Chapter 12: The five colours

CHINESE ORIGINAL

五色令人目盲，五音令人耳聋，五味令人口爽，驰骋畋猎令人心发狂，难得之货令人行妨。

是以圣人为腹不为目，故去彼取此。

ENGLISH · JAMES LEGGE, 1891

Colour's five hues from th' eyes their sight will take; Music's five notes the ears as deaf can make; The flavours five deprive the mouth of taste; The chariot course, and the wild hunting waste Make mad the mind; and objects rare and strange, Sought for, men's conduct will to evil change.

Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving of) the belly, and not the (insatiable longing of the) eyes. He puts from him the latter, and prefers to seek the former.

Legge’s translation uses nineteenth-century English. Parentheses are the translator’s; English chapter headings are editorial reading aids. Sources & method ↗

A CONTEMPORARY READING

Modern English reading

The five colors dazzle the eyes; the five tones deafen the ears; the five flavors dull the palate. Racing and hunting drive the heart into frenzy. Rare goods obstruct one's conduct.

So the sage attends to the belly, not the eyes: choosing essential nourishment over enticing appearances.

Modern English readings and commentary translations are AI-assisted study aids, not a published critical translation. Compare the Chinese source when wording matters.

Modern Chinese reading

缤纷的色彩使人眼花缭乱；嘈杂的音乐使人耳朵失聪；丰美的食物使人口舌麻木；纵情骑马打猎使人心情放荡发狂；稀有的物品使人行为不轨。因此，圣人只求饱腹而不求声色娱目，所以摒弃物欲的诱惑，保持内心的安宁。

READ ACROSS TRADITIONS

Historical commentaries

Han Fei 韩非

Explaining Laozi

ENGLISH STUDY TRANSLATION

What is called a “great man” means a man whose wisdom is great. “Dwelling in what is substantial rather than what is thin” means acting from genuine feeling and discarding ceremonial appearance. “Dwelling in the fruit rather than the flower” means invariably following principle rather than taking abrupt shortcuts. “Discarding that and choosing this” means discarding appearances and abrupt shortcuts, choosing to follow principle and value genuine feeling. Hence, “Discard that and choose this.”

Chinese commentary

所谓「大丈夫」者，谓其智之大也。所谓「处其厚不处其薄」者，行情实而去礼貌也。所谓「处其实不处其华」者，必缘理不径绝也。所谓「去彼取此」者，去貌、径绝而取缘理、好情实也。故曰：「去彼取此。」

Coverage and attribution · Discuss this tradition with AI

Manuscripts and variants

Differences are computed from transcribed Chinese characters, with punctuation excluded. ∅ marks an insertion or omission; highlights do not establish which reading is earlier.

Mawangdui silk manuscript 62% similarity · 7 changed spans