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企者不立；跨者不行；自見者不明；自是者不彰；自伐者無功；自矜者不長。其在道也，曰：餘食贅行。物或惡之，故有道者不處。

Glossary

企

stand on tiptoe

伐

boast

惡

detest (project-mandated)

矜

arrogant

行

growths (lumps)

見

show (oneself)

跨

over-stride

道

the Way (project-mandated)

長

endure

Translation Notes

1. "Those who stand on tiptoe do not stand firm; those who overstride do not go far" (企者不立；跨者不行) — Alternatives considered: “Those who strain upward do not take their position / Those who step too far do not proceed” · “Those who force themselves upward cannot be stable / Those who overreach cannot get far” · Chose present rendering because The Daoist argumentative force depends on embodied strain and overextension; preserving the motion metaphors better conveys the text’s critique of unnatural effort.
2. "those who show themselves are not clear; those who deem themselves right are not manifest" (自見者不明；自是者不彰) — Alternatives considered: “Those who display themselves are not enlightened / Those who think themselves right are not recognized” · “Those who show themselves are not lucid / Those who approve of themselves are not evident” · Chose present rendering because The parallel sequence depends on graded evaluative predicates; using “clear/manifest” maintains the aphoristic parallelism and avoids collapsing 明/彰 into a single undifferentiated English term.
3. "those who boast of themselves win no merit; those who pride themselves do not endure" (自伐者無功；自矜者不長) — Alternatives considered: “self-praisers gain no功 / arrogant persons do not last” · “Those who brag about themselves achieve nothing / Those who are haughty cannot last” · Chose present rendering because “Boast” and “merit” preserve the Daoist emphasis on the failure of performative virtue to generate real功, while “endure” captures the temporal sense of 長 in this proverb-like context.
4. "From the perspective of the Way, these are called leftover food and superfluous growths" (其在道也，曰：餘食贅行) — Alternatives considered: “superfluous actions” (taking 行 as conduct) · “leftover food and useless practices” (flattening the bodily imagery) · Chose present rendering because The disgust effect is central; translating 贅行 with bodily excess better matches the pairing with 餘食 and keeps the phrase memorable and repellent rather than abstract.
5. "Creatures may well detest them. Therefore, one who possesses the Way does not abide in them." (物或惡之；故有道者不處) — Alternatives considered: “Things will detest them” (too universal) · “Creatures hate them” (possible, but “detest” chosen for project terminology) · “does not live them” (too awkward) · Chose present rendering because These choices preserve (i) the modal nuance of 或, (ii) the visceral meaning of 惡 as detestation, and (iii) the semantic force of 不處 as non-dwelling/refusal.

Footnotes

1. "the Way" (道；其在道也；有道者) — “the Way” renders 道 (dào), a core Daoist term denoting the governing process/principle of the cosmos and the normative pattern for right conduct. Within the present passage, 道 functions as a perspective from which the listed self-exalting behaviors are judged defective, since “one who possesses the Way” (有道者) does not “abide” (不處) in them. On the phraseology 其在道也，曰… (“as for their being with respect to the Way, [they are] called…”), see the discussion of Daoist evaluation language in standard commentarial tradition.
2. "Those who stand on tiptoe do not stand firm" (企；不立) — 企 (qǐ) describes a strained, unnatural upward stance—commonly glossed as “raising the heels” (舉踵也). The clause therefore criticizes effort that is externally forced rather than sustained by natural alignment. Du Yu (杜預, Chunqiu Jingzhuan Jijie) and Kong Yingda (孔穎達, Chunqiu Zuozhuan Zhengyi) do not comment on this specific Daoist wording, but the Shuo wen style of philological glosses (which underlie many later exegetical choices) treats 企 as tiptoe strain rather than ordinary standing.
3. "those who overstride do not go far" (跨；不行) — 跨 (kuà) evokes overextension—“crossing/striding” in a way that disrupts natural balance. In this parallel with 企 (tiptoe strain), 跨 should be understood as an exaggerated, unstable step that cannot travel far (不行 far in the sense of “not proceeding effectively”). The rhetoric is embodied: locomotion becomes an ethical metaphor for overreaching (為己) against the Way.
4. "those who show themselves are not clear" (自見；不明) — 自見 (zìjiàn) in 自見者 does not simply mean “to see oneself” but “to show oneself / make oneself conspicuous,” i.e., to display (appearance) as an ethical violation of humility. The predicate 不明 (bùmíng) means “not clear” in the sense of not being transparently aligned or lucid—self-display blocks genuine clarity. This is the Daoist critique of performative self-presentation.
5. "those who deem themselves right are not manifest" (自是；不彰) — 自是 (zìshì) is “to insist on being right,” adopting one’s own judgment as criterion. 不彰 (bùzhāng) means “not manifest / not made distinct,” suggesting that such self-certainty fails to produce the kind of recognizable, legitimate differentiation that genuine alignment with the Way would yield.
6. "those who boast of themselves win no merit" (自伐者；無功) — 自伐 (zìfá) is etymologically connected to 伐 as “strike/cut down,” but here it functions metaphorically for “boasting” (self-praise). The predicate 無功 (wúgōng) means “no merit/effect” (not merely “no achievement” but failure to generate genuine efficacy). The critique thus targets performative claims that substitute for real accomplishment.
7. "those who pride themselves do not endure" (自矜；不長) — 自矜 (zìjīn) centers on 矜, whose semantic core involves rigid self-holding and self-importance (often glossed philologically via a weapon-related graphic association in older lexicography). Hence 自矜者 denotes those whose pride is brittle and overbearing rather than benevolent. 不長 (bùzhǎng) should be taken in the “endure/sustain/flourish over time” sense (not spatial “be long”), matching the Daoist emphasis that arrogance cannot persist. The punctuation and parallelism with the preceding clauses support reading 不長 as a temporal failure.
8. "From the perspective of the Way, these are called leftover food and superfluous growths" (其在道也；餘食；贅行) — The frame 其在道也，曰… attributes the naming/valuation to the standpoint of 道: “as for their place with respect to the Way, they are called …”. 餘食 (yúshí) literally “leftover food,” but semantically carries “stale, unwanted, fit to be discarded,” intensifying the disgust metaphor. 贅行 (zhuìxíng) is difficult: 贅 (extra, superfluous; often with bodily/ugly excrescence connotations) strongly points toward a physical “lump/excrescence” image, while 行 can denote “growth/form” or “conduct.” The present translation chooses “superfluous growths” to preserve the visceral bodily repulsion implied by 餘食.
9. "Creatures may well detest them" (物或惡之；惡（wù）) — 物 (wù) can mean “things,” “creatures,” or the “myriad things.” Here, combined with 惡 (wù, “to detest/dislike”), it is best read as “creatures” (sentient beings capable of aversion), not inert objects. The modal adverb 或 (huò) is not strictly universal: “may well / tend to.” 惡 in the clause 物或惡之 should be read with wù pronunciation as a verb of disgust, aligning with the project’s terminology decision (“detest”).
10. "Therefore, one who possesses the Way does not abide in them" (有道者；不處) — 有道者 (yǒudàozhě) can be rendered “one who possesses the Way,” “one aligned with the Way,” or “one who embodies the Way.” In Daoist usage, it is typically an idealized moral-ontological status rather than a merely descriptive “wise person.” 不處 (bùchǔ) means not “remain/dwell” with something, implying refusal to settle into that mode of being (more than simply “does not do” the actions).
11. "餘食贅行" (贅行；行) — 贅行 is often discussed as an exegetical crux. Some older or modern readings take 行 as “conduct/actions,” yielding a sense like “superfluous conduct,” while others take 行 in a bodily sense as “growth/form.” The visceral parallel with 餘食 (leftover food) strongly favors the bodily excrescence interpretation, since 贅 already tends to bodily excess in many Daoist and early-medical lexical environments. The translation note above accordingly prioritizes “growths/excrescences” to preserve the disgust register.

Glossary References

道

the Way · Core Daoist concept; in this passage functions as the evaluative standpoint (“其在道也”) and as the status criterion (“有道者”).

惡（wù）

detest · Read as a verb of disgust/aversion in 物或惡之, not as moral “evil.”

自見

self-display / show oneself · In 自見者, emphasizes conspicuous presentation of the self rather than ordinary perception.

贅行

superfluous growths · A difficult phrase: 行 is ambiguous, but the translation prioritizes a bodily-excrescence reading to preserve the disgust imagery implied by 餘食.

不處

does not abide/dwell in · Indicates refusal to settle into these modes, not merely non-performance. ---

Context

This passage is from the received text of the Daodejing, conventionally chapter 24, traditionally attributed to Laozi and generally situated in the late Spring and Autumn or Warring States intellectual milieu, though the text likely took shape over time. It belongs to early Daoist philosophical discourse, responding to competitive self-assertion, moral display, and claims of achievement that were increasingly visible in the political culture of the age. The passage criticizes ostentatious conduct and self-advertisement, presenting them as violations of alignment with the Way.

The passage reflects a wider classical Chinese concern with comportment, bodily bearing, and the ethics of non-contention. Verbs such as 企 and 跨 invoke visible posture and movement, making social and moral critique concrete through embodied images: standing on tiptoe, striding unnaturally, displaying oneself, praising oneself. The final judgment, comparing such traits to leftover food and bodily excrescences, draws on visceral everyday disgust to express a value judgment recognizable within early Chinese moral and aesthetic culture. In Daoist terms, the ideal person avoids excess, artificiality, and self-promotion, preferring inconspicuous accord with the Way.

Themes

1. Humility over self-assertion Each clause condemns a form of self-exalting behavior: forcing oneself upward, overreaching, self-display, self-righteousness, self-boasting, and self-satisfaction. The passage presents humility not merely as social virtue but as a condition of genuine efficacy.
2. Naturalness versus artificial excess The text opposes strained, artificial conduct to what endures naturally. What is forced does not stand; what is overextended does not proceed. This reflects a central Daoist valuation of natural balance over deliberate exaggeration.
3. Critique of ego and performative virtue The sequence targets not only pride in the crude sense but also the desire to appear enlightened, correct, accomplished, or superior. It warns that public performance of virtue undermines real clarity and merit.
4. Alignment with the Way The concluding sentence shifts from behavioral observation to Daoist evaluation: from the standpoint of the Way, such excesses are treated as repellent accretions. One who is aligned with the Way therefore does not dwell in them.

Idioms

1. 自見者不明；自是者不彰；自伐者無功；自矜者不長 A highly memorable four-part sequence of balanced maxims condemning self-display, self-approval, self-boasting, and self-conceit. These lines are frequently cited as concise expressions of the Daoist critique of ego and ostentation.
2. 餘食贅行 A compact and difficult phrase comparing the condemned behaviors to leftover food and useless excrescences. It became a famous expression for things that are superfluous, ugly, or repellent. 行 here is often understood in the sense of bodily growths or excrescent appendages; some interpret the graph differently in transmitted traditions, so translators must decide whether to stress deformity, excess, or moral ugliness.
3. 有道者不處 A succinct formulation meaning that one who possesses or is aligned with the Way does not abide in such things. The phrase reflects a recurrent classical pattern in which the ideal sage is defined negatively by what he does not cling to.

Literary Devices

1. Parallelism The passage is built from a sequence of short, syntactically parallel clauses. This parallelism creates rhythmic authority and sharpens the cumulative moral critique.
2. Embodied metaphor Physical actions such as standing on tiptoe and striding with legs spread are used metaphorically for social and ethical overreaching. The body becomes the vehicle for philosophical argument.
3. Crescendo structure The text moves from outward posture and locomotion to inward attitudes of self-regard, then culminates in an explicit evaluative judgment from the standpoint of the Way. This progression intensifies the argument.
4. Analogy through disgust imagery The comparison to leftover food and bodily excrescences uses visceral aversion to make an abstract ethical point concrete and memorable.
5. Gnomic aphorism Each clause is compressed into proverb-like form, characteristic of the Daodejing's style. The brevity invites multiple layers of interpretation while preserving rhetorical force.

Translation Challenges

1. 企者不立；跨者不行 — The verbs 企 and 跨 are concrete but metaphorical. 企 commonly suggests standing on tiptoe or straining upward; 跨 suggests straddling or taking exaggerated strides. A translator must decide how literal to be while preserving the implied criticism of forced effort and overextension. The negatives 不立 and 不行 can mean not standing firm and not proceeding effectively, rather than simple physical inability. The translator should preserve both the bodily image and the broader moral-philosophical implication.
2. 自見者不明；自是者不彰；自伐者無功；自矜者不長 — Each 自- compound is semantically dense. 自見 is not merely 'to see oneself' but to put oneself on display or make oneself conspicuous; 自是 means self-approving or insisting one is right; 自伐 means boasting of one's merits; 自矜 means self-conceited or self-satisfied. The predicate terms 明, 彰, 功, 長 are also nuanced: clarity, manifest distinction, merit/achievement, and lasting growth or enduring stature. The translator must keep the parallelism while choosing idiomatic English equivalents that do not collapse these distinctions. Because the lines are tightly balanced, overly expansive translation can weaken the aphoristic force.
3. 其在道也，曰：餘食贅行 — 其在道也 is idiomatic and evaluative: 'as for their place with respect to the Way' or 'from the perspective of the Way.' The translator must convey that this is a judgment under the standard of the Way, using the established terminology 'the Way' consistently for 道. 餘食 literally means leftover food, but its connotations include something stale, unwanted, or fit to be discarded. 贅行 is textually and lexically difficult. 行 here is commonly taken in the sense of bodily excrescences or superfluous growths, but the phrase is unusual enough to merit a note. The translator should preserve the image of repellent excess rather than over-normalizing it.
4. 物或惡之 — 物 can mean 'things,' 'creatures,' or 'the myriad beings.' The choice affects whether the line sounds cosmological, biological, or colloquial. 或 here means 'may' or 'tend to,' not necessarily strict universality. 惡 in this context should be read wù, 'to detest.' Established terminology favors 'detest' rather than alternatives such as 'despise' or 'hate.'
5. 故有道者不處 — 有道者 can mean one who possesses the Way, one who is aligned with the Way, or a realized person. The translator must choose phrasing appropriate to Daoist discourse while retaining compactness. 不處 means does not dwell in, abide in, or remain with such things. It is stronger than merely 'does not do them' and suggests refusal to settle in such modes of being. The term 道 should be rendered consistently as 'the Way' in accordance with established terminology.

Technical Terms

1. 自見者 (Taoist philosophical ethics): One who displays himself conspicuously against Taoist principles of humility and wu-wei. - Translation: Use hyphenated compounds like "self-displayers" for flow. Avoid passive phrasing to preserve agency.
2. 自是者 (Taoist philosophical ethics): One who insists on personal rightness, opposing natural relativity of Taoism. - Translation: Render as "self-approving" or "self-righteous" people. Capture false certainty.
3. 自伐者 (Taoist philosophical ethics): One who boasts about personal achievements, violating wu-wei by forcing recognition. - Translation: "self-boasters" or "self-praisers". Avoid Christian "pride" overtones.
4. 自矜者 (Taoist philosophical ethics): One who is self-importantly proud and looks down on others. - Translation: Translate as "arrogant persons" or "haughty ones". Emphasize stiffness implied by 矜 (rigidity).
5. 有道者 (Taoist philosophy): Someone embodying the Way; idealized Taoist sage who avoids artificial behaviors. - Translation: Must retain capital: "possessor of the Way" or "one possessing the Way". Do not reduce to moralistic “wise person”.
6. 餘食贅行 (Taoist metaphorical vocabulary): Leftover food & superfluous growths: universally detested physical metaphors for forced, unnatural human behaviors. - Translation: Require paired concrete nouns: "leftover food and superfluous lumps". Avoid abstract renderings that lose visceral disgust.

Ambiguous Terms

1. 行 — 80% confidence - Possible meanings: `growth (lumpy excrescence)` · `action` · `conduct` - Resolution: In 贅行, it's ambiguous whether it means 'growth' (like a tumor) or 'action/conduct'. Wang Bi commentary favors 'growth' (lump), so that interpretation is preferred to convey the disgust factor. However, some modern scholars interpret it as 'superfluous actions'. The parallelism with 餘食 (leftover food) suggests physical repulsiveness, hence 'growths' aligns better.
2. 物 — 70% confidence - Possible meanings: `creatures` · `things` · `people` - Resolution: Can mean 'creatures' collectively (including humans and animals) or 'things'. Here, the context of hatred (惡) suggests sentient beings capable of loathing. Therefore, "creatures" is more contextually accurate than "things", though translation flexibility exists.

Glossing Notes

This foundational Daodejing Chapter 24 passage critiques arrogance and unnatural effort through parallel metaphors (6 negative behaviors). Translator must: 1. Enforce project terminology: ALWAYS use "the Way" for 道 (capitalized) and "detest" for 惡 (wù). 2. Preserve rhythmic parallelism with short, aphoristic phrases. 3. Resolve ambiguity in 贅行 (aim for physical "growths" over "actions") to enhance visceral repulsion. 4. Highlight cosmic perspective: personal behaviors violate the Way, inviting nature's rejection. 5. Maintain conciseness while capturing deliberate ambiguity in terms like 物 (creatures, not things).

Translation Principles

1. Preserve the strict parallelism of the six opening clauses with concise, similarly structured English so the cumulative rhetorical force remains intact.
2. Keep the embodied imagery of 企 and 跨 visible rather than replacing it with abstract moral language alone; the philosophical point depends on the bodily metaphor of strain and overreach.
3. Render 道 consistently as 'the Way' throughout, following established terminology; avoid switching between 'Dao,' 'the Dao,' and 'the Way.'
4. Render 惡 in 物或惡之 as 'detest' to align with established terminology and preserve the force of visceral aversion.
5. Do not soften 餘食贅行. Its purpose is to sound ugly and excessive; the translation should preserve the repellent imagery of leftovers and superfluous excrescences, with annotation if needed.
6. Maintain distinctions among 明, 彰, 功, and 長 rather than flattening them into near-synonyms; the passage critiques different failures of self-assertion in carefully graded terms.
7. Keep the final line terse and normative: the sage-like person does not abide in such things. Avoid explanatory expansion in the main translation; place clarifications in notes if necessary.

Segmentation

1. 企者不立 `sentence`
2. 跨者不行 `sentence`
3. 自見者不明 `sentence`
4. 自是者不彰 `sentence`
5. 自伐者無功 `sentence`
6. 自矜者不長 `sentence`
7. 其在道也 `clause`
8. 曰：餘食贅行 `clause`
9. 物或惡之 `sentence`
10. 故有道者不處 `sentence`

Segmentation Notes

Segmentation follows the strong parallel series「企者/跨者/自見者/自是者/自伐者/自矜者…」(「者」+否定/無) as six major sentence units, then treats「其在道也」as a turn-to-topic clause marked by「也」，「曰」as a quotation introducer, and「物或惡之」and「故有道者不處」as two syntactically complete clauses with clear logical relations (因果 with「故」、或然 with「或」). The only potentially loose boundary is around the transition after「也」, but「曰」clearly starts the embedded quoted content.

Tone & Style

Admonitory, austere, and epigrammatic. The opening lines are terse and corrective; the final comparison turns deliberately contemptuous, using disgust imagery to sharpen the rejection of self-exalting behavior. The closing sentence restores a calm normative tone by stating how one aligned with the Way accordingly conducts himself.

Compact philosophical prose in the classic Daodejing mode: paratactic, highly compressed, rhythmically parallel, and aphoristic. The register is elevated but plain, relying on concrete bodily imagery and succinct evaluative judgments rather than elaborate exposition.

None

Terminology

道

the Way

惡

detest

行

growths

見

show (oneself)

長

endure

伐

boast

矜

arrogant

跨

over-stride

企

stand on tiptoe

有道者

one possessing the Way

餘食贅行

leftover food and superfluous growths

Terminography Notes

Register critical localized senses that are prone to inconsistent rendering in this passage family. Enforce established terminology for the Way (道 → “the Way”) and惡 (惡 → “detest” with wù reading). For the metaphor pairs, standardize the physical/visceral options—贅行 → “growths” and餘食贅行 as the fixed “leftover food and superfluous growths”—to avoid weakening the disgust effect into abstract “actions.” Also standardize xiàn/jiàn (見) and zhǎng/cháng (長), plus self-related negative ethical verbs (自伐者, 自矜者) to prevent sense drift.

Entities

萬乘之主

Ruler of ten thousand chariots

微明

Subtle clarity

柔弱勝剛強

Softness conquers hardness

國之利器不可以示人

A state's sharp instrument may not be shown to others

侯王

Marquises and kings

孤、寡、不穀

“I, the solitary one”; “I, the widowed one”; “I, one without grain”

上士

Superior scholar (upper rank)

中士

Middle scholar (middle rank)

下士

Inferior scholar (lower rank)