Cultivating Insight and Intuition, Person, Family, Village, State, Cultivation,
Views,
Virtue, Observing the Tao, As Below So Above,
修觀
"One who is well established is not uprooted,
One who embraces firmly cannot be separated from,
Thus sons and grandsons shall perform sacrifices without interruptions.
In cultivating this in one's person,
The person's te becomes genuine;
In cultivating this in the family,
The family's te has more to spare (yü);
In cultivating this in the village,
The village's te grows strong;
In cultivating this in the state,
The state's te becomes abundant;
In cultivating this in the world (t'ien hsia),
The world's te becomes universal.
Therefore observe (kuan) the person by the person,
Observe the family by the family,
Observe the village by the village,
Observe the state by the state,
Observe the world by the world.
How do I know such is the case in the world?
Through this."
- Translated by
Ellen M. Chen,
Chapter 54
"What is firmly rooted cannot be pulled out;
What is tightly held in the arms will not slip loose;
Through this the offering of sacrifice by descendants will never come to an end.
Cultivate it in your person
And its virtue will be genuine;
Cultivate it in the family
And its virtue will be more than sufficient;
Cultivate it in the hamlet
And its virtue will endure;
Cultivate it in the state
And its virtue will abound;
Cultivate it in the empire
And its virtue will be pervasive.
Hence look at the person through the person;
Look at the family through the family;
Look at the hamlet through the hamlet;
Look at the state through the state;
Look at the empire through the empire.
How do I know that the empire is like that?
By means of this."
- Translated by
D. C. Lau, Chapter
54
By Alexander Simkins. 
By Derek Lin.
By Ming-Dao Deng.
By Benjamin Hoff.
By Ming-Dao Deng.
Translated by Thomas Cleary.
"What is planted right is not uprooted
what is held right is not ripped away
future generations worship it forever
cultivated in thee self virtue becomes real
cultivated in the family virtue multiplies
cultivated in the village virtue increases
cultivated in the state virtue prospers
cultivated in the world virtue abounds
thus view the self through the self
view the family through the family
view the village through the village
view the state through the state
view the world through the world
how do we know what the world is like through this"
- Translated by
Red Pine (Bill Porter),
Chapter 54
"What is firmly implanted cannot be pulled out;
What is firmly embraced cannot be lost.
As a result, the sacrifices of your descendants will never end.
If you cultivate it in your self, your virtue will be pure;
If you cultivate it in your family, your virtue will be overflowing;
If you cultivate it in your village, your virtue will be longlasting;
If you cultivate it in your state, your virtue will be rich and full;
If you cultivate it throughout the world, your virtue will be widespread.
Look at the family from the point of view of the family;
Look at the village from the point of view of the village;
Look at the state from the point of view of the state;
Look at the world from the point of view of the world.
How do I know the condition of the whole world?
By this."
- Translated by
Robert G. Hendricks,
Chapter 54
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
"The man who knows how to establish [virtue] never fears
its being uprooted.
The man who knows how to maintain [virtue] never fears its escaping him.
The sons and grandsons of such never rest in offering sacrifices to them.
The virtue of him who cultivates Tao in his own person is genuine.
The virtue of him who cultivates it in his own home is superabundant [in that he
has charity to spare for others].
The virtue of him who cultivates it in his village is enduring.
The virtue of him who cultivates it in his State is exuberant.
The virtue of him who cultivates it in the Empire is universal.
Wherefore I judge the persons of others by my own person;
the families of others by my own family;
the villages of others by my own village;
the States of others by my own State;
the Empire [of the ancient kings] by the Empire I rule to-day.
How do I know the acquiescence of the world [in the cultivation of Tao]?—By this
method."
- Translated by
Frederic Balfour,
Chapter 54
"When the foundation is laid well, and the mortar sound
The house will stand long
And your descendents will honor your memory
Cultivate virtue in yourself - see yourself - so it will be genuine
Cultivate it in your family - see your family - so it will spread
Cultivate it in your village - see your village - so it will have roots
Cultivate it in your nation - see your nation - so it will be abundant
Cultivate it in the world - see the world - so there will be nothingelse
How do I know the world works this way?
There is no how, I listen, and I know."
- Translated by
Ted Wrigley,
Chapter 54
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
"That which is firmly rooted,
is not easily torn from the ground;
just as that which is firmly grasped,
does not slip easily from the hand.
The virtue of the Tao is real,
if cultivated in oneself;
when loved in the family, it abounds;
when throughout the village, it will grow;
and in the nation, be abundant.
When it is real universally,
virtue is in all people.
All things are microcosms of the Tao;
the world a microcosmic universe,
the nation a microcosm of the world,
the village a microcosmic nation;
the family a village in microcosmic view,
and the body a microcosm of one's own family;
from single cell to galaxy."
- Translated by
Stan Rosenthal,
Chapter 54
"The well-rooted cannot be dislodged.
The tightly-held will not be lost.
Generation after generation
Worship their ancestors forever.
Cultivate it in yourself
Its virtue will be real.
Cultivate it in the family
Its virtue will overflow.
Cultivate it in the village
Its virtue will extend.
Cultivate it in the state
Its virtue will flourish.
Cultivate it in the realm
Its virtue will be all-pervasive.
Assess the self by considering yourself.
Assess the family by considering the family.
Assess the village by considering the village.
Assess the state by considering the state.
Assess the realm by considering the realm.
How do I know the realm is like that?
By means of this."
- Translated by
A. S. Kline,
Chapter 54
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
Tao Te Ching
Commentary, Interpretations, Research Tools, Resources
Chapter 54
Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition
Yellow Bridge
Dao De Jing Comparison Table, Chapter 54 Provides side by side comparisons of translations of the Tao Te
Ching by James Legge,
D. T. Suzuki, and Dwight Goddard. Chinese characters for each paragraph in
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
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Translators'
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Bibliography and Index of Translations on the Web
Chapter 54 in the
Rambling
Taoist Commentaries by Trey Smith. The
Rambling Taoists are Trey Smith and Scott Bradley.
By Hans-Georg Moeller. Columbia University Press, 2006, 176 pages.
Valley Spirit, Gu Shen,
Concept, Chapter 6
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
The largest collection of very nicely formatted complete versions of the Tao
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versions of the
Tao Te Ching available at this website. A variety of search methods and comparison methods are provided, as well a a detailed
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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
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
Texts (Classics of Ancient China)
Revealing the Tao Te Ching: In Depth Commentaries on an Ancient Classic.
By Hu Huezhi. Edited by Jesse Lee Parker. Seven Star Communications,
2006. 240 pages.
Cloud Hands Blog
Mike Garofalo writes about Taoism, Gardening, Taijiquan, Walking, Mysticism,
Qigong, and the Eight Ways.
Tao Te
Ching: A New Translation and Commentary. By Ellen Chen. Paragon
House, 1998. 274 pages.
The Tao
and Method: A Reasoned Approach to the Tao Te Ching. By Michael
Lafargue. New York, SUNY Press, 1994. 660 pages.
The
Whole Heart of Tao: The Complete Teachings from the Oral Tradition of Lao-Tzu.
By John Bright-Fey. Crane Hill Publishers, 2006. 376 pages.
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Index to Translators of the Tao Te Ching
The Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) circa 500 BCE