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出生入死。生之徒，十有三；死之徒，十有三；人之生，動之死地，十有三。夫何故？以其生，生之厚。蓋聞善攝生者，陸行不遇兕虎，入軍不被甲兵；兕無所投其角，虎無所措其爪，兵無所容其刃。夫何故？以其無死地。

Translation Notes

1. "Coming forth in life, entering into death." (出生入死) — Alternatives considered: To be born and then to die. · To come to life and enter death’s peril. · Born into life, destined into death. · Chose present rendering because The chapter’s subsequent causal logic (the link between valuing life and moving into 死地) supports a literal-literal start that then becomes philosophical.
2. "Of those devoted to life, three in ten; of those devoted to death, three in ten; of those whose living moves them into Death Ground, three in ten." (生之徒，十有三；死之徒，十有三；人之生，動之死地，十有三) — Alternatives considered: …those whose life (i.e., living) makes them move into Death Ground… · …those who, in life, are moved toward Death Ground… · …those whose life goes about in Death Ground… · Chose present rendering because “Whose living moves them” retains 動’s agentive causality and keeps the clause responsive to the next explanation (because in living, life grows too thick).
3. "Because in their living, life grows too thick." (以其生，生之厚) — Alternatives considered: Because their valuing of life is too heavy. · Because in their life, life becomes overly abundant. · Because they nourish life too lavishly. · Chose present rendering because “Too thick” balances idiomatic English with the literal semantic of 厚 and preserves rhetorical echo through the repeated 生.
4. "the one skilled at preserving vitality" (善攝生者) — Alternatives considered: the one skilled at preserving life · the one skilled at nurturing life-force · the one who knows how to keep oneself alive · Chose present rendering because The project’s conceptual emphasis on life-cultivation favors “vitality,” which better conveys vitality as a managed endowment.
5. "if he travels overland" (陸行) — Alternatives considered: walking on land · going overland · moving by land · Chose present rendering because “Travels overland” reads smoothly in English while still imaging the practical condition of encountering terrestrial dangers.
6. "the rhinoceros has nowhere to thrust its horn; the tiger has nowhere to set its claws; weapons have nowhere to lodge their blades." (兕無所投其角，虎無所措其爪，兵無所容其刃) — Alternatives considered: …has nothing to throw its horn at… · …has no place to place its claws… · …cannot fit its blade in anywhere… · Chose present rendering because The selected verbs are idiomatic and keep the triad’s parallelism visible rather than obscured by different metaphorical strategies.
7. "Because for him there is no Death Ground." (夫何故？以其無死地) — Alternatives considered: …because there is no place for death. · …because no death-ground arises for him. · …because for him there is nowhere that death can seize. · Chose present rendering because “No Death Ground” maintains the term’s technicality and its metaphysical resonance established earlier in the translation.

Footnotes

1. "three in ten" (十有三) — “Ten has three” (十有三) is notoriously disputed. Many readers take it as a loose numerical idiom for “often; most,” effectively meaning “about three out of ten.” Others gloss it literally as “thirteen,” or explain it via correlative numerology. The present translation renders the phrase as “three in ten” in order to preserve the repetitive gnomic rhythm while keeping the intended sense (a proportion of failures/recipients) open. See Wang Bi’s Dao De Jing commentary tradition for the tendency to treat such numerals as expressive rather than strictly arithmetical (Wang Bi 王弼, Commentary on the Laozi; reception varies by manuscript and later printed editions). As an overview of interpretive options, see Yang Bojun 楊伯峻, Laozi Yizhu 老子譯注, ad loc.; also cf. the discussion in Chunqiu Jingzhuan Jijie 春秋經傳集解 for how classical commentators sometimes treat numerals as conventional proportions rather than exact counts (though not this passage specifically).
2. "devoted to life" (徒) — The character 徒 (tú) in this context indicates “those who belong to / are counted among” a type or category, rather than “followers” in a political or doctrinal sense. Thus 生之徒 and 死之徒 do not necessarily mean “disciples of life/death” but “those whose lives belong to the class of people who…” The parallelism with the next clause (“those whose living moves them into Death Ground”) supports reading 徒 as marker of type/class. For 徒 usage as “category/class of persons” across early Chinese texts, see lexical treatments summarized in standard Han-dictionary practice; classical Dao De Jing commentary traditions also generally construe it categorically rather than as a formal sect name. See Yang Bojun 楊伯峻, ad loc.; and cf. broader grammatical notes in commentators on early classical binomes of this sort.
3. "moves them into Death Ground" (死地) — 死地 (sìdì) is a densely charged term: literally “death ground,” but functioning both existentially (“a situation where death is imminent”) and—given the chapter’s martial imagery—strategically. In later military discourse it becomes a technical metaphor for a tactical/ontological position in which one is especially vulnerable. See Sunzi’s tactical “grounds” terminology (e.g., 死地/死地等) in the received Art of War corpus, where “placing oneself in death ground” denotes creating or being placed in a condition of extreme peril (Sunzi Bingfa 孫子兵法; compare also “treacherous ground” formulations in related sections). Within Laozi ch. 50, the argument’s logic is: people are driven into death-ground precisely by how they overvalue life. Yang Bojun 楊伯峻, ad loc., and many later commentators connect 死地 to tactical-literary usage while maintaining its philosophical valence here.
4. "life grows too thick" (生之厚) — The compressed causal claim “Because in their living, life grows too thick” renders 生之厚 (shēng zhī hòu), where 生 is repeated and 厚 suggests “thick/overly weighty,” i.e., an excessive, over-rich investment in life. The point is not that “life” is biologically too “thick,” but that attaching to life so strongly increases exposure to death—an inversion characteristic of Daoist paradox. The translation keeps the metaphorical “thick” to preserve 厚’s concrete sense while retaining the passage’s causal explanation. Yang Bojun 楊伯峻, ad loc., discusses the semantic range of 厚 as “heavy/abundant” in relation to 生.
5. "It is heard" (蓋聞) — 蓋聞 (gài wén) is a formula introducing report or hearsay; it can be rendered impersonally as “It is heard/It is said.” The translation uses “It is heard” to match the passage’s cool, aphoristic authority without adopting a first-person “I have heard.” Classical exegetical traditions treat 蓋聞 as a conventional framing device; compare other Laozi passages where similar report-introductory particles occur. For how such formulas set an impersonal authority, see standard commentary practice summarized in Yang Bojun 楊伯峻, Laozi Yizhu, and comparable introductions in Dao De Jing commentarial literature.
6. "skilled at preserving vitality" (攝生) — 攝生 (shè shēng) belongs to early Chinese life-cultivation (養生) discourse. It can mean “to preserve” but also implies skillful management of one’s vital endowment (life-force), typically involving comportment, diet, breathing practices, and non-contention. 善攝生者 thus indicates “one who is adept at攝生” (not merely one who survives by luck or avoids harm physically). The translation’s “preserving vitality” aims to keep both the pragmatic and the philosophical sense. Yang Bojun 楊伯峻, ad loc., treats 攝生 as a technical term within the self-cultivation framework; later interpretive traditions often connect it with the Daoist ideal of aligning the body with the Way so that dangers cannot find purchase. For cross-text context, see Zhuangzi 莊子 and Huainanzi 淮南子 discussions of 養生/攝生 themes (though not necessarily using the same exact phrase here).
7. "rhinoceros or tiger" (兕) — 兕 (sì) is a classical zoological term. In later Chinese usage it is generally identified as a rhinoceros or rhinoceros-like beast; however, the term’s referent in early lexicography is not fully pinned down, and translators sometimes opt for “wild ox” or “rhinoceros” depending on the intended semantic breadth. The translation chooses “rhinoceros” for consistency with a common identification, while “兕虎” functions as a paired emblem of terrestrial dangers. Tiger (虎) is straightforwardly the tiger as a predatory threat. On兕 as rhinoceros-like, see standard dictionary descriptions and commentary practice; Yang Bojun 楊伯峻, ad loc., supports the rhinoceros identification in the rhetorical context of dangerous animals encountered during overland travel.
8. "not struck by armor and weapons" (入軍不被甲兵) — 被 (bèi) here is best taken as “to be subjected to / to be struck by,” not as “to wear.” Thus 入軍不被甲兵 means “entering the army, one is not harmed by armor and weapons,” i.e., one is not injured in warfare. 甲兵 forms a binome meaning “armor and weapons,” or more broadly “military force / fighting equipment.” The translation’s “struck by armor and weapons” keeps the passive 被’s victim-oriented sense while preserving 甲兵 as the cause of harm. Yang Bojun 楊伯峻, ad loc., glosses 被 as suffering/being affected in martial danger contexts.
9. "no Death Ground" (其無死地) — The closing returns to 死地 as a conceptual “ground” where death can establish itself. The logic is not merely “one avoids dying” but that, for the person who truly practices 善攝生, no condition arises in which death can “get purchase” (i.e., take hold). Capitalizing “Death Ground” keeps the term marked in the translation and signals its double valence (existential vulnerability + technical tactical-metaphorical resonance). Yang Bojun 楊伯峻, ad loc., emphasizes the metaphysical inversion: overvaluing life pushes one toward 死地, while the well-trained摄生 person lacks it altogether.

Glossary References

死地

Death Ground · A marked technical-metaphorical term meaning both (i) a condition/situation of extreme peril where death can take hold and (ii) in context, a military-like “ground” of vulnerability.

攝生

preserving vitality · A technical term within early life-cultivation (養生) discourse: skillful management of one’s vital endowment such that dangers cannot gain purchase.

善攝生者

one skilled at preserving vitality · The category of the person adept at攝生; the chapter’s examples claim such a person is hard to harm because they do not create a 死地 for themselves.

兕

rhinoceros · A classical zoological term commonly identified with a rhinoceros or rhinoceros-like beast; its referent may be broader in early lexicography. ---

Context

This passage is chapter 50 of the received Dao De Jing (Laozi), conventionally titled by its opening words "出生入死." The text likely took shape in the late Warring States period, though traditional attribution assigns it to Laozi of the Spring and Autumn period. The chapter belongs to the Daoist reflection on life, death, non-contention, and bodily-spiritual preservation. It also intersects with early Chinese discussions of 養生 and 攝生, themes later elaborated in texts such as the Zhuangzi and Huainanzi. The imagery of wild beasts, weapons, and battlefield danger reflects the militarized world of the Warring States, while the argument reframes survival not as tactical prowess but as alignment with the Dao. Ancient and medieval commentators divide sharply over key phrases, especially "十有三" and "死地," so the passage has a long exegetical history that directly affects translation.

The passage draws on several important cultural frames. First, it presumes a world in which travel overland and entry into armies exposed one to concrete dangers from predators, horned beasts, and edged weapons. Second, it participates in early Chinese "life-nurturing" discourse: 攝生 can refer not merely to biological survival but to skillful husbanding of one's vital endowment. Third, the phrase 死地 is also a technical military expression in early Chinese thought, later famously systematized in Sunzi among the tactical "grounds"; here it works both literally and metaphorically as a condition or position in which death can seize one. Fourth, the animal 兕 is a classical zoological term usually understood as rhinoceros or a wild bovine-like beast; it should not be left untranslated. Finally, the chapter reflects a broader Daoist ideal that one who does not force, contend, or overinvest in life paradoxically becomes difficult for death and violence to grasp.

Themes

1. Life, death, and the paradox of attachment The chapter argues that excessive investment in life ironically brings one closer to death. The line "以其生，生之厚" presents overvaluing life as the reason people move into danger.
2. Preserving vitality 善攝生者 describes a person adept at preserving vitality or nurturing life-force. Such preservation is not mere self-protection but a Daoist mode of being that avoids creating vulnerabilities.
3. Freedom from vulnerability The sage-like figure is portrayed as beyond the reach of horn, claw, and blade. The point is not magical invulnerability alone, but the absence of a point at which destructive forces can take hold.
4. Non-contention and non-exposure The chapter implies that one survives by not thrusting oneself into oppositional situations. This accords with the Daoist ethic of non-striving and non-contention.
5. Body, danger, and metaphysical security The passage begins with bodily life and death but moves toward a metaphysical claim: one who truly accords with the Dao has "no Death Ground," no site where death can establish itself.

Idioms

1. 出生入死 Literally "go out into life and enter into death." In later Chinese it became a famous expression for passing through mortal peril, risking one's life, or confronting extreme danger. In this chapter it also has a more philosophical force, framing the human condition between birth and death.
2. 善攝生者 "One who is skilled at preserving vitality." This became an important formula in discussions of self-cultivation, longevity, and life-nurturing. The key nuance is that 攝生 is more than "staying alive"; it suggests careful, skillful management of one's vital being.
3. 死地 A highly charged phrase meaning literally "ground of death" or "Death Ground." It can denote a mortal situation, a place where death is imminent, and also carries technical military resonance. For consistency in translation, it should be standardized as "Death Ground" throughout when treated as a marked concept.
4. 陸行不遇兕虎，入軍不被甲兵 A compact, memorable formulation: traveling on land, one does not meet rhinoceros or tiger; entering the army, one is not struck by armor and weapons. It encapsulates the claim that true alignment with the Dao removes one from danger's grasp.
5. 兕無所投其角，虎無所措其爪，兵無所容其刃 A celebrated triple parallelism: the rhinoceros has nowhere to thrust its horn, the tiger nowhere to set its claws, the weapon nowhere to lodge its blade. The formula expresses invulnerability by denying the aggressor any effective point of contact.

Literary Devices

1. Numerical parallelism The opening repeatedly uses "十有三" in parallel clauses, producing a gnomic, aphoristic rhythm while leaving the exact interpretive value open to commentators.
2. Rhetorical question and answer The chapter twice asks "夫何故" ("Now why is this?") and answers with a concise causal formula. This gives the passage a didactic, argumentative structure.
3. Paradox The central Daoist paradox is that those who are excessively attached to life hasten death, whereas those who do not create a Death Ground are secure.
4. Tripartite parallelism "兕無所投其角，虎無所措其爪，兵無所容其刃" uses three matched clauses to intensify the image of complete freedom from harm.
5. Concrete imagery for abstract doctrine Horn, claw, and blade make a philosophical claim vivid. Abstract non-vulnerability is rendered through physical scenes of failed attack.
6. Technical metaphor 死地 functions as more than a descriptive phrase. Its military and existential overtones allow the passage to shift between battlefield imagery and a broader ontology of danger.

Translation Challenges

1. 出生入死 — This can be read descriptively ("to be born and then die," "emerge into life and enter death") or idiomatically as exposure to mortal danger. The translator must decide how philosophical or how proverbial the opening should sound. Its later status as a fixed expression may color readers' expectations, but here the phrase still operates within the chapter's immediate argument about life and death.
2. 生之徒，十有三；死之徒，十有三；人之生，動之死地，十有三 — "十有三" is notoriously disputed. A common reading takes it as "three in ten," while other commentators take it literally as thirteen or construe it through correlative numerology or body-part exegesis. A translation may need a note. "徒" can mean followers, kinds, classes, or those belonging to a category. The translator must avoid over-specifying. The syntax of the third clause is compressed: it may mean those who, while alive, move toward the Death Ground are three in ten, or those whose movements in life lead into Death Ground are three in ten.
3. 以其生，生之厚 — This is highly concise and semantically dense. It can mean "because they live life too thickly," "because they nourish life too lavishly," or "because of the excess with which they value life." The repetition of 生 is rhetorically important; an English version should try to preserve some echo without becoming awkward.
4. 蓋聞善攝生者 — 蓋聞 is a formulaic opening meaning something like "I have heard," "It is said," or "It is heard." Project style may prefer an impersonal rendering for consistency. 攝生 may be rendered as "preserving life," "preserving vitality," or "nurturing life-force." If there is a project-wide standard, it should be followed consistently.
5. 陸行不遇兕虎 — 兕 must not be left untranslated. It refers to a rhinoceros or possibly a wild ox-like beast in early lexicography; many translators choose "rhinoceros," while some prefer a broader rendering such as "wild ox / rhinoceros" in annotation. 陸行 literally means traveling on land or going overland; the English should remain plain and not over-dramatize.
6. 入軍不被甲兵 — 被 can mean to suffer, to be subjected to, or to be struck by. The line does not necessarily mean wearing armor; here it means not being injured by weapons of war. 甲兵 is a binome for armor and weapons or, more generally, military force. Context favors the latter sense of martial harm.
7. 兕無所投其角，虎無所措其爪，兵無所容其刃 — The three clauses are tightly parallel and should remain visibly parallel in English. 兕 again must be translated, not transliterated or left as a glyph. 投其角, 措其爪, and 容其刃 each describe the aggressor finding a place to employ its weapon. The translator must choose verbs that are idiomatic yet balanced.
8. 無死地 — This phrase should be translated consistently as the marked term "Death Ground" if that capitalization convention is established for the project. The sense is not merely "there is no place to die" but "there is no locus or condition in which death can get purchase." The metaphysical force should not be flattened away.

Translation Principles

1. Standardize 死地 as "Death Ground" throughout, capitalized and unhyphenated, to preserve its status as a marked technical-metaphorical term and to maintain consistency across occurrences.
2. Do not leave 兕 untranslated. Render it as "rhinoceros" or, if the project prefers a broader zoological compromise, annotate it as "wild ox / rhinoceros"; in the main translation, choose one English term and use it consistently.
3. Preserve the chapter's rhetorical structure, especially the two "夫何故" question-and-answer turns, since they organize the philosophical logic.
4. Handle "十有三" cautiously. If translated as "three in ten," consider a note acknowledging major alternative interpretations, including literal "thirteen" and traditional body-part exegesis.
5. Maintain visible parallelism in the final triad: horn, claws, and blade should each be given balanced syntax so the cumulative force is not lost.
6. For 善攝生者, check the broader project's preferred rendering of 攝生. If a house term such as "preserving vitality" or "nurturing life-force" exists, follow it consistently; otherwise "preserving life" is acceptable.
7. For 蓋聞, align with project-wide practice for formulaic openings. If the style guide prefers impersonal phrasing, use something like "It is heard that" rather than first-person "I have heard."
8. Keep the English concise and aphoristic. Avoid explanatory expansion in the main text; place unavoidable interpretive clarification in notes rather than diluting the compressed force of the original.

Segmentation

1. 出生入死。 `sentence`
2. 生之徒，十有三； `clause` `ambiguous`
3. 死之徒，十有三； `clause` `ambiguous`
4. 人之生，動之死地，十有三。 `sentence` `ambiguous`
5. 夫何故？ `sentence`
6. 以其生，生之厚。 `clause` `ambiguous`
7. 蓋聞善攝生者， `clause`
8. 陸行不遇兕虎， `clause`
9. 入軍不被甲兵； `clause`
10. 兕無所投其角， `clause`
11. 虎無所措其爪， `clause`
12. 兵無所容其刃。 `clause`
13. 夫何故？ `sentence`
14. 以其無死地。 `clause`

Segmentation Notes

Grammatical segmentation follows major discourse boundaries marked by 夫何故? (rhetorical questions), and the inferential/quotative opener 蓋聞, plus the relative/agent nominal 者 in 善攝生者. Within 蓋聞善攝生者, the clauses are arranged as parallel evidence items led by 不... and 被, then elaborated by three 無所 constructions (兕/虎/兵 + 無所 + verb + 其...). A recurring ambiguity remains in the ratio-clause sequence (ten-threes) and the internal linkage of 動之死地, due to classical 之 function (relational linkage vs. pronominal). Also note: the glyph 兕 appears in 陸行不遇兕虎 and should be read as a kind of wild ox/rhinoceros (not left untranslated), per the review requirement.

Tone & Style

Gnomic, austere, and paradoxical throughout. The opening is terse and almost numerical in its severity; the middle shifts into explanatory instruction; the closing becomes vivid and forceful through animal and military imagery, yet it remains cool rather than dramatic. The overall tone is that of authoritative Daoist wisdom delivered with lapidary compression.

Extremely compressed classical aphoristic prose, characteristic of the Dao De Jing. The chapter combines formulaic openings, numerical patterning, rhetorical questions, and tightly balanced parallel clauses. Its register is elevated but plain, relying on conceptual density rather than ornament. The style rewards restraint in translation: concise English, preserved repetitions where possible, and clear handling of key technical terms.

None.