .
"vastly"v. 1. J,
Therefore they installed the son of heaven and appointed the three dukes.
One wanted to improvethe bad men.
Though one has a jade-sceptre and takes precedence in a quadriga, this is not
equal to sitting there and approaching Tao.
Though one may have a beautifulsceptreof jadeandtakeprecedencein a quadriga,
it is better to sit still and to approachTao.
224
Why the ancients esteemed this Tao, why was this the case? Not because they
daily strove to acquire it?
That by which the ancients esteemed this Tao was not daily roaming far in order
to look for it. They found it near themselves in their persons.
By having sin one avoids evil.
To have sin means to find the world in confusion. A benighted prince falsifiesthe
course by indulging in punishments. By cultivating Tao one may avoid all evil.
Instead of X
-0
is
"all evil" v. 1.
Taste tastelessness.
By thinking deeply and beeing remotely afraid, you will taste the meaning of Tao.
Enlarge smallness. Augment minuteness.
By regulating injun&ions and orders one wants to turn the large into the small and
what is much into what is little. This is the natural way.
Requite hatred with Te.
Cultivate Tao, follow the good, detachyourself from misfortunewhen it is stillunborn.
Instead of f j "cultivate Tao" v. 1. I
"follow the
"practiseasceticism". After ~fi
4
3
"cultivateTao". Instead of 5
"when it is still unborn"
good" one edition repeats
225
of Ho-shang-kung
"within
thelifeof man",rejected
v. 1. k
byLiCh'iao.Theentirewording
Lao-tseje-chi5,64a,
as it doesnot fit in withthetext.YangTseng-hsin,
seemstoI_be corrupt,
remarksthat it would presupposea readingKj -uft
of
with".Instead
"preceed
6"whentheyareeasy"v.l.
Therefore the saint to the end does not play the great.
He modestlystayswithin the void.
This sentence is also missing in the Tao-tsang edition.
Ch. 64
How to keepthe mystery.
i~ "must"v. 1.
I J,
samemeaning.
self with justice renounces benignity and humanity. Who occupies himself with a
beauty renounces the spirit.
v.1.
I PA,
"hurtful things" v. 1. ~
"spoilt"
same meaning.
the saint learns naturalness.Men learn to govern the world; the saint learnsto
pracise asceticismand to guardthe wisdomof Tao.
He reverses what all others pass by.
All men learnthe contraryof what is askedfor. They pass by the root and work
with the top; they passby the fruit and work with the flower. Who reversesthis
causesthe returnto the root.
Thereby he helps all beings to become natural.
Who teachesmen to returnto the root and to the fruit,therebywants to help all
beingstowardsthe naturalstate of their charaCer.
But he does not dare to act.
The saintworks inadively. He does not dare to create anything. He is afraidto
remove the root.
Insteadof A
"to remove" v. 1.
Ch.65
On the Te of simplicity.
"arecalled".
4{
j "deceitfulcunning".
Thatthe peoplearedifficult
to governis becauseoftheabundance
oftheirknowledge.
As their wisdomis too much,they thus become cunningand hypocritical.
Insteadof
Instead of
,
Who knows these two
will also be a model and pattern.
These two mean wisdom and ignorance. The wise man necessarily brings about
theft and the ignorant man bliss. He himself is a model for the pradice of asceticism
Behind
insteadof -4
"wisdom",
"bringsabout bliss"v. 1. B
4 a
Li Ch'iaonotes that the last sentence is quoted in the commentaryof Hsi Shu-ye's
K'ang's Jf ) Yang-sheng-lunI t
H
(Wen-hsiian 5 3, 4b) as follows: -XJ
_?
The
obedience
is
the
heaven".
of
X
(11"Ho-shang-kungsays: great
principle
5
t18
(Hsi
)t JlM
Ch. 66
How to put the self behind.
That the [Yang-tse-]chiang and the sea are able to be kings of the torrents is because of their well submitting to them.
Becausethe [Yang-tse-]chiang
and the sea are lower, all the currentsare drawntowards them,like the people turningto theirking.
Therefore they are able to be kings of all the torrents.
As they are lower, they are ableto becomekings of all the torrents.
If therefore the saint wants to be above the people,
If he wants to have a position above the people.
he by his words submits to them.
He takes the [Yang-tse-]chiang
and the sea for his models and remainsin a modest
position.
In Li Ch'iao'sedition, & "position"is twice misprinted*6 "empty".
Therefore the empire is glad to push him on and gets not tired of him.
It is the saint'sintention to love the people deep and strong like little children.
Thereforethe empireis glad and pusheshim forwardto makehima prince. It does
not get tired of him.
Insteadof Al] "like" v.1. ,
same meaning.
Onthe threejewels.
If all within the empire call my Tao great, I seem unworthy.
Lao-tsesays:If all within the empirecall my Tao great,then I pretendto be stupid
and seem to be unworthy.
Now because one is great, therefore one is unworthy.
Who is only calledgreatin Tao, that one will hurt his body. Thereforeone should
pretendto be stupidand seem to be unworthy. Nothing is separatedand nothing
cut asunder. Do not disdainothersnor esteemyourself.
Instead of
L4 "only" v. 1. *
This means:Who convincesis only like a meanfellow and not like a superior.
I have three jewels. I prize and keep them.
Lao-tsesays: I have three jewels. I prize them and keep hold of them.
The first is called kindness.
He loves the people like a little child.
The second is called thriftiness.
He raisestaxes as if he took them from himself.
The third is called: not daring to play the first part in the empire.
He keepsto modesty,retiresand does not play the leadingpart.
V. 1.: "and does not dare to play the leading part". The Che-yao renders the commentarythus:
He keeps to modesty,retiresand does not play the leader.
t'ien-tse "the son of heaven"are missingin the Che-yao. The same work reads
,
insteadof k)W) "large-mindedness"
"the
fulness of large-mindedness".
Ji
T
Who dares not play the first part within the empire,
Do not want to be the headof the empire.
may thereby complete the duration of the vessel.
To completethe durationof the vesselmeansto be enabledto become a Taoist. I
may be the first among Taoists.
Today one neglects kindness and is at the same time bold.
Now the world gives up humanityand kindnessand wageswar.
One neglects thriftiness and is at the same time large-minded.
One gives up thriftinessand only indulgesin profusion.
One neglects retirement and precedes at the same time.
One desistsfrom puttingthe self in the backgroundand only precedesothers.
This is deadly.
233
La
"angry"v.1.
RQ"fights"v. 1. q
"contends". Instead of
fk
"submits"v. 1. MR "surrenders".
Ch. 69
How to use the dark one.
For the use of weapons there is a saying:
This represents the principle of the use of arms. Lao-tse loathed the militarismof
his time. Therefore he himself relies on its ideas.
The first sentence a )A
~j
Z
.
>of the last sentence is: "He wants to refute the militarists by
the regular troops." The meaning
their own arguments."
I "raise troops".
"take up arms" v. 1.
Instead of
"seize"v. 1.
to stretchwithoutarms,
Though he wants to stretch his arms, he is as angry as if he had no arms to stretch.
The characters
Ch. 70
How to knowdifficulties.
The words of the ego are very easy to know and very easy to follow.
Lao-tse knows that what the ego says is little and easy to know, simple and easy
to follow.
Within the empire nobody is able to know them, and nobody is able to follow them.
Men loathewhat is tender and weak and like what is hardand strong.
236
Those who know the ego are few. Therefore the ego is of value.
few. Only he who penetratesTao may recognizethe ego. Thereforeit
.
is of value.
-=
Therefore the saint dresses in hairclothand hides the gem within his bosom.
Who dressesin hairclothis outwardlysimple.Who hidesa gem withinhisbosomhas
inwardfulness.Hide your treasures,conceal your Te and do not show it to others.
The Che-yao, insteadof the last sentence, gives only the words A A! --ft "andis of value".
Ch. 71
How to knowsickness.
To know the unknowable is exalted.
To know Tao is callednon-knowledge.Therefore it is superiorTe.
Not to know the knowable is sickness.
Not to know Tao is calledknowledge. This is a want of Te.
Now because one is sick of sickness, therefore one is not sick.
Now becausesomebody may be sick of suffering,all want to know his sickness.
Then he himselfis not sick.
Insteadof
Jfi "then"v. 1. ~,
"thereby".
237
The saint is not sick because he is sick of sickness. Therefore he is not sick.
The saint does not want to know this. He is sick of this eternalsuffering.All men
have this sickness. Thereforehe pitiesmen. Thereby he is not sick himself. Now
the saint conceals penetratingwisdom. He communicatesit to the ignorant. He
wants to makethe world real and simple,loyal and just. Everybodyought to keep
his simple nature. The vulgardo not know the intentions of Tao and lose the
[right]behaviour.They want to know about affairs.By displayingthemselvesthey
internallyhurt the spirits. They shortentheir lives and diminishtheir years.
Insteadof e "pities" v. 1. 4F i A "he ignores these men", rightly rejected by Li Ch'iao. In"
F
Ch. 72
If the people do not dread the dreadful,the great dreadfulwill reach them.
The great dreadfulis misfortune. If man does not dreadsmallmisfortune,great
misfortunewill befallhim. Greatmisfortunemeansto die andto perish.Who dreads
this must love the spirits,receive [the commandsof] heavenand obey to earth.
Variant: "Save the semen, nourish the spirits, obey to heaven and receive [the commands of]
heaven."- The last expression alludes to Yi-ching, Hex. 2 (Wilhelm, I-ging, II, 14) where it is said
of earth:
J) )IM
f.
M7
238
a'O
4"withoutcontinualdesires".
Thereforethe saintknowshimself.
He himselfknowswherebyhis self gainsandloses.
Of these two,
Daringand not daringare meant.
one is blissful, one is hurtful.
To keep the body alive is blissful.To kill the body is hurtful.
239
Ch. 74
How to restrict doubts.
people do not live carefree. Therefore they do not fear death. When in pradising
asceticism he hurts the spirits through desire and kills the body through greed for
wealth, then the people do not know fear.
How can one frighten them with death?
If the prince is not large-minded as regards punishments, he causes the people to
flee from quietude. Why does he then want to fix punishments and laws? To
frighten them by death.
Then, if they become queer and I seize and kill them, who dares?
If one improves them by Taoism and the people do not follow but become deceitful, then it is adequate to the king to seize and kill them. Who would then dare to
stir rebellion? Lao-tse is sorry for the kings of his time who did not first improve
by Tao and Te but proceeded [at once] with punishments.
Insteadof _E "kings"v. 1.
"rulers".
~
' "themasterof examinations
Insteadof
is alwaysthere"v.1.
I"the master
of examination
hasendurance".
Insteadof j2i "perfects"
v. 1.1a "reaps".Insteadof *lJ"handle"
"masterof
v. 1.rJ, with the samemeaning.It is not clearwho is meantby the Se-ch'a1
if he is not a meremistakefor the Se-sha"masterof killing",but thereis no variant
examinations",
to
pointing suchan error.
is supplanted,
therearefewwhowillnothurttheirhands.
Nowif thegreatcarpenter
likean unskilledfellowwho wantsto supIf a princeproceedswith punishments
he will not achievethe rightthing,neitherin the squarenor in
planta carpenter,
theround,butcuthisown hands.Who wantsto supplantthecelestialkillerwilllose
his principles.Who doesnot keepto hisprinciplesdrawsmisfortune
uponhimself.
.f
1t
Ch. 75
How to diminishcraving.
The hunger of the people comes from their prince's consuming the bulk of the
revenues.
That the people are hungry and cold has its reason in their prince'sraisingtoo
many taxes from his subjects.
Therefore they are hungry.
The people are alteredby their prince and thereby become greedy. They rebel
againstTao and are opposed to Te. Thereforethey are hungry.
After
4
one editionhasthe finalparticle *.
"greedy"
242
That men take death easy comes from their seeking for the fulness of life.
That the people easilyrisk their lives is becausetheir way of seeking for life is too
much bent on gain. Thereby they endangerthemselves.
Insteadof M "way"v.1.
"doings".
Thereforetheytakedeatheasy.
Becausethey seek for the great fulness of life, they take it easy to get themselves
on death-bringing
ground.
The expressionX At se-ti, here translatedby "death-bringing
ground"occurs in ch. 5o where it
has a different meaning, indicatinga deadly spot of the body. Here it is doubtlessto be taken in
another sense, probablyas a military expressionfound in Sun-tseII, Ia, where se-ti occursamong
the nine strategicallyimportantformations of the groundand is defined as follows: "Where one
survivesby fightingquicklyandperisheswithout fightingquickly,thereis the death-bringingground".
Lionel Giles, Sun-tse (1910o), p. 117,translates"desparateground". Waley, The Way and Its Power
(193 4), seems in his commentaryon ch. 5o to have mistakenHo-shang-kung's
explanationfor that
of Sun-tse, as he correctly translatesse-ti by "death-spot"but explainsit as "a militaryexpression"
which it is not in this sense.
Ch. 76
How to bewareof strength.
of heavento oppressthe strong ones and to help the weak ones. This is the effed
of naturalness.
Ch. 77
On the way of heaven.
"profound" v. 1.
( "obscure".
244
It presses down what is high. It raises what is low. It diminishes what has too
much. It enriches what has too little.
This means: In bending a bow it is adjusted.Being so it can be used. For when
the high is presseddown and the low drawn upwards,the strong diminishedand
the weak repleted,then this is the way of heaven.
At the end of the first sentence, there is a variantcontaining1: "Thisis the method of adjusting
a bow by bendingit." At the close of the second sentence, a varianthas the final particle -.
It is the way of heaven to diminish what has too much and to replete what
has not enough.
It is the way of heaven to diminishwhat has a surplusand to repletewhat is deficient. It alwaysthinksadjustmentto be superior.
The words "to diminishwhat has a surplusand"are wanting in one edition. Insteadof
' "to be preferable".
superior"v. 1.;
"to
9_
ness of his self. He declinesmerit, does not stay within the splendour,is afraidof
heavenand diminisheswhateverhas got too much.
"to show himself" v. 1. V "to employ". Before *
'
splendour".Insteadof
"splendour"v. 1.
"glory".
Insteadof i
Ch. 78
How to trustin sincerity.
Within the world nothing surpasses water in tenderness and weakness.
This means: water is pliableand soft. Within a round [basin]it becomes round,
within a squareone square. If dammedin, it stays. If let off, it moves.
The first sentence is missingin one edition. Insteadof M "dammedin" v. 1. M "stoppedup", rejected by Li Ch'iao. Comp. notes on ch. 8.
But when it attacks what is firm and strong, nothing is able to vanquish it.
Water is able to embracemountains,to move hills, to grindiron and to dissolve
copper. But nothingis able to achievethe merit of vanquishingwater.
That the weak vanquishes the strong, that the pliable vanquishes the unbending,
Water is able to annihilatefire, Yin is ableto dissolveYang. The tongue is weak,
the teeth are strong,but the teeth perishbefore the tongue.
everybody in the empire knows.
Who knows weaknessis enduring.Who keeps long to strengthwill be hurt.
Insteadof P
}k*E
"prince"v.1.
, same meaning. Insteadof
stead of $lI "then"v. 1.j, the same.
Instead of
246
Who loves the misfortune of the country is called king of the empire.
If a ruler is able to take [the responsibility for] mistakes upon himself, then he himself becomes the substitute for his people. If he takes misfortune upon himself, he
may possess the empire as a king.
"prince"v. 1. 9,
Insteadof k
)
the same.
Correctwordsseem perverted.
These are thus the corre& words. The men of the world do not know this. Therefore they think them perverted.
Ch. 79
How tofulfil the contract.
When great hatred is reconciled,
Who kills somebody, will die. Who hurts somebody, will be mutilated. Thereby
adequate requital is given.
On the ch'i
4,
'f
247
Ch. 80
How to standalone.
The country ought to be small and the people sparse.
Though a saint may rule a large country, he ought to treatit like a smalland restri~dedareaand not to be extravagant.Though a nation be numerous,it ought to
look sparseand not conspicuous.
"sparse"v. 1.
Insteadof
4 "few".
"
'"the poor and the rich"are wantingin some editions.
"hanker"v.1.
"esteem".
If one governs without being troublesome, then the people are content with their
professions. Therefore they do not go away and do not depart from their permanent
habitations.
Though there be ships and carriages, they will go nowhere.
One ought to be quiet and without action, one ought not to make outward display,
one ought not to love pleasures outside or within the house.
Instead of f
"quiet" v. 1.
Though one may have arms one ought not to show them.
One ought not to entertain hatred against the empire.
Let the people return to the knotted strings and use them.
Do away with externals and return to reality. Be sincere and without fraud.
Instead of /I "not" v. 1.
, the same.
Make their food sweet to them.
Let their simple meals be agreeableto them and do not take their food away from
the people.
Instead of
"food" v. 1.
the same.
",
Ch. 81
How to displayreality.
Sincere words are not beautiful.
Sincerewords are true words. What is not beautifulis simpleand real.
thefollowing
has
Thefirst
sentence
variant
the
h Tao-tsang
edition
adds
41)
eU ~ (t
"i
f-
1J
.iZ6
yiian "depth", as
yiian was a tabooed characterunder the T'ang,being the personalname of the emperorT'angKaotsu (Li Yiian4 "Mr).
4~ N "dividedamongothers"v. 1.
, the same.
251