Therefore, there is no symbiosis, difficulty and ease are compatible, the length is comparative, the high and the low are inclined to each other, the sound and sound are harmonious, and the front and back are followed. This is the original text of Wang Bi's version. The popular version has changed two words according to the silk book and the bamboo slip book: "The length is dwarfed, and the high and the low are mutually beneficial", which means the same.
The first paragraph of this chapter talks about the emergence of opposites, the existence of yin and yang, that is, the emergence of contradictions. The second paragraph talks about the unity of opposites, and if there is only "opposite" and no "unity", things will not exist and will not develop. Therefore, the existence or absence, the difficulty, the length of the time, the high and the low, the sound, the before and after, these phenomena are the same as the beauty and ugliness, good and evil, and the pairing occurs and exists at the same time, complementing each other, and all of them are indispensable. Without "beauty" there is no "ugliness", without "good" there is no "evil", without "nothing" there is no "existence", this is the "unity of opposites". By extension, no matter what the field, there are opposites between and within things, and there are contradictions. The unity and struggle between the two sides of the contradiction also promote the movement, change, and development of things. Chapter 42 says: "All things are negative yin and embrace yang, and they are impulsive and think that they are harmonious."
The law of the unity of opposites: the two sides of the contradiction not only compare with each other and fight with each other, but also need to cooperate with each other, transform each other, and depend on each other to achieve a unified "harmony" situation.
This paragraph begins with the word "therefore", which leads to six pairs of philosophical questions, the first of which is "existence and non-existence". Chapter 40 reads: "All things under heaven are born of being, and some are born of nothing." Is it "existence and non-existence" or "existence and non-existence"? Let's take a look at how "existence and non-existence" are explained.
The annotations of the Kawashang Gong and Wang Bi are too simple. Wang Bi's note: "These six are all natural, and they cannot be biased." "It is said that the six relatively unified phenomena are all naturally equal, and it cannot be said which is important and which is not, and the number of names and etiquette is the same. The official seal on the river said: "'Therefore, there is no symbiosis', and there is nothing when you see it." "It's easier to put it simply. Modern celebrity scholars explain that it is:
Yu Qiuyu said: "Since there is or not, difficulty, length, high and low, sound, and before and after are all generated by each other, then people should not toss around randomly according to their superficial differences. (Yu Qiuyu, "Lao Tzu's General Interpretation", Beijing United Publishing Company, 2021, p. 12.) It's about "generating each other."
Nan Huaijin explained: "From the perspective of human experience, it is a natural fact that all things in heaven and earth come from being to nothing. But when it comes to the existence of all things, it is really an incredible thing to be born from nothing. (Nan Huaijin, "Lao Tzu Said", Fudan University Press, 2016, p. 49.) He's saying something out of nothing.
Liu Xiaodare to think: "It is worth paying special attention to the sentence 'existence and non-existence'. ......Presence and absence do not change due to the increase or decrease of the general quantity. In fact, what is already there can gradually disappear, that is, what is can be transformed into nothing, and what is not can evolve and be born, that is, what is not transformed into being. Conceptually, 'being' and 'nothing' are also relative, with the concept of 'being' there is so-called 'nothing', without 'being' there is no 'nothing', and vice versa. This is the birth of existence and non-existence. (Liu Xiaokang, Lao Tzu Ancient and Modern, Vol. I, China Social Sciences Press, 2006, p. 114.) It's about whether or not there is a mutual transformation.
Chen Gu Yingjin translated: "Existence and non-existence generate each other, difficulty and ease promote each other, long and short show each other, high and low present each other, sound and sound should be in harmony with each other, and the front and back are connected with each other." "It shows that all things appear to be complementary in opposite relations: they are opposed to each other, but they are interdependent and complementary to each other. (Chen Guying, "Lao Tzu Jinzhu Jinjing", The Commercial Press, 2016, p. 84.) ）
On the surface, there is indeed a contradiction between "existence and non-existence" and "existence is born from nothing". But if you think about it carefully and think about it repeatedly, there are still differences. The key is the understanding of the word "sheng". 生, pronounced shēng, has only one pronunciation, but the meaning of the word is close to twenty. The "birth" of "existence and non-existence" cannot be understood as the "birth" of production, but the meaning of vitality, life, and dependence. "Existence and non-existence" is to survive without interdependence, without "nothing" of course there is no "existence", and without "existence" there is no "nothing", complementing each other. "Born out of nothing" is the "birth" of production, there is nothing in nothing, and there is something out of nothing.
The idiom "making something out of nothing" in modern Chinese is derogatory, the metaphor has no facts, fabricated out of thin air, and in the Tao Te Ching it is philosophical. The "have-and-have" here, there is no dependency between them, only affiliation. In the two chapters, although the words are the same, they represent different things. The "existence" in this chapter has the same meaning as the meaning of chapter 11, "there is for profit, and there is no for use", which refers to the relationship between existence and non-existence in the real society. The "existence and absence" in chapter 40 is the same as the "existence and absence" in chapter 1, which refers to the creation and evolution of the universe, that is, the cosmology, and the two should not be confused. In this way, the interpretation of the following is easier:
Difficulty and ease come together". How can the difficulty be compatible? Complementarity is the complementarity of complementarity, which refers to mutual support, mutual fulfillment, and mutual transformation. It is easy to do difficult things, and it is difficult to do easy things if they are not done. Therefore, how to do good things and get things done requires knowledge, wisdom and methods.
long and short comparison". Long and short are also relative concepts. And how do you compare? Comparison, that is, comparing with each other, things have short and long. Qu Yuan's "Buju": "The ruler is short, the inch is long, and the things are insufficient." It means that the ruler is longer than the inch but the ratio to the "zhang" is shorter, and the inch is shorter than the ruler but the ratio to the "minute" is longer, and everything has shortcomings. Only when you know the truth that things are short and long can you make comparisons. People can pursue perfection, but there is no perfect thing, as long as they can develop their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.
The superior and the inferior leaning towards each other". High or low, tall or low, high or low. Tilt is a tendency, a tendency, a heart. Fall in love with each other and admire each other. Lower and high, high and high, unattainable, but high and cold, not free; Under the high look, it is small and flexible, short and concise, and it seems to be low. The story of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Giraffe and the Sheep" illustrates this point very well. Giraffes are tall and have long necks that can eat fresh fruits and young leaves from trees; The baby goat is short and small, but it is flexible to burrow and climb the mountain, and it can also enjoy a different wonderful life. In the real society, both humans and animals have their own strengths, and we can't just see our own strengths and others' shortcomings; It's about seeing the strengths of others, being aware of your own weaknesses, and learning from each other's strengths.
Harmony of sound and sound". "Yin" and "sound" are commonly used as the word "sound" in modern Chinese. In ancient times, monosyllabic words were commonly used, and there was a difference between these two words. sound, is the original vibration wave; A sound is a sound that contains a rhythm. The sound is made into a rhyme, and the sound is the sound of the sound and the sound of the sound of the sound of the sound of the sound of the sound of the sound of the sound There is only sound, and that is noise; If you only seek sound, you will become water without source and wood without roots; Harmony is beautiful.
before and after". There is a front before there is a back, and there is a back before the front. Only when there is a front and a back can it be easy to follow, and only with the front and back can it go forward and follow. Without a back-and-forth, it would be unprecedented. Unprecedentedly, he responded to the poem of Chen Ziang of the Tang Dynasty: "I don't see the ancients before, and I don't see the comers after." Thinking of the world and the world, I was alone and wept. "That's a sad scene, and Lao Tzu doesn't advocate it. The front and back are not always the same, and they will also be transformed before and after. For example, when people are lagging behind, as long as they actively work hard, they will catch up with or surpass the advanced.
The translation of the whole sentence should be:
Therefore, there is and no interdependence, difficulty and ease are transformed into each other, long and short are compared with each other, high and low are inclined to each other, sound and sound are dependent on each other and harmonious, and the front and back are closely followed.