Laozi · Complete work
Chapter 22
Chapter 22 of 81. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Classical Chinese
曲則全，枉則直，窪則盈，弊則新，少則得，多則惑。是以聖人抱一為天下式。不自見，故明；不自是，故彰；不自伐，故有功；不自矜，故長。夫唯不爭，故天下莫能與之爭。古之所謂曲則全者，豈虛言哉！誠全而歸之。
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the original source for fidelity, modern clarity, beauty, symbolism, and structure.
Bent, then whole; crooked, then straight; hollow, then filled; worn, then renewed; having little, then gaining; having much, then bewildered.Therefore the sage embraces the One and becomes the pattern under Heaven.Not displaying himself, he is luminous;Not asserting himself, he shines forth;Not vaunting himself, he has achievement;Not exalting himself, he endures.Only because he does not contend can none under Heaven contend with him.The ancient saying, Bent, then whole—could these be empty words?Truly, wholeness returns to him.
OpenTao
Complete CC BY 4.0 translation made directly from the received Chinese text; source line structure preserved.
Bent, you become whole; crooked, you become straight; hollow, you are filled; worn out, you are renewed; with little, you gain; with much, you lose your way.This is why the sage holds the One and becomes a pattern for the world.He does not put himself on display, and so he is seen clearly;he does not insist that he is right, and so he stands out;he does not boast of what he has done, and so his achievement is acknowledged;he does not exalt himself, and so he endures as a leader.Precisely because he does not contend, no one in the world can contend with him.The ancients said: “Bent, and therefore whole.” Could that have been empty talk?Truly, wholeness comes home to him.
James Legge (1891)
Complete public-domain translation made directly from the original source text.
1. The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the worn out, new. He whose (desires) are few gets them; he whose (desires) are many goes astray.
2. Therefore the sage holds in his embrace the one thing (of humility), and manifests it to all the world. He is free from self-display, and therefore he shines; from self-assertion, and therefore he is distinguished; from self-boasting, and therefore his merit is acknowledged; from self-complacency, and therefore he acquires superiority. It is because he is thus free from striving that therefore no one in the world is able to strive with him.
3. That saying of the ancients that 'the partial becomes complete' was not vainly spoken:--all real completion is comprehended under it.