Volume II — Te

Govern the State with Rectitude

Chapter 57 of the Tao Te Ching

以正治國，以奇用兵，以無事取天下。吾何以知其然哉？以此：天下多忌諱，而民彌貧；民多利器，國家滋昏；人多伎巧，奇物滋起；法令滋彰，盜賊多有。故聖人云：我無為，而民自化；我好靜，而民自正；我無事，而民自富；我無欲，而民自樸。

Govern the state with rectitude. Wage war with surprise. Win the world through non-interference. How do I know this is so? By this: When there are many prohibitions, the people grow poorer. When the people have many weapons, the state falls into chaos. When people have many skills, strange things proliferate. When laws are more prominent, thieves and robbers multiply. Therefore the sage says: I practice non-action, and the people transform themselves. I love stillness, and the people correct themselves. I have no affairs, and the people prosper by themselves. I have no desires, and the people become simple by themselves.

Commentary

This verse contrasts three modes of action and reveals the superiority of the third. "Govern the state with rectitude"—yi zheng zhi guo (以正治國). Zheng (正) is straightforward, correct, upright—the direct method of good governance. "Wage war with surprise"—yi qi yong bing (以奇用兵). Qi (奇) is unusual, unexpected, strategic—the indirect method of successful warfare. "Win the world through non-interference"—yi wu shi qu tian xia (以無事取天下). Wu shi (無事) is having no affairs, no meddling, no busy intervention—the method of the Tao. "How do I know this is so? By this"—wu he yi zhi qi ran zai? yi ci (吾何以知其然哉？以此). What follows is the evidence: observation of what happens when governance departs from non-interference. "When there are many prohibitions, the people grow poorer"—tian xia duo ji hui, er min mi pin (天下多忌諱，而民彌貧). Each prohibition restricts natural activity; accumulating restrictions creates poverty because people cannot do what they naturally would do. "When the people have many weapons, the state falls into chaos"—min duo li qi, guo jia zi hun (民多利器，國家滋昏). Li qi (利器) is sharp instruments, tools of advantage, but also weapons. When everyone is armed with instruments of advantage, everyone seeks advantage over everyone else. "When people have many skills, strange things proliferate"—ren duo ji qiao, qi wu zi qi (人多伎巧，奇物滋起). Cleverness produces novelty; novelty disrupts simplicity. "When laws are more prominent, thieves and robbers multiply"—fa ling zi zhang, dao zei duo you (法令滋彰，盜賊多有). The more laws, the more lawbreakers. Every new prohibition creates a new category of crime. "I do nothing, and the people transform themselves"—wo wu wei, er min zi hua (我無為，而民自化). The sage's method is the opposite of intervention. By not imposing, the sage allows natural transformation to occur. "I love stillness, and the people correct themselves"—wo hao jing, er min zi zheng (我好靜，而民自正).

The full commentary continues with deeper analysis of internal cultivation, classical perspectives, and cross-references. Read the complete chapter →

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