SubscribeHE who knows men is clever;
He who knows himself has insight.
He who conquers men has force;
He who conquers himself is truly strong.
He who knows when he has got enough is rich,
And he who adheres assiduously to the path of Tao is a man of steady purpose.
He who stays where he has found his true home endures long,
And he who dies but perishes not enjoys real longevity.
this is the john wu’s translation of chapter 33. there are a lot of translations out there but i like this one the best, perhaps because it’s the first version i was exposed to (more about this below). the following translation by le guin is also striking.
Kinds of Power
Knowing other people is intelligence,
knowing yourself is wisdom.
Overcoming others takes strength,
overcoming yourself takes greatness.
Contentment is wealth.
Boldly pushing forward takes resolution.
Staying put keeps you in position.
To live till you die
is to live long enough.
philosophy is a small interest of mines, and in college i took five philosophy courses and so i was like, i might as well make it my minor and so i did (and after karl marx ended my economic minor). i didn’t study any chinese philosophy though, the closest i got to chinese philosophy was actually in my world religion class i took.
i have never read the complete tao te ching before, it’s really short so i should read it. i was in a movie theater when i first saw this part of the tao te ching, the john wu translation was used in a movie preview, i don’t even recall the movie but it was some martial arts movie preview, and i just remember being in awe of the simplicity but yet the profoundness of the piece. it has stayed with me.
