Create Don't Destroy, Avoid Weapons, Stop Wars, Delight Not in Warfare, Be Peaceful, Avoid Wars, 偃武
"Now arms, however beautiful, are instruments of evil omen, hateful, it may
be said, to all creatures.
Therefore they who have the Tao do not like to employ them.
The superior man ordinarily considers the left hand the most honorable place,
but in time of war the right hand.
Those sharp weapons are instruments of evil omen, and not the instruments of the
superior man.
He uses them only on the compulsion of necessity.
Calm and repose are what he prizes; victory by force of arms is to him
undesirable.
To consider this desirable would be to delight in the slaughter of men.
He who delights in the slaughter of men cannot get his will in the kingdom.
On occasions of festivity to be on the left hand is the prized position; on
occasions of mourning, the right hand.
The second in command of the army has his place on the left.
The general commanding in chief has his on the right; his place, that is, is
assigned to him as in the rites of mourning.
He who has killed multitudes of men should weep for them with the bitterest
grief.
The the victor in battle has his place according to those rites."
- Translated by
James Legge, 1891,
Chapter 31
"The Master who is a Captain of soldiers
Does not give blessings with his weapons.
Soldiers' weapons are hated by most men,
Therefore he who has the Tao gives them no place.
In the dwelling of the man of peace the left side is the place of honour.
In soldiers' usage the right side is the place of honour.
A soldier does not give blessings with his weapons.
They are not the instruments of a man of peace.
A man of peace will not possess them, nor use them;
He gives the first place to calmness and repose.
If he conquers, he does not rejoice.
Without joy is he who wounds and kills men.
The Master who wounds and kills men
Cannot succeed in ruling his kingdom.
In time of joy, the left hand is preferred,
In time of mourning, the right hand is preferred.
In war, the second in command is placed on the left,
The first in command is placed on the right,
That is, he stands in the place of mourning.
He who has killed many men should weep with many tears.
He who has conquered in battle should stand in the place of mourning."
- Translated by
Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 31
Translation and elucidation by Hua Ching Ni
Translated by Brian Walker
Translated by Arthur Waley
Translated by Lionel and and Herbert Giles
By Eva Wong
"Even victorious arms are unblest among tools, and people had better shun
them.
Therefore he who has Reason does not rely on them.
The superior man when residing at home honors the left.
When using arms, he honors the right.
Arms are unblest among tools and not the superior man's tools.
Only when it is unavoidable he uses them.
Peace and quietude he holdeth high.
He conquers but rejoices not.
Rejoicing at a conquest means to enjoy the slaughter of men.
He who enjoys the slaughter of men will most assuredly not obtain his will in
the empire."
- Translated by
Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki and
Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 31
"Arms and weapons,
Being instruments of destruction, Are despised by all.
They are avoided by followers of the Tao.
As instruments of evil, they are spurned by good leaders,
Being used with calm restraint only when no other choice prevails.
A good leader does not regard victory with rejoicing,
For to delight in victory is to delight
in the slaughter of people.
To delight in slaughter is to fail
in one's purpose.
In ancient social custom -
The left is the place of honor
for ceremonies at home.
At war, the place of honor is at the right.
Thus,
Good omen and happy occasions favor the left.
Ill omen and such sad occasions as
funeral rites, favor the right.
Observe then with grief and sorrow the slaughter
accompanying victory of arms, for,
Victory of arms and funeral ceremony
truly share the same rite."
- Translated by
Alan B Taplow, 1982, Chapter 31
Translated by Eva Wong 
Translated by Philip Ivahoe
By James Miller
Translated by Stephen Bokencamp
By Alexander and Annellen Simpkins
Translated by Thomas Cleary
By Livia Kohn
"Sharp weapons are inauspicious instruments.
Everyone dislikes them.
Hence, those who follow the way of Dao avoid using them.
In times of peace, a person of virtue favors the left side.
Only during war does the right side become the preferred choice.
A weapon is an instrument of bad omen.
It is never the favorite object of the man of virtue.
Even as the last resort when military force has to be used,
It should be used with great restraint and equanimity.
In victory, one should not glorify the war.
He who glorifies war must be a bloodthirsty person.
No bloodthirsty person has ever won universal respect or approval.
The left side represents good auspices.
The right side augurs bad omen.
The second-in-command resides on the left side, whereas the commander-in-chief
resides on the right.
In conducting the war, the mood is as dark and solemn as that of a funeral rite.
During the conflict, you should still mourn for the heavy casualties you have
inflicted.
In victory, you should bury the dead with appropriate ceremony."
- Translated by
Han Hiong Tan, Chapter 31
Tao Te Ching
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching
Translated by Livia Kohn
Dao De Jing: The Book of the Way
"Weapons of war are omens of doom,
To be loathed by every living thing
And shunned by those who keep the Way.
Presiding at court the leader honours the left.
Resorting to war he honours the right.
But weapons are never the leader’s choice.
Weapons of war are omens of doom,
Not to be used unless compelled.
Above all, with mind and heart unstirred,
To arms give no glory:
For to glory in arms
Is to sing and rejoice in the slaughter of men.
And singers in praise of the slaughter of men
Shall not in this world gain their ends.
Thus the left is for deeds that are blessed,
The right is for deeds that bring death.
To the left the minor commander,
To the right the chief general:
Placed for the rites to honour the dead.
When the slaughter is great,
Let the leader come forth to keen for the slain;
The victory won,
To perform solemn rites in mourning the day."
- Translated by
Moss Roberts,
2001, Chapter 31
By Alexander Simkins. 
By Derek Lin.
By Ming-Dao Deng.
By Benjamin Hoff.
By Ming-Dao Deng.
Translated by Thomas Cleary.
"Even successful arms, among all implements, are
unblessed. All men come to detest them. Therefore the one who follows Dao does
not rely on them. Arms are of all tools unblessed, they are not the implements
of a wise man. Only as a last resort does he use them. In propitious affairs the
place of honor is the left, but in unpropitious affairs we honor the right.
Peace and quietude are esteemed by the wise man, and even when victorious he
does not rejoice, because rejoicing over a victory is the same as rejoicing over
the killing of men. If he rejoices over killing men, do you think he will ever
really master the Empire? The strong man while at home esteems the left as
the place of honor, but when armed for war it is as though he esteems the right
hand, the place of less honor. Thus a funeral ceremony is so arranged. The place
of a subordinate army officer is also on the left and the place of his superior
officer is on the right. The killing of men fills multitudes with sorrow; we
lament with tears because of it, and rightly honor the victor as if he was
attending a funeral ceremony."
- Translated by Dwight Goddard, Chapter 31
By Hu Xuzehi
Annotated translation by Victor Mair 
By Ha Poong Kim
By Hans-Georg Moeller 
By Roger T. Ames and David T. Hall
By Wes Burgess
By Arthur Waley
"Armies are tools of violence;
They cause men to hate and fear.
The sage will not join them.
His purpose is creation;
Their purpose is destruction.
Weapons are tools of violence,
Not of the sage;
He uses them only when there is no choice,
And then calmly, and with tact,
For he finds no beauty in them.
Whoever finds beauty in weapons
Delights in the slaughter of men;
And who delights in slaughter
Cannot content himself with peace.
So slaughters must be mourned
And conquest celebrated with a funeral."
- Interpolated by
Peter Merel, 1992,
Chapter 31
Walking the Way: 81 Zen Encounters with the Tao Te Ching
The Tao of Zen
Tao Te Ching: Zen Teachings on the Taoist Classic
Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face: Scripture, Ritual, and Iconographic Exchange in Medieval China
"Fine weapons are none the less ill-omened things.
(People despise them, therefore,
Those in possession of the Tao do not depend on them.)
That is why, among people of good birth,
In peace the left-hand side is the place of honour,
But in war this is reversed and the right-hand side is the place of honour.
(Weapons are ill-omened things, which the superior man should not depend on.
When he has no choice but to use them,
The best attitude is to retain tranquil and peaceful.)
The Quietist, even when he conquers, does not regard weapons as lovely things.
For to think them lovely means to delight in them,
And to delight in them means to delight in the slaughter of men.
And he who delights in the slaughter of men
Will never get what he looks for out of those that dwell under heaven.
(Thus in happy events,
The left-hand side is the place of honour, in grief and mourning,
The right-hand is the place of honour.
The lieutenant general stands on the left,
While the supreme general stands on the right,
Which is arranged on the rites of mourning.)
A host that has slain men is received with grief and mourning;
He that has conquered in battle is received with rites of mourning."
- Translated by
Arthur Waley,
1934, Chapter 31
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Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching
Tao Te Ching
Commentary, Interpretations, Research Tools, Resources
Chapter 31
Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition
By Jonathan Star. Translation, commentary and research tools. New York, Jeremy P. Tarcher, Penguin, 2001. Concordance, tables, appendices, 349 pages. A
new rendition of the Tao Te Ching is provided, then a verbatim translation with
extensive notes. Detailed tables for each verse provide line number, all
the Chinese characters, Wade-Giles romanization, and a list of meanings for
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Yellow Bridge
Dao De Jing Comparison Table, Chapter 31 Provides side by side comparisons of translations of the Tao Te
Ching by James Legge,
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the Chapter are on the left; place your cursor over the Chinese characters to
see the Pinyin romanization of the Chinese character and a list of meanings.
Center Tao.
Includes a commentary on each Chapter.
The Complete Works of Lao Tzu: Tao Teh Ching & Hua Hu Ching
Tao Te Ching Commentaries - Google Search
Translators'
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Tao Te Ching: A
Bibliography and Index of Translations on the Web
Chapter 31 in the
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Taoist Commentaries by Trey Smith. The
Rambling Taoists are Trey Smith and Scott Bradley.
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Lao-tzu's Taoteching
Reading Lao Tzu: A Companion to the Tao Te Ching with a New Translation
Dao De Jing: A Philosophical Translation
Tao of
Inner Peace. By Diane Dreher. Revised Edition. New York, Plume, Penguin,
2000. Notes, 318 pages.
Thematic Index to the
81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching
Lao Tzu: Te-Tao Ching - A New Translation Based on the Recently Discovered Ma-wang-tui
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Gushen Grove Notebooks for the Tao Te Ching
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