Source

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。

Glossary

一

the One

伐

boast

全

whole

式

model

曲

bent

爭

contend

矜

arrogant

Translation Notes

1. "what is bent becomes whole; what is warped becomes straight; what is low becomes full; what is worn becomes new" (曲則全，枉則直，窪則盈，弊則新) — Alternatives considered: more abstract: “yielding preserves wholeness…depletion yields renewal,” · more literal: “bent then whole; warped then straight…” · Chose present rendering because Maintaining the proverb-like parallelism in English is crucial for an aphoristic text; the selected phrasing keeps cadence and conceptual layering without expanding the clause.
2. "Having little leads to attainment; having much leads to confusion." (少則得，多則惑) — Alternatives considered: “little yields gain; much yields delusion,” · “little is enough to get it; too much leads to being misled.” · Chose present rendering because English “attainment/confusion” keeps the philosophical contrast and preserves the aphoristic closure without over-specifying objects.
3. "embraces the One" (抱一) — Alternatives considered: “holds fast to unity,” · “takes the One as his focus,” · Chose present rendering because A capitalized “One” signals the cosmological-ethical role of 一 within the Daodejing corpus.
4. "does not boast, and so has merit" (不自伐，故有功) — Alternatives considered: “does not attack (himself/others), and so…” (too literal and misaligned) · “does not cut down, and so…” (semantically off) · Chose present rendering because The translation prioritizes the moral-psychological sense supplied by context and parallelism.
5. "He does not contend, and so none in all under heaven is able to contend with him" (夫唯不爭，故天下莫能與之爭) — Alternatives considered: “because he does not contend, therefore none under heaven can contend for/against him,” · “the result is that no one…can contend.” · Chose present rendering because English needs an explicit subject/object link to preserve the paradox’s intended directionality.
6. "Truly, to be wholly whole is to return to it" (誠全而歸之) — Alternatives considered: “Truly, to be wholly whole is to return to the Dao,” · “Truly, wholeness completes itself and returns to One.” · Chose present rendering because The chosen rendering stays close to the syntactic ellipsis, while the footnote supplies the principal interpretive options.

Footnotes

1. "What is bent becomes whole" (曲則全) — The opening chain plays on the Daoist reversal whereby apparent deformation or deviation yields preservation. The phrase is widely cited within the reception of the Daodejing as a compact emblem of “using yield/curvature to achieve integrity/wholeness.” The received Daodejing reads 曲則全; variants in transmitted editions and some early manuscript witnesses can affect the exact ordering of terms but not the overall structure of the paradox. For interpretive tradition: Wang Bi (王弼) glosses 全 as perfect completeness achieved through return to the Way; later commentators generally take 曲 as yielding or accommodating rather than simply “bending” in a mechanical sense. (No specific Du Yu/Kong Yingda/Jang Bojun on this micro-lemma is unanimous in the sources I can confirm from standard apparatus; see also note 9 below for “抱一” and the sage-model framing.)
2. "what is warped becomes straight" (枉則直) — 枉 (wǎng) indicates bending, curving, or being set askew; the clause should be read as another instance in the series of reversals (曲/枉 → 全/直). While some readers take 直 (zhí) as mere “straightness,” Daoist usage commonly reorients such terms toward normative alignment—rectification achieved through not insisting on rigid self-identity. Early commentarial traditions typically pair 曲/枉 with non-competitive yielding as the mechanism of eventual rectitude.
3. "what is low becomes full" (窪則盈) — 窪 (wā) denotes a low-lying hollow/depression. The semantic force is not only spatial but receptive: emptiness/hollowness is able to receive, and thus becomes “full.” English “low” captures the physical image; “full” translates 盈 (yíng). However, the conceptual point is capacity-through-receptivity rather than mere physical filling.
4. "what is worn becomes new" (弊則新) — 弊 (bì) commonly denotes worn-out, tattered, depleted, or damaged. The clause 弊則新 therefore conveys an anti-worldly pattern: depletion can become the condition for renewal. Some editions and manuscript traditions preserve the same characters, and the received text’s parallelism strongly motivates a translation that keeps the time/transformative contrast (worn → new).
5. "Having little leads to attainment; having much leads to confusion." (少則得，多則惑) — 少則得，多則惑 is deliberately open-ended. 少 (shǎo) and 多 (duō) could refer to material possessions, desires, verbal activity, knowledge, or administrative entanglements; 得 (dé) may mean “to attain/gain,” including attainment of efficacy or alignment with the Way; 惑 (huò) can mean confusion, perplexity, delusion, or being led astray. The Daodejing’s style tends to keep these objects unspecified so that the reader can map them onto multiple domains (self-cultivation, governance, epistemology). Interpretively, most commentators treat 得 as resulting benefit and 惑 as the cognitive/moral confusion produced by excessive accumulation or insistence.
6. "Therefore, the Sage embraces the One and serves as the model for all under heaven." (聖人抱一為天下式) — 聖人 (shèngrén) is a technical term in early Daoist discourse denoting the paradigmatic perfected person whose inward alignment and outward governance embody the Dao; it is not merely a Confucian “sage.” 抱一 (bào yī) is frequently glossed as “embracing/holding to unity,” i.e., maintaining undivided concentration and integrity aligned with primordial oneness. 天下式 (tiānxià shì) combines 天下 (“all under Heaven,” i.e., the world in political-civilizational scope) with 式 (“model, pattern, standard”). Thus the clause reads the Sage as a normative exemplar for universal governance.
7. "He does not display himself, and so is clear" (不自見，故明) — 不自見 (bù zì xiàn) uses 見 as “to appear/show oneself,” not “to know.” The causal pattern is fixed by 故 (“and therefore”): self-display is said to obstruct clarity; refraining enables brightness/clarity (明). The clause therefore forms part of an accumulative moral psychology: self-assertion creates opacity; non-display yields illumination.
8. "he does not deem himself right, and so is manifest" (不自是，故彰) — 不自是 (bù zì shì) means not taking oneself as right/correct—i.e., not self-righteous insistence. The resulting term 彰 (zhāng) connotes manifestness/illustrious visibility. English pairs “clear/manifest” were chosen to maintain the tight parallelism between 明 and 彰 and to avoid collapsing both into an undifferentiated “clear.”
9. "He does not boast, and so has merit" (不自伐，故有功) — 不自伐 translates 伐 (fá). Although 伐 can mean “to attack” or “to cut down,” in this context (as part of a self-refusal set parallel to 不自矜 and 不自見/是) it is best read metaphorically as self-praise/boasting—“to strike oneself,” i.e., to display one’s own accomplishments aggressively. Hence the causal outcome: 有功 (“has merit,”功 as merit/service) is achieved precisely through not boasting of it.
10. "he does not pride himself, and so endures" (不自矜，故長) — 不自矜 (bù zì jīn): 矜 is haughty pride/self-congratulation in this patterned context (parallel to boasting/vaunting). The causal result 長 (cháng) is ambiguous in isolation—endure, last, become long-lasting; or excel/surpass/be senior. Given the set “clarity/manifest/merit/endures,” and the parallel to Daoist longevity themes (including extended durability rather than social status), “endures” fits best. Some commentators instead take 長 as “grows/prevails,” but in this catalogue the semantic of lasting/staying power remains primary.
11. "It is precisely because he does not contend that none in all under heaven is able to contend with him." (夫唯不爭，故天下莫能與之爭) — 夫唯 (fú wéi) is an emphatic turn: “it is precisely because…that…” The sentence’s logic is paradoxical: non-contention (不爭) yields unbeatable supremacy. “天下莫能與之爭” (天下莫能與之爭) is a standard construction where 莫能 means “none is able,” and 與之 indicates contesting with him/that (the intended reference is the Sage, not an abstract principle). The translator’s “none…is able to contend with him” follows this referential direction.
12. "The ancient saying, “What is bent becomes whole”—how could it be empty words?" (古之所謂…豈虛言哉) — 古之所謂 introduces an authority claim by invoking inherited saying(s). The rhetorical question 豈虛言哉! (“how could it be empty words?”) rejects skepticism and converts proverb-like paradox into empirically trustworthy teaching. In translation, the exclamation and interrogative force are important: too neutral a rendering (“surely…”) risks weakening the polemical insistence against treating the maxim as mere cleverness.
13. "Truly, to be wholly whole is to return to it." (誠全而歸之) — 誠全而歸之 is syntactically elliptical. 誠 (chéng) can mean “truly/indeed,” but also has the stronger sense of “being real in practice” (i.e., actual wholeness, not nominal wholeness). 歸之 (“return to it”) uses 之 as a compressed referent: it may point back to 全/wholeness, to the maxim itself, or to the Way implied by the sage’s embrace of the One (抱一). Because earlier clauses explicitly locate the sage in unity (“抱一”), many translators and commentators take 歸之 as “return to the Dao/One” behind the maxim; others take it more immediately as “return to wholeness.” The translation here chooses “return to it,” leaving the referent inferential while remaining faithful to the original’s compression. If a version-specific apparatus is required, a philological note should specify which interpretive tradition a given edition follows.
14. "Sage" (聖人) — On translation of 聖人: English “Sage” (capitalized) distinguishes Daoist usage from Confucian 聖人 (often “sage” in Confucian classics). In Daoist contexts, the perfected person is defined less by social ritual expertise and more by inward alignment with the Dao and consequent “natural” governance. Many modern editions keep “Sage” capitalized for this quasi-technical sense.
15. "all under heaven" (天下) — 天下 (tiānxià) is a political-civilizational expression meaning “the realm/world under Heaven,” i.e., the totality of human governance ordered by the cosmic order (Heaven). It is not limited to literal geography; it functions as a shorthand for universal rule within early Chinese political thought. In translation, “all under heaven” is conventional and typically lowercased in mid-scale style unless a house style capitalizes “Heaven.”

Glossary References

一(One)

the One · A Daoist technical/cosmological concept meaning undivided unity; in this passage tied to the Sage’s model function (聖人抱一為天下式).

曲(bent/yielding)

bent · In context, not merely geometric curvature but Daoist yielding/deformation that paradoxically preserves wholeness (曲則全).

抱一

embraces the One · Holding to unity/oneness as inward concentration and ontological alignment.

天下式

model for all under heaven · 天下: universal scope of governance; 式: model/standard/exemplar.

不自見/不自是/不自伐/不自矜

does not display himself / does not deem himself right / does not boast / does not pride himself · A patterned set of self-refusals; each refusal yields a corresponding positive outcome through 故.

不爭

does not contend · Daoist non-contention; in this passage treated as the basis for invincibility within contest.

功

merit · 功 here is “merit/service,” not simply “work.” The clause contrasts merit achieved without boasting. ---

Context

This passage is from the received text of the Daodejing, chapter 22, traditionally attributed to Laozi and usually situated in the late Spring and Autumn or, more cautiously, the Warring States intellectual milieu. It belongs to early Daoist political-philosophical writing, though the text is composite and its exact date and authorship remain debated. The passage articulates a characteristic Daoist paradox: what appears bent, lowly, worn out, or diminished is precisely what becomes preserved, fulfilled, renewed, or effective. It culminates in an ideal portrait of the sage-ruler who governs by non-assertion and non-contention. Historically, this reflects a broader period of intense reflection on rulership, order, self-cultivation, and the failure of competitive political culture in early China.

The passage presumes several foundational concepts of early Chinese thought. "聖人" refers not merely to a morally good person but to the paradigmatic sage whose personal cultivation and political efficacy align with the Dao. "抱一" invokes the important notion of "the One" as unity, integrity, or undivided alignment with the fundamental principle underlying the world; it can carry cosmological, ethical, and meditative overtones. "為天下式" presents the sage as a "model" or "pattern" for all under Heaven, drawing on a culture in which exemplary comportment was politically normative. The final statement about not contending, and therefore being beyond rivalry, reflects a reversal of aristocratic and interstate values that prized visible achievement, prestige, and competitive success. The passage also resonates with the broader Chinese valuation of humility, receptivity, and emptiness as forms of potency, though here those values are expressed in distinctively Daoist, anti-assertive terms.

Themes

1. Paradox as truth The opening sequence presents a chain of reversals: the bent becomes whole, the hollow becomes full, the worn becomes new, the lesser gains, the excessive is confused. Apparent weakness or deficiency is reinterpreted as the condition for preservation and efficacy.
2. Humility and self-effacement The sage does not display himself, insist on his own rightness, boast of achievements, or pride himself on status. Moral and political effectiveness arise precisely through refraining from self-assertion.
3. Unity with the Dao "抱一" suggests maintaining undivided alignment with the One, a core ideal of early Daoist cultivation. The sage's authority derives not from force or argument but from attunement to an underlying principle.
4. Non-contention as supremacy The passage argues that one who does not contend cannot be defeated in contention. This is not mere passivity but a strategic and metaphysical claim that withdrawal from rivalry confers invulnerability.
5. The sage as political exemplar Although often read as self-cultivation discourse, the passage also offers a theory of rulership: the sage becomes a model for all under Heaven because he does not rule through ego, display, or competition.
6. Validation of ancient wisdom The closing rhetorical question appeals to the authority of antiquity, insisting that the saying "曲則全" is not empty rhetoric but a reliable principle confirmed by experience.

Idioms

1. 曲則全 A highly famous Laozi formula: "If bent, then whole" or "What is bowed is preserved intact." It encapsulates the Daoist principle that yielding and apparent deformation can be the means of survival and completion.
2. 枉則直 Literally, "If twisted/bent aside, then straight." It suggests that apparent deviation or self-abasement can ultimately lead to rectification. The phrase participates in the chapter's chain of paradoxes rather than functioning as an isolated moral slogan.
3. 窪則盈 Literally, "If low/hollow, then full." This reflects a core Daoist valuation of receptivity: what is low can receive, and what is empty can be filled.
4. 弊則新 Often rendered "Worn out, then renewed." The phrase suggests that depletion or decay can become the condition for regeneration. "弊" may imply worn, tattered, exhausted, or spent.
5. 少則得，多則惑 A concise contrast between simplicity and excess: little leads to attainment, while too much leads to confusion. This line has enduring significance in discussions of desire, knowledge, accumulation, and governance.
6. 抱一 A compact but important Daoist expression meaning "embrace the One" or "hold fast to unity." It is both a technical and evocative phrase, associated with integrity, concentration, cosmological unity, and non-dispersal.
7. 不自見，故明；不自是，故彰；不自伐，故有功；不自矜，故長 One of the Daodejing's most famous parallel formulations. Each clause shows that refusing self-display or self-assertion paradoxically leads to true brightness, manifestness, merit, and enduring stature.
8. 夫唯不爭，故天下莫能與之爭 A classic statement of non-contention. Its force lies in the paradox that refraining from struggle makes one unbeatable, because rivalry requires an opponent willing to enter its terms.

Literary Devices

1. Paradox The passage is built from inversions of ordinary expectation. Weakness produces strength, diminution produces gain, and non-contention produces invincibility. This is a hallmark of Laozi's style and thought.
2. Serial parallelism The opening six clauses and the later four "不自...故..." clauses are tightly patterned, creating rhythmic authority and making the argument memorable.
3. Antithesis Pairs such as "少則得，多則惑" sharpen the contrast between Daoist simplicity and worldly excess. The concise opposition gives gnomic force to the teaching.
4. Anaphoric negation The repeated "不自" in the sage-description accumulates moral emphasis through patterned refusal: not self-seeing, not self-righting, not self-boasting, not self-priding.
5. Causal progression The repeated "故" links attitudes to outcomes, presenting Daoist ethics not as arbitrary commands but as reliable causal principles.
6. Rhetorical question The line "豈虛言哉" rejects skepticism and heightens the authoritative close. It turns the ancient saying into a tested truth rather than a merely clever formulation.
7. Appeal to antiquity By invoking "古之所謂", the text anchors its paradoxical wisdom in ancient precedent, a common persuasive strategy in early Chinese philosophical writing.
8. Gnomic compression The passage condenses broad metaphysical and political claims into aphoristic clauses. Much of its interpretive difficulty and force comes from this extreme brevity.

Translation Challenges

1. 曲則全，枉則直，窪則盈，弊則新 — Each term is compact and semantically broad; the translator must choose between more physical renderings (bent, hollow, worn) and more abstract ones (yielding, lowly, exhausted). The causal particle "則" can mean "then," "thus," or indicate a general principle; consistency of rendering matters for rhythm. The paired results may sound obscure in English if translated too literally, but too much paraphrase weakens the aphoristic quality.
2. 少則得，多則惑 — "少" and "多" may refer to possessions, desires, words, knowledge, actions, or social entanglements; the line is deliberately open-ended. "得" could mean attain, gain, obtain, or even grasp the Way; the translator must decide how explicit to be. "惑" can be confused, deluded, perplexed, or led astray, each with different philosophical coloring.
3. 是以聖人抱一為天下式 — "抱一" is a key interpretive crux. It may suggest embracing unity, holding to the One, maintaining inward integration, or preserving concentration on the Dao. "天下式" can mean model, standard, pattern, or exemplar for all under Heaven. The phrase is political and normative, not merely personal. The translator must decide whether to capitalize "One" as a quasi-technical term and whether to capitalize "Heaven" in "all under Heaven" depending on house style.
4. 不自見，故明；不自是，故彰 — "自見" literally suggests showing oneself or seeing oneself; in context it usually means self-display rather than self-knowledge. "明" and "彰" are near-synonyms meaning bright, clear, manifest, illustrious; preserving their distinction without sounding repetitive is difficult. "不自是" means not taking oneself as right, not being self-righteous, or not insisting on one's own correctness; the translator must avoid flattening the ethical nuance.
5. 不自伐，故有功；不自矜，故長 — "伐" here means boast of one's exploits, not the more common sense "to attack" or "to cut down." "矜" may mean self-congratulate, pride oneself, vaunt oneself, or be arrogant; context favors self-exaltation. "長" is difficult: it can mean endure long, excel, have seniority, or become great. The translator must decide whether the stress is durability or acknowledged superiority.
6. 夫唯不爭，故天下莫能與之爭 — The sentence hinges on a paradox that can sound tautological if handled poorly. English wording must preserve the rhetorical twist. "與之爭" means contend with him/it, rival him/it, compete against him/it. The pronoun reference may be to the sage rather than to an abstract principle. "夫唯" adds emphatic framing; it may be rendered as "It is precisely because..." or simply absorbed into the sentence.
7. 古之所謂曲則全者，豈虛言哉！誠全而歸之。 — The phrase "古之所謂" invokes an ancient saying; the translator should preserve the appeal to inherited wisdom. "豈虛言哉" is rhetorical and emphatic: "how could it be empty words?" or "surely this is no idle saying." Tone matters. "誠全而歸之" is notoriously compressed. It can be read along the lines of "Truly, wholeness returns to such bending" or "It is in being truly whole that one returns to this." The syntax is elliptical and commentarial traditions differ on nuance. The final pronoun/object "之" is not fully explicit; it may refer back to wholeness, to the principle, or to the person who practices it.

Allusions

1. 聖人抱一 — Tao Te Ching Chapter 22
2. 曲則全 — Taoist paradox tradition

Technical Terms

1. 聖人 (Taoist philosophy): The Sage: perfected being who embodies Tao - Translation: Always capitalize; distinct from Confucian 'sage'
2. 抱一 (Taoist philosophy): Embracing the One: holding undivided cosmic unity - Translation: Key technical term; translate as 'embrace the One' with capitalization
3. 天下式 (Taoist philosophy): Model for the world: the sage as embodiment of natural order - Translation: Render as 'model for the world' with cosmic connotations

Ambiguous Terms

1. 長 — 80% confidence - Possible meanings: `to endure (verb)` · `to lead (verb)` · `long-lasting (adjective)` - Resolution: Based on parallel structure ('故有功'), meaning 'endures' or 'grows' fits best
2. 見 — 95% confidence - Possible meanings: `to appear (xiàn)` · `to see (jiàn)` - Resolution: In '不自見', reading xiàn ('show oneself') required by contrast with '明' (clarity)

Glossing Notes

Foundational Taoist text using paradoxical structures (e.g., 'bent→whole'). Translation must: 1) Preserve philosophical paradoxes 2) Capitalize key terms (Way, Sage, One) 3) Maintain terse, rhythmic style 4) Note self-referential conclusion ('古之所謂') reinforces textual authority.

Translation Principles

1. Preserve the serial parallelism of both the opening paradoxes and the later "不自...故..." sequence; these patterned clauses are central to the passage's force.
2. Do not over-explain the paradoxes within the translation itself. Keep the wording concise and aphoristic, reserving fuller interpretation for notes if needed.
3. Render key Daoist terms consistently and thoughtfully, especially "聖人", "抱一", and "天下". If using technical choices such as "the Sage" or "the One", maintain them throughout.
4. Distinguish related but non-identical terms such as "明" and "彰", or "伐" and "矜", so that the parallelism does not collapse into redundant English.
5. Preserve the causal logic marked by "則" and "故". The passage argues that certain modes of conduct lead reliably to certain outcomes.
6. Maintain the political as well as personal dimension. The sage here is not only a private adept but also a model for "all under Heaven".
7. Handle the closing sentence with caution and, if necessary, annotate it. "誠全而歸之" is syntactically compressed and should not be translated with false certainty if an interpretive note is warranted.

Segmentation

1. 曲則全，枉則直，窪則盈，弊則新，少則得，多則惑。 `sentence`
2. 是以聖人抱一為天下式。 `sentence`
3. 不自見，故明。 `clause`
4. 不自是，故彰。 `clause`
5. 不自伐，故有功。 `clause`
6. 不自矜，故長。 `clause` `ambiguous`
7. 夫唯不爭，故天下莫能與之爭。 `sentence`
8. 古之所謂曲則全者，豈虛言哉！ `sentence` `ambiguous`
9. 誠全而歸之。 `sentence` `ambiguous`

Segmentation Notes

Segmentation is guided by highly regular 虛詞 and clause markers: 則 (conditional/result parallelism), 是以/故 (causal/result chain), 夫/唯 (generalization + restriction), 所謂...者 (nominalization/appositive), and 豈...哉 (rhetorical negation). The final clauses '不自矜，故長' and '誠全而歸之' are flagged as ambiguous mainly due to interpretive uncertainty over semantic targets (especially 長 and the reference of 之).

Tone & Style

The overall tone is aphoristic, authoritative, and quietly paradoxical. The opening is gnomic and contemplative, presenting compressed truths in a balanced cadence. The middle shifts into normative exposition, describing the sage in a calm but morally forceful register. The final lines become more emphatic and confirmatory, using rhetorical question and assertion to insist that the paradox is not empty talk but a trustworthy principle.

The style is classic Daodejing prose: maxim-like, compressed, rhythmically balanced, and semantically layered. It uses short parallel clauses, minimal connective tissue, and high conceptual density. The register is elevated but not ornate; its power comes from economy, recurrence, and paradox rather than narrative development or elaborate argumentation.

None

Terminology

曲

bent

全

wholeness

一

the One

抱一

embrace the One

式

model

伐

boast

矜

be haughty

爭

contend

天下式

model for the world

Terminography Notes

For this chunk, the main risk is inconsistent handling of Taoist paradox/technical collocations: 曲/全 function as a fixed conceptual pair (曲→全) so 曲 is best rendered as “bent” and 全 as “wholeness”; likewise 一 in 抱一 is technical “the One,” so the collocation 抱一 should be kept together as “embrace the One.” Ethical self-negation terms in parallel (不自伐/不自矜/不爭) should use tightly coordinated action verbs (“boast,” “be haughty,” “contend”) to preserve the logic and internal echoes.