Tao Te Ching · Chapter 11 of 81

Chapter 11

modern paraphrase of James Legge's 1891 translation

Modern paraphrase. This is an AI-generated retelling in contemporary English (model: claude-opus-4-7). It is not the James Legge translation. The original is one click away.

Thirty spokes meet at one hub, but it is the empty space at the center that makes the wheel useful. Clay is shaped into a pot, but it is the hollow inside that makes the pot useful. Doors and windows are cut to make a room, but it is the empty space within that makes the room useful. So what is there gives advantage, and what is not there gives use.