Translation

The river and sea can serve as king for a hundred valleys,
According to their success of being below.
Hence they can support a hundred valleys as king.
Yes, accordingly, a wise person,
Desiring to be above the people, must using speech be below.
Desiring to be ahead of the people, must using life be behind.
Yes, accordingly, a wise person,
Dwells above, yet the people are not weighed down,
Dwells ahead, yet the people are not impaired.
Yes, accordingly, all under heaven cheerfully push, yet never tire.
Using such non contention,
Is the reason that under heaven, nothing can contend with it.

river sea (big lake) of <conj.> so (therefore; as a result) can (be able to) do (act; act as; serve as; be; mean; support) hundred (numerous; all kinds of) valley ( grain) king (grand; great)?,

use (take; according to; so as to_and; as well as) his (its; their; they; that) good (satisfactory; be adept in ) below (down; under; lower; inferior) of ,

reason (cause; on purpose; hence) can (be able to) do (act; act as; serve as; be; mean; support) hundred (numerous; all kinds of) valley ( grain) king (grand; great).

<grm> is, yes <formal> this; that) use (take; according to; so as to_and; as well as) sage (wise man)

desire (wish; want; about to)upper (higher; superior) the people (civilian), certainly (must) use (take; so as to_and; as well as) speech (word; say; talk) below (down; under; lower; inferior) of.

desire (wish; want; about to) earlier (first) the people (civilian), certainly (must) use (take; so as to_and; as well as) body (life; oneself; personally) back (after) of .

<grm> is, yes<formal> this; that) use (take; so as to_and; as well as) sage (wise man)

get along (with sb., manage;<frml > dwell; live_place) upper (higher; superior) <conj.> (and / but (not) the people (civilian) no (not) weight (heavy; important; deep),

get along (with sb., manage;<frml > dwell; live_place) front (forward; before) <conj.> (and / but (not) the people (civilian) no (not) evil (harm; calamity; impair; kill).

<grm> is, yes <formal> this; that) use (take; according to; so as to_and; as well as) land under heaven happy ( cheerful, music) push (shove; grind; cut) <conj.> (and / but (not) no (not) be disgusted with (be tired of; be satisfied).

use (take; according to; so as to_and; as well as) his (its; their; they; that) no (not) contend (vie; strive; argue),

reason (cause; on purpose; hence) land under heaven no one (nothing) can (be able to) participate in (give; get along with, and) of contend (vie; strive; argue).

Original

江海之所以能为百谷王者，
以其善下之，
故能为百谷王。
是以圣人
欲上民，必以言下之。
欲先民，必以身后之。
是以圣人
处上而民不重，
处前而民不害。
是以天下乐推而不厌。
以其不争，
故天下莫能与之争。

Commentary, March 2011

D.C. Lau’s translation of this chapter left me with mixed feelings today. For example, Therefore, desiring to rule over the people, one must in one’s words humble oneself before them. I do see this playing out in real life, yet I also notice how people are drawn to those who are less than humble. Similarly, desiring to lead the people, One must, in one’s person, follow behind them does not address the traditional practice of a commander leading his troops in battle. Finally, the real world of ruling over people is based on contending and overcoming your opponent whether as a ‘alpha male’ in a gorilla tribe, or as president running for office.

Reading the literal Chinese may shed a more realistic light on this. It says, Yes, accordingly, a wise person, Desiring to be above the people, must using speech be below; Desiring to be ahead of the people, must using life be behind. This refers to a wise person, not just anyone, tyrant or otherwise. For me this speaks more of attitude than of practice. Desiring to be above the people versus Desiring to rule over the people. Rising above in the sense of virtue, integrity, self honesty, compassion, and not ruling over as D.C. Lau translated it. Certainly, these qualities help one actually ‘ruling over the people’ or ‘leading the people’, but this is secondary.

I find a closer fit lies in a sense of governing or stewardship, not ruling over. The best stewardship is possible only when one’s personal character is ‘above‘, which is closer to the point of this chapter. This chapter’s guidance helped support my “be patient and let it unfold” approach to raising my children. It worked wonderfully well. Rather than ‘ruling over’ my kids, I was more of a shadowy presence. I provided a pathway for them to follow, yet did not pressure them to walk it. As chapter 72 puts it, It is because you do not press down on them that they will not weary of the burden. It was to be their choice alone. Granted, I was approaching fifty years of age when I took on fatherhood. I could never have pulled off such a ‘taoist approach to parenting‘ had I been twenty years younger!

Perhaps all this applies more to small, family-tribe circumstances. Clearly this is one downside of leaving the hunter gatherer lifestyle for civilization. We’ve lost the readily available guidance of elders common in an ancestral tribal family structure. Interestingly, this chapter also speaks to the role a ‘God’ would play in peoples lives… Dwells above, yet the people are not weighed down, Dwells ahead, yet the people are not impaired. There you go: God equals mature parental figure; mature parent figure equals God. The idea of God is simply a natural outcome of what people long ago imagined to be an ideal parent (or perhaps an ideal ‘alpha-male’ tribal leader).