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Chapter 45

大成若缺

大dà成chéng若ruò缺quē，
其qí用yòng不bù弊bì。
大dà盈yíng若ruò冲chōng，
其qí用yòng不bù穷qióng。
大dà直zhí若ruò屈qū，
大dà巧qiǎo若ruò拙zhuō，
大dà辩biàn若ruò讷nè。
静jìng胜shèng躁zào，
寒hán胜shèng热rè。
清qīng静jìng为wéi天tiān下xià正zhèng。

a> Great perfection appears defective, so use can never make it worn; great fullness seems vacant, so use can never make it empty. Great straightness seems bent; great skill seems clumsy; great eloquence seems inarticulate.

b> Haste overcomes cold, tranquility overcomes heat.

c> Clear and tranquil, be a standard to the world.

A modern classroom translation, with labeled subsections for study.

© 2010, 2016, 2019 Robert Eno. Freely available for personal use and not-for-profit educational settings. For other purposes, apart from fair use, copyright is not waived.