Volume II — Te

Governing a Great State

Chapter 60 of the Tao Te Ching

治大國若烹小鮮。以道蒞天下，其鬼不神；非其鬼不神，其神不傷人；非其神不傷人，聖人亦不傷人。夫兩不相傷，故德交歸焉。

Governing a great state is like cooking a small fish. When the Tao is used to guide the world, spirits lose their potency. Not that spirits lose their potency, but their power does not harm people. Not that their power does not harm people, but the sage also does not harm people. When neither harms the other, virtue returns and accumulates in both.

Commentary

This verse uses the famous metaphor of cooking small fish to describe proper governance, then extends the principle to the relationship between the spiritual and human realms. "Governing a great state is like cooking a small fish"—zhi da guo ruo peng xiao xian (治大國若烹小鮮). Xiao xian (小鮮) is small, fresh fish—delicate creatures that are easily destroyed by excessive handling. When cooking small fish, one does not constantly stir or turn them; too much handling causes them to fall apart. Similarly, governing a great state requires light touch, minimal interference, allowing natural processes to unfold without constant intervention. "When the Tao is used to guide the world, spirits lose their potency"—yi dao li tian xia, qi gui bu shen (以道蒞天下，其鬼不神). Li (蒞) is to preside over, to govern, to be present in a place of authority. Gui (鬼) are spirits of the dead, ghosts, the unseen forces that can affect the living. Shen (神) here means supernatural, miraculous, having power beyond the ordinary. When governance accords with the Tao, the disruptive spiritual forces lose their capacity to disturb. "Not that spirits lose their potency, but their power does not harm people"—fei qi gui bu shen, qi shen bu shang ren (非其鬼不神，其神不傷人). The verse corrects a possible misunderstanding: the ghosts still have power, but that power no longer manifests as harm. The spirits are not destroyed but harmonized. "Not that their power does not harm people, but the sage also does not harm people"—fei qi shen bu shang ren, sheng ren yi bu shang ren (非其神不傷人，聖人亦不傷人). Another correction: it is not merely that the spirits refrain from harm—the sage also refrains from harm. The two restraints are connected. "When neither harms the other, virtue returns and accumulates in both"—fu liang bu xiang shang, gu de jiao gui yan (夫兩不相傷，故德交歸焉).

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

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