Dharma & Dao

Tao Te Ching · Chapter 80 of 81

Chapter 80

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.

  1. In a small country with few people, I would arrange things so that even if there were individuals with the talents of ten or a hundred, they would not be put to use. I would have the people take death seriously, yet not migrate far away to escape it.

  2. Though they had boats and carriages, they would have no reason to ride them; though they had armor and weapons, they would have no reason to display or use them.

  3. I would have the people go back to knotting cords instead of writing.

  4. They would find their plain food tasty, their simple clothes beautiful, their humble homes restful, and their everyday customs a source of joy.

  5. A neighboring state might be within sight, and the sounds of its roosters and dogs heard from ours, yet I would have the people grow old and die without ever visiting it.

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