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).
A CONTEMPORARY READING
Modern English reading
Govern a great state as you would cook a small fish. When the world is approached through the Way, its ghosts do not exercise harmful powers. It is not that they have no powers, but that their powers do not injure people. Nor is it only that the spirits do not injure people: the sage also does not injure them.
When neither causes harm to the other, their virtues converge.
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
治理大国，好像煎烹小鱼一样。用道治理天下，鬼怪不起作用；不是鬼怪不起作用，而是它的作用不伤人；不是它的作用不伤人，而是圣人也不伤人。鬼怪和圣人都不伤人，所以德归于他们，交相会合。
READ ACROSS TRADITIONS
Historical commentaries
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang 唐玄宗
Imperial commentary
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 85% similarity · 8 changed spans
Received text · Wang Bi tradition
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
Mawangdui silk manuscript
治大国若烹小鲜以道莅天下亓鬼不神非亓鬼不神也亓神不伤人也非亓神不伤人也圣人亦弗伤也夫两不相伤故德交归焉
Jinglong stone inscription 95% similarity · 3 changed spans
Received text · Wang Bi tradition
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
Jinglong stone inscription
治大国若亨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得交归∅
Internet transcription; not checked against inscription photographs.
This chapter is not in the attested Guodian A/B/C chapter list. Compare the whole book ↗
Expressions from this chapter
CHAPTER 60 · EXACT WORDING
治大国若烹小鲜
Govern a great state as one cooks a small fish: excessive handling spoils it.
治大国，若烹小鲜Read the source chapter ↗READ IN CONTEXT
Leadership
What happens when a leader makes room for others? Read about restraint, trust, and governing with a light hand.
Leadership
ENGLISH STUDY TRANSLATION
Small fish must not be stirred in cooking; a great state must not be troubled in governing. Trouble wearies people; stirring breaks fish apart. Presiding over the world through the Way, one does not seek delusive blessings, so ghosts have no means to display spiritual power. Saying ghosts do not manifest power does not mean they cease existing or lack spirit, only that they possess spirit without displaying uncanny phenomena to injure people. Ghostly manifestations injure people; the sage's contrived action injures people. Ghosts now refrain from manifestations that injure because the sage is nonactive, clear, and still. Spirits injuring people harm the state and deplete its root; the sage injuring people impoverishes spirits and deprives them of sacrifices. Now neither injures beings, so virtue jointly returns.
Chinese commentary
烹小鲜者不可挠，治大国者不可烦。烦则人劳，挠则鱼烂矣。
以道临莅天下，不求有妄之福，故鬼无以见其神明。
上言其鬼不神，非谓鬼歇灭而无神，但有其神而不见神怪以伤民也。
鬼见神怪则伤民，圣人有为则伤民，今鬼所以不见神怪而伤民者，盖以圣人无为清静故尔。
鬼神伤民则害国亏本，圣人伤民则匮神乏祀，今两不相伤物，故德交归焉。