Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Line by Line - Verse 60, Line 1

Governing a great state is like cooking small fish.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Ruling the country is like cooking a small fish.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Ruling a large country is like cooking a small fish
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Being a leader is like cooking a small fish;
get right with Tao,
and it's quick and easy.

~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
This is one of the more famous and oft-quoted lines from the TTC. Here are three explanations of it from Red Pine's book.
Li Hsi-Chai (fl. 1167): For the sage, ruling a state is a minor affair, like cooking a small fish.

Ho-Shang Kung (d. 159 BC?): If you cook a small fish, don't remove its entrails, don't scrape off its scales, and don't stir it. If you do, it will turn to mush. Likewise, too much government makes those below rebel, and too much cultivation makes vitality wither.

Han Fei (d. 233 BC): In cooking a small fish, too much turning ruins it. In governing a great state, too much reform embitters the people. Thus a ruler who possesses the Way values inaction over reform.
To view the Index page for this series to see what you may have missed or would like to read again, go here.

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