CHINESE ORIGINAL
治大国，若烹小鲜。
以道莅天下，其鬼不神；非其鬼不神，其神不伤人；非其神不伤人，圣人亦不伤人。
夫两不相伤，故德交归焉。
ENGLISH · JAMES LEGGE, 1891
Governing a great state is like cooking small fish.
Let the kingdom be governed according to the Tao, and the manes of the departed will not manifest their spiritual energy. It is not that those manes have not that spiritual energy, but it will not be employed to hurt men. It is not that it could not hurt men, but neither does the ruling sage hurt them.
When these two do not injuriously affect each other, their good influences converge in the virtue (of the Tao).
Legge’s translation uses nineteenth-century English. Parentheses are the translator’s; English chapter headings are editorial reading aids. Sources & method ↗
READ IN CONTEXT
Leadership
What happens when a leader makes room for others? Read about restraint, trust, and governing with a light hand.
Leadership