CHINESE ORIGINAL
三十辐共一毂，当其无，有车之用。
埏埴以为器，当其无，有器之用。
凿户牖以为室，当其无，有室之用。
故有之以为利，无之以为用。
ENGLISH · JAMES LEGGE, 1891
The thirty spokes unite in the one nave; but it is on the empty space (for the axle), that the use of the wheel depends. Clay is fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness, that their use depends. The door and windows are cut out (from the walls) to form an apartment; but it is on the empty space (within), that its use depends. Therefore, what has a (positive) existence serves for profitable adaptation, and what has not that for (actual) usefulness.
Legge’s translation uses nineteenth-century English. Parentheses are the translator’s; English chapter headings are editorial reading aids. Sources & method ↗
READ IN CONTEXT
Everyday living
Water, an empty bowl, a modest home. Ordinary images open questions about desire, sufficiency, generosity, and how to live with others.
Everyday living