There is a version of Chapter 32 of Tao Te Ching, which says:

"Tao is often nameless and simple. Although small, there is nothing in the world. "

The common understanding is: "Tao is always nameless and in a state of simplicity. Although subtle, no one in the world can despise it. "

Compared with the context and related chapters, it should be: "Although simple, there is nothing in the world.". It can be seen in this way:

1. Simplify the first two sentences

If the first two sentences of this chapter are not punctuated, they are "The Tao is often unknown and simple, but there is nothing in the world."

The sentence can be broken as "The Tao is often unknown and simple. Although small, there is nothing in the world. "

The vernacular is "Tao is always nameless and in a state of simplicity. Although subtle, no one in the world can despise it. "

Simplify this vernacular, and you can get:

"Although the Tao is subtle, no one in the world can despise it."

If we return it to the ancient Chinese, it will become "Although the Tao is small, the world is omnipotent"

Second, from the overall perspective of the Classic of Tao Te Ching, compared with other chapters,

"Although the Tao is small, the world is omnipotent"

This statement conflicts with the contents of the previous chapter 25. Chapter 25 of Laozi says:

There are two references to "Tao" in the same version, but there are different versions: they are contradictory.

third, preliminary reasoning

a contradictory statement is not enough to be believed. Because you don't know what it is talking about, and you don't know what its judgment is.

It can be seen that the word "small" in "The Tao is often unknown and simple, though it is small, it is impossible to be a minister in the world" must be unreasonable.

Fourth, my own point of view

is written as "Tao is often unknown and simple. Although simple, the world is more appropriate.

why should it be "simple" instead of "small"?

Let's look at another chapter, that is, Chapter 71. Its first two sentences say, "My words are easy to know and easy to do. The world can't know, and it can't be done. "

Some versions are written as "My Tao is easy to know and easy to do, and the world can't know what it can do", which means the simplicity of Tao.

It means that the Tao I expounded (discovered and expounded) is easy to understand and implement, but almost no one really wants to understand it and practice it.

In this way, by comparing the contents of relevant chapters before and after, it can be determined that Chapter 32 should be "Tao is often unknown and simple. Although simple, there is nothing in the world ... "

In this way, the content of Chapter 32 is cross-referenced with the content of other chapters.

5. Go back to Chapter 32 and compare the word

, and the understanding behind it will be very different.

When talking about "if the marquis can keep it", he said:

"What does it mean to keep the smallest thing? On behalf of Hou Wang, he is a political ruler. If he keeps the word, he will become a saint. But it's not easy to keep this. You have to be as small as the Tao, and you have to be humble before you can be everywhere and participate in it. You think that you are the smallest component, and the people are willing to come back to you like everything else. It means that we all regard you as the master, because you are basically humble and ubiquitous, and all participate. "

Among them, "... self-effacing and humble ... thinking that you are the smallest ingredient, the common people are willing to come to your side" is particularly unreasonable. As the saying goes, "A good bird chooses a tree and enjoys the cool under a big tree", the common people prefer to submit to a leader who is humble but capable and enterprising, and can lead the people through difficulties and win!

VI. Summary

About "name"

Some people explain that "Tao is often nameless" as "Tao is always nameless", which should be understood as:

Tao can usually be summarized without a word or a name.

About "simplicity"

Some people explain it as "the state of simplicity", which should be understood as "easy to understand and easy to implement".

About "minister"

Some people interpret "minister" as "contempt", which should be understood as "convincing and carrying out"

To sum up, we can know that "Tao is often nameless and simple. Although simple, the world can't be a minister ... "This sentence is another way of saying that" my Tao is easy to know and easy to do, and the world can't know and can't do it ".When translated into vernacular, it is:

Tao is often not summed up in one or two sentences or a noun, and it is easy to understand and implement. Although it is easy to understand and implement, few people in the world can convince and implement it.

therefore, it should be "simple" rather than "small".

VII. Postscript

This understanding stems from two attitudes:

First, "it is better to believe in books than to have no books".

as far as books are concerned, it is inevitable that there will be some mistakes and omissions in the process of being handed down from generation to generation, and even the original version itself has mistakes and omissions, which is inevitable. However, the difference of one word is likely to lead to a far cry from the direction of understanding. Therefore, we can't accept all the words in the book, but follow the words and approach the ideological world that the author wants to express or the original face of what the author wants to record.

Second, "Interpreting Classics by Classics"

The self-consistency and logical rationality of a system are the most fundamental and decisive factors for the inheritance of this system. Otherwise, it would have been abandoned. Therefore, when reading a book or a set of books completely, we can understand them from multiple angles in comparison with the context, context and context, instead of taking them out of context and touching the image by the blind. In the process of systematic, comprehensive and repeated reading, the things or ideas referred to in the text will be slowly and clearly presented. That is to say, reading a book a hundred times reveals its meaning.