Dao creates one. One creates two. Two creates three. Three creates the ten thousand creatures. The ten thousand creatures carry Yin and embrace Yang, Pouring their Qi together, thus becoming harmonious. That which people detest : Being alone, orphaned, lonely, and unlucky – Yet kings and nobles thus name themselves. Therefore : creatures Sometimes lose, yet they gain; Sometimes gain, yet they lose. That which people teach, I also teach : Those who are bullies and hoodlums do not meet their natural death. I will thus become their elder teacher. ♦Dao creates one. ♦One creates two. ♦Two creates three. ♦Three creates the ten thousand creatures.A ♦The ten thousand creatures carry Yin and embrace Yang, ♦Pouring their Qi together, thus becoming harmonious. ♦That which people [they] detest : ♦Being alone, orphaned{lonely}, lonely{widowed}, and unlucky2B – [not lucky] Yet kings and noblesC thus name themselves. [dukes] Therefore : creatures Sometimes lose, yet they gain; [maybe,perhaps] [benefit,increase] Sometimes gain, yet they lose. [maybe,perhaps] [benefit,increase] That which people [they] teach, I also teach [it] : Those who are bullies and hoodlums do not meet their [natural] death. [bully,ruffian2] [obtain,get] I will thus become their elder teacher.D Notes A : compare to #40, where creatures are created from being B : these two symbols together can also be translated as “worthless” or “unhappy” C : specifically Dukes (see #32), but in keeping with other chapters, this is interpreted more generally as “nobles” D : 教 父 is often translated as some variant of “senior teaching” (primary teaching, essence of teaching, principal teaching, etc.), but it also means “godfather” in the best sense of the term (friend and teacher), and this translation is consistent with #27, where a virtuous person is the teacher of a non-virtuous person Cross-references Qi : #10, #55 orphaned, lonely, and unlucky : #39 nobles (in general) : #32, #37, #39, #62, #80 creatures sometimes X…Y : #29 teaching : #2, #27, #43 die/death : #6, #33, #50, #67, #74, #75, #76, #80 Chapter Forty Three 天 下 之 至 柔 馳 騁 天 下 之 至 堅 無 有 入 無 間 吾 是 以 知 無 為 之 有 益 • 不 言 之 教 無 為 之 益 天 下 希 及 之 • The softest things of the world Overrun the hardest things of the world. Non-being can enter where there is no space in between.