Te-Tao Ching

«Therefore the Great Man Dwells in the thick and doesn’t dwell in the thin; Dwells in the fruit and doesn’t dwell in the flower. Therefore, he rejects that and takes this.» — cierre del capítulo 38: el texto manda habitar en lo grueso y en el fruto, no en lo delgado ni en la flor.

«[CHAPTER 39] Of those in the past that attained the One— Heaven, by attaining the One became clear; Earth, by attaining the One became stable; Gods, by attaining the One became divine; Valleys, by attaining the One became full; Marquises and kings, by attaining the One made the whole land ordered and secure.» — capítulo 39: el texto enumera lo que cada cosa obtuvo al alcanzar el Uno, del cielo a los marqueses y reyes.

«no carriage. And because of this, they desire not to dazzle and glitter like jade, But to remain firm and strong like stone.» — final del capítulo 39, que el troceo deja en la plana siguiente: no relumbrar como el jade sino permanecer firme como la piedra.

«[CHAPTER 41] When the highest type of men hear the Way, with diligence they’re able to practice it; When average men hear the Way, some things they retain and others they lose; When the lowest type of men hear the Way, they laugh out loud at it. If they didn’t laugh at it, it couldn’t be regarded as the Way.» — capítulo 41: el texto gradúa tres maneras de oír la Vía y convierte la risa del último en prueba, no en objeción.

«[CHAPTER 40] “Reversal” is the movement of the Tao; “Weakness” is the function of the Tao. The things of the world originate in being And being originates in nonbeing.» — capítulo 40 entero, que en el orden de Ma-wang-tui va después del 41: la inversión como movimiento del Tao y la debilidad como su función.

«[CHAPTER 42] The Way gave birth to the One; The One gave birth to the Two; The Two gave birth to the Three; And the Three gave birth to the ten thousand things. The ten thousand things carry Yin on their backs and wrap their arms around Yang. Through the blending of ch’i they arrive at a state of harmony.» — capítulo 42: la serie generativa del Uno, el Dos, el Tres y los diez mil seres, que cargan el Yin a la espalda y abrazan el Yang, y alcanzan armonía al mezclarse el ch'i.

«Therefore, what other men teach, I will also consider and then teach to others. Thus, “The strong and violent do not come to a natural end.” I will take this as the father of my studies.» — cierre del capítulo 42, donde el texto toma por padre de su estudio la sentencia de que los fuertes y violentos no llegan a fin natural.

«[CHAPTER 43] The softest, most pliable thing in the world runs roughshod over the firmest thing in the world. That which has no substance gets into that which has no spaces or cracks. I therefore know that there is benefit in taking no action. The wordless teaching, the benefit of taking no action— Few in the world can realize these!» — capítulo 43 entero: lo más blando atropella a lo más firme, lo sin sustancia entra donde no hay resquicio, y de ahí el provecho de no actuar.

«[CHAPTER 44] Fame or your health—which is more dear? Your health or possessions—which is worth more? Gain or loss—in which is there harm? If your desires are great, you’re bound to be extravagant; If you store much away, you’re bound to lose a great deal. Therefore, if you know contentment, you’ll not be disgraced. If you know when to stop, you’ll suffer no harm. And in this way you can last a very long time.» — capítulo 44 entero: las tres preguntas por la fama, la salud y las posesiones, y la conclusión de que quien conoce el contento no queda deshonrado.

«[CHAPTER 45] Great completion seems incomplete; Yet its usefulness is never exhausted. Great fullness seems to be empty; Yet its usefulness is never used up. Great straightness seems to be bent. Great skill seems to be clumsy. Great eloquence seems to stammer; Great surplus seems to be lacking. Activity overcomes cold; Tranquility overcomes heat. If you’re quiet and tranquil you can become the ruler of the world.» — capítulo 45 entero: la serie de lo grande que parece su contrario, cerrada con la quietud que hace al gobernante del mundo.

«[CHAPTER 38] The highest virtue is not virtuous; therefore it truly has virtue. The lowest virtue never loses sight of its virtue; therefore it has no true virtue. The highest virtue takes no action, yet it has no reason for acting this way; The highest humanity takes action, yet it has no reason for acting this way; The highest righteousness takes action, and it has its reasons for acting this way; The highest propriety takes action, and when no one responds to it, then it angrily rolls up its sleeves and forces people to comply.» — apertura del capítulo 38, con el que arranca el libro en el orden de Ma-wang-tui: el texto gradúa cuatro maneras de obrar, de la virtud más alta que no actúa a la propiedad que se arremanga y obliga a cumplir.

«Therefore, when the Way is lost, only then do we have virtue; When virtue is lost, only then do we have humanity; When humanity is lost, only then do we have righteousness; And when righteousness is lost, only then do we have propriety. As for propriety, it’s but the thin edge of loyalty and sincerity, and the beginning of disorder. And foreknowledge is but the flower of the Way, and the beginning of stupidity.» — segunda mitad del capítulo 38: la cadena de pérdidas del Tao a la virtud, a la humanidad, a la rectitud y a la propiedad, con la propiedad como filo delgado de la lealtad y principio del desorden.

«Taking this to its logical conclusion we would say— If Heaven were not by means of it clear, it would, I’m afraid, shatter; If the Earth were not by means of it stable, it would, I’m afraid, let go. If the gods were not by means of it divine, they would, I’m afraid, be powerless. If valleys were not by means of it full, they would, I’m afraid, dry up. And if marquises and kings were not by means of it noble and high, they would, I’m afraid, topple and fall.» — segunda estrofa del capítulo 39, que invierte la serie: sin el Uno el cielo se quebraría, la tierra se soltaría, los dioses quedarían sin poder y los reyes caerían; el volumen imprime dos veces la traducción y este pasaje se repite en la Parte Dos.

«Therefore, it must be the case that the noble has the base as its root; And it must be the case that the high has the low for its foundation. Thus, for this reason, marquises and kings call themselves “The Orphan,” “The Widower,” and “The One Without Grain.” This is taking the base as one’s root, is it not?!» — el capítulo 39 saca de ahí la regla de que lo noble tiene lo bajo por raíz, y de ahí los títulos con que los reyes se nombran: el Huérfano, el Viudo y el Sin Grano; el pasaje se reimprime en la Parte Dos.

«Therefore, there is a set saying about this that goes: The bright Way appears to be dark; The Way that goes forward appears to retreat; The smooth Way appears to be uneven; The highest virtue is empty like a valley; The purest white appears to be soiled; Vast virtue appears to be insufficient; Firm virtue appears thin and weak; The simplest reality appears to change.» — la serie de paradojas que el capítulo 41 introduce como dicho ya hecho: la Vía luminosa parece oscura, la que avanza parece retroceder y la virtud más alta está vacía como un valle; se reimprime en la Parte Dos.

«The Great Square has no corners; The Great Vessel takes long to complete; The Great Tone makes little sound; The Great Image has no shape. The Way is Great but has no name. Only the Way is good at beginning things and also good at bringing things to completion.» — cierre del capítulo 41: el Gran Cuadrado sin esquinas, el Gran Tono que casi no suena y la Gran Imagen sin forma, y la Vía que es grande y no tiene nombre; se reimprime en la Parte Dos.

«The things that are hated by the whole world Are to be orphaned, widowed, and have no grain. Yet kings and dukes take these as their names. Thus with all things—some are increased by taking away; While some are diminished by adding on.» — segunda parte del capítulo 42: los reyes toman por nombre lo que el mundo entero aborrece, y de ahí la regla de que unas cosas crecen al quitarles y otras menguan al añadirles; se reimprime en la Parte Dos.

«[CHAPTER 46] When the world has the Way, ambling horses are retired to fertilize fields. When the world lacks the Way, war horses are reared in the suburbs. Of crimes—none is greater than having things that one desires; Of disasters—none is greater than not knowing when one has enough. Of defects—none brings more sorrow than the desire to attain. Therefore, the contentment one has when he knows that he has enough, is abiding contentment indeed.» — capítulo 46 entero: con la Vía los caballos vuelven a abonar los campos y sin ella se crían caballos de guerra en los arrabales; ningún crimen mayor que desear y ninguna desgracia mayor que no saber cuándo basta.

«[CHAPTER 50] We come out into life and go back into death. The companions of life are thirteen; The companions of death are thirteen; And yet people, because they regard life as LIFE, in all of their actions move toward the thirteen that belong to the realm of death. Now, why is this so? It’s because they regard life as LIFE.» — apertura del capítulo 50: los compañeros de la vida son trece y los de la muerte trece, y quien se mueve hacia la muerte lo hace por tener la vida por VIDA, con la versalita del impreso.

«[CHAPTER 47] No need to leave your door to know the whole world; No need to peer through your windows to know the Way of Heaven. The farther you go, the less you know. Therefore the Sage knows without going, Names without seeing, And completes without doing a thing.» — capítulo 47 entero: no hace falta salir por la puerta para conocer el mundo, y cuanto más lejos se va menos se sabe; el sabio conoce sin ir, nombra sin ver y completa sin hacer nada.

«[CHAPTER 48] Those who work at their studies increase day after day; Those who have heard the Tao decrease day after day. They decrease and decrease till they get to the point where they do nothing. They do nothing and yet there’s nothing left undone. When someone wants to take control of the world, he must always be unconcerned with affairs. For in a case where he’s concerned with affairs, He’ll be unworthy, as well, of taking control of the world.» — capítulo 48 entero: el estudio aumenta día tras día y quien ha oído el Tao disminuye día tras día, hasta el punto de no hacer nada y no quedar nada sin hacer.

«[CHAPTER 49] The Sage constantly has no set mind; He takes the mind of the common people as his mind. Those who are good he regards as good; Those who are not good he also regards as good. In this way he attains goodness. Those who are trustworthy he trusts; And those who are not trustworthy he also trusts. In this way he gets their trust. As for the Sage’s presence in the world—he is one with it. And with the world he merges his mind. The common people all fix their eyes and ears on him. And the Sage treats them all as his children.» — capítulo 49 entero: el sabio no tiene mente fija sino la del pueblo, y tiene por buenos y por dignos de confianza también a los que no lo son.

«You’ve no doubt heard of those who are good at holding on to life: When walking through hills, they don’t avoid rhinos and tigers; When they go into battle, they don’t put on armor or shields; The rhino has no place to probe with its horn; The tiger finds no place to put its claws. And weapons find no place to hold their blades. Now, why is this so? Because there is no place for death in them.» — cierre del capítulo 50 en la Parte Uno: quien sabe guardar la vida no esquiva rinocerontes ni tigres porque en él no hay lugar para la muerte; los mismos versos van numerados en la introducción y se reimprimen en la Parte Dos.

«[CHAPTER 51] The Way gives birth to them and Virtue nourishes them; Substance gives them form and their unique capacities complete them. Therefore the ten thousand things venerate the Way and honor Virtue. As for their veneration of the Way and their honoring of Virtue— No one rewards them for it; it’s constantly so on its own. The Way gives birth to them, nourishes them, matures them, completes them, rests them, rears them, supports them, and protects them. It gives birth to them but doesn’t try to own them; It acts on their behalf but doesn’t make them dependent; It matures them but doesn’t rule them. This we call Profound Virtue.» — capítulo 51 entero: la Vía engendra y la Virtud nutre, y por eso los diez mil seres las veneran sin que nadie los premie; engendra sin querer poseer y madura sin gobernar, y a eso lo llama Virtud Profunda.

«[CHAPTER 52] The world had a beginning, Which can be considered the mother of the world. Having attained the mother, in order to understand her children, If you return and hold on to the mother, till the end of your life you’ll suffer no harm. Block up the holes; Close the doors; And till the end of your life you’ll not labor. Open the holes; Meddle in affairs; And till the end of your life you’ll not be saved.» — apertura del capítulo 52: el mundo tuvo un principio que se toma por madre, y quien vuelve a la madre no sufre daño; tapar los agujeros y cerrar las puertas contra abrirlos y meterse en asuntos.

«To perceive the small is called “discernment.” To hold on to the pliant is called “strength.” If you use the rays to return to the bright light, You’ll not abandon your life to peril. This is called Following the Constant.» — cierre del capítulo 52: percibir lo pequeño es discernimiento y sostenerse en lo flexible es fuerza, y usar los rayos para volver a la luz brillante es seguir lo Constante.

«[CHAPTER 53] Were I to have the least bit of knowledge, in walking on a Great Road, it’s only going astray that I would fear. The Great Way is very level; But people greatly delight in tortuous paths. The courts are swept very clean; While the fields are full of weeds; And the granaries are all empty. Their clothing—richly embroidered and colored; While at their waists they carry sharp swords. They gorge themselves on food, and of possessions and goods they have plenty. This is called thievery! And thievery certainly isn’t the Way!» — capítulo 53 entero: la Vía es muy llana y la gente prefiere los caminos torcidos; el texto llama robo a las cortes barridas junto a los campos con maleza y los graneros vacíos.

«[CHAPTER 54] What is firmly set up can’t be pulled down; What is firmly embraced cannot slip free. And your sons and grandsons, as a result, will sacrifice without end. When you cultivate it in your person, your virtue will then be genuine; When you cultivate it in your family, your virtue will then overflow; When you cultivate it in your village, your virtue will then be long lasting; When you cultivate it in your state, your virtue will then be abundant; And when you cultivate it throughout the world, your virtue will then be widespread.» — apertura del capítulo 54: la escala de cultivo de la virtud, de la persona a la familia, a la aldea, al estado y al mundo entero.

«[CHAPTER 55] One who embraces the fullness of Virtue, Can be compared to a newborn babe. Wasps and scorpions, snakes and vipers do not sting him; Birds of prey and fierce beasts do not seize him; His bones and muscles are weak and pliant, yet his grasp is firm; He does not yet know the meeting of male and female, yet his organ is aroused— This is because his essence is at its height. He can scream all day, yet he won’t become hoarse— This is because his harmony is at its height.» — apertura del capítulo 55: quien abraza la plenitud de la Virtud se compara al recién nacido, a quien las avispas no pican ni las fieras apresan, porque su esencia y su armonía están en lo más alto.

«[CHAPTER 56] Those who know don’t talk about it; those who talk don’t know it. He blocks up his holes, Closes his doors, Softens the glare, Settles the dust, Files down the sharp edges, And unties the tangles. This is called Profound Union.» — apertura del capítulo 56: quienes saben no hablan de ello, y la serie de tapar agujeros, cerrar puertas, suavizar el brillo y desatar los enredos se llama Unión Profunda.

«[CHAPTER 57] Use the upright and correct to order the state; Use surprise tactics when you use troops; Use unconcern with affairs to take control of the world. How do I know that this is so? Well, the more taboos and prohibitions there are in the world, the poorer the people will be; The more sharp weapons the people possess, the more muddled the states will be; The more knowledge and skill people have, the more novel things will appear; The more legal matters are made prominent, the more robbers and thieves there will be.» — apertura del capítulo 57: lo recto para ordenar el estado, la sorpresa para las tropas, y la serie de que a más prohibiciones más pobreza y a más leyes más ladrones.

«[CHAPTER 58] When the government is muddled and confused, The people are genuine and sincere. When the government is discriminate and clear, The state is crafty and cunning. Disaster is that on which good fortune depends. Good fortune is that in which disaster’s concealed. Who knows where it will end? For there is no fixed “correct.” The “correct” turns into the “deviant”; And “good” turns into “evil.”» — apertura del capítulo 58: gobierno confuso y pueblo sincero, gobierno minucioso y estado taimado; la desgracia es aquello de lo que depende la fortuna y no hay *correcto* fijo.

«People’s state of confusion Has certainly existed for a long time. Therefore be square but don’t cut; Be sharp but don’t stab; Be straightforward but not unrestrained; Be bright but don’t dazzle.» — cierre del capítulo 58: las cuatro medidas de la conducta, ser cuadrado sin cortar y brillante sin deslumbrar.

«[CHAPTER 59] For ordering humanity and serving Heaven, nothing’s so good as being sparing. For only if you are sparing can you, therefore, early submit to the Way. Early submission—this is called to repeatedly accumulate Virtue. If you repeatedly accumulate Virtue, then there is nothing you can’t overcome. When there is nothing you can’t overcome, no one knows where it will end. When no one knows where it will end, you can possess the state. And when you possess the mother of the state, you can last a very long time. This is called having deep roots and a firm base, It’s the Way of long life and long-lasting vision.» — capítulo 59 entero: para ordenar a los hombres y servir al Cielo nada como ser parco, de donde sale la acumulación repetida de Virtud, las raíces hondas y la base firme.

«[CHAPTER 60] Ruling a large state is like cooking small fish. When you use the Way to govern the world, evil spirits won’t have godlike power. Actually, it’s not that evil spirits won’t have godlike power, It’s that their power will not harm men. But it’s not just that their power won’t harm men, The Sage, also, will not harm them. Since these two do not harm others, Therefore their Virtues intermingle and return to them.» — capítulo 60 entero: gobernar un estado grande es como cocinar pescaditos; los espíritus malignos no pierden el poder sino que su poder deja de dañar, y tampoco el sabio los daña.

«[CHAPTER 61] The large state is like the lower part of a river; It is the female of the world; It is the meeting point of the world. The female constantly overcomes the male with tranquility. Because she is tranquil, therefore she is fittingly underneath.» — capítulo 61 entero: el estado grande como la parte baja del río y como hembra del mundo, que vence al macho con quietud por estar debajo.

«[CHAPTER 65] Those who practiced the Way in antiquity, Did not use it to enlighten the people. Rather, they used it to make them dumb. Now the reason why people are difficult to rule is because of their knowledge; As a result, to use knowledge to rule the state Is thievery of the state; To use ignorance to rule the state Is kindness to the state. One who constantly understands these two, Also understands the principle. To constantly understand the principle— This is called Profound Virtue. Profound Virtue is deep, is far-reaching, And together with things it returns. Thus we arrive at the Great Accord.» — capítulo 65 entero: los antiguos no usaban la Vía para ilustrar al pueblo sino para embrutecerlo, porque gobernar con conocimiento es robo al estado y con ignorancia es bondad.

«[CHAPTER 81] Sincere words are not showy; Showy words are not sincere. Those who know are not “widely learned”; Those “widely learned” do not know. The good do not have a lot; Those with a lot are not good. The Sage accumulates nothing. Having used what he had for others, He has even more. Having given what he had to others, What he has is even greater. Therefore, the Way of Heaven is to benefit and not cause any harm; The Way of Man is to act on behalf of others and not to compete with them.» — capítulo 81 entero, que aquí cierra la primera mitad y no el libro: el sabio no acumula nada y cuanto más da más tiene, y la Vía del Cielo beneficia sin dañar.

«Use the individual to examine the individual; Use the family to examine the family; Use the village to examine the village; Use the state to examine the state; And use the world to examine the world; How do I know that the world is so? By this.» — cierre del capítulo 54: la misma escala usada como método de examen, del individuo al mundo, y la respuesta a cómo se sabe que el mundo es así: por esto.

«To know harmony is called “the constant”; To know the constant is called “being wise”; To add on to life is called a “bad omen”; For the mind to control the breath—that’s called “forcing things.” When things reach their prime, they get old; This is called “not the Way.” What is not the Way will come to an early end.» — cierre del capítulo 55: conocer la armonía es lo constante, añadir a la vida es mal presagio y que la mente gobierne el aliento es forzar las cosas.

«Therefore, there is no way to get intimate with him, But there is also no way to shun him. There is no way to benefit him, But there is also no way to harm him. There is no way to ennoble him, But there is also no way to debase him. For this very reason he’s the noblest thing in the world.» — cierre del capítulo 56: a ese no se lo puede acercar ni rehuir, beneficiar ni dañar, ennoblecer ni envilecer, y por eso mismo es lo más noble del mundo.

«Therefore, the words of the Sage say: I do nothing, and the people of themselves are transformed; I love tranquility, and the people of themselves are upright; I’m unconcerned with affairs, and the people of themselves become rich; I desire not to desire, and the people of themselves are genuine and simple, like uncarved wood.» — cierre del capítulo 57, las cuatro sentencias del sabio: no hago nada y el pueblo se transforma solo, no deseo desear y el pueblo se vuelve simple como madera sin tallar.

«[CHAPTER 62] The Way is that toward which all things flow. It is the treasure of the good man, And that which protects the bad. Beautiful words can be bought and sold; Honored deeds can be presented to others as gifts; Even with things that people regard as no good—will they be rejected?» — apertura del capítulo 62: la Vía como tesoro del hombre bueno y amparo del malo, y la pregunta de si alguien queda rechazado.

«Therefore, when the Son of Heaven is being enthroned or the Three Ministers installed, Though you might salute them with disks of jade preceded by teams of four horses, That’s not so good as sitting still and offering this. The reason why the ancients valued this—what was it? Did they not say, “Those who seek, with this will attain, and those who commit offenses, with this will escape”?! Therefore, it’s the most valued thing in the world.» — cierre del capítulo 62: ofrecer esto sentado vale más que los discos de jade con tiros de cuatro caballos de la entronización.

«[CHAPTER 63] Act without acting; Serve without concern for affairs; Find flavor in what has no flavor. Regard the small as large and the few as many, And repay resentment with kindness. Plan for the difficult while it is easy; Act on the large while it’s minute. The most difficult things in the world begin as things that are easy; The largest things in the world arise from the minute.» — apertura del capítulo 63: obrar sin obrar, hallar sabor en lo que no tiene sabor y pagar el resentimiento con bondad, porque lo más difícil empieza siendo fácil.

«Therefore the Sage, to the end does not strive to do the great, And as a result, he is able to accomplish the great; Those who too lightly agree will necessarily be trusted by few; And those who regard many things as easy will necessarily end up with many difficulties. Therefore, even the Sage regards things as difficult, And as a result, in the end he has no difficulty.» — cierre del capítulo 63: el sabio no se esfuerza por lo grande y por eso lo logra, y tiene por difíciles las cosas y por eso no halla dificultad.

«[CHAPTER 64] What is at rest is easy to hold; What has not yet given a sign is easy to plan for; The brittle is easily shattered; The minute is easily scattered; Act on it before it comes into being; Order it before it turns into chaos. A tree so big that it takes both arms to surround starts out as the tiniest shoot; A nine-story terrace rises up from a basket of dirt. A high place one hundred, one thousand feet high begins from under your feet.» — apertura del capítulo 64: actuar antes de que la cosa sea; el árbol que abarcan dos brazos empieza como el brote más pequeño y la terraza de nueve pisos, como un cesto de tierra.

«Those who act on it ruin it; Those who hold on to it lose it. Therefore the Sage does not act, And as a result, he doesn’t ruin things; He does not hold on to things, And as a result, he doesn’t lose things; In people’s handling of affairs, they always ruin things when they’re right at the point of completion. Therefore we say, “If you’re as careful at the end as you were at the beginning, you’ll have no failures.”» — continuación del capítulo 64: quien obra sobre las cosas las arruina y quien se aferra a ellas las pierde, y la gente las echa a perder justo cuando están por completarse.

«Therefore the Sage desires not to desire and doesn’t value goods that are hard to obtain; He learns not to learn and returns to what the masses pass by; He could help all things to be natural, yet he dare not do it.» — cierre del capítulo 64: el sabio desea no desear y aprende a no aprender, y aunque podría ayudar a que todo fuera natural no se atreve a hacerlo.

«Thus he dwells above, yet the people do not regard him as heavy; And he dwells in front, yet the people do not see him as posing a threat. The whole world delights in his praise and never tires of him. Is it not because he is not contentious, That, as a result, no one in the world can contend with him?!» — cierre del capítulo 66: nadie en el mundo puede contender con quien no contiende.

«[CHAPTER 80] Let the states be small and people few— Bring it about that there are weapons for “tens” and “hundreds,” yet let no one use them; Have the people regard death gravely and put migrating far from their minds. Though they might have boats and carriages, no one will ride them; Though they might have armor and spears, no one will display them. Have the people return to knotting cords and using them. They will relish their food, Regard their clothing as beautiful, Delight in their customs, And feel safe and secure in their homes.» — apertura del capítulo 80, que en el orden de Ma-wang-tui va entre el 66 y el 67: estados pequeños, armas sin uso y vuelta a anudar cuerdas; la introducción ya cita estos versos numerados.

«[CHAPTER 66] The reason why rivers and oceans are able to be the kings of the one hundred valleys is that they are good at being below them. For this reason they are able to be the kings of the one hundred valleys. Therefore in the Sage’s desire to be above the people, He must in his speech be below them. And in his desire to be at the front of the people, He must in his person be behind them.» — apertura del capítulo 66: los ríos y los mares reinan sobre los cien valles por estar debajo, y de ahí que el sabio se ponga debajo en el habla y detrás en persona.

«And feel safe and secure in their homes. Neighboring states might overlook one another, And the sounds of chickens and dogs might be overheard, Yet the people will arrive at old age and death with no comings and goings between them.» — cierre del capítulo 80 en la Parte Uno: las aldeas vecinas se oyen los gallos y los perros y la gente llega a vieja y a la muerte sin ir de una a otra; los mismos versos van numerados en la introducción.

«The first is compassion; The second is frugality; And the third is not presuming to be at the forefront in the world. Now, it’s because I’m compassionate that I therefore can be courageous; And it’s because I’m frugal that I therefore can be magnanimous; And it’s because I don’t presume to be at the forefront in the world that I therefore can be the head of those with complete talent.» — los tres tesoros del capítulo 67 —compasión, frugalidad y no presumir de ir por delante— y lo que cada uno permite: valor, magnanimidad y encabezar a los de talento completo.

«Now, if you abandon this compassion and yet try to be courageous, And if you abandon this frugality and yet try to be magnanimous, And if you abandon this staying behind and yet go to the fore, Then you will die. If with compassion you attack, then you’ll win; If you defend, then you’ll stand firm.» — el capítulo 67 invierte la serie: abandonar los tres tesoros y aun así querer valor, magnanimidad y delantera lleva a morir.

«[CHAPTER 70] My words are easy to understand, And easy to put into practice. Yet no one in the world can understand them, And no one can put them into practice. Now my words have an ancestor, and my deeds have a lord, And it’s simply because people have no understanding of them, that they therefore don’t understand me. But when those who understand me are few, then I’m of great value. Therefore the Sage wears coarse woolen cloth, but inside it he holds on to jade.» — capítulo 70 entero: las palabras son fáciles de entender y de practicar y nadie las entiende ni las practica; el sabio viste lana tosca y por dentro guarda jade.

«[CHAPTER 71] To know you don’t know is best. Not to know you don’t know is a flaw. Therefore, the Sage’s not being flawed Stems from his recognizing a flaw as a flaw. Therefore, he is flawless.» — capítulo 71 entero: saber que no se sabe es lo mejor, y el sabio no tiene tacha porque reconoce la tacha como tacha.

«[CHAPTER 72] When the people don’t respect those in power, then what they greatly fear is about to arrive. Don’t narrow the size of the places in which they live; Don’t oppress them in their means of livelihood. It’s simply because you do not oppress them, that they therefore will not be fed up. Therefore the Sage knows himself but doesn’t show himself; He cherishes himself but doesn’t value himself. For this reason, he rejects that and takes this.» — capítulo 72 entero: no estrechar el lugar donde vive la gente ni oprimirla en su sustento, porque solo por no oprimirla no se hartará.

«[CHAPTER 73] If you’re brave in being daring, you’ll be killed; If you’re brave in not being daring, you’ll live. With these two things, in one case there’s profit, in the other there’s harm. The things Heaven hates—who knows why? The Way of Heaven is not to fight yet to be good at winning— Not to speak yet skillfully respond— No one summons it, yet it comes on its own— To be at ease yet carefully plan. Heaven’s net is large and vast; Its mesh may be coarse yet nothing slips through.» — capítulo 73 entero: la valentía en atreverse mata y la valentía en no atreverse deja vivir; la red del Cielo es vasta y de malla gruesa y nada se le escapa.

«[CHAPTER 74] If the people were constant in their behavior and yet did not fear death, How could you use execution to intimidate them? If you brought it about that the people were constant in their behavior and moreover feared death, and we took those who behaved in abnormal ways and killed them—who would dare act in this way?! If the people are constant and moreover necessarily fear death, then we constantly have the one in charge of executions. Now, killing people in place of the one in charge of executions, this is like cutting wood in place of the head carpenter. And of those who cut wood in place of the head carpenter, very few do not hurt their hands!» — capítulo 74 entero: matar en lugar del encargado de las ejecuciones es como cortar madera en lugar del maestro carpintero, y pocos de esos no se lastiman las manos.

«[CHAPTER 75] The reason why people starve, Is because they take so much in tax-grain. Therefore they starve. The reason why the common people cannot be ruled, Is because their superiors have their reasons for acting. Therefore they cannot be ruled. The reason why people take death lightly, Is because they so avidly seek after life. Therefore they take death lightly. Only those who do not act for the purpose of living— Only these are superior to those who value life.» — capítulo 75 entero: la gente pasa hambre por el grano que se le cobra en impuesto y toma la muerte a la ligera por buscar la vida con avidez.

«[CHAPTER 76] When people are born, they’re supple and soft; When they die, they end up stretched out firm and rigid; When the ten thousand things and grasses and trees are alive, they’re supple and pliant; When they’re dead, they’re withered and dried out. Therefore we say that the firm and rigid are companions of death, While the supple, the soft, the weak, and the delicate are companions of life. If a soldier is rigid, he won’t win; If a tree is rigid, it will come to its end. Rigidity and power occupy the inferior position; Suppleness, softness, weakness, and delicateness occupy the superior position.» — capítulo 76 entero: lo firme y lo rígido son compañeros de la muerte y lo flexible y lo blando lo son de la vida, y de ahí la posición inferior de la rigidez y el poder.

«[CHAPTER 77] The Way of Heaven is like the flexing of a bow. The high it presses down; the low it raises up. From those with a surplus it takes away; to those without enough it adds on. Therefore the Way of Heaven— Is to reduce the excessive and increase the insufficient; The Way of Man— Is to reduce the insufficient and offer more to the excessive. Now, who is able to have a surplus and use it to offer to Heaven? Clearly, it’s only the one who possesses the Way.» — apertura del capítulo 77: la Vía del Cielo como el flexionar de un arco, que baja lo alto y sube lo bajo, contra la Vía del Hombre, que quita al que no tiene y da al que sobra.

«Therefore the Sage— Takes actions but does not possess them; Accomplishes his tasks but does not dwell on them. Like this, is his desire not to make a display of his worthiness.» — cierre del capítulo 77: el sabio obra sin poseer sus obras y cumple sin instalarse en lo cumplido, por no hacer alarde de su valía.

«[CHAPTER 67] Chapters 67, 68, and 69 should be read together as a unit. The whole world says, I’m Great; Great, yet unlike everyone else. But it’s precisely because I’m unlike everyone else, that I’m therefore able to be Great. Were I like everyone else, for a long time now I’d have seemed insignificant and small. I constantly have three treasures; Hold on to them and treasure them.» — apertura del capítulo 67, con la advertencia del traductor en el encabezado de que los capítulos 67 a 69 se leen como una unidad: la grandeza viene de no parecerse a nadie, y el texto declara tener tres tesoros constantes.

«When Heaven’s about to establish him, It’s as though he surrounds him with the protective wall of compassion.» — cierre del capítulo 67, que el troceo deja solo en su plana: el Cielo rodea al que va a establecer con la muralla protectora de la compasión.

«[CHAPTER 68] Chapters 67, 68, and 69 should be read together as a unit. Therefore, one who is good at being a warrior doesn’t make a show of his might; One who is good in battle doesn’t get angry; One who is good at defeating the enemy doesn’t engage him. And one who is good at using men places himself below them. This is called the virtue of not competing; This is called correctly using men; This is called matching Heaven. It’s the high point of the past.» — capítulo 68 entero: el buen guerrero no hace alarde de su fuerza, el bueno en la batalla no se enoja y el bueno usando hombres se pone debajo de ellos; a eso lo llama la virtud de no competir.

«[CHAPTER 69] Chapters 67, 68, and 69 should be read together as a unit. Those who use weapons have a saying which goes: “I don’t presume to act like the host, and instead play the part of the guest; I don’t advance an inch, but rather retreat a foot.” This is called moving forward without moving forward— Rolling up one’s sleeves without baring one’s arms— Grasping firmly without holding a weapon— And enticing to fight when there’s no opponent.» — apertura del capítulo 69: el dicho de los que usan armas, no hacer de anfitrión sino de huésped y retroceder un pie antes que avanzar una pulgada.

«Of disasters, none is greater than thinking you have no rival. To think you have no rival is to come close to losing my treasures. Therefore, when weapons are raised and the opponents are fairly well matched, Then it’s the one who feels grief that will win.» — cierre del capítulo 69: ninguna desgracia mayor que creerse sin rival, y cuando las armas se alzan gana el que siente aflicción.

«[CHAPTER 78] In the whole world, nothing is softer and weaker than water. And yet for attacking the hard and strong, nothing can beat it, Because there is nothing you can use to replace it. That water can defeat the unyielding— That the weak can defeat the strong— There is no one in the whole world who doesn’t know it, And yet there is no one who can put it into practice.» — apertura del capítulo 78: nada más blando ni más débil que el agua y nada mejor para atacar lo duro y lo fuerte; todos lo saben y nadie lo practica.

«For this reason, the words of the Sage say: To take on yourself the disgrace of the state—this is called being the lord of the altars of earth and grain; To assume responsibility for all ill-omened events in the state— this is called being the king of the world. Correct words seem to say the reverse of what you expect them to say.» — cierre del capítulo 78: cargar con la deshonra del estado es ser señor de los altares de la tierra y del grano, y las palabras correctas parecen decir lo contrario de lo que se espera.

«[CHAPTER 79] To make peace where there has been great resentment, there is bound to be resentment left over. How could this be regarded as good? Therefore the Sage holds the right tally yet makes no demands of others. For this reason, those who have virtue are in charge of the tally; Those without virtue are in charge of the taxes. The Way of Heaven has no favorites, It’s always with the good man. Virtue—3,041 characters» — capítulo 79 entero, que cierra el Te: el sabio sostiene la tablilla derecha y no exige nada; al pie va el recuento de caracteres de la mitad, como lo imprime el manuscrito.

«[CHAPTER 1] As for the Way, the Way that can be spoken of is not the constant Way; As for names, the name that can be named is not the constant name. The nameless is the beginning of the ten thousand things; The named is the mother of the ten thousand things. Therefore, those constantly without desires, by this means will perceive its subtlety. Those constantly with desires, by this means will see only that which they yearn for and seek. These two together emerge; They have different names yet they’re called the same; That which is even more profound than the profound— The gateway of all subtleties.» — capítulo 1 entero, que aquí abre la segunda mitad y no el libro: la Vía que puede decirse no es la Vía constante, y lo sin nombre es el principio de los diez mil seres mientras lo nombrado es su madre.

«[CHAPTER 2] When everyone in the world knows the beautiful as beautiful, ugliness comes into being; When everyone knows the good, then the not good comes to be. The mutual production of being and nonbeing, The mutual completion of difficult and easy, The mutual formation of long and short, The mutual filling of high and low, The mutual harmony of tone and voice, The mutual following of front and back— These are all constants.» — apertura del capítulo 2: cuando todos conocen lo bello como bello aparece la fealdad, y la serie de producciones mutuas de ser y no ser, difícil y fácil, largo y corto.

«Therefore the Sage dwells in nonactive affairs and practices the wordless teaching. The ten thousand things arise, but he doesn’t begin them; He acts on their behalf, but he doesn’t make them dependent; He accomplishes his tasks, but he doesn’t dwell on them; It is only because he doesn’t dwell on them that they therefore do not leave him.» — cierre del capítulo 2: el sabio habita en asuntos no activos y practica la enseñanza sin palabras, y por no instalarse en lo hecho no lo abandona.

«[CHAPTER 3] By not elevating the worthy, you bring it about that people will not compete. By not valuing goods that are hard to obtain, you bring it about that people will not act like thieves. By not displaying the desirable you bring it about that people will not be confused. Therefore, in the government of the Sage: He empties their minds, And fills their bellies. Weakens their ambition, And strengthens their bones. He constantly causes the people to be without knowledge and without desires. If he can bring it about that those with knowledge simply do not dare to act, Then there is nothing that will not be in order.» — capítulo 3 entero: no encumbrar al digno, no valorar lo difícil de obtener y no exhibir lo deseable; el gobierno del sabio vacía las mentes y llena los vientres.

«[CHAPTER 4] The Way is empty; Yet when you use it, you never need fill it again. Like an abyss! It seems to be the ancestor of the ten thousand things. It files down sharp edges; Unties the tangles; Softens the glare; And settles the dust. Submerged! It seems perhaps to exist. We don’t know whose child it is; It seems to have even preceded the Lord.» — capítulo 4 entero: la Vía vacía que nunca hay que volver a llenar, abismo que parece antepasado de los diez mil seres y que parece haber precedido al Señor.

«[CHAPTER 5] Heaven and Earth are not humane; They regard the ten thousand things as straw dogs. The Sage is not humane; He regards the common people as straw dogs. The space between Heaven and Earth—is it not like a bellows? It is empty and yet not depleted; Move it and more always comes out. Much learning means frequent exhaustion. That’s not so good as holding on to the mean.» — capítulo 5 entero: el cielo y la tierra no son humanos y tratan a los diez mil seres como perros de paja; el espacio entre ambos es un fuelle vacío y nunca agotado.

«[CHAPTER 6] The valley spirit never dies; We call it the mysterious female. The gates of the mysterious female— These we call the roots of Heaven and Earth. Subtle yet everlasting! It seems to exist. In being used, it is not exhausted.» — capítulo 6 entero: el espíritu del valle no muere y se llama la hembra misteriosa, cuyas puertas son la raíz del cielo y de la tierra.

«[CHAPTER 7] Heaven endures; Earth lasts a long time. The reason why Heaven and Earth can endure and last a long time— Is that they do not live for themselves. Therefore they can long endure. Therefore the Sage: Puts himself in the background yet finds himself in the foreground; Puts self-concern out of his mind, yet finds that his self-concern is preserved. Is it not because he has no self-interest, That he is therefore able to realize his self-interest?» — capítulo 7 entero: el cielo y la tierra duran porque no viven para sí, y de ahí que el sabio se ponga atrás y acabe delante.

«[CHAPTER 8] The highest good is like water; Water is good at benefiting the ten thousand things and yet it does not compete with them. It dwells in places the masses of people detest, Therefore it is close to the Way. In dwelling, the good thing is the land; In the mind, the good thing is depth; In giving, the good thing is being like Heaven; In speaking, the good thing is sincerity; In governing, the good thing is order; In affairs, the good thing is ability; In activity, the good thing is timeliness. It is only because it does not compete, that therefore it is without fault.» — capítulo 8 entero: el bien más alto es como el agua, que beneficia a los diez mil seres sin competir y habita donde la gente detesta; la serie de siete bienes, del lugar al momento oportuno.

«[CHAPTER 9] To hold it upright and fill it, Is not so good as stopping in time. When you pound it out and give it a point, It won’t be preserved very long. When gold and jade fill your rooms, You’ll never be able to protect them. Arrogance and pride with wealth and rank, On their own bring on disaster. When the deed is accomplished you retire; Such is Heaven’s Way!» — capítulo 9 entero: sostenerlo derecho y llenarlo no es tan bueno como parar a tiempo, y el oro y el jade que llenan las salas no se pueden guardar; cumplida la obra, retirarse.

«[CHAPTER 10] In nourishing the soul and embracing the One—can you do it without letting them leave? In concentrating your breath and making it soft—can you make it like that of a child? In cultivating and cleaning your profound mirror—can you do it so that it has no blemish? In loving the people and giving life to the state—can you do it without using knowledge? In opening and closing the gates of Heaven—can you play the part of the female? In understanding all within the four reaches—can you do it without using knowledge? Give birth to them and nourish them. Give birth to them but don’t try to own them; Help them to grow but don’t rule them. This is called Profound Virtue.» — capítulo 10 entero: la serie de preguntas sobre nutrir el alma y abrazar el Uno, concentrar el aliento hasta volverlo como el de un niño y limpiar el espejo profundo hasta dejarlo sin mancha; la introducción cita numeradas las tres primeras líneas.

«[CHAPTER 11] Thirty spokes unite in one hub; It is precisely where there is nothing, that we find the usefulness of the wheel. We fire clay and make vessels; It is precisely where there’s no substance, that we find the usefulness of clay pots. We chisel out doors and windows; It is precisely in these empty spaces, that we find the usefulness of the room. Therefore, we regard having something as beneficial; But having nothing as useful.» — capítulo 11 entero: treinta radios en un cubo, la vasija de barro y la puerta abierta en el muro; la utilidad está justo donde no hay nada.

«[CHAPTER 12] The five colors cause one’s eyes to go blind. Racing horses and hunting cause one’s mind to go mad. Goods that are hard to obtain pose an obstacle to one’s travels. The five flavors confuse one’s palate. The five tones cause one’s ears to go deaf. Therefore, in the government of the Sage: He’s for the belly and not for the eyes. Thus he rejects that and takes this.» — capítulo 12 entero: los cinco colores ciegan, los cinco sabores confunden el paladar y los cinco tonos ensordecen; el sabio va por el vientre y no por los ojos.

«[CHAPTER 15] The one who was skilled at practicing the Way in antiquity, Was subtle and profound, mysterious and penetratingly wise. His depth cannot be known. It is only because he cannot be known That therefore were I forced to describe him I’d say: Hesitant was he! Like someone crossing a river in winter. Undecided was he! As though in fear of his neighbors on all four sides. Solemn and polite was he! Like a guest. Scattered and dispersed was he! Like ice as it melts. Genuine, unformed was he! Like uncarved wood. Merged, undifferentiated was he! Like muddy water. Broad and expansive was he! Like a valley.» — apertura del capítulo 15: al antiguo diestro en la Vía no se le puede conocer, y de ahí la serie de símiles forzados, vacilante como quien cruza un río en invierno y disperso como el hielo que se derrite.

«If you take muddy water and still it, it gradually becomes clear. If you bring something to rest in order to move it, it gradually comes alive. The one who preserves this Way does not desire to be full; Therefore he can wear out with no need to be renewed.» — cierre del capítulo 15: el agua turbia aquietada se aclara, y quien guarda esta Vía no desea estar lleno y por eso puede gastarse sin necesidad de renovarse.

«[CHAPTER 13] “Regard favor and disgrace with alarm.” “Respect great distress as you do your own person.” What do I mean when I say “Regard favor and disgrace with alarm”? Favor is inferior. If you get it—be alarmed! If you lose it—be alarmed! This is what I mean when I say “Regard favor and disgrace with alarm.” What do I mean when I say “Respect great distress as you do your own person”? The reason why I have great distress Is that I have a body. If I had no body, what distress would I have?» — apertura del capítulo 13, construida como par de máximas citadas y glosadas por el propio texto: el favor es inferior y hay que alarmarse igual al ganarlo que al perderlo, y la gran aflicción viene de tener cuerpo.

«Therefore, to one who values acting for himself over acting on behalf of the world, You can entrust the world. And to one who in being parsimonious regards his person as equal to the world, You can turn over the world.» — cierre del capítulo 13: se puede confiar el mundo a quien valora obrar por sí mismo sobre obrar por el mundo, y entregarlo a quien tiene su persona por igual al mundo.

«[CHAPTER 14] We look at it but do not see it; We name this “the minute.” We listen to it but do not hear it; We name this “the rarefied.” We touch it but do not hold it; We name this “the level and smooth.” These three cannot be examined to the limit. Thus they merge together as one. “One”—there is nothing more encompassing above it, And nothing smaller below it. Boundless, formless! It cannot be named, And returns to the state of no-thing. This is called the formless form, The substanceless image. This is called the subtle and indistinct.» — apertura del capítulo 14: lo que se mira sin ver, se escucha sin oír y se toca sin asir se llama lo minuto, lo enrarecido y lo liso, y los tres se funden en Uno, forma sin forma e imagen sin sustancia.

«Follow it and you won’t see its back; Greet it and you won’t see its head. Hold on to the Way of the present— To manage the things of the present, And to know the ancient beginning.» — cierre del capítulo 14 en su plana: no se le ve la espalda al seguirlo ni la cabeza al salirle al paso, y se sostiene la Vía del presente para conocer el principio antiguo.

«This is called the beginning of the thread of the Way.» — última línea del capítulo 14, que el troceo deja sola en su plana: a eso lo llama el principio del hilo de la Vía.

«[CHAPTER 16] Take emptiness to the limit; Maintain tranquility in the center. The ten thousand things—side-by-side they arise; And by this I see their return. Things come forth in great numbers; Each one returns to its root. This is called tranquility. “Tranquility”—This means to return to your fate. To return to your fate is to be constant; To know the constant is to be wise. Not to know the constant is to be reckless and wild;» — apertura del capítulo 16: llevar el vacío al límite y mantener la quietud en el centro, y ver desde ahí que cada cosa vuelve a su raíz; la introducción ya cita numeradas estas seis primeras líneas.

«To know the constant is to be all-embracing; To be all-embracing is to be impartial; To be impartial is to be kingly; To be kingly is to be like Heaven; To be like Heaven is to be one with the Tao; If you’re one with the Tao, to the end of your days you’ll suffer no harm.» — cierre del capítulo 16: la escala que sube de conocer lo constante a abarcarlo todo, a ser imparcial, regio, como el Cielo y uno con el Tao.

«[CHAPTER 17] Chapters 17, 18, and 19 should be read together as a unit. With the highest kind of rulers, those below simply know they exist. With those one step down—they love and praise them. With those one further step down—they fear them. And with those at the bottom—they ridicule and insult them. When trust is insufficient, there will be no trust in return. Hesitant, undecided! Like this is his respect for speaking. He completes his tasks and finishes his affairs, Yet the common people say, “These things all happened by nature.”» — capítulo 17 entero, con la advertencia del traductor de que los capítulos 17 a 19 forman una unidad: los cuatro grados de gobernante, del que apenas se sabe que existe al que se ridiculiza, y el pueblo que dice que todo pasó por naturaleza.

«[CHAPTER 18] Chapters 17, 18, and 19 should be read together as a unit. Therefore, when the Great Way is rejected, it is then that we have the virtues of humanity and righteousness; When knowledge and wisdom appear, it is then that there is great hypocrisy; When the six relations are not in harmony, it is then that we have filial piety and compassion; And when the country is in chaos and confusion, it is then that there are virtuous officials.» — capítulo 18 entero: cuando la Gran Vía se rechaza aparecen las virtudes de humanidad y rectitud, y cuando el país está en caos aparecen los funcionarios virtuosos.

«[CHAPTER 19] Chapters 17, 18, and 19 should be read together as a unit. Eliminate sageliness, throw away knowledge, And the people will benefit a hundredfold. Eliminate humanity, throw away righteousness, And the people will return to filial piety and compassion. Eliminate craftiness, throw away profit, Then we will have no robbers and thieves. These three sayings— Regarded as a text are not yet complete. Thus, we must see to it that they have the following appended: Manifest plainness and embrace the genuine; Lessen self-interest and make few your desires; Eliminate learning and have no undue concern.» — capítulo 19 entero: eliminar la santidad, la humanidad y la astucia, y las tres sentencias que el propio texto declara incompletas y a las que manda añadir otras tres.

«The masses all have their reasons for acting; I alone am stupid and obstinate like a rustic. But my desires alone differ from those of others— For I value drawing sustenance from the Mother.» — cierre del capítulo 20, que el troceo deja en la plana siguiente: mis deseos difieren de los de los demás porque valoro mamar de la Madre.

«[CHAPTER 21] The character of great virtue follows alone from the Way. As for the nature of the Way—it’s shapeless and formless. Formless! Shapeless! Inside there are images. Shapeless! Formless! Inside there are things. Hidden! Obscure! Inside there are essences. These essences are very real; Inside them is the proof. From the present back to the past, Its name has never gone away. It is by this that we comply with the father of the multitude of things. How do I know that the father of the multitude is so? By this.» — capítulo 21 entero: la naturaleza de la Vía es sin forma y sin figura, y dentro hay imágenes, cosas y esencias muy reales que son la prueba.

«[CHAPTER 24] One who boasts is not established; One who shows himself off does not become prominent; One who puts himself on display does not brightly shine; One who brags about himself gets no credit; One who praises himself does not long endure. In the Way, such things are called: “Surplus food and redundant action.” And with things—there are those who hate them. Therefore, the one with the Way in them does not dwell.» — capítulo 24 entero, que en el orden de Ma-wang-tui va entre el 21 y el 22: la serie del que se jacta, se exhibe y se alaba, que en la Vía se llama comida sobrante y acción redundante.

«[CHAPTER 22] Bent over, you’ll be preserved whole; When twisted, you’ll be upright; When hollowed out, you’ll be full; When worn out, you’ll be renewed; When you have little, you’ll attain much; With much, you’ll be confused. Therefore the Sage holds on to the One and in this way becomes the shepherd of the world. He does not show himself off; therefore he becomes prominent. He does not put himself on display; therefore he brightly shines. He does not brag about himself; therefore he receives credit. He does not praise his own deeds; therefore he can long endure. It is only because he does not compete that, therefore, no one is able to compete with him.» — apertura del capítulo 22: doblado te conservas entero y vaciado te llenas, y el sabio se sostiene en el Uno y así se vuelve pastor del mundo.

«The so-called “Bent over you’ll be preserved whole” of the ancients Was an expression that was really close to it! Truly “wholeness” will belong to him.» — cierre del capítulo 22, donde el texto vuelve sobre su propia máxima de los antiguos y la declara muy cercana al asunto.

«[CHAPTER 23] To rarely speak—such is the way of Nature. Fierce winds don’t last the whole morning; Torrential rains don’t last the whole day. Who makes these things? If even Heaven and Earth can’t make these last long— How much the more is this true for man?! Therefore, one who devotes himself to the Way is one with the Way; One who devotes himself to Virtue is one with that Virtue; And one who devotes himself to losing is one with that loss. To the one who is one with Virtue, the Way also gives Virtue; While for the one who is one with his loss, the Way also disregards him.» — capítulo 23 entero: hablar poco es lo propio de la Naturaleza, porque ni el viento fiero dura toda la mañana ni la lluvia torrencial todo el día.

«[CHAPTER 26] The heavy is the root of the light; Tranquility is the lord of agitation. Therefore the gentleman, in traveling all day, does not get far away from his luggage carts. When he’s safely inside a walled-in protected hostel and resting at ease—only then does he transcend all concern. How can the king of ten thousand chariots treat his own person more lightly than the whole land?! If you regard things too lightly, then you lose the basic; If you’re agitated, you lose the “lord.”» — capítulo 26 entero: lo pesado es raíz de lo ligero y la quietud es señora de la agitación, y el rey de diez mil carros no ha de tratar su persona más a la ligera que la tierra entera.

«[CHAPTER 20] Agreement and angry rejection; How great is the difference between them? Beautiful and ugly; What’s it like—the difference between them? The one who is feared by others, Must also because of this fear other men. Wild, unrestrained! It will never come to an end! The multitudes are peaceful and happy; Like climbing a terrace in springtime to feast at the t’ai-lao sacrifice. But I’m tranquil and quiet—not yet having given any sign. Like a child who has not yet smiled.» — apertura del capítulo 20: las preguntas por la distancia entre el acuerdo y el rechazo airado y entre lo bello y lo feo, y la primera imagen en primera persona, quieta como un niño que aún no ha sonreído.

«Tired and exhausted—as though I have no place to return. The multitudes all have a surplus. I alone seem to be lacking. Mine is the mind of a fool—ignorant and stupid! The common people see things clearly; I alone am in the dark. The common people discriminate and make fine distinctions; I alone am muddled and confused. Formless am I! Like the ocean; Shapeless am I! As though I have nothing in which I can rest.» — continuación del capítulo 20: las multitudes tienen de sobra y solo la voz parece carecer; mía es la mente de un necio, dice, y solo yo estoy a oscuras.

«[CHAPTER 25] There was something formed out of chaos, That was born before Heaven and Earth. Quiet and still! Pure and deep! It stands on its own and doesn’t change. It can be regarded as the mother of Heaven and Earth. I do not yet know its name: I “style” it “the Way.” Were I forced to give it a name, I would call it “the Great.” “Great” means “to depart”; “To depart” means “to be far away”; And “to be far away” means “to return.”» — apertura del capítulo 25: algo formado del caos, nacido antes del Cielo y de la Tierra, al que la voz no sabe nombrar y solo estiliza como la Vía.

«The Way is great; Heaven is great; Earth is great; And the king is also great. In the country there are four greats, and the king occupies one place among them. Man models himself on the Earth; The Earth models itself on Heaven; Heaven models itself on the Way; And the Way models itself on that which is so on its own.» — cierre del capítulo 25: los cuatro grandes del país, con el rey ocupando uno de los puestos, y la escala del hombre a la tierra, al cielo, a la Vía y a lo que es así por sí mismo.

«[CHAPTER 27] The good traveler leaves no track behind; The good speaker speaks without blemish or flaw; The good counter doesn’t use tallies or chips; The good closer of doors does so without bolt or lock, and yet the door cannot be opened; The good tier of knots ties without rope or cord, yet his knots can’t be undone. Therefore the Sage is constantly good at saving men and never rejects anyone; And with things, he never rejects useful goods. This is called Doubly Bright.» — apertura del capítulo 27: el buen viajero no deja rastro, el buen contador no usa fichas y el buen atador de nudos ata sin cuerda; a eso lo llama Doblemente Brillante.

«Therefore the good man is the teacher of the good, And the bad man is the raw material for the good. To not value one’s teacher and not cherish the raw goods— Though one had great knowledge, he would still be greatly confused. This is called the Essential of the Sublime.» — cierre del capítulo 27: el hombre malo es la materia prima del bueno, y no apreciar al maestro ni valorar esa materia deja confundido al que mucho sabe.

«When uncarved wood is cut up, it’s turned into vessels; When the Sage is used, he becomes the Head of Officials. Truly, great carving is done without splitting up.» — cierre del capítulo 28: la madera sin tallar cortada se vuelve vasijas, y el gran tallado se hace sin partir nada.

«[CHAPTER 29] For those who would like to take control of the world and act on it— I see that with this they simply will not succeed. The world is a sacred vessel; It is not something that can be acted upon. Those who act on it destroy it; Those who hold on to it lose it. With things—some go forward, others follow; Some are hot, others blow cold; Some are firm and strong, others submissive and weak. Some rise up while others fall down. Therefore the Sage: Rejects the extreme, the excessive, and the extravagant.» — capítulo 29 entero: el mundo es vaso sagrado y no se puede obrar sobre él, y el sabio rechaza lo extremo, lo excesivo y lo extravagante.

«[CHAPTER 31] As for weapons—they are instruments of ill omen. And among things there are those that hate them. Therefore, the one who has the Way, with them does not dwell. When the gentleman is at home, he honors the left; When at war, he honors the right. Therefore, weapons are not the instrument of the gentleman— Weapons are instruments of ill omen. When you have no choice but to use them, it’s best to remain tranquil and calm. You should never look upon them as things of beauty. If you see them as beautiful things—this is to delight in the killing of men. And when you delight in the killing of men, you’ll not realize your goal in the land.» — apertura del capítulo 31: las armas son instrumentos de mal presagio y no son instrumento del caballero, y verlas hermosas es deleitarse en matar hombres.

«Therefore, in happy events we honor the left, But in mourning we honor the right. Therefore, the lieutenant general stands on the left; And the supreme general stands on the right. Which is to say, they arrange themselves as they would at a funeral. When multitudes of people are killed, we stand before them in sorrow and grief. When we’re victorious in battle, we treat the occasion like a funeral ceremony.» — cierre del capítulo 31: los generales se colocan como en un funeral, y la victoria en batalla se trata como ceremonia fúnebre.

«[CHAPTER 33] To understand others is to be knowledgeable; To understand yourself is to be wise. To conquer others is to have strength; To conquer yourself is to be strong. To know when you have enough is to be rich. To go forward with strength is to have ambition. To not lose your place is to last long. To die but not be forgotten—that’s true long life.» — capítulo 33 entero: entender a otros es saber y entenderse a sí mismo es sabiduría; cierra con la línea que Henricks discute en la introducción, morir sin ser olvidado.

«[CHAPTER 34] The Way floats and drifts; It can go left or right. It accomplishes its tasks and completes its affairs, and yet for this it is not given a name. The ten thousand things entrust their lives to it, and yet it does not act as their master. Thus it is constantly without desires. It can be named with the things that are small. The ten thousand things entrust their lives to it, and yet it does not act as their master. It can be named with the things that are great. Therefore the Sage’s ability to accomplish the great Comes from his not playing the role of the great. Therefore he is able to accomplish the great.» — capítulo 34 entero en la versión de Ma-wang-tui, que la introducción contrasta con la traducción de Wing-tsit Chan del texto estándar: la Vía flota y deriva, cumple sin recibir nombre y no hace de señora de los diez mil seres.

«[CHAPTER 35] Hold on to the Great Image and the whole world will come to you. Come to you and suffer no harm; but rather know great safety and peace. Music and food—for these passing travelers stop. Therefore, of the Tao’s speaking, we say: Insipid, it is! It’s lack of flavor. When you look at it, it’s not sufficient to be seen; When you listen to it, it’s not sufficient to be heard; Yet when you use it, it can’t be used up.» — capítulo 35 entero: sostener la Gran Imagen y el mundo entero viene; del hablar del Tao dice que es insípido y sin sabor, insuficiente para verse y para oírse, e inagotable al usarse.

«[CHAPTER 36] If you wish to shrink it, You must certainly stretch it. If you wish to weaken it, You must certainly strengthen it. If you wish to desert it, You must certainly work closely with it. If you wish to snatch something from it, You must certainly give something to it. This is called the Subtle Light. The submissive and weak conquer the strong. Fish should not be taken out of the depths; The state’s sharp weapons should not be shown to the people.» — capítulo 36 entero: para encoger hay que estirar antes y para debilitar hay que fortalecer antes, y a eso lo llama la Luz Sutil.

«[CHAPTER 37] The Tao is constantly nameless. Were marquises and kings able to maintain it, The ten thousand things would transform on their own. Having transformed, were their desires to become active, I would subdue them with the nameless simplicity. Having subdued them with the nameless simplicity, I would not disgrace them. By not being disgraced, they will be tranquil. And Heaven and Earth will of themselves be correct and right. The Way—2,426 characters» — capítulo 37 entero, que cierra el libro en el orden de Ma-wang-tui: sometidos los deseos con la simplicidad sin nombre, el Cielo y la Tierra serán por sí mismos correctos; al pie va el recuento de caracteres de la mitad.

«[CHAPTER 28] When you know the male yet hold on to the female, You’ll be the ravine of the country. When you’re the ravine of the country, Your constant virtue will not leave. And when your constant virtue doesn’t leave, You’ll return to the state of the infant. When you know the pure yet hold on to the soiled, You’ll be the valley of the country. When you’re the valley of the country, Your constant virtue is complete. And when your constant virtue is complete, You’ll return to the state of uncarved wood.» — apertura del capítulo 28: saber lo macho y sostener lo hembra hace barranca del país y devuelve al estado del infante, y saber lo puro y sostener lo manchado hace valle y devuelve a la madera sin tallar.

«When you know the white yet hold on to the black, You’ll be the model for the country. And when you’re the model for the country, Your constant virtue will not go astray. And when your constant virtue does not go astray, You’ll return to the condition which has no limit.» — tercera pareja del capítulo 28: saber lo blanco y sostener lo negro hace modelo del país y devuelve a la condición sin límite.

«[CHAPTER 30] Those who assist their rulers with the Way, Don’t use weapons to commit violence in the world. Such deeds easily rebound. In places where armies are stationed, thorns and brambles will grow. The good general achieves his result and that’s all; He does not use the occasion to seize strength from it. He achieves his result but does not become arrogant; He achieves his result but does not praise his deeds; He achieves his result and yet does not brag.» — apertura del capítulo 30: quien asiste con la Vía no usa armas para violentar el mundo, porque tales hechos rebotan, y donde acampan los ejércitos crecen espinos y zarzas.

«He achieves his result, yet he abides with the result because he has no choice. This is called achieving one’s result without using force. When things reach their prime, they get old; We call this “not the Way.” What is not the Way will come to an early end.» — cierre del capítulo 30: lograr el resultado sin usar fuerza, porque lo que llega a su plenitud envejece y eso no es la Vía.

«[CHAPTER 32] The Tao is constantly nameless. Though in its natural state it seems small, no one in the world dares to treat it as a subject. Were marquises and kings able to maintain it, The ten thousand things would submit to them on their own, And Heaven and Earth would unite to send forth sweet dew. By nature it would fall equally on all things, with no one among the people ordering that it be so.» — apertura del capítulo 32: el Tao constantemente sin nombre, del que nadie osa hacer súbdito, y el rocío dulce que caería por igual sobre todo sin que nadie lo mandara.

«As soon as we start to establish a system, we have names. And as soon as there are set names, Then you must also know that it’s time to stop. By knowing to stop—in this way you’ll come to no harm. The Way’s presence in the world Is like the relationship of small valley streams to rivers and seas.» — cierre del capítulo 32: en cuanto se establece un sistema hay nombres, y entonces hay que saber parar; la presencia de la Vía en el mundo es como la de los arroyos del valle respecto de ríos y mares.

«In line 5, Text B actually begins “The highest virtue” (shang-te), while Text A is like all later editions in having “The highest righteousness” (shang-i). But the character for virtue in Text B has been blotted out, indicating, I think, that the copyist knew he made a mistake.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 38: en la línea 5 el Text B escribe *la virtud más alta* donde el Text A y las ediciones posteriores traen *la rectitud más alta*, y el carácter está borrado, lo que él lee como enmienda del propio copista.

«The “foreknowledge” of line 12 is sometimes unclear to readers: It means, I think, in line with the rest of the chapter, to have one’s mind made up before one enters a new situation about what is “right” and “wrong” and “proper” and “acceptable” and so on.» — Henricks glosa la *presciencia* de la línea 12 del capítulo 38 como tener la mente hecha de antemano sobre lo correcto y lo propio antes de entrar en una situación nueva.

«The particle erh (“and yet”) in the middle of lines 13 and 14 in Text A (but only in line 14 in B) suggests a possible reading of “Therefore, it must be the case that even though they are noble, nonetheless, they take the base as their root; And it must be the case that even though they are high, nonetheless, they have the low for their foundation.”» — Henricks propone una lectura alternativa de las líneas 13 y 14 del capítulo 39 a partir de la partícula erh, con un *aunque sean nobles* que el texto recibido no tiene.

«Most versions of the Lao-tzu add a line between 5 and 6 (“The myriad things obtained the One and lived and grew”), and a parallel line between 11 and 12 (“If the myriad things had not thus lived and grown, They would soon become extinct”). Also, the chih-chih (“arrive at it” or “extreme it”) in line 7, followed by “the One” (i yeh) instead of “we would say” (wei), has led us to read this line as “The thing that helped them to arrive at this state was the One” rather than “Taking this to its logical conclusion we would say.”» — Henricks registra las dos líneas sobre los miríadas de seres que la mayoría de las versiones añade al capítulo 39 y la lectura alternativa de la línea 7 que el chih-chih permitiría.

«The word “must” (pi) is added to lines 13 and 14 in the Ma-wang-tui texts, and line 16 is grammatically slightly different, the standard text using two negatives to make the same point—“Is this not regarding humble station as the basis of honor? Is it not?”» — Henricks anota la adición de *debe* en las líneas 13 y 14 y la doble negación con que el texto estándar dice lo mismo en la 16.

«All that remains of Text A are the words “the Way is good at” (taoshan) in line 19. Line 1 is slightly different from the standard text: the Ma-wang-tui text has “with diligence they are able to practice it” (ch’in neng hsing-chih) where the standard text says “they work diligently at it and practice it” (ch’in erh hsing-chih). Also, in line 6, where the standard text has mei for “dark,” Text B has fei (“extravagant” or “wasteful”), but I follow Hsü K’ang-sheng in reading this as the fei which means “poor eyesight,” and in this way arrive at “things being in the dark.”» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 41: del Text A solo quedan dos palabras de la línea 19, y en la 6 él lee el fei del Text B como el que significa mala vista, siguiendo a Hsü K'ang-sheng; el troceo une *tao-shan* partido al fin de renglón y lo devuelve como *taoshan*.

«In line 18 the Ma-wang-tui text says the Way is “Great” (pao) instead of “hidden” (yin). And in line 19 the Ma-wang-tui text has “begin” (shih) in place of “bestow” or “give” (tai) and adds a shan (“is good at”) before the word “complete” at the end of the line. D. C. Lau’s translation of the standard text reads, “It is the way alone that excels in bestowing and in accomplishing.”» — Henricks anota que el capítulo 41 dice Grande donde el estándar dice oculta, y contrasta la traducción de D. C. Lau del texto estándar.

«In line 3, the Ma-wang-tui texts have simply “the things” (wu) where the standard text has “the ten thousand things” (wan-wu).» — comentario entero de Henricks al capítulo 40, el más corto del volumen: donde el texto estándar dice los diez mil seres, los manuscritos dicen solo las cosas.

«(For the meaning of lines 8-9, see note 39.) Missing from Text B are lines 5, 10, 12-14, and portions of lines 4, 6, and 15. In what survives, it is clear that lines 10-11 were reversed in Text B. That is to say, they said, “Thus with all things—some are diminished by adding on, while some are increased by taking away.” Also, in line 7, Text B agrees with the standard text in having “what people hate” (jen) not “the whole world” (t’ien-hsia).» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 42: enumera lo que falta en el Text B y señala que allí las líneas 10 y 11 iban invertidas, de modo que decían lo contrario sobre añadir y quitar.

«Line 13 assumes a form in the Ma-wang-tui texts that we do not find in other editions. Normally the line simply reads, “I will also teach it” (wo i chiao-chih). The Ma-wang-tui text has hsi i erh chiao-jen (literally —“evening consider and then teach others”). I read the hsi (“evening”) as i (“also”), since the archaic pronunciations of the two were close (dziak and ziak respectively).» — Henricks propone leer el hsi (*tarde*) de la línea 13 como i (*también*) apoyándose en la cercanía de las pronunciaciones arcaicas.

«Text A also differs from Text B in seeming to add a line between lines 6 and 7: that line is constructed by having ditto marks follow the words “lost” and “Way,” with “Way” being followed by the final particle i, and would seem to say “Therefore the Way is lost.”» — Henricks describe la línea que el Text A parece añadir entre las líneas 6 y 7 del capítulo 38 por medio de marcas de repetición.

«The standard text adds a line between lines 3 and 4, which is “The lowest virtue takes action, and it has its reasons for acting this way.” Thus in the standard text the same thing is said of the lowest virtue and the highest righteousness in line 5—they both take action and have their reasons for doing it. It seems clear that a later editor or copyist added this line between 3 and 4 to have the highest virtue balanced by its opposite, lowest virtue, in this sequence, just as it was in lines 1 and 2» — Henricks adjudica a un editor o copista posterior la línea que el texto estándar añade entre la 3 y la 4 del capítulo 38, y la explica como intento de equilibrar la virtud más alta con su contraria.

«but this interrupts the natural flow of lines 3-6, moving from the highest virtue to the highest humanity to the highest righteousness to the highest propriety, and moving from taking no action with no reason for doing so, to taking action but still with no reason, to taking action and having one’s reasons, to taking action and then using force. In this way the author shows us what he thinks of the Confucian virtues, ranking them in descending order.» — Henricks objeta esa añadidura: interrumpe el descenso graduado de las líneas 3 a 6, con el que el autor ordena las virtudes confucianas de mayor a menor.

«Text A omits “the whole land” (t’ien-hsia) in line 6, and in Text A, the word wei—“we would say” or “it would mean that”—which occurs at» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 39: el Text A omite *toda la tierra* en la línea 6; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente diciendo que el wei se repite al principio de las líneas 9 a 12.

«the end of line 7 (or the start of line 8), is repeated at the start of lines 9-12.» — cierre de esa observación, que el troceo deja al otro lado del corte de plana.

«Finally, the meaning of the last three lines remains problematic, though the argument that the word “carriage” (yü) in line 17 is a corruption of an original yü meaning “praise” seems less likely since it is “carriage” we find in Text B.» — Henricks declara problemático el sentido de las tres últimas líneas del capítulo 39 y rechaza por poco probable el argumento de que *carruaje* sea corrupción de *alabanza*, porque *carruaje* es lo que trae el Text B.

«Following the reading of “carriage,” Chan translates: “Therefore enumerate all the parts of a chariot as you» — Henricks cita la traducción de Wing-tsit Chan que lee *carruaje* en esa línea del capítulo 39; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente.

«may, and you still have no chariot.” This would presumably mean that a distinction is being drawn between the whole and the sum of its parts. D.C. Lau, reading “yü” as “praise,” has “Thus the highest renown is without renown.” Neither interpretation seems to follow from what went before, and in my translation, therefore, I have followed the lead of Cheng Liang-shu.» — cierre de la discusión del capítulo 39 al otro lado del corte de plana: Henricks recoge la lectura de D. C. Lau, que lee *alabanza*, declara que ninguna de las dos se sigue de lo anterior y dice haber seguido a Cheng Liang-shu.

«a line that is close to what we find in the Ma-wang-tui text—i wo i chiao-chih (“is also my meaning when teaching them”).» — cierre del comentario de Henricks al capítulo 42, que el troceo deja solo en su plana: bastantes ediciones traen una línea cercana a la de Ma-wang-tui.

«It becomes clear in chapter 78—if it is not clear here—that the softest thing in the world is water and the firmest is rock.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 43: la cosa más blanda del mundo es el agua y la más firme, la roca, y el capítulo 78 lo dice con todas sus letras.

«Not much remains of Text B beyond line 1. The Ma-wang-tui version of this chapter is exactly the same as what we find in other texts, with the exception of the inclusion of a few grammatical particles, which make the syntax more precise.» — Henricks declara el estado del Text B en el capítulo 43 y sostiene que la versión de Ma-wang-tui solo difiere en partículas gramaticales que hacen más precisa la sintaxis.

«Text B has been completely lost save for the opening words of line 1 (“fame or”). The standard Lao-tzu text has a “therefore” at the start of line 4 but does not have one at the start of line 6. In all other ways the Ma-wang-tui text is the same as the standard text.» — comentario entero de Henricks al capítulo 44: del Text B solo quedan las palabras de apertura, y por lo demás el texto de Ma-wang-tui es igual al estándar.

«Text B has “lacking” (ch’u) at the end of line 7 instead of “stammer” (reading nen [“heat”] in Text A as na), and the lacuna in Text B at this point seems to allow for another line between lines 6 and 7. Since the standard text has “Great eloquence seems to stammer” for line 7, it would appear that Text B originally read, “Great eloquence seems to stammer; Great surplus seems to be lacking.” These two lines were apparently reversed in the text copied by copyist A, and he proceeded to collapse the two, resulting in the nonsensical line “Great surplus seems to stammer.” Hsü K’ang-sheng makes the case for two lines here in Text B, and D. C. Lau also restores these two lines.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 45: sostiene que el Text B traía dos líneas donde el A trae una, que el copista A las invirtió y las colapsó, y que de ahí sale la línea sin sentido sobre el gran excedente que tartamudea.

«“Periods” (chapter markers?) occur at the start of lines 1 and 3 in Text A. The word “world” (t’ien-hsia) is omitted from line 2 in Text B, giving “When it lacks the Way …” Line 3 does not occur in the Wang Pi text of the Lao-tzu, but it is commonly found in other editions. There is a common gloss of the k’o-yü (“the desirable”) in the line that reads it as to-yü (“many desires”). With this change the line would read, “Of crimes—none is greater than having many desires.”» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 46: los puntos que podrían marcar capítulo en el Text A, la omisión de *mundo* en el Text B, y la línea 3 ausente del texto de Wang Pi.

«In line 5, most texts parallel lines 3 and 4 by saying “Of defects— none is greater than the desire to attain” (mo ta yü), versus the Ma-wang-tui phrase “nothing brings more sorrow than …” (mo ts’an yü).» — Henricks contrasta la fórmula de Ma-wang-tui para la línea 5 del capítulo 46, que habla de traer más pesar, con el paralelismo de la mayoría de los textos.

«The Ma-wang-tui texts are the same as the standard text for this chapter, though they are grammatically more complete and therefore more precise.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 47: los manuscritos coinciden con el texto estándar y solo son gramaticalmente más completos.

«The negative in the last line—fu—posits an object to the verb it precedes—hence my “without doing a thing.” It is conceivable that the negatives in lines 4 and 5 were fu as well in the Ma-wang-tui texts. That would give us a reading of: “Therefore the Sage knows things without going to them; names things without seeing them, and completes things without doing a thing.”» — Henricks explica por qué traduce *sin hacer nada* en la última línea del capítulo 47 y propone una lectura alternativa para las líneas 4 y 5 con el mismo negativo.

«Only six characters remain from Text A in this chapter. The particle che (“the one who/those who”) in lines 1 and 2 in the Ma-wang-tui text better supports the present translation than one in which the lines are treated like definitions (e.g., Wing-tsit Chan translates the standard text: “The pursuit of learning is to increase day after day. The pursuit of Tao is to decrease day after day.”) The Ma-wang-tui variant “hear/heard” (wen) in line 2 instead of “do” or “pursue” (wei) is unattested elsewhere.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 48: la partícula che de Ma-wang-tui sostiene mejor su traducción que la de Wing-tsit Chan del texto estándar, y la variante *oír* de la línea 2 no está atestiguada en ninguna otra parte.

«On line 4, see the notes to chapter 37 below. The “when someone wants to” (chiang-yü) at the start of line 5 is the reading in the Fu I and Yen Tsun texts. The word “therefore” (ku) is also common in this place. Also, the instrumental i at the end of line 5 in the standard text (that is, “he must always use being unconcerned with affairs”) does not occur here.» — cierre del comentario al capítulo 48: la fórmula de apertura de la línea 5 es la de los textos de Fu I y Yen Tsun, y el i instrumental del texto estándar no aparece aquí.

«Texts A and B are in equally poor condition: lines 1, 5, 6, and 7 are all missing from Text A. The words “constant” and “without” in line 1 are reversed in the standard text, giving “The Sage is without a constant mind [of his own].”» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 49: los dos manuscritos están igual de mal, y el orden invertido de dos palabras cambia el sentido de la línea 1.

«The first-person pronoun “I” (wu) is found in the standard text in lines 3, 4, 6, and 7, making the author “the Sage.” Thus they read, “Those who are good I regard as good; Those who are not good I also regard as good,” and so on.» — Henricks señala que el texto estándar pone en primera persona las líneas 3, 4, 6 y 7 del capítulo 49, con lo que el sujeto pasa a ser el sabio.

«The addition of the grammatical particle yen (“with it,” “on him”) at the end of lines 9 and 11 greatly clarifies the meaning. Line 11 does not occur in all texts.» — Henricks anota que la partícula yen al final de las líneas 9 y 11 aclara mucho el sentido, y que la línea 11 no está en todos los textos.

«It is with some reluctance, therefore, that I adopt the “thirteen” reading, and I do so based in part on internal evidence from elsewhere in the text, and in part on the grammatical form of these lines in the Ma-wang-tui texts.» — Henricks declara adoptar la lectura *trece* con reticencia, y dice en qué se apoya: evidencia interna del propio libro y la forma gramatical de las líneas en los manuscritos.

«The internal evidence is that in chapter 76 there is mention once again of the “companions” of life and death (sheng chih Vu, ssu chih Vu), and there “companions” means the qualities of the body in life or death (suppleness and softness, or rigidity and firmness), not different groups of people.» — primera prueba que Henricks alega: en el capítulo 76 los *compañeros* de la vida y de la muerte son cualidades del cuerpo, no grupos de gente.

«The grammatical evidence from the Ma-wang-tui texts is (a) that line 4 begins “And yet people” (erh min—the erh does not occur in the standard text), seeming to indicate that two alternatives have been presented, the good one being obvious, and yet people end up choosing the other, and (b) where the standard text has i (“also”) at the end of line 4 (i.e., it says, “These are also» — segunda prueba, gramatical: el erh que abre la línea 4 presenta dos alternativas de las que la gente escoge la mala; el pasaje cruza el corte de plana.

«groups being discussed), the Ma-wang-tui texts have the possessive particle chih, giving the reading of “the thirteen (or three out of ten) that belong to the realm of death” (literally “death realm’s thirteen”). I might add, to further this claim, that shih-yu X as “ten has [= plus] X” is a form we find in other early texts. In Confucius’ well-known words in Analects 2:4—“At the age of fifteen, I set my heart on learning”—“fifteen” is shih-yu wu.» — cierre del argumento al otro lado del corte: la partícula posesiva chih da *los trece que pertenecen al reino de la muerte*, y Henricks apoya la forma shih-yu con los Analectos 2:4 de Confucio.

«“Periods” occur at the start of lines 1 and 6 in Text A. Texts A and B differ in minor grammatical ways; these differences do not affect the meaning or the translation. The Ma-wang-tui texts contain a number of interesting variants. To begin with, in line 2 they have “unique capacities” or “talents” (ch’i) where the standard text has “circumstances” or “conditions” (shih). Then in line 3 they omit the words “none does not” (mo pu), which make the standard text read, “Of the ten thousand things, none does not venerate …”» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 51: los manuscritos dicen *capacidades únicas* donde el estándar dice *circunstancias*, y omiten el *ninguno deja de* de la línea 3.

«In line 5 the Ma-wang-tui texts have “reward” (literally “give noble rank to”—chüeh) where the standard text has “order” (ming), but chüeh is a known and common variant. A “therefore” at the head of line 6 in the standard text is omitted here. Also in line 6, in the standard text it is again “Virtue” that “nourishes them, matures them …,” and so on. The word “Virtue” is omitted in the Ma-wang-tui texts, as it is in many other editions of the text as well.» — Henricks sigue con las variantes del capítulo 51: *recompensa* por *orden* en la línea 5, y la omisión de *Virtud* en la línea 6, que también falta en muchas otras ediciones.

«Lines 13 and 14 seem to parallel line 4 and the second half of line 3 above: thus one avoids harm by “knowing the children” but “returning to the mother,” and in like fashion one avoids peril by using the rays (kuang) to trace one’s way back to the source of the light (ming—i.e., the Tao). But remember that there is a “period” at the head of line 5 in Text A, possibly indicating that the copyist or an editor saw no connection between lines 1-4 and what follows.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 52: lee las líneas 13 y 14 en paralelo con la 4, de modo que se evita el peligro usando los rayos para rastrear la fuente de la luz, pero advierte que el punto del Text A podría indicar que el copista no veía conexión.

«Text B is like the standard text in adding a phrase between lines 3 and 4: “And having known the children.” Actually it says, “And having returned to know the children,” but the “returned” (fu) is smudged, indicating that the copyist realized he had made a mistake.» — Henricks lee en el *fu* emborronado del Text B el reconocimiento del propio copista de haberse equivocado.

«Roughly one-third of Text A is now missing (lines 10 and 11 and parts of 1 and 2). But the “period” at the head of line 1 is clear. At the end of line 3 the Ma-wang-tui texts do not have the standard ching (“narrow path” or “byway”) but rather a character that seems best identified as the word meaning “small path through a mountain valley.”» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 53: falta como un tercio del Text A y el carácter del final de la línea 3 se identifica mejor como sendero de valle de montaña que como el habitual.

«In line 9 the standard text says they (i.e., rich nobles/ruling aristocracy) gorge themselves on food and drink (versus just food in the Ma-wang-tui texts). In line 11, the Ma-wang-tui texts seem to have been like the Fu I text in repeating the “thievery” (tao hsi) from line 10; those two characters are normally left out.» — Henricks anota dos variantes más del capítulo 53: comida y bebida en el estándar contra solo comida en los manuscritos, y la repetición de *robo* como en el texto de Fu I.

«The author makes a pun in the last two lines: “thievery” and “the Way” are both pronounced tao (fourth tone); that is, the lines read, “This is called tao! And this tao certainly isn’t the tao!”» — Henricks señala el juego de palabras con que cierra el capítulo 53: *robo* y *Vía* se pronuncian igual, tao.

«One of the principles followed by the editor or editors who arranged the text in its present sequence was to have sections of text that use the same word or words follow one another. Here the first three lines may or may not connect well with what follows, but in both blocks of material the word “very” (shen) is a point of focus. Lines 2 and 3 literally say “great way very level, people very much like tortuous» — Henricks enuncia uno de los principios que atribuye a quien ordenó el texto: poner seguidas las secciones que usan la misma palabra, aquí el *muy* (shen); el pasaje cruza el corte de plana.

«paths” while lines 4-6 literally read “courts very clean, fields very weedy, granaries very empty.”» — cierre de esa observación al otro lado del corte, con la lectura literal de las líneas 4 a 6 del capítulo 53.

«Text A, like the standard text, has an additional line between lines 10 and 11—“Use the village to examine the village.” This is incorrectly omitted in Text B. All that remains from Text A are lines 9-11 (with the added line) and parts of lines 3 and 12.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 54: el Text A trae una línea más que el B, y Henricks declara incorrecta esa omisión del Text B.

«The Ma-wang-tui version of this chapter is essentially the same as we find in other texts with the exception of a few synonym substitutions here and there: for example, at the end of line 3 the Ma-wang-tui texts have chüeh (“to end,” “be cut off”) instead of the normal cho (“stop,” “cease”), and at the end of line 8 they say virtue will be “widespread” (po) instead of “universal” (p’u).» — Henricks resume el capítulo 54 como esencialmente igual al recibido salvo unas sustituciones de sinónimos, que enumera.

«The yen (“in them”) at the end of line 14 does not normally occur, though it is a known variant. Finally, line 6 in the standard text reads, “It’s because they too intently regard life as LIFE”; the “too intently” comes from adding the characters chih-hou to the end of the Ma-wang-tui line (i.e., i chyi sheng-sheng chih-hou.)» — Henricks cierra esas variantes del capítulo 50 con el *demasiado intensamente* que el texto estándar añade a la línea 6.

«The “thirteen” in lines 2-4 are variously identified as the four limbs and nine cavities in the body, or the four passages (ears, eyes, nose, and mouth) and the nine cavities, or the seven emotions (delight,» — Henricks recoge las tres identificaciones al uso de los *trece* del capítulo 50 sin decidir entre ellas; la enumeración cruza el corte de plana.

«anger, grief, fear, love, hate, and desire) and the six desires (of the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind).» — cierre de esa enumeración al otro lado del corte: las siete emociones y los seis deseos.

«By no means is there universal agreement that the shih-yu san in lines 2-4 should be read as “thirteen”; in fact the preferred reading is, rather, “three out of ten.” Thus Wing-tsit Chan translates these lines, “Three out of ten are companions of life. Three out of ten are companions of death. And three out of ten in their lives lead from activity to death.”» — Henricks consigna que la lectura preferida no es *trece* sino *tres de cada diez*, y cita la traducción de Wing-tsit Chan.

«I like this interpretation and take it to mean that, roughly speaking, one-third of humanity seems to be born to live and will live a long time no matter what they do; another third seems born fated to die and will die young no matter what they do; and finally, another third can live long or die young depending on how they live, but they hasten their journey to death with their anxiety to hold on to life.» — Henricks declara que le gusta esa interpretación y la desarrolla en tres tercios de la humanidad, el último de los cuales apresura su muerte por la ansiedad de retener la vida.

«In line 5, Text A is like the standard text in having “His bones are weak and his muscles are pliant.” In line 10, Text A has simply “Harmony is called ‘the constant.’ ” For line 4 the Ma-wang-tui texts have a six-character sentence that parallels line 3; the standard text makes two clauses out of this and reverses the “birds of prey” and the “fierce beasts”; thus, Wing-tsit Chan translates, “Fierce beasts will not seize him. Birds of prey will not strike him.”» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 55: el texto estándar parte en dos cláusulas lo que los manuscritos dicen en una y cambia el orden de las aves de presa y las fieras, como se ve en la traducción de Wing-tsit Chan.

«In line 6 the Ma-wang-tui texts have the “meeting” (hui) of male and female where other texts have the synonymous “union” (ho). And in agreement with most editions of the text, in line 6 in the Ma-wang-tui texts it is the child’s “organ” (“penis”—tsui) that is aroused, not his “perfection” (ch’üan—as in the Wang Pi text).» — Henricks anota que en la línea 6 del capítulo 55 los manuscritos, con la mayoría de las ediciones, dicen que lo que se excita es el órgano del niño y no su *perfección*, que es lo que trae el texto de Wang Pi.

«Line 14 might seem to be at odds with the “natural” way of the Taoists. But I think the point is that when people reach their prime, they are inclined to want more of life, to show off their strength, and to use their minds to control their lives (lines 12 and 13). But this leads to using up and wasting away one’s vital powers and hence the start of old age. (On these lines see also chapter 30, below.)» — Henricks responde a la objeción de que la línea 14 del capítulo 55 contradiga la vía natural: al llegar a su plenitud la gente quiere más vida y usa la mente para gobernarla, y eso gasta las potencias vitales.

«The “And” (erh) at the head of line 7 is explicit in Text B (but not in Text A). In line 11, the copyist for Text B skipped ahead one line by mistake before correcting the error: as a result, Text B literally says, “There is no way to harm and benefit him.”» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 56: describe el error del copista del Text B, que se adelantó una línea antes de corregirse.

«In line 1 the difference between the standard text—which says, “Those who know don’t speak, and those who speak don’t know”—is a difference in the negative used: the standard text uses pu (“not,” “don’t”) whereas the Ma-wang-tui texts have fu (“not———it” “don’t ——-it”).» — Henricks sitúa la diferencia de la línea 1 del capítulo 56 en el negativo empleado, pu en el texto estándar y fu en los manuscritos; la capa de texto imprime los guiones de relleno tal cual.

«Lines 2-7 in the Ma-wang-tui texts follow a different sequence than we normally find. In the standard text the order is 2, 3, 6, 7, 4, 5. Lines 2 and 3 occur above in chapter 52, and lines 4-7 (in the order 6, 7, 4, 5) are also found in chapter 4.» — Henricks señala que las líneas 2 a 7 del capítulo 56 van en otro orden y que reaparecen repartidas entre los capítulos 52 y 4.

«For the reconstruction of line 7 in Text B I have followed Cheng Liang-shu. Text A omits the word “skill” (ch’iao); the standard text has “talent and skill” (chi-ch’iao), but the reading of “knowledge and skill” (chih-ch’iao) is also attested. There is a “period” at the start of line 1 in Text A.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 57: declara haber seguido a Cheng Liang-shu para reconstruir la línea 7 del Text B.

«In the standard text, the question raised in line 4 is answered: “By this” (i-tz’u). Also, the fu (“Well,”) at the start of line 5 does not occur. In line 8 the standard text has “laws and commands” (fa-ling) in place of “legal matters” (fa-wu—an attested reading), and in line 9, the standard reading is “Therefore the Sage says” (ku sheng-jen yün). Finally, all other editions of the Lao-tzu have “I have no desires” (wo wu-yü) in the last line where the Ma-wang-tui texts say, “I desire not to desire” (wo yü pu-yü).» — Henricks enumera las variantes del capítulo 57 y cierra con la última línea: todas las demás ediciones dicen *no tengo deseos* donde los manuscritos dicen *deseo no desear*.

«But arguing against this, perhaps, is the fact that cheng (“regular,” my “upright and correct”) and ch’i (“irregular,” my “surprise tactics”) are both part of the planning vocabulary of the Militarists (for example, see Yates, 1988).» — Henricks objeta enseguida su propia propuesta: los dos términos que opone son los dos del vocabulario de los Militaristas.

«Text A is like the standard text in adding a line between lines 4 and 5 —“Disaster is that on which good fortune depends.” Since the chapter concerns the relationship between opposites, the omission of this line in Text B is surely an oversight. Very little survives of Text A: Now missing are lines 1-2 and 6-15.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 58: declara descuido del copista la omisión de una línea en el Text B, porque el capítulo trata justamente de la relación entre opuestos.

«In other editions of the Lao-tzu the last four lines are all said of the Sage: “Therefore, the Sage is square but doesn’t cut,” and so on. In lines 12-14 the author chooses words that at one and the same time might describe wood and moral traits—“square” (= honest), “sharp” (as an angle = upright), and “straight” (= direct and frank).» — Henricks señala que en otras ediciones las cuatro últimas líneas del capítulo 58 se dicen del sabio, y que las palabras elegidas describen a la vez la madera y los rasgos morales.

«The first two-thirds of the chapter (lines 1-6) no longer survive in Text A. The standard text has “this is called” in line 2 where the Ma-wang-tui text has “therefore.” So it would read, “Only if you are sparing is this called early submission.”» — comentario entero de Henricks al capítulo 59: falta en el Text A el primer tercio y una variante cambia la sintaxis de la línea 2.

«Texts A and B are the same. Kuei, my “evil spirits,” in popular religion are the “ghosts,” the souls of people who have died without descendants to provide for them, or the souls of people who have died untimely, sometimes violent, deaths. They cause all sorts of problems for the living.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 60: glosa kuei, que él traduce espíritus malignos, como las almas de los muertos sin descendientes que los provean o de los muertos antes de tiempo.

«In line 6 the standard text has “The Sage also will not harm men.” The Ma-wang-tui variant of “not harm them” (fu-shang) allows a number of interpretations of the last three lines. To whom does the “them” refer? Does it mean “men”? I think that it does and translate accordingly. But it might also refer back to the evil spirits, the point being that in the ideal state, the evil spirits would cause no harm to people, and the Sage, in like manner, would not do things harmful to these spirits. As a result, there is harmony in this state between spirits and men.» — Henricks plantea las dos lecturas del *ellos* de las últimas líneas del capítulo 60, declara la suya y deja dicha la otra: en el estado ideal ni los espíritus dañarían a los hombres ni el sabio a los espíritus.

«Text B is like the standard text in having a “therefore” at the start of line 6, and in line 10, Text B has “make stand side by side” (ping) in place of “unite” (chien). Text B, as with most other editions of the text, omits the word “state” from the last line.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 61: enumera las diferencias del Text B frente al A.

«If the chapter is not about devious statecraft, then there is no need to translate chien and ch’u in line 10 as “annex and herd others”—the words can mean good things—“unite and rear.” And in this way, what had appeared to be a bit of crafty advice now appears to be an appeal to the rulers of large states not to lord it over the small states they want to incorporate; they will be more successful by taking a humble approach.» — Henricks saca la consecuencia: si el capítulo 61 no trata de estadismo tortuoso, sus verbos pueden traducirse como unir y criar, y el capítulo pasa a ser una exhortación a los grandes estados a no señorear sobre los pequeños.

«Texts A and B are the same: most of line 10 is now missing in Text B. In line 1 the standard text has “storehouse” or “treasured corner” (ao) where the Ma-wang-tui texts have “tendency” or “the way things flow” (chu). And in line 5 the standard text has “add on to” (chia) where the Ma-wang-tui texts have “present as a gift” (ho).» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 62: los manuscritos dicen *aquello hacia lo que fluyen las cosas* donde el estándar dice *almacén* o *rincón atesorado*.

«In line 7 the standard text has “Three Dukes” (san-kung) where the Ma-wang-tui texts have “Three Ministers” (san-ch’ing). On the latter title Hucker has—referring to the meaning of this title during the Chou—a “collective reference to the three eminent officials at the royal court entitled Minister of Education (ssu-t’u), of War (ssu-ma), and of Works (ssu-k’ung).” The “Three Dukes” were “ordinarily Grand Preceptor (t’ai-shih), Grand Mentor (t’ai-fu), and Grand Guardian (t’aipao).” It seems likely that the change from san-ch’ing to san-kung was made during the Han, when that title assumed greater importance.» — Henricks distingue los dos títulos de la línea 7 del capítulo 62 apoyándose en Hucker, y fecha en los Han el cambio de Tres Ministros a Tres Duques; el troceo une *t'ai-pao* partido al fin de renglón y lo devuelve como *t'aipao*.

«Finally, in line 9, the standard texts add the word “Way” at the end; that is, “That’s not so good as sitting still and offering this Way.” My interpretation of line 6 is, so far as I can tell, somewhat unique.» — Henricks declara única, hasta donde alcanza a ver, su interpretación de la línea 6 del capítulo 62; el pasaje cruza el corte de plana.

«But the thrust of lines 4-6 seems to be that if all of these things can be presented to others as gifts, then surely the Tao can be as well.» — cierre de esa interpretación al otro lado del corte: si todas esas cosas pueden regalarse, también el Tao.

«On the Way’s lack of flavor (line 3), see below, chapter 35, lines 4 and 5. Though Text A is not in good shape, Text B is worse. Now missing from Text B are lines 2 to the middle of 7, parts of lines 8 and 9, all of lines 10 and 11, and parts of lines 14 and 15. There is a “period” at the start of line 1 in Text A.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 63: remite al capítulo 35 por la falta de sabor de la Vía y declara el estado de los dos manuscritos, peor el B que el A.

«The word “things” (shih) in lines 8 and 9 is explicit in other editions of the Lao-tzu, while it is simply implied in the Ma-wang-tui texts. Also, the standard text has a “necessarily” (pi) in lines 8 and 9 (that is, “necessarily begin as” and “necessarily arise from”).» — Henricks anota que el *necesariamente* de las líneas 8 y 9 del capítulo 63 está en el texto estándar y no en los manuscritos.

«Waley, correctly I feel, notes that line 2 is surely a maxim of the» — Henricks adjudica a Arthur Waley, y declara estar de acuerdo, la tesis de que la línea 2 del capítulo 57 es una máxima de los Estrategas; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente.

«Strategists (or Militarists—ping-chia) that the present author is adopting for his own use. Could it be that the author, in lines 1-3, is really posing three distinct ways to approach the problem of ruling the empire, only one of which he advocates?» — cierre de esa atribución al otro lado del corte, con la pregunta que Henricks se hace: si las tres primeras líneas del capítulo 57 no serán tres maneras distintas de gobernar, de las que él solo defiende una.

«The Ma-wang-tui version of this chapter differs significantly from what we find in the standard version of the text. To begin with, lines 2 and 3 are reversed, and line 4 in the Ma-wang-tui texts is grammatically more precise. More importantly, the meaning of line 7 is completely changed by the addition of the particle yü (here meaning “by”); the standard text of Lao-tzu here has “And if the small state is below the large state, then it takes over the large state.”» — Henricks sostiene que una sola partícula cambia el sentido de la línea 7 del capítulo 61 respecto del texto estándar.

«In other words, in the standard version the chapter seems to describe a technique of statecraft that will succeed no matter who uses it—presumably what is being advocated is a crafty device of acting humbler and more lowly than one’s opponent and in this way drawing him off guard so that he can be defeated.» — Henricks describe lo que el texto estándar haría del capítulo 61: un ardid de estadista que funciona para quien lo use, fingirse más humilde para desprevenir al contrario.

«That the Ma-wang-tui version of the chapter is the correct one is confirmed, however, even in the standard version of the» — Henricks apoya la versión de Ma-wang-tui en el propio texto estándar; la frase cruza el corte de plana y sigue con las líneas 8 y 9.

«text, in which lines 8 and 9 are the same as here.» — cierre de ese apoyo al otro lado del corte de plana.

«That is to say, those lines could be interpreted in this way: “The Confucians, on the one hand, say that we must use the upright and correct to order the state; the Strategists, on the other hand, say we must use surprise tactics when we use troops. But I say that it’s only with ‘unconcern with affairs’ that anyone will take control of the world.» — Henricks desarrolla esa pregunta poniendo en boca de confucianos y de Estrategas las dos primeras líneas del capítulo 57 y dejando la tercera para el autor.

«There is a “period” at the head of line 1 in Text A. In line 9, Text A has “eight hundred feet” (pai-jen) where Text B has “one hundred, one thousand.” In line 16, Text A has “right at the point of completing affairs” (ch’eng-shih) in place of “completion” (ch’eng). And in line 17 in Text A the “we say” is omitted.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 64: el Text A dice ochocientos pies donde el B dice cien, mil.

«Of greater importance, line 9 in most editions of the text is “The journey of a thousand li starts from where one stands,” though the Text A reading of “A high place of eight hundred feet” is attested in a few editions.» — Henricks señala la variante de peso del capítulo 64: la mayoría de las ediciones trae el viaje de mil li que empieza donde uno está parado, y la lectura del Text A está atestiguada en pocas.

«Finally, the meaning of the last line is clarified with the negative fu (“not ——-it”) in place of pu (“not——”); it seems clear that the point is that he could do this but he knows he dare not because such “action” would have adverse effects. The standard reading is rather “Thus he supports all things in their natural state but does not take any action.”» — Henricks explica cómo un negativo aclara la última línea del capítulo 64: el sabio podría hacerlo y sabe que no se atreve, frente a la lectura recibida.

«In line 1, Text A has “Therefore we say” (or “Therefore, it is said that”—ku-yiieh) “those who practice the Way,” which seems to suppose a connection between chapters 64 and 65. But this reading is unattested in other editions, and any connection between chapters 64 and 65 in terms of ideas is tenuous at best. Presumably the intended word is the same “antiquity” (ku) that begins Text B.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 65: registra que el Text A parece encadenarlo con el 64, declara esa lectura no atestiguada y tenue la conexión de ideas.

«In lines 5 and 7, the Ma-wang-tui texts literally say, “To use knowledge to know the state” and “To use not-knowledge to know the state,” versus the standard reading of “To use knowledge to rule the state,” and so on. That is to say, the chih that means knowledge is used in both lines where the standard text has the chih that means “to rule.”» — Henricks señala que los manuscritos usan en las líneas 5 y 7 del capítulo 65 el chih de *conocer* donde el estándar usa el de *gobernar*.

«But one of the meanings of chih (“to know”) is “to control” (chu) or “to manage” (wei), and this meaning occurs in relation to what one does to a state. It is in that sense that I understand chih in these lines.» — Henricks justifica su traducción: uno de los sentidos de chih es controlar o manejar, y es el que aplica a lo que se hace con un estado.

«Chapter 65, like chapters 3 and 5 below, can be read in two quite different ways in terms of how the Taoist ruler should rule. What do we make of the fact that he rules without using “knowledge”? Does this mean that he deprives people of education, in an attempt to have a populace of vegetables or automatons that will do his work and never question a thing? Or is the point rather that he recognizes that the premium placed on knowledge and wisdom by the Confucians has its bad side? Thus, what he wants to do away with is crafty, selfserving knowledge that does indeed make for bad relations in people.» — Henricks plantea las dos lecturas del capítulo 65 y las deja abiertas: o el gobernante priva de educación al pueblo, o lo que quiere quitar de en medio es el saber taimado y egoísta; el troceo une *self-serving* partido al fin de renglón y lo devuelve como *selfserving*.

«In Text A, lines 7 and 8 are reversed. Also, the “whole” or “everyone” (chieh) in line 9 is omitted in Text A (as it is in the standard text): it just has “the world” (t’ien-hsia).» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 66: el orden de las líneas 7 y 8 cambia en el Text A.

«The standard text omits the words “the Sage’s” (sheng-jen chih) from line 3 and thus would read, “Therefore, if one desires to be above the people.” On the other hand, the standard text does say that it is the Sage who “dwells above,” and so on, in lines 7 and 8: “Thus the Sage dwells above, yet the people do not regard him as heavy.” An impressive number of texts agree with the Ma-wang-tui texts on these points and do not accord with the standard edition.» — Henricks consigna que un número considerable de textos coincide con los de Ma-wang-tui contra la edición estándar en el capítulo 66.

«In the standard text, lines 10 and 11 form a statement instead of a question. They read, “Because he does not contend, Therefore, no one in the world can contend with him.”» — Henricks anota que donde los manuscritos preguntan, el texto estándar afirma, en el cierre del capítulo 66.

«There is a “period” at the start of line 1 in Text A. In line 3, Text A seems to say, “put seeing off (sung) far from their minds.” And in line 4 in Text A the words “carriages and boats” are reversed. Line 13 is now missing from Text A, as is most of line 6.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 80: variantes del Text A y estado de sus lagunas.

«There is a military and a nonmilitary interpretation of the “tens” and “hundreds” in line 2, and most translators seem to prefer the latter (for example, Wing-tsit Chan has “Let there be ten times and a hundred times as many utensils.”) I am persuaded to read the “tens” and “hundreds” as designations of troops or platoons, and the “utensils” (ch’i) as “weapons” not because of new evidence in the Ma-wang-tui texts but rather because I find the argument that ties together lines 2 and 5 and 3 and 4 very convincing; that is, the “carriages and boats” would be used by people who want to migrate, and the armor and spears would be used by troops in battle.» — Henricks declara que se aparta de la mayoría de los traductores al leer *decenas* y *centenas* como unidades de tropa y *utensilios* como armas, y dice en qué se apoya: no en evidencia nueva sino en el argumento que enlaza las líneas 2 y 5 con las 3 y 4.

«Angus Graham points out that the second half of this chapter (lines 7-13) are cited by Ssu-ma Ch’ien in relation to the times of Shen-nung and might ultimately stem from a “Tiller” source.» — Henricks adjudica a Angus Graham la observación de que Ssu-ma Ch'ien cita la segunda mitad del capítulo 80 a propósito de los tiempos de Shen-nung, y de que podría venir de una fuente de los Labradores.

«Little remains of Text A: portions of lines 3-8. But the “period” at the start of line 7 is clear. In the standard text, lines 5 and 6 precede lines 3 and 4, and lines 5 and 6 say something else: “A good man does not argue; He who argues is not a good man”; i.e., pu-pien replaces pu-to.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 81: en el texto estándar el orden de las líneas cambia y dos de ellas dicen otra cosa, que el hombre bueno no discute.

«Lines 5 and 6 in the Ma-wang-tui texts literally say, “The good are not many; The many are not good.” But the connection between lines 1-6 and then 7-13—assuming there is supposed to be one—seems better if we read pu-to (“not much,” “not many”) as though it were wu-to (“not have much”). D. C. Lau translates the same way: “He who is good does not have much; he who has much is not good.”» — Henricks propone leer pu-to como si fuera wu-to para que la conexión entre las dos mitades del capítulo 81 funcione, y apoya esa lectura en la traducción de D. C. Lau.

«The “Therefore” at the head of line 12 is omitted in the standard text. In line 13, the standard text begins “The Way of the Sage” and ends “and [he] does not compete” (pu-cheng) rather than the Ma-wang-tui “and does not compete with them” (fu-cheng).» — Henricks cierra el capítulo 81 con la variante de la última línea: el texto estándar habla de la Vía del Sabio y dice *no compite* donde los manuscritos dicen *no compite con ellos*.

«In lines 1-4 the author plays on the double meaning of hsiao: it means “to be like” (or resemble), but it also means “small.” Therefore these lines could also read, “The whole world says that I’m great (= large, ta); Great, yet unlike everyone else (= yet not small). But it’s precisely because I’m unlike everyone else (= that I’m not small), that I am therefore able to be Great (= large). Were I like everyone else (= were I small), for a long time now I’d have seemed insignificant.”» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 67: señala el doble sentido de hsiao, parecerse y ser pequeño, y reescribe las cuatro primeras líneas con las dos lecturas encajadas.

«The Text A and Text B versions of this chapter are quite different. Though the characters are now missing for lines 1 and 2 in Text A, one might hazard a guess that they said, “The world says I am Great, as though unlike [everyone else]” (t’ien-hsia wei wo ta ssu pu-hsiao). Then lines 3 and 4 seem to say, “Now, it’s because I am Great, that I’m unlike [everyone else]. Were I like [everyone else], then I’d have seemed insignificant and small for a long time now.”» — Henricks arriesga una reconstrucción de las líneas perdidas del Text A del capítulo 67 y la declara como conjetura.

«Line 6 is omitted from Text A, except for the final character “them” (chih), in what appears to be copyist error. And copyist error would also seem to account for the complete omission of line 14. Finally, line 16 in Text A reads, “Then you will certainly die,” and in line 12 Text A has “… that I therefore can be the head of those who complete all affairs” (i.e., ch’eng-shih chang versus ch’eng-ch’i chang).» — Henricks atribuye a error de copista dos omisiones del Text A en el capítulo 67.

«In the standard text, line 1 reads, “The whole world says that my Way is Great” (versus “that I am great”): the omission of the word tao (“Way”) in the Ma-wang-tui texts is unusual but attested in a small number of other editions.» — Henricks anota que el texto estándar dice *mi Vía es Grande* donde los manuscritos dicen *yo soy grande*, y declara inusual pero atestiguada la omisión.

«Lines 5-18 in the standard text are exactly the same as we find in Text B of the Ma-wang-tui texts except that the “constantly” is omitted from line 5, the word “this” is omitted from lines 13-15, and the “Then” is omitted at the start of line 16.» — Henricks resume las tres únicas diferencias del texto estándar respecto del Text B en las líneas 5 a 18 del capítulo 67.

«Finally, in lines 19 and 20 the standard text says, “When Heaven is about to save him” (chiu instead of chien [“establish”]), “with compassion it protects him” (wei instead of huan [“surround with a wall”]).» — Henricks cierra el capítulo 67 con las dos variantes del final: el Cielo *salva* en vez de *establecer*, y *protege* en vez de *rodear con una muralla*.

«The “Therefore” at the head of line 1 is omitted in Text A as it is in the standard text, and in line 7 the word “matching” is omitted.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 68: omisiones del Text A que coinciden con el texto estándar.

«In line 3 the use of the negative fu (“not——–it/him”) in place of pu (“not——”) once again adds clarity to the text. The standard text with pu-yü instead of fu-yü should simply read “doesn’t engage” where we have “doesn’t engage him.”» — Henricks señala que el negativo fu aclara de nuevo el texto, y que sin él la línea 3 del capítulo 68 quedaría sin complemento.

«There has been considerable disagreement among scholars on the punctuation of the last two lines. Many feel that the two lines actually form one: for example, D. C. Lau, using the reading in Text A, which omits the word “matching,” translates the end of the chapter: “This is known as the limit that is as old as heaven.” I am persuaded that “using men” (yung-jen) and “matching Heaven” (p’ei-t’ien) are parallel phrases (they rhyme). The final line stands very well on its own.» — Henricks consigna el desacuerdo entre estudiosos sobre la puntuación de las dos últimas líneas del capítulo 68, cita la traducción de D. C. Lau que las funde en una y declara su propia posición: riman, son paralelas y la última se sostiene sola.

«In line 3, the standard text has “Have the people regard death» — Henricks contrasta la línea 3 del capítulo 80 con el texto estándar; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«gravely and not migrate far.” The absence of the negative pu in the Ma-wang-tui texts might be copy error; but the line makes good sense as it stands, since “putting migrating far from their minds” (yüan-hsi) nicely parallels “regarding death gravely” (chung-ssu).» — cierre de esa observación al otro lado del corte: Henricks admite que la ausencia del negativo podría ser error de copia y sostiene que la línea se lee bien igual, por el paralelo entre poner lejos la migración y tener grave la muerte.

«There is a “period” at the start of line 1 in Text A. Text B, like the standard text, omits the “I” at the head of line 3 and parallels line 2 by adding “presume” (Don’t presume to advance an inch …”). There are two mistakes in Text A that do not occur in Text B: in line 8 the copyist mistakenly wrote down two “thans” (yü yü) instead of “greater than” (ta-yü), and then in line 9 he mistakenly repeated the “my” (wuwu) of “my treasures.” In line 10, Text B accords with later texts in having “when swords (or weapons) are crossed” (k’ang-ping) instead of “when weapons are raised” (ch’eng-ping).» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 69: describe dos errores del copista del Text A, la duplicación de *que* y la repetición de *mi*; el troceo une *wu-wu* partido al fin de renglón y lo devuelve como *wuwu*.

«I read the hsing wu-hsing (“going forward without going forward”) of line 4 as parallel to wei wu-wei (“act without acting”) and shih wu-shih (“serve without concern for affairs”) since the point is that in this way you progress towards victory even though you do not physically advance. If the line is strictly parallel with the lines that follow, then the second hsing should be a noun to match with “arms” and “weapons” and “opponent,” which would give us something like D. C. Lau’s “Marching forward when there is no road,” or Wing-tsit Chan’s “To march without formation.”» — Henricks declara su lectura de la línea 4 del capítulo 69 como paralela a *obrar sin obrar*, y da las dos alternativas de D. C. Lau y Wing-tsit Chan si la línea se toma estrictamente paralela a las siguientes.

«The “those who use weapons” (yung-ping) in line 1 refers to the “Strategists” or “Militarists” (ping-chid) in early China.» — Henricks identifica a los *que usan armas* de la línea 1 del capítulo 69 con los Estrategas o Militaristas de la China temprana; la capa de texto imprime *ping-chid* por ping-chia.

«The “which goes” (yüeh) of line 1 is not found in the standard text, and in the standard text, lines 6 and 7 are reversed. In lines 8 and 9 the standard text has “regarding your rival too lightly” (ch’ing-ti) instead of “[thinking] you have no rival” (wu-ti), and in line 10 for “fairly well matched” (hsiang-jo) the standard text has “meet one another” (hsiang-chia).» — Henricks enumera las variantes del capítulo 69: el texto estándar dice *tener en poco al rival* donde los manuscritos dicen *creer que no se tiene rival*.

«Text A is like the standard text in having “very easy to understand” and “very easy to put into practice” in lines 1 and 2. In line 3, Text A has “people” (jen) instead of “the world” (t’ien-hsia), that is, “And yet of people, no one …” In line 5, Text A accords with the standard text in reversing the words “ancestor” and “lord”; it has “My words have a lord, and my deeds have an ancestor.”» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 70: el Text A invierte *antepasado* y *señor* de la línea 5, como el texto estándar.

«The Ma-wang-tui version of this chapter, with all of the proper grammatical particles added, is much clearer and more precise than the version found in later texts.» — Henricks declara más clara y precisa la versión de Ma-wang-tui del capítulo 70, por llevar todas las partículas gramaticales.

«The “don’t” in line 2 occurs in Text A (by virtue of ditto marks) but has been omitted—mistakenly I think—in Text B and all subsequent editions of the Lao-tzu. Without it, one is forced to translate the line in the fashion of Wing-tsit Chan: “To pretend to know when you do not know is a disease.” D. C. Lau assumes that the Text B reading is still right and translates, “Not to know yet to think that one knows will put one in difficulty.” I agree with Wu Fuhsiang in feeling that the Text A reading—pu-chih pu-chih (literally “not know not know”)—represents the original text (versus the standard reading of pu-chih chih—literally “not know know”).» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 71: sostiene con Wu Fu-hsiang que la lectura del Text A es la original y que el Text B y todas las ediciones posteriores omitieron el negativo por error, y da las traducciones de Wing-tsit Chan y de D. C. Lau que esa omisión obliga; el troceo une *Wu Fu-hsiang* partido al fin de renglón y lo devuelve como *Wu Fuhsiang*.

«Although ping in lines 2-5 does mean “disease” (Chan and Waley; Lau has “difficulty”), here it is best translated, I feel, as “flaw” (or “fault” or “defect”).» — Henricks declara preferir *tacha* a *enfermedad* para ping en el capítulo 71, contra Chan y Waley, y consigna que Lau traduce *dificultad*.

«The standard text adds a line between lines 2 and 3: Chan’s translation of that line reads, “Only when one recognizes this disease as a disease can one be free from the disease.” The standard text then omits the “Therefore” at the head of line 3 and omits the possessive particle following “the Sage,” destroying the dependent relationship of lines 3 and 4. Chan’s translation of lines 3-5 in the standard text reads, “The sage is free from the disease. Because he recognizes this disease to be disease, he is free from it.”» — Henricks anota la línea que el texto estándar añade al capítulo 71 y las omisiones que destruyen la relación de dependencia entre las líneas 3 y 4, citando la traducción de Chan.

«Most of lines 1, 5, and 6 are now missing in Text A. Line 2 in Text A is set off from line 1 with a “period.” The differences between the Ma-wang-tui version of this chapter and that of the standard text are largely grammatical. In line 1 the word “about to” (chiang) does not occur in the standard text. In lines 2 and 3, the Ma-wang-tui texts use the imperative negative (wu) instead of the regular wu in the standard text. In line 4, “do not oppress them” is formed with the negative fu (not——them) instead of pu (not——-).» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 72: declara gramaticales las diferencias con el texto estándar y las enumera.

«In two places in the chapter the author plays on multiple meanings of words. In line 1 the word wei (to “fear,” “stand in awe of,” “respect,” “dread,” but also the “awesome,” “powerful,” “authority”) is used three different times: the line literally says, “When the people do not wei wei, then the great wei is about to arrive.” Then in line 4, the text literally says, “It’s simply because you do not yen (oppress) them, that they therefore will not be yen (here meaning ‘fed up’).”» — Henricks señala los dos juegos de palabras del capítulo 72, con wei y con yen, y da la lectura literal de las dos líneas.

«There is a “period” at the start of line 1 in Text A. With the addition of the nominalizing particle che, lines 1 and 2 in Text A read, “The one who is brave in being daring will be killed. The one who is brave in not being daring will live.” Line 7 in Text A is like line 7 in the standard text: it reads, “Not to be summoned yet come on its own” (that is, it has the negative pu instead of fu). This is better than the reading in B in that it involves no change in subject from lines 5-8. All that remains of this chapter in Text A are lines 6-8, part of line 1, and most of line 2.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 73: declara mejor la lectura del Text A porque no obliga a cambiar de sujeto entre las líneas 5 y 8.

«A line is added between lines 4 and 5 in the standard text: “Therefore even the Sage finds it difficult.” And in line 5, the standard text has “compete” instead of “fight” in the phrase “not to fight yet be good at winning.”» — Henricks anota la línea que el texto estándar añade al capítulo 73 y la variante de *competir* por *pelear*.

«In line 1 in Text B the copyist mistakenly added a “fear” (wei) before the “did not fear” (pu-wei): I leave this out in the translation. The first part of line 3 is different in Text A from what we find in Text B, but it makes no sense and the copyist’s mistakes can be reconstructed. Text A is like the standard text in line 3 in saying, “and we took those who behaved in abnormal ways.” This “we” (wu) seems not to occur in Text B (if we are right in assuming that the missing character at this point is chiang [“would”]).» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 74: declara error del copista del Text B una palabra añadida y dice que la deja fuera de la traducción.

«their lives are being made so miserable by their rulers (on this point see the next chapter).» — cierre de esa observación al otro lado del corte: para Henricks el texto sostiene que la gente debería temer la muerte y no la teme porque sus gobernantes le hacen la vida miserable.

«The “If (jo) at the head of line 1 does not occur in later editions; hence the first line of the chapter is often translated as a firm statement (e.g., Chan has “The people are not afraid of death”). Also in line 2, the standard text has “death” (ssu) in place of “execution” (or “killing”—sha).» — Henricks explica por qué la primera línea del capítulo 74 suele traducirse como afirmación tajante, y cita el ejemplo de Wing-tsit Chan; la capa de texto abre la comilla y no la cierra.

«Line 4 in the standard text simply reads, “We constantly have the one in charge of executions to do the killing.” (Note that the phrase “to do the killing” is not tacked on to this line in the Ma-wang-tui texts.) The “one in charge of executions” here is normally understood to be Heaven or “Nature”; that is, the good ruler will let death occur naturally to his people and not execute them at will.» — Henricks glosa al *encargado de las ejecuciones* del capítulo 74 como el Cielo o la Naturaleza, y saca de ahí que el buen gobernante deja que la muerte llegue sola.

«In line 5 the standard text says, “this is called cutting wood …” (shih-wei) instead of “this [is like] cutting wood …” (shih). Finally, in the last line the standard text says something like “in a very few cases will there be those who do not hurt their hands” (hsi-yu) versus the Ma-wang-tui reading of “very few do not hurt their hands” (hsi).» — Henricks cierra el capítulo 74 con dos variantes más del texto estándar.

«Texts A and B are essentially the same. There is a “period” at the start of line 1 in Text A and also at the start of line 7. In the standard text lines 2 and 8 agree with line 5 in saying “their superiors” (ch’i-shang) instead of just “they” (ch’i); this is no doubt implied in the Ma-wang-tui texts, but the meaning could be confusing —it is not readily apparent who the “they” are in lines 2 and 8.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 75: el texto estándar dice *sus superiores* donde los manuscritos dicen solo *ellos*, y advierte que ahí el sentido puede confundirse.

«The word “take” (ch’ü) is omitted in line 2 in the standard text and simply implied. In lines 4 and 6 the standard text has “The reason why the people are difficult to rule (or order)” (nan-chih) instead of “cannot be ruled (or brought into order)” (pu-chih). In line 5 in the standard text the word “reasons” is omitted in the phrase “have their reasons for acting” (yu i-wei) and the phrase would be better translated as “have actions” or “take action.”» — Henricks enumera las variantes del capítulo 75 y propone cómo traduciría mejor la línea 5 del texto estándar.

«Finally, the last two lines are somewhat awkward grammatically in Chinese with a change in subject (in the Ma-wang-tui texts as well as later texts). Literally they say, “Only those who do not act with living in mind, Only this is worth more than valuing life.”» — Henricks declara gramaticalmente torpes las dos últimas líneas del capítulo 75, en los manuscritos y en los textos posteriores, y da su lectura literal.

«There is a “period” at the start of line 1 in Text A. Text B is like the standard text in omitting the words “weak and delicate” (wei-hsi) in lines 6 and 10. Text B agrees with the standard text in having “Therefore” (shih-i) at the head of line 7. Text B also has a “Therefore” (ku) at the start of line 9.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 76: omisiones y añadidos del Text B frente al A.

«At the end of line 8, Text B has ching (normally “compete”) where Text A has “end up” or “come to its end” (as in line 2, reading heng as keng), while the Wang Pi text has “it will be used as a weapon” (ping) and most texts say, curiously, “it will work together” (kung). The variant that makes the most sense here is one that occurs in just a few texts, che (“broken”); i.e., “If a tree is rigid it will be broken” (as in a storm). Chou Tz’u-chi makes the plausible suggestion of reading the ching in Text B to mean “strong” but also “lying down stiffly” (as in death).» — Henricks recorre las variantes del final de la línea 8 del capítulo 76, declara que la que más sentido hace es *quebrado*, atestiguada en pocos textos, y recoge la propuesta de Chou Tz'u-chi.

«In line 2 in the standard text, the words “end up stretched out” do not occur. And at the head of line 5, the standard text simply says “Therefore” (ku) instead of “Therefore we say” (ku-yüeh).» — Henricks cierra el capítulo 76 con dos omisiones del texto estándar.

«The Ma-wang-tui texts differ from all later editions of the Lao-tzu in having a ch’ieh (“and yet,” “and moreover”) between “constantly” and “fear” in lines 1, 3, and 4. That is to say, in most later texts the phrase is “constantly did not fear” in line 1 and “constantly feared” in line 3 (the first part of line 4 does not occur in later editions). Most scholars working on the Ma-wang-tui texts of the Lao-tzu seem to ignore this ch’ieh and treat these lines as if it were not there (e.g., D. C. Lau translates the relevant lines, “If the common people are constantly unafraid of death,” “If the people were constantly afraid of death,” and “If the people are constantly afraid of death”).» — Henricks consigna que casi todos los que trabajan sobre los manuscritos ignoran la partícula ch'ieh del capítulo 74, y cita las tres líneas de D. C. Lau como ejemplo.

«I prefer to read the ch’ieh in its normal grammatical way, and I think that “constant behavior” is meant to contrast with the “behaving in abnormal ways” (wei-ch’i) brought up in line 3. Note that Lao-tzu feels that people should (or naturally do) fear death; at present they do not because» — Henricks declara que él lee esa partícula en su sentido normal y saca de ahí el contraste entre conducta constante y conducta anormal; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«Line 1 in Text A has “the world” (t’ien-hsia) where Text B has “Heaven” (t’ien), but I think this is a mistake. Text A is like the standard text in line 6 in adding the words “then is not so” (or “is not like this”—tse pu-jan). Only about one-half of Text A now remains; missing are portions of lines 1, 5, 6, 7, and 13, and all of lines 10, 11, and 12.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 77: declara error una variante del Text A y da el estado de sus lagunas.

«At the end of line 8 all other known editions of the Lao-tzu have “offer it to the world” (feng t’ien-hsia where the Ma-wang-tui texts have “offer to Heaven.” The variant “world” on the surface seems better, though the Ma-wang-tui line also makes sense. The Ma-wang-tui copyists may have mistakenly omitted the hsia after the t’ien. It also seems possible that the correct word was wu (“not have,” “those without”—the two characters look much alike) in which case the line would read, “Now, who is able to have a surplus and take it to offer to» — Henricks discute la variante *ofrecerlo al mundo* frente a *ofrecer al Cielo* en el capítulo 77, concede que la primera parece mejor a simple vista y propone una tercera lectura; el pasaje cruza el corte de plana.

«those who have nothing?” Line 11 in the standard text is “Takes actions but does not rely [on them]” (pu-shih instead of fu-yu). Line 12 begins, “His tasks are accomplished” (kung-ch’eng instead of ch’eng-kung—on which see chapter 17, below). And the words “Like this” are omitted from the head of line 13.» — cierre de esa discusión al otro lado del corte, con las variantes de las líneas 11 a 13 del capítulo 77.

«Each state in early China had its “altars of earth and grain” where sacrifices to agricultural deities took place; hence any state ruler was a “lord of the altars of earth and grain.”» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 78: glosa los altares de la tierra y del grano como el lugar de sacrificio a las deidades agrícolas que tenía cada estado.

«What remains of Text A seems to indicate that Texts A and B were exactly the same in the case of this chapter, with the exception of some insignificant grammatical changes. Parts of lines 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are now missing from Text A.» — Henricks declara que en el capítulo 78 los dos manuscritos eran exactamente iguales salvo cambios gramaticales sin importancia.

«Lines 4 and 5 are reversed in the standard text, and for “water” in line 4 the standard text has “the soft.” The “And yet” (erh) at the head of line 7 is not found in the standard text, but it is an attested variant. For line 8, the standard text has “Therefore the Sage says” (rather than “the words of the Sage” sheng-jen chih yen—also a known variant). The Ma-wang-tui reading is superior since the “correctness” of these “words” is noted in the last line.» — Henricks declara superior la lectura de Ma-wang-tui en la línea 8 del capítulo 78, porque la última línea del capítulo habla justamente de la *corrección* de esas palabras.

«Line 7a is found only at the end of Text B. Text B is like the standard text in having the word “holds” (chih) in line 3; the word is simply implied in Text A. Also, Text B is like the standard text in saying “the left tally” where Text A has “the right,” the right and left tallies being two halves of a contract that has been split in two, one half being kept by the buyer, and one half by the seller.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 79: glosa las tablillas derecha e izquierda como las dos mitades de un contrato partido, una para el comprador y otra para el vendedor.

«My own feeling is that the point being made is that even though the Sage is in the superior role and all others owe a lot to him, he makes no demands on others, never asking them to live up to their part of the bargain, and in this way causes no resentment. Therefore I feel that “right” here in Text A is the right word.» — Henricks declara su propia posición sobre el capítulo 79: el sabio está en el papel superior y aun así no exige nada, y por eso no causa resentimiento.

«The “taxes” in line 5 (ch’e) refer to taxes in tithe. Those without virtue, in contrast to the Sage, will indeed insist that the people pay up.» — Henricks glosa los impuestos de la línea 5 del capítulo 79 como el diezmo, y contrapone a los sin virtud con el sabio.

«Text B indicates a total of 3,041 characters in this part of the text and 2,426 characters in the Tao part that will follow. Thus we assume that when the text was fully preserved, Ma-wang-tui Text B had a total of 5,467 characters. The present Wang Pi text of Lao-tzu has only 5,268 characters and the present Ho-shang Kung, 5,281. But Hsieh Shou-hao’s Hun-yüan sheng-chi (completed in 1191) preserves the words of Fu I (A.D. 554-639), where he claims he had available to him versions of the text with 5,722, 5,635, 5,683, and 5,555 characters. (For more on this point, see Henricks, 1985, p. 31.)» — Henricks suma los dos recuentos de caracteres del Text B para dar 5,467, los contrasta con los de Wang Pi y Ho-shang Kung y con las cuatro cifras que Fu I declaraba conocer, y remite a un trabajo suyo de 1985.

«There is a “period” at the start of line 1 in Text A. Though there is a lacuna at the beginning of line 5 in Text A, the “therefore” occurs here in Text B, and there seems no reason to doubt that it originally occurred here in Text A as well. The same is true for “gateway” (men) in the last line. The second part of line 1 and the first part of line 2 are missing from Text B; so, too, is the second part of line 5. For the rest, Text B is exactly the same as Text A with the exception of a few variant characters, homophones that do not affect the meaning.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 1: estado de los dos manuscritos y diferencias entre ellos, que reduce a homófonos sin efecto en el sentido.

«The grammatical form of lines 1 and 2 in the Ma-wang-tui texts differs from that of the standard text, that difference resulting in the additional phrase at the start of each line—“As for the Way” and “As for names.”» — Henricks explica de dónde sale la fórmula con que abre su traducción del capítulo 1.

«Note that in the Ma-wang-tui texts in line 3, the nameless is the beginning of the “ten thousand things,” not “Heaven and Earth,” as most texts have it.» — hallazgo que Henricks subraya en el capítulo 1: en los manuscritos lo sin nombre es principio de los diez mil seres y no del Cielo y de la Tierra.

«Line 6 in the standard text has “Those constantly with desires, by this means see ch’i-chiao,” its “boundaries” (or “outcomes”). The Ma-wang-tui texts add the particle so (“that which”) to this phrase—that is, they have ch’i so-chiao, and the chiao used is a different character,» — Henricks describe la variante de la línea 6 del capítulo 1 y la partícula so que los manuscritos añaden; el pasaje cruza el corte de plana.

«one that means “to cry” or “to wail.” The particle so requires a verb to follow it, and the character that means “border” as a noun means “to seek” or “desire” as a verb, and this is the reading I use. Also on this line, the word “only” is not found here in the Chinese, and some read lines 5 and 6 as both positive things the Taoist should do (i.e., he sees things completely only by both having and not having desires). I find that position untenable given all that Lao-tzu says about desires and the need to lessen them or eliminate them in the rest of the book.» — Henricks justifica su lectura de esa línea y rechaza la que haría del tener deseos algo positivo, por incompatible con todo lo que el libro dice de los deseos.

«The possibility of punctuating the text in such a way that “nonbeing” (wu) and “being” (yu) would be the focus of lines 5 and 6 instead of “without desires” (wu-yü) and “having desires” (yu-yü)— Wing-tsit Chan, for example, has “Therefore let there always be nonbeing, so we may see their subtlety, And let there always be being, so we may see their outcome”—seems precluded in the Ma-wang-tui texts by the fact that wu-yü and yu-yü are grammatically set off for emphasis.» — Henricks declara que los manuscritos cierran la puerta a la puntuación que pondría el foco en ser y no ser, y da la traducción de Wing-tsit Chan como ejemplo de esa otra lectura.

«The end of the chapter is worded somewhat differently in the Ma-wang-tui texts than it is elsewhere—here we clearly seem to have four four-character lines.» — Henricks cierra el capítulo 1 señalando que en los manuscritos el final se ordena claramente en cuatro líneas de cuatro caracteres.

«Line 1 in Text A is not exactly the same: the difference might be translated as “When everyone in the world knows the beautiful is beautiful …”—in any event, the difference is slight (mei wei mei instead of mei chih wei mei). Missing from Text A are the words from “practices” in line 10 to the end of the next line. Text A omits the negative in the last line, giving “Just because he dwells on them, therefore …” That must be scribal error, since the line makes little sense in this way.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 2: declara error de escriba la omisión del negativo en la última línea del Text A, porque así la línea apenas tiene sentido.

«In line 7 Text A has “the mutual harmony of idea and voice” (i instead of yin)—an intriguing variation. Nonetheless, it is not certain that the copyist did not mean “tone” here even though he wrote “idea,” that is, the character meaning “idea” might be an abbreviation of or a loan for the character that means “tone.”» — Henricks llama intrigante la variante *idea* por *tono* del Text A y admite enseguida que podría ser abreviatura o préstamo del otro carácter.

«In contrast to the standard Lao-tzu text, the Ma-wang-tui texts in line 2 simply say, “When everyone knows the good,” not “When everyone knows the good as good.” More important is the change to» — Henricks pasa a lo que declara más importante del capítulo 2; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«lines 3-9. In the standard text this is a series of statements: “Being and nonbeing produce one another; difficult and easy complete one another,” and so on. Here these lines seem to form a series of nominal phrases that are only defined in line 9 (“These are all constants.”» — Henricks sostiene que en los manuscritos las líneas 3 a 9 del capítulo 2 no son afirmaciones sino frases nominales definidas por la línea 9, que no aparece en ningún otro texto, y da la lectura alternativa igualmente válida.

«Note that in the Ma-wang-tui texts, in line 5, long and short mutually “form” (hsing) one another—they do not “compare” or “contrast” (chiao) one another (hsing is a known variant here). And in line 6, high and low mutually “fill” (ying) one another, they do not “overturn” (ch’ing) one another. Note, too, that the Ma-wang-tui texts omit the line found in some texts of Lao-tzu between lines 11 and 12 —“He produces them, but he doesn’t own them” (or “They are produced, but he doesn’t own them”—sheng erh pu-yu).» — Henricks enumera las variantes de las líneas 5 y 6 del capítulo 2 y la línea que los manuscritos omiten.

«In lines 12 and 13 I think the subject shifts from the “ten thousand things” of line 11 back to “the Sage” of line 10, and thus what is said here of the Sage parallels what is said of the Tao in lines 7-9 of chapter 51. Strictly speaking, the subject should remain the “ten thousand things.” If that is the author’s intent, then we should best translate lines 12 and 13, “They act, but he doesn’t make them dependent; They accomplish their tasks but he doesn’t dwell on them.”» — Henricks declara su lectura del sujeto de las líneas 12 y 13 del capítulo 2 y a la vez concede que, hablando estrictamente, el sujeto debería seguir siendo otro, con la traducción que entonces convendría.

«What survives of Text A (the first part of line 1, the second part of line 2, parts of lines 3 and 4, lines 8 and 9) is word-for-word the same as Text B. The only appreciable differences between the Ma-wang-tui texts and other editions of the Lao-tzu occur in lines 3 and 10. Most texts of Lao-tzu have “bring it about that people’s minds will not be confused” in line 3, and in line 10 the standard Lao-tzu text has “He causes the knowledgeable to not dare to act. If he acts without action (wei wu-wei), then there is nothing that will not be in order.”» — comentario entero de Henricks al capítulo 3: solo dos diferencias apreciables con las demás ediciones, en las líneas 3 y 10.

«Parts of lines 1, 2, and 7 are missing from Text A. Text A has the synonym hsiao (“deep and still”) for yüan (“abyss”) in line 3, and the jui (“sharp edges”) is omitted in line 4 through—one assumes—copy error.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 4: atribuye a error de copia una omisión del Text A.

«This chapter varies very little from the standard Lao-tzu form. The yu (“again”) for huo (“perhaps”) in line 2 is a known variant, and the ts’o (“file down”) for ts’o (“press down”) would appear to be the right word. The Ma-wang-tui texts have ying (“fill”) instead of man (“fill”) at the end of line 2. The change to man in later editions was one of a number of substitutions made to avoid the personal name of an emperor, in this case the name of Emperor Hui of the Han (r. 194-187 B.c.), Liu Ying.» — Henricks explica una sustitución del capítulo 4 por la evitación del nombre personal del emperador Hui de los Han, Liu Ying; la capa de texto imprime *B.c.* en minúscula.

«“Lord” (Ti) was the name of the supreme deity of the Shang people (traditional dates 1766-1122 B.C.); Ti was also used as a name for the supreme god of the Chou (1122-221 B.C.), though they more commonly used the name “Heaven” (T’ien).» — Henricks identifica al *Señor* del final del capítulo 4 con Ti, deidad suprema de los Shang y también nombre del dios supremo de los Chou.

«The Text A reading of “right tally” in line 3 is significant since the general practice in ancient China was for the superior partner in a contractual arrangement to hold on to the right-portion of the contract while the inferior partner held on to the left.» — Henricks explica por qué la lectura *tablilla derecha* del Text A importa: en la China antigua el socio superior de un contrato se quedaba con la mitad derecha.

«That the Sage according to Lao-tzu kept the “left” portion (the reading in the standard text and in Text B) has been understood in two different and contrasting ways, one being that Lao-tzu says in chapter 31 that in auspicious affairs the “left” is superior while in affairs of mourning the superior is the “right” (so the Sage here would be in the superior role), the other being that Lao-tzu here as elsewhere naturally puts the Sage in the inferior position. (The argument is also made that for people of Ch’u, in contrast to people in other parts of China, the left was the superior position as opposed to the right.)» — Henricks recoge las dos maneras contrarias en que se ha entendido la lectura del texto estándar en el capítulo 79, y una tercera sobre la gente de Ch'u, sin arbitrar entre ellas.

«The Ma-wang-tui texts for line 8 have “Much learning (to-wen) means …” where the standard text has “Much talk” (to-yen). The contrast is being made, I think, between the mind full of facts and the “empty” space between Heaven and Earth, which is somehow “full” and inexhaustible.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 5: los manuscritos dicen *mucho saber* donde el texto estándar dice *mucho hablar*, y él lee ahí el contraste entre la mente llena de datos y el espacio vacío entre Cielo y Tierra.

«The problem of how to read the first four lines is not solved in the Ma-wang-tui texts. One must still choose between a “tough” interpretation, in which Heaven and Earth and the Sage are ruthless in regarding people and things as pawns in a game, versus the “soft” line, where the point is that Heaven and Earth and the Sage see each person and thing as playing a necessary role in the grand cosmic scheme.» — Henricks declara que los manuscritos no resuelven cómo leer las cuatro primeras líneas del capítulo 5, y deja abiertas las dos lecturas, la dura y la blanda, sin decidir.

«Note how the theme of the “seemingly empty continually producing” is continued in chapter 6 (and resumes the opening theme of chapter 4 for that matter).» — Henricks traza el hilo temático que enlaza los capítulos 4, 5 y 6: lo aparentemente vacío que produce sin cesar.

«There are no significant differences between Texts A and B, and no significant differences between the Ma-wang-tui version of the chapter and that of the standard text.» — comentario entero de Henricks al capítulo 6: no hay diferencias significativas ni entre los dos manuscritos ni frente al texto estándar.

«Line 7 is not found in Text A and is also not found in any other known edition of the text. It would appear to be copy error.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 7: declara error de copia una línea que solo aparece en el Text B.

«The opening lines might make more sense if the reader knows that an early Chinese saying about Heaven and Earth was that “Heaven covers and Earth supports,” they cover and support the ten thousand things. So they “live” for the sake of other things.» — Henricks apoya la lectura de las primeras líneas del capítulo 7 en un dicho chino antiguo: el Cielo cubre y la Tierra sostiene, y por eso viven para otras cosas.

«In line 3, Text A has simply “masses” instead of “masses of people.” Text A contracts lines 7 and 8, giving “In giving the good thing is sincerity.” In all other respects, Texts A and B are the same. The standard text of Lao-tzu has jen (benevolence, humanity) for fien (Heaven) at the end of line 7; that is, “In giving the good thing is being humane.”» — Henricks anota las variantes menores del capítulo 8 y la del texto estándar, que dice *ser humano* donde los manuscritos dicen *ser como el Cielo*; la capa de texto imprime *fien* por t'ien.

«Most of lines 2, 3, and 10 are now missing from Text A. Text A omits the “be able” (neng) from line 6, giving “You’ll never protect them.” There are a number of characters in the Ma-wang-tui versions of this chapter that need to be deciphered (e.g., the first characters in lines 1 and 3—which I translate as “to hold upright” and “pound it out”—and my “point” at the end of line 3). In the present state of research, there seems to be no reason not to see these as meaning roughly the same as their equivalents in later texts.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 9: declara que varios caracteres siguen por descifrar y que, en el estado presente de la investigación, no ve razón para no leerlos como sus equivalentes de los textos posteriores.

«The phrase “without using knowledge” at the end of line 6 where a number of other Lao-tzu texts have “without taking action” (wu-wei) is a known, in fact common, variant. The standard Lao-tzu text adds a line between lines 8 and 9—“Cause them to act but not be dependent.”» — Henricks anota que la fórmula del final de la línea 6 del capítulo 10 es variante conocida y común, y la línea que el texto estándar añade.

«Most of lines 1 and 2 are missing in Text A along with all of line 5. It has long been thought that the variant single character “thirty” in line 1 (sa) in place of the normal two-character phrase san-shih (“three tens”) resulted from later attempts to pare down the number of characters in the text as a whole. But sa is what we find in the Ma-wang-tui texts.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 11: la variante *treinta* en un solo carácter se atribuía a un intento posterior de recortar el número de caracteres del libro, y es la que traen los manuscritos.

«Line 5 in the standard text of Lao-tzu reads, “We bore out doors and windows to make a room.” The parallelism with the other lines seems to demand these words, but they are not found in the Ma-wang-tui texts.» — Henricks consigna que el paralelismo del capítulo 11 parece exigir las palabras de la línea 5 del texto estándar y que no están en los manuscritos.

«Text A has “see clearly” (ming) for “blind” (mang) in line 1 in what must be copyist error.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 12: declara error de copista la variante del Text A en la línea 1.

«The order of lines 1-5 differs in the Ma-wang-tui texts from what we normally find. In the standard Lao-tzu the sequence is 1, 5, 4, 2, 3. One might surmise that a later editor went to that sequence to put the three “five” lines together. The five colors are green, red, yellow, white, and black: the five flavors are sweet, bitter, salty, sour, and pungent: the five tones are the tones of the Chinese musical scale, C, D, E, G, and A.» — Henricks conjetura que un editor posterior reordenó las líneas 1 a 5 del capítulo 12 para juntar las tres del *cinco*, y enumera los cinco colores, los cinco sabores y los cinco tonos.

«Line 6 in the standard Lao-tzu simply says, “Therefore the Sage,” not “Therefore in the government of the Sage.” This is one of several places in the Ma-wang-tui texts where they seem more directly concerned with governing than do later editions of the Lao-tzu.» — Henricks señala uno de los lugares donde, a su juicio, los manuscritos se ocupan más directamente del gobierno que las ediciones posteriores.

«Text A has a number of different graphs in various places, but the intended word and meaning would seem to be the same in each case. In a few editions of the Lao-tzu line 4 reads, “Favor is superior; disgrace is inferior.” That reading is not confirmed by these texts. Line 4, nonetheless, feels out of place—like an editorial aside.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 13: consigna que estos textos no traen una lectura minoritaria y dice que la línea 4 le suena a apostilla editorial fuera de lugar.

«The wording of line 12 differs markedly from what we find in other editions. Normally, lines 12 and 14 are strictly parallel. For example, Wing-tsit Chan’s translation reads this way: “Therefore he who values the world as his body may be entrusted with the empire. He who loves the world as his body may be entrusted with the empire.” Although there are a number of different arrangements of the wording in lines 12-15 in other texts, the Ma-wang-tui version of line 12 is unique.» — Henricks declara única la redacción de la línea 12 del capítulo 13 en los manuscritos, y cita la traducción de Wing-tsit Chan como ejemplo del paralelismo estricto que traen los demás textos.

«Both texts omit the negative (pu) at the end of line 2: Text A literally has “and yet it has tranquility” (which makes good sense); Text B literally has “and yet it has competition.” A number of scholars have argued that the yu ching in Text A (“has tranquility”) is the intended phrase, and that the yu (“has”) was changed to pu (“does not”) only after the cheng (“competition”) in Text B was understood to be the correct graph.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 8: registra el argumento de varios estudiosos sobre la lectura del Text A.

«I disagree. For one thing, line 12 assumes that “it does not compete” is a point that was already made, and for another, Text B maintains a clear distinction throughout between ching and cheng— in all cases where the later, standard text has ching (chapters 15, 16, 26, 37, 45, 57, and 61) Text B has ching, and in all cases where the later text has cheng (chapters 3, 8, 22, 66, 68, 73, and 81) Text B has cheng.» — Henricks declara que no está de acuerdo con ese argumento y da sus dos razones: una interna del capítulo 8 y otra estadística sobre el uso de los dos caracteres en todo el Text B.

«Very little remains of Text A; all is lost with the exception of the second half of line 2, all of lines 3 and 7, and most of line 8. What remains is exactly the same as what we have in B with the exception of one variant character. Since there is no break, no punctuation, between the end of chapter 9 and the start of chapter 10 in the Ma-wang-tui texts, the evidence is even clearer, I think, that the tsai (or tai) at the start of 10 is in fact the last character of 9, and I have put it there as exclamation (what it normally means at the end of a line).» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 10: sostiene que el carácter con que abre el capítulo pertenece en realidad al final del 9 y declara dónde lo ha puesto.

«Thus I think chapter 10 opens with ying-p’o pao-i (“nourishing soul, embracing the One”); lines 1-6 all have the same form, a four-character phrase followed by “can you” (neng). The p’o, at least in modern belief, is the “physical soul” (versus the hun or spiritual soul), the soul that stays with or near the body for a while in the grave while the hun goes on through the cycle of rebirth.» — Henricks describe la forma de las seis primeras líneas del capítulo 10 y glosa el p'o como alma física que se queda junto al cuerpo en la tumba mientras el hun sigue el ciclo de renacimientos.

«In line 3 the Ma-wang-tui texts seem to solve the problem of whether lan means “mirror” or “vision”; the character used in the Ma-wang-tui texts is understood to mean a bowl of water in which one» — Henricks declara que los manuscritos parecen resolver si lan es espejo o visión: el carácter que usan se entiende como una jofaina de agua; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«The sentiments of chapter 13—that the person who should be» — Henricks abre el resumen del sentir del capítulo 13; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«entrusted with ruling the world is precisely the one who cares more for his own life than he does for the wealth, honor, and power he would have by ruling the world—show up again in the Chuang-tzu in a section that A. C. Graham identifies as “Yangist”» — cierre de ese resumen al otro lado del corte: se le debe confiar el mundo justamente a quien cuida más su propia vida que la riqueza y el poder del mando, y Henricks enlaza eso con un pasaje del Chuang-tzu que A. C. Graham identifica como yangista.

«The first anecdote in chapter 28 of the Chuang-tzu reads, “Yao resigned the empire to Hsü Yu. Hsü Yu refused it. Next he resigned it to Tzu-chou Chih-fu. ‘It might not be a bad idea to make me Son of Heaven,’ said Tzu-chou Chih-fu. ‘However, at the moment I am worried about a serious ailment. I’m going to put it right, and haven’t time just now to put the empire right.’» — Henricks cita la anécdota de Yao y Tzu-chou Chih-fu con que abre el capítulo 28 del Chuang-tzu, en la traducción que reproduce.

«The empire is the most important thing of all, but he would not harm his life for the sake of it, and how much less for anything else! Only the man who cares nothing for the empire deserves to be entrusted with the empire.”» — cierre de esa cita del Chuang-tzu: solo el hombre a quien el imperio no le importa nada merece que se le confíe.

«Parts of lines 8, 14, 15, 16, and 21 are missing in Text A; there are also a couple of variant characters that distinguish A from B, but those words appear to mean the same thing in both texts. There are a number of ways in which the Ma-wang-tui version of chapter 14 differs from what we find in the standard text. To begin with, the qualities “level and smooth” and “minute” are reversed in lines 2 and 6, and the word “this” or “these” (tz’u) is not found at the head of line 7 in the Ma-wang-tui texts (even though one must put it there in translation).» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 14: las cualidades de las líneas 2 y 6 van invertidas respecto del texto estándar.

«Lines 16 and 17 are normally reversed, and the standard Lao-tzu text has “Hold on to the Way of the past” in line 18, not the Way of the present. Finally, the grammatical particles used in lines 19 and 20 make it clear that these are two parallel things—that is to say, by holding on to the Way of the present one can (a) manage the things of the present and (b) know the ancient beginning. The particles used in the standard text allow for a different interpretation—“Hold fast to the way of antiquity, In order to keep in control the realm of today. The ability to know the beginning of antiquity, Is called the thread running through the way.”» — Henricks contrasta *la Vía del presente* de los manuscritos con *la Vía del pasado* del texto estándar, y muestra cómo las partículas de cada versión permiten interpretaciones distintas del final del capítulo 14.

«A number of character variants distinguish Texts A and B, but they seem unimportant. But Text A had an additional phrase between lines 15 and 16, which apparently said, “Now it is only because he does not desire [to be full, that] therefore …” (fu wei pu-yü i). Most texts of the Lao-tzu have “The one who was skilled at being a ruler [or ‘knight/scribe’—shih] in antiquity” in line 1: The variant phrase of wei-tao (“practicing the Way”) for wei-shih (“being a ruler”) is known but uncommon. The same holds true for the sequence of lines 11 and 12: they are normally reversed. The sequence of 12 and 11 nicely juxtaposes the “muddy water” of lines 11 and 13.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 15: la variante *practicar la Vía* por *ser gobernante* de la línea 1 es conocida pero poco común, y el orden de los manuscritos yuxtapone mejor el agua turbia.

«Almost all texts of the Lao-tzu have shu-neng (“Who can,” “Who is able to …”) at the head of lines 13 and 14. Thus Wing-tsit Chan’s translation reads, “Who can make muddy water gradually clear through tranquility? Who can make the still gradually come to life» — Henricks señala que casi todos los textos abren las líneas 13 y 14 del capítulo 15 con *quién puede*, como en la traducción de Wing-tsit Chan, y que esas palabras no están en los manuscritos; el pasaje cruza el corte de plana.

«through activity?” Those words are not found in the Ma-wang-tui texts. And later texts of the Lao-tzu agree with Text A in adding the phrase “It is only because he does not desire to be full” between lines 15 and 16.» — cierre de esa observación al otro lado del corte, con la frase que los textos posteriores añaden de acuerdo con el Text A.

«Lines 1 and 2 in the Ma-wang-tui texts seem to read as definitions. They are grammatically parallel to lines 9 and 10 and might be translated, “To reach emptiness is what we mean by the extreme; To maintain tranquility is what we mean by the center.” But the first part of this chapter makes more sense if lines 1 and 2 are rather understood as admonitions to someone practicing meditation (see the Introduction on this point).» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 16: los manuscritos permiten leer las dos primeras líneas como definiciones, y él prefiere entenderlas como advertencias a quien practica meditación, remitiendo a su propia introducción.

«Text A has “surface” (piao) in line 2 where Text B reads “center” (tu —literally “oversee”), but it is likely that in both cases the same word is intended (for more on this point see note 125). At the start of line 5 both texts literally say, “Heaven’s things” (or “the things of nature”—t’ien-wu), but Vieri is probably a mistake for the standard word fu» — Henricks resuelve dos variantes del capítulo 16 declarando que se pretende la misma palabra y que una es probablemente un error; la capa de texto imprime *Vieri* por una palabra que el impreso trae de otro modo.

«In line 7 we normally find the words “To return to its root” (kueiken) repeated before the words “This is called tranquility” (yüehching); but here they are not. By way of contrast, the word wang (“wild and reckless”) is repeated in the Ma-wang-tui texts, giving us two lines (11 and 12) where we normally have only one (e.g., Wing-tsit Chan translates, “Not to know the eternal is to act blindly to result in disaster.”» — Henricks anota que los manuscritos no repiten una fórmula del capítulo 16 y sí repiten otra, de modo que donde los demás textos traen una línea, aquí hay dos; el troceo une *kuei-ken* y *yüeh-ching*, partidos al fin de renglón, y los devuelve como una sola palabra cada uno.

«Finally, at the end of the chapter later Lao-tzu texts have one more “to be this is to be this”—namely, “To be [one with] the Tao is to be long lasting” (tao nai chiu), and then they say, “and to the end of your days …”» — Henricks señala el peldaño más que los textos posteriores añaden al final del capítulo 16.

«Note that the word kung (“impartial”) in line 14—chosen to rhyme with the “all-embracing” (jung) of the previous line—also means “duke.” This allows the author to shift emphasis and move up through a hierarchy of powers—from duke to king to Heaven to the Tao.» — Henricks lee en el doble sentido de kung, imparcial y duque, el recurso con que el autor del capítulo 16 asciende por una jerarquía de poderes, de duque a rey, a Cielo y al Tao.

«In line 4 the Ma-wang-tui texts have “those at the bottom” (ch’i-hsia) where the standard text has one final “next down” (ch’i tz’u). In line 5 the standard text ends with “in him” (yen), but the Ma-wang-tui texts omit that word. Finally, in line 8, many Lao-tzu texts say “the common people all say”; but the omission of “all,” as we find here, is a known form of the line.» — comentario entero de Henricks al capítulo 17: tres variantes menores frente al texto estándar.

«At the end of line 3, Text A has hsü (“nurture”) where Text B has hsiao (“filial piety”), giving “then we have nurture and compassion [or nurturing compassion].” (The “six relations” [liu-ch’in] are father, son, older brother, younger brother, husband, and wife.) In line 4, “country” is kuo-chia in Text B; pang-chia in Text A. Text B consistently writes kuo for pang to avoid the taboo on the personal name of Han Kao-tsu (r. 206-194 B.C.), Liu Pang.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 18: enumera las seis relaciones y explica que el Text B escribe siempre kuo por pang para evitar el nombre tabú de Han Kao-tsu.

«The “Therefore” (ku) in line 1 does not occur in other editions of the Lao-tzu: it is a clear indication that chapter 18 follows directly from the things said in chapter 17. Also, the Ma-wang-tui texts have an an (“then”) in the middle of every line to emphasize that “it is only then that such bad things happen”; that an does not occur in the standard text of Lao-tzu. Finally, the variant of “virtuous officials” (chen-ch’en) for “loyal officials” (chung-ch’en) is a known but uncommon substitution.» — Henricks lee el *por eso* de la línea 1 como indicación clara de que el capítulo 18 se encadena con el 17, y anota la partícula que los manuscritos meten en cada línea para subrayar que solo entonces pasan esas cosas.

«Text A is like the standard text in omitting the erh’s (“And”) at the head of lines 2 and 4. In line 4, Text A again has “nurture” (hsü) where Text B has “compassion.” The Ma-wang-tui texts have “These three sayings” (san-yen) in line 7 where the standard text has simply “These three” (san-che), and in line 8, they have “not yet complete” (wei-tsu) where the standard text has simply “not complete” (pu-tsu).» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 19: variantes de los manuscritos frente al texto estándar en las líneas 7 y 8.

«Commentators and translators have gone back and forth on the issue of whether or not the first line of chapter 20 (“Eliminate learning and have no concern”) is in fact the last line of chapter 19. I think it is. The lack of punctuation in the Ma-wang-tui texts adds support for this cause. Moreover, it has always been clear that this line rhymes with lines 10 and 11 in chapter 19 (the rhyme words are p’u [“genuine”], yü [“desires”], and yu [“anxiety”]). Finally, if the “text” has “three sayings,” then there should be three appended lines as well.» — Henricks toma partido en una discusión vieja y declara que la primera línea del capítulo 20 es en realidad la última del 19, y da tres apoyos: la falta de puntuación en los manuscritos, la rima y la aritmética de las tres sentencias.

«Significantly, the Ma-wang-tui texts have “beautiful and ugly” (mei yü o) in line 3 where the standard text has “good and bad” (shan yü o) (though “beautiful and ugly” is an attested reading). Moreover, in line 1, Text A has ho (“angry rejection”) in place of a (“no”), giving the present reading (the graph in Text B is understood to mean the same). And the addition of the words that mean “also” and “other men” at the beginning and end of line 6 give the reading of “The one who is feared by others, Must also because of this fear other men” versus the seemingly irrelevant line “The things people fear cannot not be feared.”» — Henricks declara significativo que los manuscritos digan *bello y feo* donde el estándar dice *bueno y malo* en el capítulo 20, y muestra cómo dos añadidos vuelven legible una línea que de otro modo parece irrelevante.

«In lines 19 and 20, the Ma-wang-tui texts have hu (“formless”) and huang [actually wang] (“shapeless”) where other texts normally have tan (“quiet and tranquil”) and liu (“a high wind”). And in line 23 the change from wo (“I”) at the start of the line to wu-yü (“my desires”) gives us the present reading versus the normal “I alone differ from others.”» — Henricks cierra el capítulo 20 con las variantes de las líneas 19, 20 y 23, y consigna entre corchetes la corrección de una transcripción.

«Text A is essentially the same as Text B. There are a number of character variants in both texts that at this stage of our research seem best identified with the characters we find in the standard text. Both Ma-wang-tui texts literally say, “The things of the Way” (tao chih wu) at the start of line 2 where later editions have “As for the nature of the Way [literally—As for the Way’s being a thing]” (tao chih wei wu). My feeling is that the wei was mistakenly left out in both Ma-wang-tui texts, since the basic unit throughout the chapter is the four-character line.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 21: declara que una palabra se cayó por error en los dos manuscritos, porque la unidad del capítulo es la línea de cuatro caracteres.

«The standard text of Lao-tzu has “From the past to the present” in line 8; it now seems clear that the reverse form is correct since the last words in lines 8, 9, and 10 all would have rhymed (“past”/ku, “gone away”/ch’ü, “father”/fu). For line 10 the standard text has “It is this we use to examine the origins of the multitude.”» — Henricks declara correcta la forma invertida de la línea 8 del capítulo 21 porque así riman los finales de las líneas 8, 9 y 10.

«More importantly, at the start of line 9, the “One” (i-che) is singled» — Henricks señala como más importante que los manuscritos destaquen el Uno al principio de la línea 9 del capítulo 14; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«out for attention (the words i-che are omitted in later editions), and lines 9 and 10 in the Ma-wang-tui texts seem to say, “There is nothing more encompassing above it, and nothing more minute below it”— which is true, of course, of the number one—versus the normal “Its top is not dazzling; its bottom is not dark.”» — cierre de esa observación al otro lado del corte: la lectura de los manuscritos es verdadera del número uno, frente a la habitual sobre la cima y el fondo.

«The translator must make a number of choices in translating this chapter that unfortunately suggest different interpretations of Taoist philosophical views. For one thing, one must choose between putting the entire message in past or present tense. I have opted for the present, but one could equally say, “When the Great Tao was rejected,” and so on, and it is true that Taoists do assume that back at the beginning of time all things were in accord with the Way and that the establishment of principles of conduct coincided with the decline of the Way.» — Henricks declara que en el capítulo 18 el traductor tiene que elegir entre pasado y presente y que eso sugiere interpretaciones distintas del taoísmo; declara su elección y consigna la suposición taoísta que la complica.

«But the Taoists also assume that the Way can still be followed and that in some way the Way is something that is rejected or forgotten by individuals in their individual lives as they mature.» — segunda suposición que Henricks consigna sin armonizarla con la anterior: la Vía todavía puede seguirse y es algo que cada quien rechaza u olvida al madurar.

«It is unclear in most Taoist writings if, in antiquity, the Great Way» — Henricks consigna que en casi todos los escritos taoístas queda sin aclarar si la Gran Vía fue rechazada o decayó sola; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«was actively rejected or just declined (by nature; that is, on its own). The verb used here, fei, and the grammatical form—ta-tao fei—suggest the former.» — cierre de esa observación al otro lado del corte: el verbo y la forma gramatical de aquí sugieren el rechazo activo.

«Much of Text A is now missing. Missing through deterioration are parts of lines 5 and 6, all of lines 7 and 11, parts of lines 12, 13, 15, 16, and 22, and all of line 21.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 20: estado de las lagunas del Text A.

«Text A is like the standard text in having a line between lines 13 and 14—“I alone seem to be lacking”» — Henricks señala una línea que el Text A comparte con el texto estándar y el Text B no; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«(wo tu i): the omission of this line in Text B is surely an error.» — cierre al otro lado del corte: Henricks declara error esa omisión del Text B.

«On moving the first line of chapter 20 in the standard text of Lao-tzu to the end of chapter 19, see the notes to chapter 19.» — Henricks remite a su propia nota al capítulo 19 por el desplazamiento de la primera línea del capítulo 20.

«Text A omits the character “the one who” (che) in line 2; otherwise the two texts appear to have been identical. The Ma-wang-tui texts have “to cook” (ch’ui) in line 1 where other texts have “to stand on tiptoe” (ch’i). The intended character is surely the ch’ui that means “to blow” but also “to boast or to brag”: The entire chapter, after all, concerns egotism. Chou Tz’u-chi and Hsü K’ang-sheng both read ch’ui as a mistake for ch’i. D. C. Lau has “He who blows cannot stand.” It is interesting that the Chinese word for “blow” could come to mean “boast or brag” and that one of our own words for a braggart is a “blowhard.”» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 24: propone que el carácter pretendido es el que significa soplar y también jactarse, porque el capítulo entero trata del egotismo, y observa de paso que en inglés al fanfarrón se le llame blowhard.

«Line 2 in the standard text is “He who strides forward does not go”; that line does not occur in the Ma-wang-tui texts. Moreover, the order of lines 1-5 is not the same as what we normally find. The usual order is 1, extra line, 3, 2, 4, 5. The “shows himself off” (shih) in line 2 in the Ma-wang-tui texts in other texts of the Lao-tzu is rather “sees himself as right” (shih).» — Henricks registra la línea que el texto estándar trae y los manuscritos no, y el orden distinto de las líneas 1 a 5 del capítulo 24.

«In line 9, the Ma-wang-tui texts literally say, “Therefore, the one who has desires …” (yu-yü-che), where all other texts say, “The one who has the Tao.” Arguments by others to the contrary, I persist in thinking that “desires” here is a mistake for the “Way,” perhaps the result of the fact that the small seal forms of “desires” and “Way” are not all that dissimilar. Note that lines 8 and 9 occur again, verbatim, at the start of chapter 31, and again the Ma-wang-tui texts say, “the one who has desires.”» — Henricks declara que persiste en pensar que *deseos* es error por *Vía* en la línea 9 del capítulo 24, contra los argumentos de otros, y propone como causa el parecido de las dos formas en escritura de sello pequeño.

«D. C. Lau makes sense of the phrase by translating “a man of ambition.” Hsü K’ang-sheng shares my opinion that “the one with» — Henricks recoge las dos salidas ajenas a ese problema, la de D. C. Lau y la de Hsü K'ang-sheng, que comparte su opinión; el pasaje cruza el corte de plana.

«desires” is not consistent with the thought of the text. Chou Tz’u-chi, on the other hand, if I understand him correctly, would translate the last line “Therefore those with desires do not dwell in it,” with the “it” meaning the Tao—still meaning that “having desires” is not a good thing.» — cierre al otro lado del corte, con la lectura de Chou Tz'u-chi, que Henricks reporta con la reserva de si lo entiende bien.

«Text A, in what must be a copy error, has “Bent over then gold” (or “metal”—chin) in line 1 instead of “whole” (ch’üan), and in line 2, Text A has “settled/still” (ting) instead of “upright” (cheng). In lines 8 and 9, Text A reverses the qualities of “prominent” (chang) and “brightly shine” (ming), in this way according with later editions. Most of line 13 is now missing from Text A.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 22: declara error de copia una variante del Text A.

«Also in line 7, the Ma-wang-tui texts tell us the Sage will in this way become the “shepherd” (mu) of the world, not its “model” (shih); with “shepherd” being a known reference to the ruler in the political writings of the time, the sayings in this chapter would seem to have a specific, political focus instead of a general one. (On the “shepherding” of the ruler note also the comments above, on chapter 61.)» — Henricks saca de la variante *pastor* por *modelo* que los dichos del capítulo 22 tendrían foco político y no general.

«The Ma-wang-tui texts have “he does not praise them” (fu-chin) at the start of line 11 where later editions say “he does not praise himself” (pu tzu-chin). The words “the world” (t’ien-hsia) are normally found in line 12— namely, “that, therefore, no one in the world is able to compete with him”; they do not occur here.» — Henricks anota dos variantes más del capítulo 22.

«Finally, lines 14 and 15 are somewhat different in the Ma-wang-tui texts from what we normally find. Line 14 normally reads, “How can these be false words?!” (ch’i hsü-yen tsai). The rhetorical particle ch’i does not occur in the Ma-wang-tui texts (though it might be implied) and for “false” they read rather chi—which means either “close to/ almost” or “auspicious” (the suggestions, respectively, of Hsü K’ang-sheng and Chou Tz’u-chi). Also, in line 15 the omission of the particle erh (“and”) seems to make the last line one clause instead of two (Chan translates, “Truly he will be preserved and [prominence and credit] will come to him.”)» — Henricks recorre las dos lecturas propuestas para un carácter de la línea 14 del capítulo 22, de Hsü K'ang-sheng y Chou Tz'u-chi, y cita la traducción de Chan para la 15.

«One way in which the paradox “Bent over, you’ll be preserved whole” is seen to be true is illustrated by the story of “Crippled Shu” in chapter 04 of the Chuang-tzu. In Watson’s translation that reads, “There’s Crippled Shu—chin stuck down in his navel, shoulders up above his head, pigtail pointing at the sky, his five organs on the top,» — Henricks ilustra la paradoja del capítulo 22 con la historia del Lisiado Shu del capítulo 4 del Chuang-tzu, en la traducción de Burton Watson; la capa de texto imprime *chapter 04*, y el pasaje cruza el corte de plana.

«his two thighs pressing his ribs. By sewing and washing, he gets enough to fill his mouth; by handling a winnow and sifting out the good grain, he makes enough to feed ten people. When the authorities call out the troops, he stands in the crowd waving good-bye; when they get up a big work party, they pass him over because he’s a chronic invalid. And when they are doling out grain to the ailing, he gets three big measures and ten bundles of firewood. With a crippled body, he’s still able to look after himself and finish out the years Heaven gave him. How much better, then, if he had crippled virtue!”» — cierre de esa cita del Chuang-tzu al otro lado del corte: el lisiado se libra de la leva y de las cuadrillas y llega al fin de sus años, y cuánto mejor aún si tuviera lisiada la virtud.

«Line 9 in Text A mistakenly begins, “The one who, the one who” (che che) instead of “The one who [devotes himself to] losing” (shihche). In all other respects, what survives of Text A does not differ from Text B in any significant way. There is a “Therefore” at the start of line 2 in the standard text; however, the omission of that word is common. In line 4 in the standard text the author answers his question —“Heaven and Earth”—the characters “Heaven and Earth” then being repeated at the start of line 5. But the question is really rhetorical and the reader already knows the answer.» — Henricks declara error del copista una repetición del Text A y observa que la pregunta de la línea 4 del capítulo 23 es retórica; el troceo une *shih-che* partido al fin de renglón y lo devuelve como *shihche*.

«Finally, note that the final line in the chapter in later editions of the text—“It is only when one does not have enough faith in others that others will have no faith in him”—does not occur in the Ma-wang-tui» — Henricks señala la línea final que las ediciones posteriores añaden al capítulo 23 y que los manuscritos no traen; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«Text A appears to have been exactly the same as Text B, but portions of lines 3, 11, 12, and 18-20 are now missing. The standard text adds a line between lines 4 and 5—“It operates everywhere and is free from danger.” Also, in line 5, almost all other editions of the Lao-tzu have “the mother of the world” (t’ien-hsia) instead of “the mother of Heaven and Earth.”» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 25: casi todas las demás ediciones dicen *la madre del mundo* donde los manuscritos dicen *la madre del Cielo y de la Tierra*.

«Readers of this chapter are sometimes troubled by the fact that the last line seems to present us with something that is even superior to the Way—“that which is so on its own” (tzu-jan—sometimes translated as “nature”). I think this is just another way of saying that the Way is that reality that truly exists out of its own power, the one and only thing that does not depend for its existence on other things.» — Henricks responde a la objeción de que la última línea del capítulo 25 ponga algo por encima de la Vía: lo lee como otra manera de decir que la Vía existe por su propio poder y no depende de nada.

«The last line not only refers back to the point made in line 2 but points out to would-be rulers that in this way they lose their chance to be “lord” (or “ruler”—chün) of the whole land.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 26: lee la última línea como advertencia a los aspirantes a gobernante.

«In line 12, Text A has “greatly blind” where Text B (in agreement with later texts) has “greatly confused.” Line 4 in Text B actually begins, “The good counter (shu) and closer of doors.” But it seems clear that the copyist mistakenly started to copy line 3 again.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 27: declara error del copista del Text B una repetición al principio de la línea 4.

«In line 6 the Ma-wang-tui texts have “and never rejects anyone” (erh) where the standard reading is “and therefore never rejects anyone” (ku). Line 7 in the standard text simply repeats line 6, starting from “constantly good at,” substituting “things” (wu) for “men” (jen). Wing-tsit Chan translates the two lines, “Therefore the sage is always good in saving men and consequently no man is rejected; He is always good in saving things and consequently nothing is rejected.”» — Henricks muestra con la traducción de Wing-tsit Chan que en el texto estándar la línea 7 del capítulo 27 solo repite la 6 cambiando *hombres* por *cosas*.

«In line 9 later texts all say the exact opposite of what is said here— namely, “Therefore the good man is the teacher of the bad man.”» — Henricks consigna que en el capítulo 27 los textos posteriores dicen exactamente lo contrario de lo que dicen los manuscritos.

«Texts A and B are essentially the same. The copyist of Text A incorrectly omitted the word “white” in line 13; and in lines 8 and 9 the B copyist, looking ahead to the start of line 10, mistakenly wrote in “constant” (heng) before the word “valley” (ku, but here yu).» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 28: dos errores de copista, uno en cada manuscrito.

«In what may be an important variant, the Ma-wang-tui texts have “hold on to the One” (chih-i) in line 7 where all other known texts have “embrace the One” (pao-i). It has been argued that “hold on to» — Henricks declara posiblemente importante la variante *sostener el Uno* frente a *abrazar el Uno* en el capítulo 22; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«the One” is a Legalist phrase, but the evidence is not conclusive.» — cierre al otro lado del corte: se ha argumentado que esa fórmula es legalista y Henricks acota que la evidencia no es concluyente.

«The author clearly plays with the double meaning of te (“virtue” but also “gain” or “attain”) in lines 8 and 10. The word te allows the author to move back and forth between the pairs of “the Way and Virtue” on the one hand and “gain and loss” on the other. Thus, lines 8-10 also mean: 8 One who [devotes himself to] attaining is one with that gain; 9 And one who [devotes himself to] losing is one with that loss. 10 With the one who is one with his attainment, the Way also gets him. 11 While for the one who is one with his loss, the Way also disregards him.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 23: el doble sentido de te, virtud y ganancia, permite al autor moverse entre los pares Vía-Virtud y ganancia-pérdida, y Henricks reescribe las líneas 8 a 11 con esa segunda lectura.

«The “devotes himself to” (ts’ung-shih) is as one would do with a career. “Virtue” in this context is probably best understood as the “power” of the Way in things, not moral virtue. Thus some people might be more intent on using the power of the Way in themselves than in being one with the Way. In this sense, line 10 might best be read as “To the one who is one with Virtue, the Way also empowers» — Henricks glosa *se dedica* como quien se dedica a una carrera y propone entender aquí la Virtud como el poder de la Vía en las cosas y no como virtud moral; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«While lines 7, 8, and 9 in the standard text are essentially the same as we have here, after line 9 that text is quite different grammatically and in terms of content. Wing-tsit Chan’s translation serves well to point up the differences: He who is identified with Tao—Tao is also happy to have him. He who is identified with virtue—virtue is also happy to have him. And he who is identified with the abandonment (of Tao)—the abandonment (of Tao) is also happy to abandon him.» — Henricks cita la traducción de Wing-tsit Chan para mostrar en qué difiere el texto estándar del capítulo 23 tras la línea 9.

«There is nothing in the Ma-wang-tui texts that corresponds with the first line, and there is no mention of anything being “happy.” Moreover, in lines 10 and 11 in the Ma-wang-tui texts it is the Way that does something in the second part of each line, not Virtue (or attainment) and abandonment.» — Henricks precisa las dos diferencias: ni hay línea que corresponda a la primera ni se menciona que nada esté contento, y en los manuscritos es la Vía la que obra en la segunda mitad de cada línea.

«In line 6 the Ma-wang-tui texts have the negative wei (“not yet” or “never”) where other texts have the simple pu (“do not”), giving the reading “I do not yet know [or I have never known] its name,” instead of “I do not know its name,” the distinction drawn in lines 6-8» — Henricks explica la variante del negativo en la línea 6 del capítulo 25 y pasa a la distinción entre nombre y estilo; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«between that of “name” (ming) and “style” (tzu) being the distinction made in ancient China between a man’s name and his style. The “name” is given at birth, is very formal and rarely used in public address; the “style” is taken at “capping” age, when a young man becomes an adult, and is commonly used in public address with friends who are on familiar terms.» — cierre al otro lado del corte: la distinción china antigua entre el nombre dado al nacer y el estilo que se toma en la edad de la capa.

«The addition of several grammatical particles in lines 4 and 5, and a slight change in wording in 4, greatly clarify what these lines are intended to say. The standard text, translated by Wing-tsit Chan, reads as follows: “Even at the sight of magnificent scenes, He remains leisurely and indifferent. How is it that a lord with ten thousand chariots Should behave lightheartedly in his empire?”» — Henricks sostiene que unas partículas añadidas aclaran mucho las líneas 4 y 5 del capítulo 26, y cita la traducción de Wing-tsit Chan del texto estándar.

«For “magnificent scenes” (jung-kuan) the Ma-wang-tui texts have—it appears—“walled-in hostel” (huan-kuan), and grammatically the line, at least in Text A, follows the pattern “only when you have X condition, do you then have Y result.” The added particle yu (“than”) in line 5 shows us that two things are being compared—that is, the wise king will not look upon his own person as less important than the whole land. The standard text lacks» — Henricks declara la variante *hostal amurallado* por *escenas magníficas* y la comparación que la partícula de más hace explícita: el rey sabio no tendrá su propia persona por menos importante que la tierra entera; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«he becomes the leading official.” Lines 19-21 play with double meanings throughout. The word for “vessel” (ch’i) can mean a government lackey; it refers to someone who is technically specialized, but one who lacks the all-around virtue and talent of the “gentleman.” (In Analects 2:12, Confucius says, “The Gentleman is not a vessel.”) Then in line 21 “carving” or “cutting” (chih) also means “regulating” in a governmental way; that is, the Sage is someone who will govern (= carve) without destroying (= splitting up) what is genuine and natural in people.» — Henricks desmenuza los dobles sentidos del final del capítulo 28: *vasija* designa al funcionario especializado sin la virtud del caballero, y *tallar* significa también gobernar, de modo que el sabio gobierna sin destruir lo genuino de la gente.

«Lines 5, 11, and 17 are omitted in the standard text. And, in the standard text, stanzas 2 and 3 (i.e., lines 7-12, and 13-18) are reversed. The standard order allows for better continuity, moving directly from the “uncarved wood” (p’u) of line 12 to the “uncarved wood” of line 19. But it is possible that lines 19-21 were originally intended to be read as a unit with lines 1-6 in chapter 29, and that stanzas 2 and 3 of 28 were reversed only after these two chapters assumed their present form.» — Henricks consigna que el texto estándar invierte dos estrofas del capítulo 28, concede que ese orden da mejor continuidad y propone en su lugar que las tres últimas líneas se leyeran originalmente con el arranque del capítulo 29.

«In Text A there is a lacuna in the text running from the “others” of line 8 to the beginning of line 9, but the reconstruction of the text shows not one character missing (“submissive and weak”) but five. Thus Text A appears to have been in agreement with later editions of the Lao-tzu in having four pairs of “somes-and-others” at the end of chapter 29.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 29: la reconstrucción del Text A muestra que faltan cinco caracteres y no uno, de modo que el Text A concordaba con las ediciones posteriores en traer cuatro pares de opuestos.

«I find Hsü K’ang-sheng’s discussion of these lines persuasive (Hsü, 1985, pp. 120-121): he feels that the missing characters should be ch’ui huo ch’iang huo ts’o—“blow cold, some are firm and strong, others submissive and weak,” thus giving, starting with line 8, “Some are hot, others blow cold; some are firm and strong, others submissive and weak.” (This is essentially the reading we find in the Fu I text.) It seems clear that throughout we have pairs of extremes.» — Henricks declara persuasiva la reconstrucción de Hsü K'ang-sheng para esas líneas y la reproduce.

«On lines 12-14, see the comments and notes to chapter 55, above. In line 11, Text A agrees with the standard text in saying “without using force” (or “while not being strong”—pu-ch’iang). The omission of the negative pu in Text B seems to be a mistake.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 30: declara error la omisión del negativo en el Text B.

«The standard text adds a line after line 4—“Great wars are always followed by famines.” The line is also missing from a few other texts and has been suspected for some time as being commentary on the previous line.» — Henricks consigna que la línea sobre las hambrunas que siguen a las guerras falta en unos cuantos textos y que hace tiempo se sospecha que sea comentario colado en el texto.

«In the standard text, line 9 comes before 7 and 8. Also, line 10 in the standard text is “He achieves his purpose but only as an unavoidable step” (pu-te-i); the Ma-wang-tui texts have wu-te-i chü, the chü that means “to dwell” or “reside.” My translation is tentative: the line might also mean (reading the final i here as the instrumental i) “He achieves his purpose and yet cannot because of this dwell on it.” Chü as “to dwell” seems to mean “excessively dwelling on one’s accomplishments” in chapter 2 and elsewhere.» — Henricks declara tentativa su traducción de la línea 10 del capítulo 30 y da la lectura alternativa.

«In his translation of the standard text of Lao-tzu, D. C. Lau puts lines 7-11 all in the imperative mode (e.g., “bring it to a conclusion but do not boast”), but he has softened this interpretation in his translation of the Ma-wang-tui texts. He now has “He should be resolute but must not be arrogant; he should be resolute but must not brag about it,” and so on. In an earlier study, I treated these wu’s as imperative.» — Henricks consigna que D. C. Lau tradujo esas líneas en imperativo y que suavizó esa lectura al traducir los manuscritos, y declara que él mismo las había tratado como imperativas en un estudio anterior.

«Text B is essentially the same as Text A. Now missing from Text B are lines 3 and 13, part of line 12 and most of line 17. In line 1, the standard text opens with “As for fine/beautiful weapons”; the word “fine” (chia) does not occur in the Ma-wang-tui texts.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 31: la palabra *finas* de la primera línea del texto estándar no aparece en los manuscritos.

«Line 9 in the standard text is somewhat different. In place of the brief “do not beautify it [or them]” (wu mei yeh), we have, rather, “defeat and yet not see as beauty” (sheng erh pu mei). Wing-tsit Chan’s translation reads, “Even when he is victorious he does not regard it as praiseworthy.” But the Ma-wang-tui form of this line is attested in other editions.» — Henricks contrasta la brevedad de la línea 9 de los manuscritos con la forma del texto estándar, que cita en la traducción de Wing-tsit Chan.

«In the standard text the “mourning” (sang) of line 13 has been changed to “bad fortune” (hsiung) to directly contrast with the “good fortune” (my “happy”—chi) of line 12.» — Henricks señala que el texto estándar cambia *duelo* por *mala fortuna* en el capítulo 31 para oponerlo directamente a la buena fortuna de la línea anterior.

«Finally, at the end of line 17 the standard text has “weep” instead of “stand” (i.e., ch’i instead of li). Chou Tz’u-chi, Hsü K’ang-sheng, and D. C. Lau all read ch’i as the li that means “to come” or “to arrive.” I see no reason not to read the character as it stands, though any of the suggested alternatives makes equally good sense of the line.» — Henricks consigna las lecturas de Chou Tz'u-chi, Hsü K'ang-sheng y D. C. Lau para el final del capítulo 31, declara que él lee el carácter tal como está y concede que cualquiera de las alternativas da igual sentido.

«Chapter 31 is one of two chapters in the Lao-tzu (the other one being 66) that was not commented on by Wang Pi (A.D. 226-249). D. C. Lau points out that “this fact has been variously interpreted. Some think that this means that this chapter is a late interpolation. Others think that Wang’s commentary has become mixed up with the text. Still others think that this means at least that Wang suspected the authenticity of the chapter and showed this by leaving it without» — Henricks consigna que Wang Pi no comentó este capítulo y cita a D. C. Lau con las tres maneras en que ese hecho se ha interpretado, sin arbitrar entre ellas; el pasaje cruza el corte de plana.

«commentary.” Clearly, the chapter already existed in its present form at the start of the Han dynasty. It is also worth noting that in some editions of the Lao-tzu chapters 30 and 31 are combined since both deal with similar themes.» — cierre al otro lado del corte: lo que Henricks sí declara es que el capítulo ya existía en su forma presente al empezar la dinastía Han.

«My “natural state” in line 2 is literally p’u, “natural, uncarved, wood,” and D. C. Lau picks up the echo in this chapter from the end of chapter 28, where “carving” natural wood corresponds to establishing government regulations and we are told that “great carving [= great establishing—chih] in a governmental way” is done without destroying what is natural in people. The same chih occurs here in line 7, which D. C. Lau translates, “Then only when it is cut are there names.”» — Henricks recoge de D. C. Lau el eco entre el capítulo 32 y el final del 28: tallar la madera natural corresponde a establecer reglamentos de gobierno.

«What remains of Text A is exactly the same as Text B; missing are portions of lines 2 and 3 and all of line 5. The grammatical yeh at the end of each line in the Ma-wang-tui texts, signaling the equative sentence pattern (X, Y yeh = X is Y), adds strength to the interpretation of these lines as definitions, but reading the lines as “the one who” sentences (e.g., “The one who understands others is knowledgeable”) is still possible.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 33: la partícula final de cada línea en los manuscritos refuerza leerlas como definiciones, y él concede que la otra lectura sigue siendo posible.

«While it seems clear that lines 2 and 4 are meant to contrast with lines 1 and 3, it is not clear how lines 5-8 relate to one another. I have decided to read all four lines as lines that stand alone and define for us pos» — Henricks declara que no le queda claro cómo se relacionan las líneas 5 a 8 del capítulo 33 y dice qué decidió hacer; el troceo corta la palabra al fin de la plana.

«Arthur Waley contrasts lines 6 and 7: “He that works through violence may get his way; But only what stays in its place can endure.” My guess would be that the author in line 6 is putting forth a good way to have ambition as opposed to what that normally means (i.e., to strive for fame and glory); line 7 might mean that to really last long, the key is to know and accept one’s lot in life.» — Henricks cita el contraste que Arthur Waley hace entre las líneas 6 y 7 del capítulo 33 y ofrece su propia conjetura, declarada como tal.

«In Text A there is a lacuna between “The Way” in line 1 and “completes its affairs” in line 3. Otherwise, Text A and Text B are essentially the same. Note how line 5 seems out of place; it interrupts what is otherwise the nice parallelism of lines 4 and 6 with lines 7 and 8. The point is that for one and the same reason (that it does not act as the master of things) the Way is both small (i.e., seemingly insignificant and unknown) and large (or great, ta). The Sage-ruler should take this as his model.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 34: señala que la línea 5 rompe el paralelismo y explica por qué la Vía es a la vez pequeña y grande por una sola y misma razón.

«Line 3 literally says, “Therefore one who has desires …” (yu-yü che), not “Therefore one who has the Way …” (in Text A; Text B has a» — Henricks vuelve sobre la lectura *el que tiene deseos*, aquí en el capítulo 31; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«lacuna at this point). I think this is a mistake; see my comment above on the same line in chapter 24.» — cierre al otro lado del corte: Henricks declara que le parece un error y remite a su propio comentario al capítulo 24.

«There is very little left of Text A (missing are portions of lines 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12); from what survives, Text A seems to have been exactly the same as Text B (with the exception of a few insignificant character variants).» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 32: estado del Text A y su coincidencia con el B.

«The differences between the Ma-wang-tui form of this chapter and that found in the standard text are all minor. In line 2 the standard text has “no one is able to treat it as subject” versus “no one dares.” In line 5, where the Ma-wang-tui texts have “send forth” (yu) sweet dew, other editions of the Lao-tzu say, “send down” (chiang). And finally, in line 10, the standard text says that by knowing to stop you “can” (k’o-i) avoid harm versus “in this way” (so-i) you’ll come to no harm.» — Henricks declara menores todas las diferencias del capítulo 32 con el texto estándar y las enumera.

«Significantly, the Ma-wang-tui texts have wang (“to forget/be forgotten”) in the last line where other editions of the text have wang (“to perish”). The standard reading is “To die but not really perish— that’s [true] long life.” The question then becomes, what does it mean to “perish”? Since the only difference between the two characters is that the heart radical is added to the character meaning “to perish” to give us wang (“to forget”), it is possible that even with the character “to forget” the author intends the meaning “to perish.”» — Henricks vuelve sobre la variante decisiva del capítulo 33: los manuscritos dicen *olvidar* donde los demás dicen *perecer*, y concede que el autor podría haber querido decir *perecer* aun escribiendo *olvidar*.

«But “to die but not be forgotten” forms a good definition of “true long life,” and the author of the chapter is intent throughout in giving us new meanings for certain words.» — y a la vez Henricks declara que *morir sin ser olvidado* define bien la larga vida verdadera, y que el autor del capítulo 33 se propone dar sentidos nuevos a ciertas palabras.

«In the standard text of Lao-tzu the text differs in a number of ways. To begin with, a line is added between lines 2 and 3, the line that Chan translates, “All things depend on it for life, and it does not turn away from them.” Secondly, at the start of line 4, in place of the very nice words “It clothes and nourishes the ten thousand things” (i-yang wan-wu), the Ma-wang-tui texts have “The ten thousand things entrust their lives to it.”» — Henricks enumera las diferencias del texto estándar en el capítulo 34, con la traducción de Chan para la línea que allí se añade.

«Thirdly, the words “completes its affairs” are omitted from line 3 in the standard text. And finally, lines 9-11 are phrased somewhat differently in the standard text; they are less redundant than they are here. (Chan translates, “Therefore [the Sage] never strives himself for the great, and thereby the great is achieved.”)» — cierre de esa enumeración: el texto estándar omite una fórmula y formula de otro modo las líneas 9 a 11, menos redundantes que aquí.

«Texts A and B are the same. Chou Tz’u-chi speculates that the Ma-wang-tui ko at the end of line 3 (which he reads as “correct” or “proper”) might be the right word here instead of the common “traveler” or “guest” (k’o). In that case the line would read, “When music and food go beyond what is proper, you should stop.”» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 35: recoge la conjetura de Chou Tz'u-chi sobre un carácter del final de la línea 3 y la lectura que de ahí saldría.

«The only significant difference between the Ma-wang-tui texts and later editions is in the syntax of line 4. The Ma-wang-tui “Therefore” (ku) at the head of the line is not found in other texts, nor is the “we say” (yüeh) at the end.» — Henricks reduce a la sintaxis de la línea 4 la única diferencia significativa del capítulo 35 con las ediciones posteriores.

«Texts A and B are the same: the different characters in the two seem to intend the same word. In line 5 the Ma-wang-tui texts have “leave” or “desert” (ch’ü) where other editions of the Lao-tzu have “reject/throw away” (fei), and to match that, in line 6 the Ma-wang-tui texts have “work closely with it” or “share with it” (yu) where later editions all have “promote” or “elevate” (hsing). In line 8 the Ma-wang-tui texts use one character for “give to it” (yü), the standard text uses another—the yü which is used in line 6 of the Ma-wang-tui texts with the meaning of “share.”» — comentario entero de Henricks al capítulo 36: tres variantes de vocabulario frente a las demás ediciones.

«The “able” in line 2 is omitted in Text A: line 2 in Text A would read, “If marquises and kings maintain it.” Line 10 does not occur in Text A. Line 1 in the standard text is “Tao invariably takes no action, and yet there is nothing left undone.” This is one of two places in the standard text—the other one being chapter 48—where the phrase wu-wei erh wu pu-wei, “does nothing and yet there is nothing left undone,” occurs (in some editions of the text the phrase is also found in chapters 3 and 38). Line 1 is quite different in the Ma-wang-tui texts; in fact lines 1, 2, and 3 here are virtually identical to lines 1, 3, and 4 in chapter 32.» — comentario de Henricks al capítulo 37: la fórmula *no hace nada y nada queda sin hacer* aparece en el texto estándar en dos lugares, y aquí la línea 1 es muy distinta, casi idéntica a la del capítulo 32.

«The line wu-wei erh wu pu-wei is also missing in chapter 48 in the Ma-wang-tui texts. This has prompted a number of scholars to argue that this idea was not originally part of the philosophy of the author. It was added later, they feel, under the influence of Legalist thought (where it normally means that the ruler leaves all day-to-day business to his ministers, and thus everything gets done even though he himself does not act). But I have pointed out elsewhere that it is not that the line did not occur in chapter 48 of the Ma-wang-tui texts; rather, there is a lacuna in both texts at this point, and the missing spaces seem to indicate that the line was originally there.» — Henricks recoge el argumento de varios estudiosos de que esa fórmula no era originalmente del autor sino añadido bajo influencia legalista, y lo objeta con la medida de las lagunas: los espacios que faltan indican que la línea estaba.

«Also, the end of chapter 3, without necessarily using these exact words, says much the same thing —“If he [the Sage] can bring it about that those without knowledge simply do not dare to act, Then there is nothing that will not be in order.”» — Henricks apoya su objeción en el final del capítulo 3, que dice casi lo mismo sin usar esas palabras.

«The words “Having subdued them with” (chen-chih i) are omitted from the beginning of line 6 in the standard text; and in lines 7 and 8, the standard text has “not desire” (pu-yü) where the Ma-wang-tui texts have “not disgrace” (pu-ju). Thus the standard text for lines 6-8 has, as Wing-tsit Chan translates, “Simplicity, which has no name, is free of desires. Being free of desires, it is tranquil.”» — Henricks contrasta las líneas 6 a 8 del capítulo 37 con el texto estándar, que dice *no desear* donde los manuscritos dicen *no deshonrar*, en la traducción de Wing-tsit Chan.

«Finally, in line 9, the standard text has “the world” (t’ien-hsia) where the Ma-wang-tui texts have “Heaven and Earth” (t’ien-ti), and “at peace” or “settled” (ting) in place of “correct and right” (cheng).» — última nota del comentario de Henricks, al cierre del capítulo 37 y del libro: el texto estándar dice *el mundo* y *en paz* donde los manuscritos dicen *el Cielo y la Tierra* y *correctos*.

«1 The whole world says, I’m Great; 2 Great, yet unlike [everyone else]. 3 But it’s precisely because I’m unlike [everyone else], that I’m therefore able to be Great. 4 Were I like [everyone else], for a long time now I’d have seemed insignificant and small.» — las cuatro primeras líneas del capítulo 67 tal como la Parte Dos las imprime, con los numerales de línea que Henricks declara suyos y con los corchetes que marcan lo suplido desde el otro manuscrito; la Parte Uno da los mismos versos sin numerar ni acotar.

«“Professor Henricks’ new volume has two special merits for the general reader: One is that he succinctly explains the most recent discoveries in texts of the famous classic by ‘Lao-tzu.’ … The second merit of the Henrick’s translation is its sophistication and simplicity … [Mr. Henricks’] presents a version of each line which makes comparative sense out of phraseology that to some translators has seemed incomprehensible and inscrutable.”» — blurb de solapa firmado por John K. Fairbank, catedrático emérito de historia en Harvard, que atribuye al volumen dos méritos para el lector general, la explicación de los descubrimientos y la sencillez de la versión; es texto editorial de reseña, no voz de la obra, y los puntos suspensivos y los corchetes son de la propia solapa.

«“No one can understand Chinese philosophy, religion, art, or social ethics without reading [the Te-Tao Ching]. We welcome, therefore, the translation of the recently discovered, the earliest, the most authentic, twenty-century old text … [It] will remain required reading for a long time whether in the classroom or in the home.”» — blurb de solapa firmado por Wing-tsit Chan, autor de The Way of Lao Tzu, que declara obligatoria la lectura del texto recién descubierto; texto editorial de reseña, con los corchetes de la propia solapa.

«ALSO IN THIS SERIES SUN-TZU: THE ART OF WARFARE THE FIRST ENGLISH TRANSLATION INCORPORATING THE RECENTLY DISCOVERED YIN-CH’UEH TEXTS TRANSLATED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND COMMENTARY, BY ROGER T. AMES» — el anuncio de serie que el troceo imprime en lugar de la portada: nombra al Sun-tzu traducido por Roger T. Ames como el otro título, sin dar el nombre de la serie.

«Grateful acknowledgment is made to Macmillan Publishing Company for permission to reprint excerpts from The Way of Lao Tzu by Wing-tsit Chan. Copyright © 1964 by Bobbs-Merrill Company. Reprinted with permission of Macmillan Publishing Company.» — la misma página declara el permiso de Macmillan para reimprimir pasajes de The Way of Lao Tzu de Wing-tsit Chan, la traducción de la que Henricks cita el texto estándar.

«For Herrlee Glessner Creel Who will undoubtedly disagree with my interpretation of the Lao-tzu but whose strong support of my work on the Ma-wang-tui texts has meant a great deal.» — la dedicatoria, donde Henricks consigna de antemano el desacuerdo de Creel con su interpretación del Lao-tzu y le agradece el apoyo a su trabajo sobre Ma-wang-tui.

«In the winter of 1976 I read through the Ma-wang-tui texts of Lao-tzu with a colleague and two students and immediately, and excitedly, had thoughts of doing a translation.» — Henricks abre el prefacio fechando en el invierno de 1976 la primera lectura de los textos de Ma-wang-tui.

«The following year, doctoral dissertation out of the way, I began to study the texts seriously, being initially interested in determining how they differed from later texts of the Lao-tzu and why.» — Henricks declara cuál era su interés inicial: determinar en qué difieren los manuscritos de los textos posteriores y por qué.

«One project seemed to lead to another, such that over the years I ended up publishing no less than ten articles on the texts, the original thought of doing a translation now far from my mind.» — Henricks cuenta que publicó no menos de diez artículos sobre los textos y que para entonces había abandonado la idea de traducirlos.

«I was delighted, therefore, to receive a phone call from Owen Lock, editor in chief of Del Rey Books (an imprint of Ballantine Books), in November 1986, asking whether I might be interested in translating the Ma-wang-tui texts for popular consumption.» — Henricks fecha en noviembre de 1986 la llamada de Owen Lock, editor en jefe de Del Rey Books, pidiéndole la traducción para el gran público.

«Giving the matter some thought, I soon saw that this would give me the opportunity to bring to a completion in some ways the previous work I had done on the texts; at the same time, this makes available for the general readership the latest knowledge we have of this important text in Taoism.» — Henricks declara el propósito del volumen: cerrar su trabajo previo y poner al alcance del lector general lo último que se sabe de este texto del taoísmo.

«I also owe much to my good friend Richard Gotshalk, who first urged me to look into this text many years ago.» — Henricks nombra a Richard Gotshalk como quien lo empujó al texto años antes.

«Finally I want to thank my colleague at Dartmouth, Li Hua-yüan Mowry, who kindly, as she has done on many occasions before, went over a number of troubling passages in the text with me, sharing with me her sense of the text from the point of view of a native speaker.» — Henricks agradece a Li Hua-yüan Mowry, colega suya en Dartmouth, la revisión de los pasajes difíciles desde el punto de vista de una hablante nativa.

«We agree in dating the formal beginning of the Taoist religion to the establishment of the Celestial Master Sect, c. A.D. 150, by a man named Chang Taoling;» — Henricks abre la introducción separando dos cosas y datando la religión taoísta en la fundación de la Secta del Maestro Celestial hacia el año 150 de nuestra era.

«The Lao-tzu, like the Chuang-tzu, probably represents currents of thought in China around 300 B.C., though by tradition the Lao-tzu was written by a contemporary of Confucius named Li Erh, Confucius’ dates being» — Henricks fecha el contenido del Lao-tzu hacia el 300 a. C. y consigna como tradición, no como hecho, la autoría de Li Erh, contemporáneo de Confucio.

«For example, a good part of the Lao-tzu is addressed to the man who would be king and is concerned with the correct, Taoist way to rule; Chuang-tzu has no interest in social-political matters.» — Henricks contrasta los dos textos por su destinatario: buena parte del Lao-tzu habla al que quiere ser rey, y el Chuang-tzu no se ocupa de lo social ni de lo político.

«Chuang-tzu’s message is addressed to the rugged individualist who turns his back on social commitment in his search for the fulfilled life.» — Henricks describe al destinatario del Chuang-tzu como el individualista que da la espalda al compromiso social.

«The Chuang-tzu is composed of thirty-three chapters, each chapter a mixture of philosophic discourse, anecdote, fable, and tale, stories filled with delightful, unforgettable characters.» — Henricks describe la forma del Chuang-tzu: treinta y tres capítulos que mezclan discurso filosófico, anécdota, fábula y cuento.

«The Lao-tzu, by contrast, has a total of eighty-one chapters, each one being more like a poem in form.» — Henricks opone a esa forma la del Lao-tzu: ochenta y un capítulos, cada uno más cercano a un poema, que es la razón de que aquí se cite por líneas.

«A number of extraordinary textual discoveries have been made by archaeologists in China in the last twenty years, those discoveries providing the reason, and the materials, for the present translation series.» — Henricks sitúa el volumen dentro de una serie nacida de los hallazgos arqueológicos chinos de los veinte años anteriores.

«Of greatest significance to date, a tremendous discovery was made in the last months of 1973 in south-central China near Changsha (Hunan Province) in the small village of Ma-wang-tui.» — Henricks fecha el hallazgo en los últimos meses de 1973, cerca de Changsha, en la aldea de Ma-wang-tui.

«In Han Tomb No. 3 at Ma-wang-tui, the grave of the son of a man named Li Ts’ang, Li Ts’ang having been marquis of Tai and prime minister of Changsha in early Han dynasty times,* archaeologists discovered a rich cache of funerary goods including a large group of texts.» — Henricks identifica la tumba como la del hijo de Li Ts'ang, marqués de Tai y primer ministro de Changsha en los primeros Han.

«But more precise dating is possible in some cases based on the style of the calligraphy used and the practice of taboo-name avoidance—the personal name of an emperor in ancient China was not to be used in texts copied during his reign» — Henricks explica el segundo criterio de datación: el estilo de la caligrafía y la evitación del nombre personal del emperador reinante.

«A total of fifty-one items have been identified in the find by Chinese specialists working on the materials;» — Henricks da la cuenta del hallazgo en cincuenta y un items identificados por los especialistas chinos.

«The importance of these materials to our understanding of early Chinese philosophy, history, literature, political thought, scientific thought, etc., was recognized right from the start and can hardly be overestimated.» — Henricks declara que la importancia del conjunto para la filosofía, la historia, la literatura y el pensamiento político chinos tempranos difícilmente puede exagerarse.

«There are texts on medical theories and practices, texts on Yin and Yang and the Five Elements (or “Phases”—wu-hsing), texts on political philosophy, and texts on astronomy and astrology.» — Henricks inventaría las materias de los textos de la tumba: medicina, Yin y Yang y los Cinco Elementos, filosofía política, astronomía y astrología.

«One of the medical treatises may in fact be the long lost Huang-ti wai-ching (External Classic of the Yellow Emperor).» — Henricks propone, con reserva, que uno de los tratados médicos sea el perdido Huang-ti wai-ching.

«The Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor tell us much about the syncretic political thought known as “Huang-Lao” that was in vogue in early Han times.» — Henricks nombra Huang-Lao al pensamiento político sincrético que esos textos documentan para los primeros Han.

«One of these is the I Ching (The Book of Changes), for which we find here the basic text for the sixtyfour hexagrams and five different commentaries only one of which was previously known, the Hsi-tz’u, or “Appended Judgments” (the others are called Erh-san-tzu wen» — Henricks consigna entre los hallazgos una versión temprana del I Ching con cinco comentarios, de los que solo se conocía el Hsi-tz'u; el troceo une *sixty-four* partido al fin de renglón y lo devuelve como una sola palabra, y la frase queda cortada donde la plana enumera los demás comentarios.

«The need for a new translation of the Lao-tzu based on the Ma-wang-tui texts is thus very clear.» — Henricks cierra el argumento del volumen: la necesidad de una traducción nueva hecha sobre los manuscritos de Ma-wang-tui.

«Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 91-90641 eISBN: 978-0-307-77534-4 Calligraphy by K. S. Wong» — los datos de registro que imprime la misma plana; el número de eISBN indica que el ejemplar del troceo es el electrónico, y la caligrafía se adjudica a K. S. Wong.

«astrology are mainly concerned with good and bad omens. One of these plots the orbits of five planets for the years 246-177 B.C.: this is called Prognostications Related to the Five Planets (Wu-hsing chan). Another illustrated scroll called Prognostications Related to Astronomical and Meteorological Phenomena (T’ien-wen ch’i-hsiang chan)» — Henricks describe los dos textos astrológicos hallados en la misma tumba: se ocupan de presagios buenos y malos, y uno traza las órbitas de cinco planetas entre 246 y 177 a. C.; la frase empieza en la plana anterior, donde dice *The texts on astronomy and*.

«Needless to say, these are extremely important materials for tracing the development of astronomy in early China.» — Henricks declara la importancia de esos materiales para rastrear el desarrollo de la astronomía en la China temprana.

«A Ballantine Book Published by The Random House Publishing Group Translation and New Text Copyright © 1989 by Robert G. Henricks All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.» — la página de derechos adjudica el sello a Ballantine Books dentro de Random House y fecha en 1989 el copyright de la traducción a nombre de Robert G. Henricks.

«III. The Philosophy of Lao-tzu A. The Tao B. Returning to the Way C. Health, Long Life, and Immortality Part One: Translation Translator’s Note Te (Virtue) [CHAPTER 38]» — el índice del volumen, donde se ve el orden de Ma-wang-tui: la Parte Uno arranca por el Te y su primer capítulo es el 38, no el 1.

«Part Two: Translation with Text, Commentary, and Notes Translator’s Note» — el índice anuncia la Parte Dos, que repite la traducción con transcripción, comentario y notas.

«Additional Notes Bibliography» — el índice cierra con las dos secciones de aparato del final del volumen.

«The two Lao-tzu manuscripts, which we simply call Text A (chid) and Text B (i), are not exactly the same, neither in content nor in style, sure evidence that even at this early date there was more than one version of the Lao-tzu in circulation.» — Henricks nombra Text A y Text B a los dos manuscritos y lee sus diferencias como prueba de que ya circulaba más de una versión.

«In terms of differences in style, the characters in Text A are written in “small seal” (hsiao-chuan) form, an old style of writing that was to be abandoned in the Han; the characters in Text B, by way of contrast, are written in the more modern “clerical” (li) script. This is one indication that Text A was copied before Text B.» — Henricks data el Text A antes que el Text B por la escritura: sello pequeño (hsiao-chuan) en uno y clerical (li) en el otro.

«Further evidence proving this point is the fact that Text A does not avoid the taboo on the personal name of the founding emperor of the Han, Liu Pang (r. 206-194 B.C.) while Text B does, changing all pang’s (“country” or “state”) in the text to kuo’s (also “country” or “state”).» — Henricks aporta el segundo criterio: el Text A no evita el nombre tabú de Liu Pang, fundador de los Han, y el Text B sí, sustituyendo pang por kuo.

«This seems to show that Text A was copied sometime before the reign of Liu Pang, while Text B was copied during it.» — Henricks concluye que el Text A se copió antes del reinado de Liu Pang y el Text B durante él.

«let us state clearly at the outset that the Ma-wang-tui texts do not differ in any radical way from later versions of the text.» — Henricks acota de entrada el alcance del hallazgo: los manuscritos no difieren de manera radical de las versiones posteriores.

«That is to say, there are no chapters in the Ma-wang-tui texts that are not found in later texts and vice versa, and there is nothing in the Ma-wang-tui texts that would lead us to understand the philosophy of the text in a radically new way.» — Henricks precisa esa acotación: ni faltan ni sobran capítulos, ni hay nada que obligue a entender la filosofía del texto de otro modo.

«One of the striking features of the Ma-wang-tui texts of Lao-tzu in fact is that they are much more “grammatical” than later editions, using many more grammatical particles than later editions, but for that very reason being grammatically much more precise.» — Henricks sí declara un rasgo llamativo: los textos de Ma-wang-tui usan muchas más partículas gramaticales y por eso son más precisos.

«The two halves are labeled Te and Tao, and that is the only indication of a title for the book in the Ma-wang-tui texts. In the Ma-wang-tui texts (both A and B), the book begins with what most texts call chapter 38 and ends with 37.» — Henricks declara que esos dos rótulos son lo único que en los manuscritos hace de título, y que el libro empieza por el capítulo 38 y termina en el 37.

«We still do not know why this was done. Some scholars feel the Ma-wang-tui texts reflect the original order of the Tao-te ching and show that Lao-tzu (or the author) was all along more interested in social-political matters than he was in metaphysics and psychology, since the “Virtue” (Te) section has many chapters related to good government while “the Way” (Tao) has important chapters on the nature of the Way.» — Henricks declara que la razón del orden se desconoce y da la primera hipótesis: la de quienes leen el orden de Ma-wang-tui como el original y a su autor como más interesado en lo social y político que en la metafísica.

«Kao Heng and Ch’ih Hsi-chao, on the other hand, pointing out that the order of the chapters in the Ma-wang-tui manuscripts agrees with the order found in the “Explaining Lao-tzu” chapter of the pre-Han Legalist text Han-fei-tzu, hypothesize that there were two different versions of the Lao-tzu in circulation in the early second century B.C., one with “the Way” (Tao) followed by “Virtue” (Te) and one in the Ma-wang-tui form, the former used by the Taoists and the latter used in the Legalist tradition.» — segunda hipótesis, atribuida a Kao Heng y Ch'ih Hsi-chao: dos versiones en circulación en el siglo II a. C., una taoísta y otra legalista, esta última con el orden de Ma-wang-tui.

«But Yen Ling-feng feels that the Ma-wang-tui form of the text is simply the result of packaging. He suggests that the Ma-wang-tui texts or their predecessors were copied from texts written on strips of bamboo that were tied together in bundles, one for part I of the text and one for part II. But when the copyist was finished, he put the part I bundle into a box first with part II on top of it; the next copyist opening the box would naturally begin with the bundle of slips on top, which would be the part II bundle.» — tercera hipótesis, atribuida a Yen Ling-feng: el orden sería resultado del empaquetado, por el orden en que se guardaron los manojos de tablillas en la caja.

«Secondly, with one possible exception, there are no chapter divisions in the Ma-wang-tui texts, no chapter numbers or names; the text in each case essentially reads as one continuous whole (except for the division into the Te and Tao parts). The exception to this is an important one: in part II of Text A there are black dots between characters every so often (we might call them “periods”), many of these, but not all, occurring at the beginning of present chapters.» — Henricks consigna que los manuscritos no traen división en capítulos ni nombres ni números, salvo unos puntos negros en la parte II del Text A.

«This seems to indicate that at the time when the Ma-wang-tui texts were copied the chapter divisions in the Lao-tzu were not yet firmly determined.» — Henricks lee esos puntos como indicio de que la división en capítulos aún no estaba fijada.

«The number eighty-one is a “perfect” one in Yin/Yang speculations since nine is the fullness of Yang (Yang qualities are heat, energy, power, and life) and eighty-one is the product of two nines.» — Henricks explica el número por la especulación Yin/Yang: nueve es la plenitud del Yang y ochenta y uno es su cuadrado.

«And, in the present text, a number of chapter divisions exist where there should be none (see, for example, chapters 17-19 and chapters 67-69, each of which should be one continuous unit of text). By contrast, in a number of places two or more originally separate units of text now form a single chapter (chapter 29 is one such possibility).» — Henricks objeta la división recibida con dos ejemplos: los capítulos 17 a 19 y 67 a 69 deberían ser una unidad continua, y el 29 podría reunir dos unidades originalmente separadas.

«But there are three exceptions: what to us is chapter 24 comes between chapters 21 and 22 in the Ma-wang-tui texts; what to us is chapter 40 comes between chapters 41 and 42; what in present texts of the Lao-tzu are chapters 80 and 81 are placed between chapters 66 and 67 in the Ma-wang-tui texts. In the first two cases the Ma-wang-tui order seems to make sense in terms of the flow of ideas; why chapters 80 and 81 are placed where they are in the Ma-wang-tui texts remains unclear.» — Henricks enumera los tres desplazamientos de secuencia y declara que el de los capítulos 80 y 81 sigue sin explicación.

«The starting point for understanding the philosophy of Lao-tzu is understanding what he means by the Tao, or the Way. The Way is Lao-tzu’s name for ultimate reality (though he continually points out that he does not know its true name, he simply “calls” it the Way» — Henricks abre la exposición de la filosofía por el Tao y advierte que el texto no dice conocer su nombre verdadero, sino que lo *llama* la Vía.

«For Lao-tzu the Way is that reality, or that level of reality, that existed prior to and gave rise to all other things, the physical universe (Heaven and Earth), and all things in it, what the Chinese call the “ten thousand things”» — Henricks define el Tao como la realidad anterior a todo lo demás, de la que salen el cielo y la tierra y los diez mil seres.

«The Way in a sense is like a great womb: it is empty and devoid in itself of differentiation, one in essence; yet somehow it contains all things in seedlike or embryo form, and all things “emerge” from the Tao in creation as babies emerge from their mothers» — Henricks describe el Tao con la imagen del vientre: vacío e indiferenciado, y sin embargo contiene todas las cosas en forma de semilla.

«But the Way does not simply give birth to all things. Having done so, it continues in some way to be present in each individual thing as an energy or power, a power that is not static but constantly on the move, inwardly pushing each thing to develop and grow in a certain way, in a way that is in accord with its true nature.» — Henricks describe el te como la presencia del Tao dentro de cada cosa: una energía en movimiento que la empuja a crecer conforme a su naturaleza.

«But note that Lao-tzu uses “virtue” in his text in two different ways. On occasion it means this life-energy in things (for example, at the start of chapter 55); but in other places (for example, chapter 38) it seems to mean virtue in the sense of morality, the sense in which it is used by the Confucians.» — Henricks consigna que el texto usa *virtud* en dos sentidos distintos y no armoniza los dos: energía vital en el capítulo 55 y moral confuciana en el 38.

«That the Tao is a feminine reality and a maternal reality thus seems clear. It is not surprising, therefore, that Lao-tzu refers to the Tao as the “Mother” in no less than five places» — Henricks sostiene que el Tao es una realidad femenina y materna y cuenta cinco lugares donde el texto lo llama Madre.

«In two important cases the manuscripts found at Ma-wang-tui provide us with what are now the earliest known versions of well-known Chinese philosophical classics.» — Henricks señala que en dos casos la tumba entregó las versiones más antiguas conocidas de clásicos filosóficos chinos; el troceo une *well-known* partido al fin de renglón.

«through 37, which are sometimes called the Tao (“the Way”), and chapters 38 through 81, sometimes called the Te» — Henricks describe la división de los textos estándar en un Tao de los capítulos 1 a 37 y un Te de los 38 a 81; la frase arranca al pie de la plana anterior, en *The standard texts of Lao-tzu are divided into two parts, chapters 1*.

«were determined around 50 B.C. and that the number eighty-one indeed bears no relation to the intent of the author or compiler.» — Henricks sitúa hacia el 50 a. C. la fijación de los ochenta y un capítulos y niega que el número responda a la intención del autor o del compilador; la frase empieza en la plana anterior, en *I think the evidence shows that the present eighty-one chapters*.

«Key chapters in the text on the nature of the Tao are chapters1,6,14,16,21,25,34, and52. The selfless “mothering” of the Tao is best described in chapter 34 of the text, which reads somewhat differently in its standard and Ma-wang-tui forms. Wing-tsit Chan’s translation of the standard text reads:» — Henricks enumera los capítulos clave sobre la naturaleza del Tao y anuncia que para el capítulo 34 va a citar la traducción de Wing-tsit Chan del texto estándar.

«In the Ma-wang-tui version of this chapter, lines 3 and 4 are quite different, and that the phrase “always without desires” in line 5 is out» — Henricks acota enseguida esa cita: en la versión de Ma-wang-tui las líneas 3 y 4 son bastante distintas y la fórmula *always without desires* de la línea 5 no está; la frase queda cortada al pie de la plana.

«The Great Tao flows everywhere. It may go left or right. 2 All things depend on it for life, and it does not turn away from them.» — primera mitad de la traducción de Wing-tsit Chan del capítulo 34 en su forma estándar, con los numerales de línea del impreso; la voz es Chan, citado por Henricks, y el resto de la estrofa pasa a la plana siguiente.

«It accomplishes its task, but does not claim credit for it. 4 It clothes and feeds all things but does not claim to be master over them. 5 Always without desires, it may be called The Small. 6 All things come to it and it does not master them; it may be called The Great. 7 Therefore (the sage) never strives himself for the great, and thereby the great is achieved.» — continuación de la misma traducción de Chan, líneas 3 a 7: el Tao viste y alimenta a todas las cosas sin declararse su dueño, y de ahí que el sabio nunca luche por lo grande.

«Moreover, the work of the field does not end with springtime creation. For the field continues throughout the summer to care for and nourish each of its “children,” supplying them with the water and nutriments that are vital for life. And in this nurturing work, the field cares for all of the flowers without discrimination, and it takes no credit for all that it does. The brown soil is always in the background and “unseen,” our eyes being dazzled by the colors and forms of the flowers. Finally, the field accomplishes all that it does “without taking any action” (wu-wei); that is to say, we never see the soil actively doing anything; all that happens seems to happen on its own» — Henricks desarrolla su analogía del Tao con el campo: la tierra alimenta sin discriminar, no se lleva el crédito y todo parece ocurrir por sí solo.

«One of the things said about the Tao in the Lao-tzu a number of times is that it “does nothing, and yet there is nothing left undone” (wu-wei erh wu-pu-wei).» — Henricks traduce la fórmula del wu-wei que el texto repite: no hace nada y nada queda sin hacer.

«And the ideal ruler in the Lao-tzu is someone who rules in this way. As the Tao is to the ten thousand things the ruler is to his people. The ideal ruler works to make it possible that all of his people will grow to maturity in good health and will feel free to be who or what by nature they are, yet he claims no credit for all that he does.» — Henricks traslada la analogía al gobernante: lo que el Tao es a los diez mil seres, el gobernante lo es a su pueblo.

«One thing to which Lao-tzu would have people return seems to be a simpler way of life, perhaps one lived with fewer possessions. Lao-tzu and the Taoists clearly recognize that possessions can easily end up “possessing” and that the more one has, the more one has to worry about.» — Henricks lee el retorno como vuelta a una vida más simple, y atribuye al texto la advertencia de que las posesiones acaban poseyendo.

«The ideal in Taoist terms is to chih-tsu—“know contentment,” or more literally “know when you have enough.” And clearly the Taoists feel people really need a lot less than they think they do in terms of possessions and accomplishments to live healthy, happy, fulfilled lives.» — Henricks glosa chih-tsu como conocer el contento, o más literalmente saber cuándo se tiene bastante.

«Chapter 80 of the Lao-tzu could be understood as suggesting a social ideal in which the state would be composed of small farming communities, with very little, if any, central authority in the state, and in each village the people would be so content with their lives that even if they knew there were other villages nearby, they would have no desire to visit them.» — Henricks lee el capítulo 80 como ideal social: comunidades campesinas pequeñas, con poca o ninguna autoridad central y gente tan contenta que no quiere visitar la aldea vecina.

«If this represents Lao-tzu’s social ideal, then it is an ideal he shared with the “Agriculturalists” or “Tillers” (nung-chia) of the age, as Angus Graham has aptly shown.» — Henricks adjudica a Angus Graham la tesis de que ese ideal se compartía con los Agriculturalists o Tillers (nung-chia) de la época.

«A second way in which we can understand “return” in the philosophy of Lao-tzu is that he thought the Taoist must literally return to the Tao by achieving mystical union with the Tao—experiencing the oneness of all things in the Tao—and that some form of meditation would lead to this goal.» — segunda lectura del retorno que Henricks propone: unión mística con el Tao por alguna forma de meditación.

«The importance of meditation in early Taoism and the role it played in Taoist experience are points about which scholars disagree.» — Henricks consigna el desacuerdo entre estudiosos sobre el papel de la meditación en el taoísmo temprano, sin arbitrarlo.

«The most we can say is that if Lao-tzu and his like practiced and advocated certain types of meditation, for some reason he chose not to elaborate on these techniques in his book.» — Henricks marca el límite de lo que puede decirse: si el autor practicó técnicas de meditación, no las expuso en el libro.

«The opening lines of chapter 16 seem to lay out what must be done with the mind and the senses in meditation and then describe what can be seen by the adept with the mind emptied and the body stilled —the Taoist has insight into the true nature of things, seeing that all things come from and return to the Tao.» — Henricks lee la apertura del capítulo 16 como descripción de lo que se hace con la mente y los sentidos en la meditación.

«In chapter 4 of the work that bears his name we find a description of the process of “mind fasting” (hsin-chai), which goes: “Make your will one! Don’t listen with your ears, listen with your mind. No, don’t listen with your mind, but listen with your spirit. Listening stops with the ears, the mind stops with recognition, but spirit is empty and waits on all things. The Way gathers in emptiness alone. Emptiness is the fasting of the mind.”» — Henricks cita el ayuno de la mente (hsin-chai) del capítulo 4 del Chuang-tzu: no escuchar con los oídos ni con la mente sino con el espíritu, porque la Vía se reúne en el vacío.

«It is also of interest that the word in line 4 above that I translate as “see” is kuan, and kuan in Chinese has this sense of seeing into the true nature of something, having an insight. With the development of Buddhism later in China it was this kuan that was chosen to translate vipaśyanā, the “insight” that follows upon the “stopping” (śa-matha; chih in Chinese) of the mind’s normal functions.» — Henricks glosa kuan como ver la naturaleza verdadera de algo, y señala que con el budismo ese mismo carácter se eligió para traducir vipaśyanā.

«That the mind is like a bright-shining mirror that must be wiped clean of all false thoughts and passions (by concentration and mental effort) so that it can reflect things as they really are—such notions are integral to certain types of meditation and closely resemble ideas attributed to Shen-hsiu, the founder of the Northern School of Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism at the turn of the eighth century in China.» — Henricks acerca la imagen del espejo pulido a las ideas atribuidas a Shen-hsiu, fundador de la Escuela del Norte del Ch'an.

«But while line 3 might show us that early Taoists did indeed practice some kind of insight meditation, lines 1 and 2 probably allude to Taoist longevity techniques. It is difficult not to read later Taoist notions into the text at this point.» — Henricks acota su propia lectura: las líneas 1 y 2 aluden más bien a técnicas de longevidad, y advierte lo fácil que es leer ahí nociones taoístas posteriores.

«For one important type of meditation in later Taoism is known as shou-i, “maintaining the one” or “maintaining the three ones” (though our phrase here is pao-i, “embrace the one”), where the Taoist was to visualize three supreme deities in the three “fields of cinnabar” in the body to keep them inside the body: if they leave, the practitioner dies.» — Henricks describe el shou-i, mantener el uno o los tres unos, donde el taoísta visualiza tres deidades supremas en los tres campos de cinabrio del cuerpo.

«Thus the breathing practices and concentration alluded to here in lines 1 and 2 of chapter 10 are not so much the means to an end (mystical insight) as they are the end in itself.» — Henricks concluye que en ese capítulo las prácticas de respiración no son medio para la visión mística sino fin en sí mismas.

«And there are many types of meditation in later Taoism that have as their goal passing pure breath (ch’i) through the body, in this way making the flesh light, and learning to breathe again» — Henricks describe las meditaciones taoístas posteriores que hacen pasar el aliento puro (ch'i) por el cuerpo para aligerar la carne; la frase sigue en la plana siguiente con *like an infant*.

«The Way in things is generally what Taoists mean by te, “virtue.”» — Henricks define el te como el Tao presente en las cosas, y advierte con eso el doble uso del término en el libro.

«Finally on the notion of “return” it seems clear that Lao-tzu wants people as adults to return to some things they all possessed more fully as children—namely genuineness, sincerity, and spontaneity.» — Henricks cierra el retorno con lo que el adulto debería recobrar de la infancia: autenticidad, sinceridad y espontaneidad.

«Such “natural” qualities are destroyed in a sense by education and acculturation. As children grow up, they “learn” from their parents and from others in society that some things and some types of behavior are “good” while others are “bad,” some things are “beautiful” while others are “ugly,” and some things are of “value” while others are not.» — Henricks adjudica a la educación y a la aculturación la pérdida de esas cualidades, por el aprendizaje de los pares bueno-malo, bello-feo y valioso-sin valor.

«But the appropriation of such sets of values, and the conscious striving to be “good” and not “bad” (of which Confucians approve) do not lead in the end, feel the Taoists, to “good” people and to peace and order in society. They lead rather to wrangling and disagreement (about what is right and what is wrong) and competition, to self-dissatisfaction, and to hypocrisy as people “act” in ways that they think others will approve of and value, rather than saying and doing what they genuinely feel.» — Henricks expone la objeción taoísta a la aprobación confuciana de esos valores: llevan a la disputa, a la competencia y a la hipocresía.

«The important Taoist term wu-wei (“nonaction,” literally “without action”) in one sense stands for spontaneity and genuineness: it does not mean literally to do nothing, but rather “to act without acting” to spontaneously say and do what is genuinely felt rather than putting on a show for others» — Henricks glosa wu-wei en uno de sus sentidos: no hacer literalmente nada, sino actuar sin actuar, decir y hacer lo que de veras se siente.

«Thus, at the start of chapter 38 Lao-tzu notes that the truly virtuous person is the one who does the good thing spontaneously, unaware of and unconcerned with the fact that this is what others approve of as “virtue.” He says, “The highest virtue is not virtuous; therefore it truly has virtue. The lowest virtue never loses sight of its virtue; therefore it has no true virtue.”» — Henricks cita el arranque del capítulo 38 para mostrar que la virtud verdadera es la que se hace sin advertirla.

«And in chapter 19, having noted in chapter 18 that people are aware of the Confucian virtues of humanity (jen) and righteousness (i) only after the Great Tao declines, and that the advocacy of knowledge and wisdom simply leads to hypocrisy, Lao-tzu urges people to “Eliminate sageliness, throw away knowledge; And the people will benefit a hundredfold,” and “Eliminate humanity, throw away righteousness; And the people will return to filial piety and compassion.”» — Henricks encadena los capítulos 18 y 19: las virtudes confucianas se advierten solo cuando el Gran Tao declina, y el texto urge a eliminar la santidad y el saber.

«Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu both talk as though there were a time in the beginning when everyone lived in accord with the Way and no distinctions were made between right and wrong. The Confucian advocacy of certain values—humanity, righteousness, filial piety (hsiao), loyalty (chung), and propriety (li)—was either the result of or the cause of a decline in the Way.» — Henricks consigna sin arbitrar la ambigüedad del propio texto: la defensa confuciana de la humanidad, la rectitud, la piedad filial, la lealtad y la propiedad fue o resultado o causa del declive de la Vía.

«In a number of places in the text, Lao-tzu makes the claim that the Taoist is “free from danger” or “free from harm” throughout his lifetime. In chapter 16 this is said of one who is one with the Tao; in chapters 32 and 44 it is said of one who knows to “stop in time”; and in chapter 52 it is said of one who understands the children (of the Tao) yet clings to the Mother.» — Henricks reúne los lugares donde el texto dice que el taoísta queda libre de peligro o de daño durante toda su vida.

«The “danger” or “harm” alluded to here need not be understood in a literal, physical way. One could argue that one who knows the Tao and is content remains safe and secure no matter what happens to his or her body. But the word that is used here for danger—tai—tends to mean physical danger, and given all that Lao-tzu tells us of the sage in his text, it makes good sense that such a person would not suffer harm in a physical way.» — Henricks acota la lectura del daño: podría no ser físico, pero la palabra tai tiende a significar peligro físico.

«The Taoist sage is someone who puts himself in the background and does not compete; hence he will presumably have fewer enemies than one who aggressively strives for wealth and fame.» — Henricks razona el porqué: quien se pone atrás y no compite tendrá menos enemigos que quien pelea por riqueza y fama.

«Moreover, it is evident that life itself is a value in Taoism: To live out one’s natural years in peace, contentment, and tranquility is the goal.» — Henricks declara que la vida misma es un valor en el taoísmo y que la meta es agotar los años naturales en paz.

«But we must hasten to add that Lao-tzu would also say, paradoxically, that it is precisely the person who is unconcerned, in a way, with matters of life and death who stands the best chance of living out his natural years. Obsessive clinging to life at all costs makes people vulnerable.» — Henricks consigna la paradoja del texto: quien menos se ocupa de la vida y de la muerte es quien más probablemente agote sus años.

«The second part of chapter 50 has sometimes been understood as showing that Taoists remain free from harm because they are somehow physically invulnerable; their bodies cannot be harmed.» — Henricks recoge una lectura ajena del capítulo 50 —la invulnerabilidad física del taoísta— antes de objetarla.

«While “no place for death in them” might later mean that the physical stuff of the Taoist has changed and is now matter that cannot be damaged or harmed, it is more likely that Lao-tzu means by these words that the one who is “good at holding on to life” is the one who is unconcerned about death (and in this way has “no place for death in him”), since he identifies with and values the Tao, that reality that transcends life and death.» — Henricks propone su lectura alternativa: quien es bueno guardando la vida es el que no se ocupa de la muerte, no el que tiene el cuerpo endurecido.

«Later in the Taoist religion, immortality is understood as a physical immortality: one normally becomes an immortal (hsien) through a process of “transubstantiation” in which one changes the substance of his or her body from gross, heavy, easily decaying matter into matter that is light, pure, and refined and capable of lasting a long time if not forever.» — Henricks describe la inmortalidad de la religión taoísta posterior: hacerse hsien por una transubstanciación que cambia la materia del cuerpo en materia ligera, pura y refinada.

«There seems to be little in the Lao-tzu to support such later views unless we understand things said in chapters 50 and 55 in this way.» — Henricks niega apoyo en este texto a esa doctrina posterior, salvo que se lean así los capítulos 50 y 55.

«Lao-tzu says nothing straightforwardly and unambiguously about immortality of any kind, nor does Chuang-tzu. Chuang-tzu in fact repeatedly tells us that we cannot know what lies beyond death; we can only “know” the state or condition we are in at present.» — Henricks consigna la abstención de los dos textos: ninguno dice nada inequívoco sobre inmortalidad, y el Chuang-tzu repite que no se puede saber lo que hay tras la muerte.

«Theoretically we could certainly argue that insofar as the Tao is that one reality that existed before all other things and is an eternally existing reality, and insofar as the Taoist in some way becomes one with the Tao during his or her lifetime, that at death the Taoist realizes this oneness in the fullest possible way and enjoys the immortality of the Tao. This is an argument that would see Taoist mysticism as parallel in a sense to the Indian mysticism of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-gita.» — primera vía teórica que Henricks plantea: si el taoísta se hace uno con el Tao, en la muerte realizaría esa unidad, y el paralelo que propone es con la mística de los Upanishads y el Bhagavad-gita.

«One could also argue in theory, however, that insofar as the Tao is not only the one reality that existed before all other things but is also in some way identified with the continuous process of change in the universe of things, and insofar as the Taoist is in some way one with this Tao, then at death his matter and energies are reabsorbed into the cosmic storehouse of matter and energy that is the Tao, to be reused later on in producing new things.» — segunda vía teórica: si el Tao es el proceso continuo del cambio, en la muerte la materia y las energías del taoísta se reabsorben en el almacén cósmico.

«This is a view that finds support in the Chuang-tzu, where one of his characters addresses a friend who is about to die with the words, “How marvelous the Creator [= the Tao] is! What is he going to make of you next? Where is he going to send you? Will he make you into a rat’s liver? Will he make you into a bug’s arm?” This may or may not be a type of immortality that people find appealing; nonetheless it is a kind of immortality.» — Henricks apoya esa segunda vía en el Chuang-tzu, donde un personaje pregunta al amigo moribundo si el Creador lo hará hígado de rata o pata de bicho.

«First of all, in the standard text of Lao-tzu (but not in the Ma-wang-tui texts) at the end of chapter 16 we are told that someone who is one with the Tao is “everlasting,” and in chapters 44 and 59 the Taoist is said to be someone who “long endures.” For some readers these words imply a kind of immortality. But the words themselves (chiu in the first case, ch’ang-chiu in the second) literally mean no more than lasts “a long time” and “a very long time.”» — primer pasaje del expediente: Henricks acota que chiu y ch'ang-chiu no dicen más que durar mucho y durar muchísimo tiempo.

«Secondly, in chapters 16 and 52 we find the words mo-shen pu-tai, which literally mean “end-life no-harm,” and these are the words that are often translated as “to the end of his days he suffers no harm.” However, these four characters can also mean “lose-body not-end,” and they could be read as saying, therefore, that even though the Taoist at death loses his body, he does not come to a total and final end. Arthur Waley reads these characters in this way at the end of chapter 16, where he translates: “Tao is forever and he that possesses it, Though his body ceases, is not destroyed.”» — segundo pasaje: Henricks da las dos lecturas posibles de mo-shen pu-tai y cita la de Arthur Waley, que lee la pérdida del cuerpo sin destrucción.

«Finally, at the end of chapter 33 of the Lao-tzu, we find the line ssuerh-pu-wang-che shou, which Wing-tsit Chan translates as “He who dies but does not really perish enjoys long life.”» — tercer pasaje: Henricks cita la traducción de Wing-tsit Chan del final del capítulo 33; el troceo une *ssu-erh-pu-wang-che* partido al fin de renglón y lo devuelve como *ssuerh-pu-wang-che*.

«But the word “perish” (wang) is also often understood to mean “to come to an unnatural end,” to die before one’s time, in which case this says nothing about immortality. D. C. Lau understands the line in this way, translating, “He who lives out his days has had a long life.”» — Henricks da la lectura contraria de la misma línea, atribuida a D. C. Lau, que la deja sin decir nada sobre inmortalidad, y no arbitra entre las dos.

«The dates of the former Han dynasty were 206 B.C.-A.D. 5.» — nota al pie de Henricks con las fechas de la dinastía Han anterior, tal como las imprime la capa de texto.

«One map shows troop deployment in and around Changsha in the early Han. One of the charts illustrates forty-four positions assumed in therapeutic calisthenics (tao-yin), the kinds of exercise that were later to play a prominent role in Taoist longevity techniques.» — nota al pie de Henricks sobre los mapas y las cartas del hallazgo: una ilustra cuarenta y cuatro posiciones de calistenia terapéutica (tao-yin), el tipo de ejercicio que después tuvo papel principal en las técnicas taoístas de longevidad.

«But there are many important chapters on the Way in part II as well, and good chapters on governing in part I.» — nota al pie con la que Henricks acota su propia división temática entre las dos partes del libro.

«The “ten thousand things” is a collective designation in Chinese for the various genera and species of living things—the varieties of plants, animals, insects, and so forth (though on occasion the term might refer to inorganic phenomena as well). Man is simply one of the ten thousand things.» — nota al pie donde Henricks glosa los diez mil seres como designación colectiva de los géneros y especies vivientes, y sitúa al hombre como uno más entre ellos.

«Importantly, the Ma-wang-tui texts of the Lao-tzu do not have this wang (“to perish”) in the text but rather the wang that means “to forget.” They would appear to say, therefore,» — Henricks consigna la variante de Ma-wang-tui, que imprime el wang de olvidar y no el de perecer; la lectura que de ahí saca —morir sin ser olvidado, eso es larga vida de veras— queda al pie, ya en la plana siguiente.

«Because readers of the Te-tao ching fall into two groups with different levels of expertise, I have repeated the translation in two independent segments. Part One, “The Translation,” is a straightforward presentation of the entire text with the corrections and emendations noted in Part Two. It is intended for the general reader.» — Henricks explica en la nota del traductor por qué la traducción va dos veces: la Parte Uno es la presentación directa del texto entero, para el lector general.

«Part Two, “Text, Commentary, and Notes,” is aimed at the specialist reader, and repeats the translation. However, it is accompanied by notes which indicate the differences between Text A and Text B, discuss how each line of texts A and B differs from the received text, and add anything else which seems relevant to an understanding of the Ma-wang-tui silk manuscripts. For readers of Chinese, Part Two also includes corrected Chinese transcriptions of Text A and Text B.» — Henricks describe la Parte Dos: repite la traducción con las notas de diferencias entre Text A y Text B y, para quien lea chino, las transcripciones corregidas.

«The translation which appears in both Part One and Part Two is primarily a translation of Text B of the Ma-wang-tui texts: the Text A version of a chapter is used in seventeen cases—for chapters 1, 31, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 50, 51, 52, 56, 61, 62, 63, 69, 76, and 79. In those cases, what remains of Text A—the older of the two manuscripts—is more complete, and therefore more readily translated, than what remains of Text B.» — Henricks declara la base textual: se traduce el Text B salvo diecisiete capítulos, que enumera, donde el Text A, más viejo, está más completo.

«The sequence of the translation is the sequence we find in the Ma-wang-tui texts. However, to facilitate reading and comparison, chapter divisions are made, and chapter numbers indicated, where they occur in modern texts. Chapter numbers are in brackets, to remind the reader that these numbers are not found in the original.» — Henricks declara que la secuencia es la de los manuscritos y que los números de capítulo van entre corchetes para recordar que no están en el original.

«But “Comments and Notes” always begins with an indication of the ways in which the other text (normally Text A) differs from the text being translated.» — Henricks declara la regla de su comentario: cada sección de notas abre diciendo en qué difiere el otro manuscrito del que se traduce.

«There are lacunae in both texts, the result of material deterioration. In this translation, the missing words, phrases and lines are supplied in two ways: whenever possible they are from the other Ma-wang-tui text, such words, phrases, and lines being printed in bold type. If the other text also has a lacuna at this point, the missing text is supplied from the standard text of Lao-tzu, such words, phrases, and lines being printed in italics. Any words underlined in the translation are underlined by the present translator for emphasis.» — Henricks declara las tres convenciones tipográficas de la traducción: negrita para lo suplido desde el otro manuscrito de Ma-wang-tui, cursiva para lo suplido desde el texto estándar y subrayado propio para el énfasis.

«Chapter numbers are put in brackets at the top of the page to remind the reader that these numbers are not found in the original.» — Henricks repite en la Parte Dos que los números de capítulo van entre corchetes porque no están en el original.

«For the Chinese text on which this translation is based I have consulted two works, Ma-wang-tui Han mu po-shu Lao-tzu (Peking: Wen-wu, 1976), and Ma-wang-tui Han mu po-shu, Vol.1 (Peking: Wen-wu, 1980). Whenever there were discrepancies in the transcriptions in these texts I checked the original, using the facsimiles published in the second book.» — Henricks declara las dos ediciones chinas que consultó, de 1976 y 1980, y que cotejó los facsímiles cuando las transcripciones discrepaban.

«The transcriptions printed with this translation are those found in Ma-wang-tui Han-mu po-shu, Vol.1, as corrected by the present translator. Neither the 1976 nor the 1980 transcription is totally error free. The symbols used in the transcription indicate the following: — lacuna in the text/character is missing, O—erroneous character has been blotted out by the copyist; =—what appear to be “ditto” marks in the original; •—put at the head of a section of text that may be understood by the copyist as a “chapter”; <—indicates a mark in the text that looks like, and seems to serve as, a comma.» — Henricks declara que corrigió las transcripciones y que ninguna de las dos ediciones está libre de error, y da la tabla de símbolos con que marca laguna, carácter borrado por el copista, marcas de repetición, cabeza de sección y coma.

«By the “standard” text of Lao-tzu—Chinese commentators often identify this as the t’ung-hsing pen—I almost always mean the Wang Pi text of Lao-tzu (Ssu-pu pei-yao edition).» — Henricks declara qué entiende por texto estándar: casi siempre el Lao-tzu de Wang Pi en la edición Ssu-pu pei-yao.

«By saying something is “missing” in a Ma-wang-tui text I mean to indicate that there is a lacuna in the text; by contrast, when I note that something is “omitted” or “does not occur” I mean that it was never part of the original.» — Henricks distingue dos términos de su comentario: lo que falta es laguna del manuscrito y lo que se omite nunca formó parte del original.

«The line numbers used in the translation are not part of the original text: these divisions are made to facilitate discussion in the commentary that follows.» — Henricks declara que los numerales de línea son suyos y sirven para discutir en el comentario; es la razón de que los versos citados de la Parte Dos vayan numerados y los de la Parte Uno no.

«In trying to decipher textual variants, I worked carefully through the critical studies of Chou Tz’u-chi (Lao-tzu k’ao-shu) and Hsü K’ang-sheng (Po-shu Lao-tzu chu-shih yü yen-chiu); I found Hsü K’ang-sheng’s work very useful and his arguments often persuasive.» — Henricks nombra los dos estudios críticos con los que trabajó las variantes, de Chou Tz'u-chi y Hsü K'ang-sheng, y declara persuasivos los argumentos del segundo.

«Except as noted below, brackets are placed around words which have been supplied by me to make the terse Chinese phraseology more easily understandable.» — Henricks declara el uso de corchetes para las palabras que él añade a la fraseología china escueta.

«Since Texts A and B are not exactly the same, the reader might justifiably want to see complete translations of both texts. But the Ma-wang-tui texts do tend to be alike in places where they differ significantly from later editions. Thus, translating both would lead to a lot of repetition. Moreover, Text A is not in good condition, and any translation of Text A would need to supply much of the text from some other source to make the translation readable. Hence my decision has been to translate that version of each chapter that is most complete, and in most cases that is the Text B version.» — Henricks razona en la nota del traductor de la Parte Dos por qué no traduce los dos manuscritos: se parecen justo donde difieren de las ediciones posteriores, y el Text A está en mal estado.

«Finally, in my interpretations, and in my choice of words on occasion, I have naturally been influenced by the fine work done on this text by previous translators.» — Henricks declara su deuda con los traductores anteriores; la frase sigue en el corte de plana nombrando a Wing-tsit Chan y D. C. Lau.

«indebtedness to the Wing-tsit Chan and D. C. Lau translations will be obvious.» — cierre de esa declaración, que el troceo deja al otro lado del corte: su deuda con las traducciones de Wing-tsit Chan y de D. C. Lau.

«2. There are two good translations of the Chuang-tzu, one by Burton Watson (Watson, 1968), the other by A. C. Graham (Graham, 1981). The Watson translation is superior in terms of literary quality; the Graham translation is more astute in drawing attention to the philosophical concepts developed by Chuang-tzu.» — nota adicional 2: Henricks compara las dos traducciones del Chuang-tzu que usa, la de Burton Watson y la de A. C. Graham, y dice en qué es superior cada una.

«6. Later texts also change ch’i (“to open”) to k’ai (also “to open”) to avoid using the personal name of Emperor Ching (r. 156-141 B.C.), Liu Ch’i, and they change the negative fu (“not [verb] it”) to pu (“not [verb]”) to avoid the personal name of Emperor Chao of the Han (r. 86-74 B.C.), Liu Fu-ling.» — nota adicional 6: dos sustituciones más por evitación de nombres tabú imperiales, que son parte del aparato con que se fechan los manuscritos.

«12. That is, it is Yang times Yang (9 × 9 = 81). Yin times Yang (8 × 9), or 72, is also a magical number. Confucius is often said to have had seventy-two disciples.» — nota adicional 12: la aritmética del ochenta y uno y, de paso, la del setenta y dos, que Henricks enlaza con los discípulos de Confucio.

«20. Max Kaltenmark (Kaltenmark, 1970, pp. 85-98) presents Chuang-tzu as a thoroughgoing mystic and teacher of meditation and ecstasy-producing techniques. I take issue with this view; I think it misrepresents the Chuang-tzu we meet in the text.» — nota adicional 20: Henricks objeta la lectura de Max Kaltenmark, que presenta al Chuang-tzu como místico y maestro de técnicas de éxtasis, y declara que a su juicio tergiversa el texto.

«24. Thus the verse on enlightenment that is attributed to Shen-hsiu by his opponents in the Southern School is, “The body is the Bodhi tree, The mind is like a clear mirror. At all times we must strive to polish it, And must not let the dust collect” (tr. by Philip B. Yampolsky [Yampolsky, 1967, p. 130]). For the first thorough study in English of Shen-hsiu and the Northern School see John R. McRae’s recent book (McRae, 1986).» — nota adicional 24: Henricks cita, en la traducción de Philip B. Yampolsky, el verso de iluminación que los adversarios de la Escuela del Sur atribuyen a Shen-hsiu, con el espejo que hay que pulir.

«26. Maspero’s detailed study of these breathing techniques remains our main source of information. His article is translated into English as “Methods of ‘Nourishing the Vital Principle’ in the Ancient Taoist Religion” (book IX, pp. 445-554, in Maspero, 1981).» — nota adicional 26: Henricks declara que el estudio de Henri Maspero sobre esas técnicas de respiración sigue siendo la fuente principal de información.

«I disagree with Herrlee Creel’s understanding of wu-wei in the Lao-tzu, which equates it with the Legalist notion in which the ruler “does not act” because he leaves all matters of administrative detail to his officials. Nonetheless, his article can still be read with benefit. See his “On the Origins of Wu-wei,” in Creel, 1970, pp. 48-78.» — en la misma nota, Henricks declara que no está de acuerdo con la lectura de wu-wei de Herrlee Creel, que la iguala a la noción legalista, y aun así recomienda leer su artículo con provecho.

«31. A. C. Graham argues that living out one’s natural years in happiness and health was a concern shared by the Taoists and the “Individualists” or “Yangists,” the followers of the philosopher Yang Chu, in ancient China (see pp. 9-17 of his article “The Background of the Mencian Theory of Human Nature” [Graham, 1986], and pp. 221-23 in Graham, 1981). But the Yangists felt this end would be achieved only by means of careful, deliberate calculation, whereas the Taoists favored spontaneity and unconcern as the means to the end.» — nota adicional 31: Henricks recoge de A. C. Graham que taoístas y yangistas compartían el fin de agotar los años naturales, y consigna la diferencia de medios, cálculo deliberado en unos y espontaneidad en otros.

«36. Waley, 1934, p. 162. Curiously, Waley translates these characters the other way in chapter 52, where he has, “And he who has known the sons Will hold all the tighter to the mother, and to the end of his days suffer no harm.” For more on the phrase mo-shen pu-tai, see Ch’en, 1973, pp. 231-47.» — nota adicional 36: Henricks señala que Arthur Waley traduce esos mismos caracteres al revés en el capítulo 52, y llama curioso el hecho sin resolverlo.

«38. “Tien-hisa” (literally “all under heaven”) can be translated as “empire” and is often translated that way in the Lao-tzu. But there was no empire in China before 221 B.C., SO I have translated tien-hisa, throughout, as “the world” or “the whole land.”» — nota adicional 38: Henricks explica por qué no traduce el término por *imperio*, ya que no había imperio en China antes del 221 a. C.; la capa de texto imprime *Tien-hisa* y *SO*.

«45. Cheng, part IV, p. 43. Cheng proposes that wise rulers will look upon their large numbers of carriages as though they had none, just as they refer to themselves as people without any grain even though they own all there is. This again is making the base the root of the noble, as is preferring to be like common stone (but in that way remaining firm and long lasting) instead of rich jade.» — nota adicional 45: Henricks reporta la propuesta de Cheng Liang-shu sobre los carruajes del capítulo 39 y la enlaza con la preferencia por la piedra común sobre el jade.

«59. For chiu (“to save”) Text B has chi (“thorns”); there is a lacuna in Text A. The most plausible solution seems to be that posed by Wu Fu-hsiang (Wu, 1979, pp. 66-67), who suggests that the two were homophones (archaic pronunciations were kiog [for chiu] and kiək [for chi]).» — nota adicional 59: Henricks declara la solución más plausible la de Wu Fu-hsiang, que propone que los dos caracteres eran homófonos, y da las pronunciaciones arcaicas.

«66. D. C. Lau (Lau, 1982, p. 227) does not read line 3 as predicate for line 1; rather he combines 3 and 4 to give “In the intercourse of the world, the female always gets the better of the male by stillness.”» — nota adicional 66: Henricks consigna que D. C. Lau combina de otro modo las líneas del capítulo 61, y da su traducción.

«ADDITIONAL NOTES 1. There is an official biography of Lao-tzu, or Li Erh, in Ssu-ma Ch’ien’s first great history of the Chinese people, the Shih-chi (Historical Records), compiled c. 100 B.C.; that biography is translated into English by Wing-tsit Chan (1963, pp. 36-37). But as Chan’s review of the scholarship on this biography (pp. 37-59) shows, many scholars are convinced that this does little in terms of identifying the actual author of the text.» — nota adicional 1 de Henricks, la que sostiene la atribución tradicional sin afirmarla: hay una biografía oficial de Lao-tzu o Li Erh en el Shih-chi de Ssu-ma Ch'ien, y muchos estudiosos consideran que sirve de poco para identificar al autor real del texto.

«For an excellent study of where the data in this biography come from and how this identity of Lao-tzu came to be, see A. C. Graham’s article “The Origins of the Legend of Lao Tan” (Graham, 1986). Also useful on the problem of the authorship of this text is appendix 1 to D. C. Lau’s translation, “The Problem of Authorship” (Lau, 1963, pp. 147-62).» — cierre de esa nota: Henricks remite a Graham por el origen de la leyenda de Lao Tan y a Lau por el problema de la autoría.

«7. The text is not called the Lao-tzu, nor is it called the Tao-te ching. At the end of part II, Text B has the notation “Virtue—3,041 [characters],” and at the end of part I it has “The Way—2,426 [characters].”» — nota adicional 7, la que explica el título del volumen: el texto no se llama Lao-tzu ni Tao-te ching en los manuscritos, y lo único que lleva son las dos notaciones con el recuento de caracteres.

«There arc also what appear to be “commas” (,) on occasion at the ends of phrases and lines in both texts (though mostly in Text A), and repetition of a character or phrase is often indicated in the Ma-wang-tui texts by what arc apparently ditto marks; they follow the word or phrase to be repeated and look like equals signs (=).» — cierre de esa nota, con las comas y las marcas de repetición; la capa de texto imprime *arc* por *are*.

«17. The analogy of the “Tao and the Field” is not perfect, and one of the ways in which it does not work is that the analogy would seem to suggest a view of periodic creation of the world; that is, every so often» — nota adicional 17, donde Henricks declara el límite de su propia analogía del Tao y el campo; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«the entire world of things comes into being and then the cosmos passes through distinct stages of growth, maturity, decline, and death (i.e., the four seasons), followed again by rebirth (in the manner of the kalpas of Indian cosmology). The Taoists treat creation as a once-andfor-all thing, even though it is true that in some way all distinct things that live and die “return” to the Tao and each new thing “comes from” the Tao as well.» — cierre al otro lado del corte: la analogía sugeriría una creación periódica como la de los kalpas indios, y los taoístas tratan la creación como cosa de una sola vez; el troceo une *once-and-for-all* partido al fin de renglón y lo devuelve como *once-andfor-all*.

«18. Despite the fact that it is difficult to talk about the philosophy of Lao-tzu without using the words “who people are by nature,” the word hsing (“human nature,” “inborn nature”) does not occur in the text of the Lao-tzu and occurs only rarely in the “Inner Chapters” of the Chuang-tzu. Taoist ideas about “human nature” are developed in what A. C. Graham identifies as the “Primitivist” chapters of the Chuang-tzu (chapters 8-10 and the first part of 11) and also in the Huai-nan tzu (on which see Roth, 1985).» — nota adicional 18: Henricks consigna que la palabra para naturaleza humana no aparece en el Lao-tzu y apenas en los capítulos internos del Chuang-tzu.

«When they talk about human nature, Taoists tend to emphasize the ways in which people differ by nature (unique talents and personality traits), whereas the Confucians tend to concentrate on the ways in which people are all the same (shared innate moral traits). Note also the article by Isabelle Robinet, “La notion de hsing dans le taoïsme et son rapport avec celle du confucianisme” (Robinet, 1986).» — cierre de esa nota: Henricks contrasta el énfasis taoísta en lo que distingue a las personas con el confuciano en lo que comparten, y remite a un artículo de Isabelle Robinet de 1986.

«27. It is worth noting that wei, “action,” means, in Chinese philosophical parlance, the action one takes after consciously deliberating the alternatives, and contrasts, therefore, with action as natural, un-thought-out response.» — nota adicional 27: Henricks distingue el wei como acción tomada tras deliberar de la acción como respuesta natural no pensada.

«The philosopher Hsün-tzu (born c. 312 B.c.) contrasts “nature” or “natural response” (hsing) with “conscious activity” (wei) in this way: “That which is harmonious from birth, which is capable of perceiving through the senses and of responding to stimulus spontaneously and without effort, is … called the nature.… When the emotions are aroused and the mind makes a choice from among them, this is called thought. When the mind conceives a thought and the body puts it into action, this is called conscious activity”» — en la misma nota, Henricks apoya esa distinción en un pasaje de Hsün-tzu en la traducción de Burton Watson; la capa de texto imprime *B.c.* en minúscula.

«28. In chapter 38 Lao-tzu seems to rank the Confucian virtues, with humanity (or “benevolence”—the highest of the Confucian virtues) being the highest, righteousness next, and propriety last. We might speculate that Lao-tzu understands humanity as moral action that stems from genuine concern for the welfare of others; righteousness as action done simply because it is the “right” thing to do (not necessarily because one genuinely wants to do it); and propriety as action done not necessarily because it is “right” but purely because it is thought to be “proper.”» — nota adicional 28: Henricks especula, y lo dice, sobre cómo entendería el texto la humanidad, la rectitud y la propiedad confucianas.

«Note that “virtue” in chapter 38 is seen to be superior to even the supreme Confucian virtue of humanity in that people of humanity still take action (wei) even though they have no reason for acting this way, whereas people of true virtue do not act (wu-wei—i.e., they act spontaneously, without deliberation and» — cierre de esa nota: la virtud queda por encima incluso de la humanidad, la más alta de las virtudes confucianas, porque la primera no actúa; el pasaje cruza el corte de plana.

«29. Note that the line in chapter 19 that says people will return to filial piety if the notions of humanity and righteousness are abandoned seems to indicate that Lao-tzu believed that people left on their own would be good, to a degree at least, “by nature.”» — nota adicional 29: Henricks lee en el capítulo 19 el indicio de que el texto tiene por buena por naturaleza a la gente dejada a su aire.

«In chapter 4 of the Chuang-tzu, Confucius—here surely voicing Chuang-tzu’s own view—says, “In the world, there are two great decrees: one is fate and the other is duty. That a son should love his parents is fate—you cannot erase this from his heart. That a subject should serve his ruler is duty—there is no place he can go and be without his ruler, no place he can escape to between heaven and earth.” (Watson, 1968, pp. 59-60.)» — en la misma nota, Henricks trae el pasaje del Chuang-tzu sobre los dos grandes decretos, el destino y el deber, y advierte que ahí Confucio habla por el propio Chuang-tzu.

«39. Rulers in early China referred to themselves as “The Orphan,”» — nota adicional 39, que glosa los tres títulos de los gobernantes; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«“The Widower,” or “The One Without Grain” (line 15) as a way of identifying themselves with the lot of the poor and unfortunate, whose welfare was said to be the ruler’s foremost concern.» — cierre al otro lado del corte: los tres títulos identificaban al gobernante con la suerte de los pobres, cuyo bienestar se declaraba su primer cuidado.

«41. Although the final i can be read to mean the same thing as the instrumental i, since the author uses the instrumental i in all cases in lines 2–6 and the final i in all cases in lines 8-12, it would appear that a distinction is being made. Accordingly, D. C. Lau (1982, p. 191) treats the i in lines 8-12 as the verb “to stop,” and translates: “It will mean that not knowing when to stop in being limpid heaven will split; It will mean that not knowing when to stop in being settled earth will sink;” and so on.» — nota adicional 41: Henricks expone la lectura de D. C. Lau para las líneas 8 a 12 del capítulo 39, que trata la partícula como el verbo *parar*.

«Apart from the fact that this gives us the awkward arrangement of having Heaven’s “clarity” shatter instead of Heaven itself, there is another reason why this will not work. The reason is that in line 12, while the word “noble” is preceded by the final i, the word “high” is preceded by the instrumental i, and since it becomes clear in lines 13 and 14 that “noble” and “high” are treated in a parallel way, it seems best to assume that in all cases it is the instrumental i that is intended throughout. Moreover, reading the final i as the instrumental i in lines 8-12 clearly gives us the most sensible reading of those lines.» — y da dos razones para descartarla: el arreglo torpe que produce y el tratamiento paralelo de *noble* y *alto* en las líneas 13 y 14.

«William Boltz, in his article on this chapter (Boltz, 1985), essentially agrees with D. C. Lau’s interpretation of these lines. Boltz reads the wu-i in lines 8-12 as “without end” “in perpetuity,” thus translating —“Should Heaven remain clear in perpetuity, it might, we fear,» — Henricks expone el argumento de William Boltz, que coincide en lo esencial con Lau y lee la partícula como *a perpetuidad*; el pasaje cruza el corte de plana.

«burst open.” He points out that this interpretation is supported in the Ho-shang Kung commentary, where wu-i is understood as wu-i shih, “time without end” (a point also noted by Cheng Liang-shu [Cheng, part IV, p. 40]), and further argues that this interpretation makes better sense of the philosophical message of the chapter, which is that all things must incorporate something of their opposites: Heaven must be murky as well as clear, and rulers must accept lowliness along with their exalted status, anything wanting to be, in perpetuity, one thing only will come to an end.» — cierre de esa exposición: Boltz apoya su lectura en el comentario de Ho-shang Kung y sostiene que hace mejor sentido del mensaje del capítulo, que todo debe incorporar algo de su contrario.

«I remain unconvinced. Lines 8-12 clearly demonstrate what will happen if the actions noted in lines 1-6 are not so. And the point here is the same as that of chapter 22, that the Sage-ruler should model himself on all other things and hold on to the One, which means that he should be simple, humble, and unpretentious.» — Henricks declara que sigue sin convencerse y da su primera razón: el sentido del capítulo 39 es el mismo del 22, que el sabio gobernante se modele sobre todas las demás cosas.

«That Ho-shang Kung interprets these lines in this way is not sure evidence that this is what the text he was using said: Chinese textual commentators delight in using things said in a text as a springboard to make their own philosophical points. Philologically speaking, I should think that if wu-i here did mean “in perpetuity,” the word order would then have to be t’ien ch’ing wu-i (“Heaven clear without end,” etc.) instead of t’ien wu-i ch’ing. Finally, Boltz docs not explain for the reader why the word “high” in line 12 is preceded by the instrumental i and not the final i.» — y sus otras tres razones: que un comentarista chino usa el texto como trampolín para su propia filosofía, un argumento filológico de orden de palabras y una omisión que le reprocha a Boltz; la capa de texto imprime *docs* por *does*.

«56. The only other place we find chih for i at this point in the text is in the “Chieh-Lao” (Understanding Lao-tzu) chapter of the Han-fei-tzu, but Ch’en Ch’i-yu sees this as a mistake for i, resulting from the closeness of the two characters written in grass script (see Ch’en, 1963, p. 374). “Also” (i) is given as a meaning of chih in P’ei, 1971, chitan 9, p. 736, and most scholars working on the Ma-wang-tui texts seem to read this chih in that way (i.e., as meaning “also”; see, for example, Lau, 1982, pp. 206-7; Cheng, part VI, p. 37; Wu, 1979, pp. 59-60; but Chou, 1984 [p. 188] disagrees).» — nota adicional 56, ejemplo del método filológico de Henricks: rastrea un carácter por el Han-fei-tzu, el diccionario de P'ei y cinco estudiosos modernos, y consigna el desacuerdo de Chou sin armonizarlo.

«But one of the four examples P’ei cites to illustrate this usage is the line from Han-fei-tzu (Ch’en, 1963). In all other places where i occurs in the standard text (chapters 23, 25, 32, 49, 60, 65), the Ma-wang-tui texts also use j, with the exception noted above in chapter 42.» — cierre de esa nota: Henricks objeta que uno de los cuatro ejemplos del diccionario es justamente la línea del Han-fei-tzu, y da el censo de los demás lugares del texto estándar.

«indicate no more than the fact that chapter 38 begins with the phrase “Virtue” (“the highest virtue,” shang-te) while chapter 01 begins with the word “Way” (tao). It was common practice in early China to use the first word or words of a section of text as its title.» — cierre de la nota adicional 7 al otro lado del corte de plana: los dos rótulos probablemente no indican más que la primera palabra de cada mitad, según la costumbre china antigua de titular por el arranque.

«10. There are eighteen such “periods” in all. They occur at the start of line 1 in chapter 46, at the start of line 3 in chapter 46, at the start of line 1 in chapter 51, at the start of line 6 in chapter 51, at the start of line 5 in chapter 52, at the start of line 1 in chapter 53, at the start of line 1 in chapter 57, at the start of line 1 in chapter 63, at the start of line 1 in chapter 64, at the start of line 1 in chapter 80,» — nota adicional 10: el censo de los dieciocho puntos que el Text A pone al empezar sección, uno a uno; aquí, los diez primeros.

«at the start of line 7 in chapter 81, at the start of line 1 in chapter 69, at the start of line 2 in chapter 72, at the start of line 1 in chapter 73, at the start of line 1 in chapter 75, at the start of line 7 in chapter 75, at the start of line 1 in chapter 76, and at the start of line 1 in chapter 1.» — cierre de ese censo, con los ocho restantes.

«I dislike the fact that this seemingly makes i into a transitive verb (literally, “If Heaven did not stop its clarity”), a sense in which it is never used to my knowledge. But it is possible, I think, to read the i in its sense as “and that’s all” and go on from there. This would give us the following lines:» — Henricks dice qué le disgusta de la lectura de Lau —vuelve transitiva una partícula que a su saber nunca lo es— y anuncia la alternativa que va a ensayar.

«8 If Heaven did not have it (t’ien wu i), its clarity, I’m afraid, would shatter (ch’ing chiang k’ung lieh); 9 If the Earth did not have it, its stability, I’m afraid, would let go; 10 If the gods did not have it, their divinity, I’m afraid, would come to an end. 11 If valleys did not have it, their fullness, I’m afraid, would dry up. 12 And if marquises and kings did not have it, their nobility, being so high, I’m afraid, would topple.» — Henricks escribe entera esa lectura alternativa de las líneas 8 a 12 del capítulo 39, línea por línea, antes de descartarla.

«69. Reading chu (“tendency”) as chu (“lord”), as Hsü K’ang-sheng (Hsü, 1985, p. 44) suggests is certainly possible; that would give us “The Way is the lord of all things.” But the characters “tendency” and “lord” seem to be distinct in the Ma-wang-tui texts since in all cases where the standard text has “lord” (chapters 30, 34, 69, 78) the Ma-wang-tui texts do as well.» — nota adicional 69: Henricks concede que la lectura de Hsü K'ang-sheng es posible y da su razón para no adoptarla, medida sobre los cuatro capítulos donde el texto estándar dice *señor*.

«85. One might read the chih here as ch’i and read it as the first character in line 7 (“The first of these is called”) save for the fact that a comma appears in the text right after the chih. Clearly what has happened is that since lines 5 and 6 both end with the word “treasure” (pao), the copyist placed the chih after the first of these paos instead of the second.» — nota adicional 85: Henricks reconstruye el error del copista del capítulo 67 a partir de la coma que sigue al carácter y de la repetición de la palabra *tesoro* al final de dos líneas.

«86. Wing-tsit Chan (Chan, 1963, p. 219) translates ch’eng-ch’i chang as “the leader of the world,” and Waley (Waley, 1934, p. 225) translates it as “chief of all Ministers,” noting that it means the same thing as kuan-chang in chapter 28. My sense is that ch’eng-ch’i does ultimately mean officials or ministers, but that literally it says something like “those with complete (or perfect) talent.”» — nota adicional 86: Henricks contrasta las traducciones de Wing-tsit Chan y de Arthur Waley para una expresión del capítulo 67 y declara su propia lectura literal.

«95. Text A has jo min heng shih ssu tse erh wei che wu chiang (literally “If people constantly affirm death then and yet those who act, I would”). My guess would be that the shih (“affirm”) in place of wei (“fear”) is a mistake based on form: the two characters look alike even in modern script. The copyist then skipped ahead to line 4 in which the tse (“then”) comes right after the ssu (“death”). His eye then returned to line 3, writing down the erh (“and yet”), but he left the ch’i (“abnormally”) out.» — nota adicional 95, la reconstrucción más detallada del volumen: Henricks conjetura el error del copista del Text A por el parecido de dos caracteres, el salto a la línea 4 y la vuelta a la 3.

«101. Line 1 in Text A is t’ien-hsia che yeh. There are a number of ways to fill in the blanks, one of which would be to assume that t’ien-hsia is correct, that is, t’ien-hsia chih tao yu chang-kung che yeh —“The Way of the world is like the stretching of a bow.” I prefer the following reconstruction, which assumes the copyist mistakenly wrote hsia instead of chih: t’ien chih tao ch’i yu chang-kung che yeh—“The Way of Heaven, it’s like the stretching of a bow.” This is essentially the reading of the line that we find in the Fu I text (which is t’ien chih tao ch’i yu chang-kung che yü [= yeh-hu]).» — nota adicional 101: Henricks declara su preferencia entre dos reconstrucciones de la línea 1 del capítulo 77 y la apoya en el texto de Fu I; la capa de texto deja en blanco los caracteres perdidos del manuscrito.

«112. The Ma-wang-tui texts seem to say, “He brings it about that the knowledgeable do not dare [to act]. If he simply does not act on them, then all will be in order.” But I am persuaded by a number of commentators to see the fu in this line as copy error. (The punctuation would therefore be pu kan wei erh-i versus pu kan. Fu-wei erh-i.)» — nota adicional 112: Henricks consigna lo que los manuscritos parecen decir en el capítulo 3 y declara que varios comentaristas lo persuaden de ver ahí un error de copia.

«117. Thus I assume the yu (has) is copy error for fu (“does not compete with them”); alternatively, yu might here mean “further,” with the negative fu mistakenly left out. D. C. Lau (Lau, 1982, pp. 275-77) reads the yu in this way. But he punctuates the line in a novel way, in a way that eliminates the need for the negative pu. His translation reads, “It is because water is not only good at benefiting the myriad creatures but also vies to dwell in the place detested by the multitude that it comes close to the way.”» — nota adicional 117: Henricks supone error de copia y consigna la puntuación novedosa con que D. C. Lau evita el negativo, con su traducción.

«118. Chou Tz’u-chi (Chou, 1984, pp. 71-72) cites some interesting lines from Chinese medical texts on the process of ying-ch’i, in which breath turns into blood and circulates in the body. He also notes that the lungs were both the root of breath and the locus of the p’o. I think he is right in suggesting that Lao-tzu had these traditional views on physiology in mind in lines 1 and 2 of chapter 10.» — nota adicional 118: Henricks declara que Chou Tz'u-chi acierta al suponer que el capítulo 10 tiene en mente la fisiología tradicional del ying-ch'i, donde el aliento se vuelve sangre, y de los pulmones como sede del p'o.

«119. How to interpret the kua (“juniper tree”) here remains a problem. Chou Tz’u-chi (Chou, 1984, p. 73) ends up with chan (“benefit”) for the intended word; Hsü K’ang-sheng (Hsü, 1985, p. 87) stays with the standard graph of chih (“to rule”). I choose to be somewhat conservative at this point and use huo (“to be alive,” “revive”), which involves only a change in the radical from wood to water. Note that kua is used once again for huo in chapter 73.» — nota adicional 119: Henricks declara que el asunto sigue siendo un problema, recoge las salidas de Chou Tz'u-chi y de Hsü K'ang-sheng y declara la suya, que llama conservadora.

«122. The standard text has ch’i shang pu-chiao, ch’i hsia pu-mei. I read both characters in the fourth position in line 9 in the Ma-wang-tui texts as chiu (“to band or bind together”); Boltz (Boltz, 1984, pp. 200-202) reaches the same conclusion but interprets the meaning differently. Hsü K’ang-sheng (Hsü, 1985, pp. 94-95) reads the character in Text A as yu (“distant”) and the character in Text B as miu (“false”) and translates these lines “Its top is not unreal; its bottom is also not extinguished.” Chou Tz’u-chi (Chou, 1984, p. 88) reads the miu in B as liao» — nota adicional 122: Henricks consigna que Boltz llega a su misma conclusión pero interpreta distinto el sentido, y da además las lecturas de Hsü K'ang-sheng y de Chou Tz'u-chi.

«127. The Ma-wang-tui texts have ch’eng-kung sui-shih here; the standard text has kung-ch’eng shih-sui. In chapters 2, 34, and 77, with the same phrase (actually just ch’eng-kung), the same distinction is made. This is one of a number of features that are found later only in the “Hsiang-erh” group of Lao-tzu texts. (See Henricks, 1985, pp. 36-37.)» — nota adicional 127: Henricks señala que una distinción de orden de palabras reaparece después solo en el grupo *Hsiang-erh* de textos del Lao-tzu.

«149. The negatives used in lines 7-10 might imply “imperative” readings—for example, “Achieve your result but do not become arrogant.” But the declarative mode seems to be called for in lines 5-6 “The good one [shan-che] does so and so” and therefore in what follows.» — nota adicional 149: Henricks reconoce que los negativos permitirían leer en imperativo y declara por qué prefiere el modo declarativo.

«162. Nonetheless, there are a number of characters in the Ma-wang-tui texts that have an added radical element when compared with the standard text equivalent. And in most of these cases it seems clear that the character without the radical is the intended word: for example, ku (“valley”) is always written as yü (meaning “to wash”), and ch’i (“irregular”) is written as chi (“uncultivated fields”). Cheng Liang-shu (Cheng, part III, p. 39) feels that the intended word is still “to perish,” pointing out that yao-wang (“to die young”) and shou (“long life”) are opposites.» — nota adicional 162, la última que Henricks razona: consigna que Cheng Liang-shu sigue pensando que la palabra pretendida es *perecer* y da el argumento de Cheng, la oposición entre morir joven y larga vida.

«78. Hsü K’ang-sheng (Hsü, 1985, p. 50) also understands chih in this way, and Cheng Liang-shu (Cheng, part VIII, p. 36) notes that the meanings of the two characters are close. Chou Tz’u-chi (Chou, 1984, p. 217) seems to read chih as “to understand,” and D. C. Lau (Lau,» — nota adicional 78: Henricks alinea a Hsü K'ang-sheng y a Cheng Liang-shu con su lectura y consigna que Chou Tz'u-chi y D. C. Lau leen de otro modo; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«1982, p. 237) translates in this way. That is, he has “Thus to understand a state through knowledge Will be a detriment to the state; And to understand a state through ignorance Will be a boon to the state.”» — cierre de esa nota al otro lado del corte, con la traducción de D. C. Lau.

«103. In an earlier reading of this chapter, I understood the last line» — nota adicional 103, donde Henricks consigna que en una lectura anterior suya tomaba la última línea del capítulo 78 por la primera del 79; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«of 78 to actually be the first line of 79, in which case it would read, “Words of correction have the opposite effect.” See Henricks, 1982, pp. 522-23.» — cierre de esa nota al otro lado del corte, con la traducción que entonces le daba.

«107. The standard text has tao k’o tao fei ch’ang tao; the Ma-wang-tui texts have tao k’o tao yeh fei heng tao yeh. I read the first yeh as equivalent to the nominalizing particle che (“the one who” or “the one which”); k’o tao yeh therefore means “the one that can be talked about.” Most Chinese commentators seem to understand these lines in this way (i.e., they punctuate tao, k’o-tao yeh fei heng tao yeh).» — nota adicional 107, la de la primera línea del libro: Henricks explica su puntuación y declara que casi todos los comentaristas chinos entienden las líneas así.

«See for example Hsü, 1985, pp. 74-75. D. C. Lau (Lau, 1982, p. 267) translates these lines in a slightly different way. He has “The Way can be spoken of, But it will not be the constant way; The name can be named, But it will not be the constant name.” In my review of Lau’s translation (Henricks, 1984) I took issue with this interpretation: I still feel the first part of each line must be a nominal phrase that is then negated in the second part with the fei. On this point also note Cheng Liang-shu’s comments and punctuation of these lines (Cheng, part I, p. 23).» — en la misma nota, Henricks consigna que D. C. Lau traduce esas líneas de otro modo y declara que en su reseña de aquella traducción objetó esa interpretación y que sigue pensando lo mismo.

«115. Chou Tz’u-chi’s argument that yü (normally “bathe”) here for» — nota adicional 115, donde Henricks declara forzado el argumento de Chou Tz'u-chi; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«ku (“valley”) [yü is always used for ku in the Ma-wang-tui texts] means the desire aroused by seeing female genitalia seems forced. Yü can hardly mean anything other than “valley” or “valley stream” in a number of contexts below (e.g., see chapters 32 and 39).» — cierre al otro lado del corte: la lectura que veía ahí el deseo despertado por los genitales femeninos, y la razón que Henricks da para descartarla.

«125. In both Ma-wang-tui texts, lines 1 and 2 both end with the particle yeh and thus take the form of equative sentences (X, Y yeh = X is Y). In addition, in line 2 where the standard text of Lao-tzu has tu (“thick,” “genuine,” “firm”), Text A has piao (“surface”) and Text B has tu (“to oversee”). Chou Tz’u-chi (Chou, 1984, p. 98) and Hsü» — nota adicional 125: Henricks describe la forma de las líneas 1 y 2 del capítulo 16 y la variante de un carácter; el pasaje cruza el corte de plana.

«K’ang-sheng (Hsü, 1985, pp. 98-99) both read A’s piao as the tu that means “the stitch going down the center of a jacket in the back,” but then they part ways: Hsü K’ang-sheng (and other mainland commentators) reads this as a homophone for the tu we find in the standard edition; Chou Tz’u-chi, on the other hand, feels this refers to tu-mo, the central artery in the body for breath. Cheng Liang-shu (Cheng, part 2, p. 17) agrees with Chou Tz’u-chi’s identification and further notes that this tu and the character piao in Text A resemble each other in form; hence the mistake in Text A. I follow Cheng’s lead in understanding this here to mean “center.”» — cierre al otro lado del corte: Henricks sigue dónde coinciden y dónde se separan Chou Tz'u-chi, Hsü K'ang-sheng y Cheng Liang-shu, y declara a quién sigue.

«144. I follow Hsü K’ang-sheng (Hsü, 1985, p. 115) in changing the radical for huan from “jade” to “gate” and adding the “food” radical to kuan. (See also Cheng, part III, pp. 26-27, on these words.) Chou Tz’u-chi (Chou, 1984, pp. 137-38) ends up with the standard reading by noting that the Ma-wang-tui huan means the same as ying» — nota adicional 144: Henricks declara a quién sigue en el cambio de radicales y empieza a recoger el camino por el que Chou Tz'u-chi llega a la lectura estándar; el pasaje cruza el corte de plana.

«barracks”) and then arguing that since huan could be borrowed to stand for ying, it could also be used for the standard text’s jung.» — cierre de ese recorrido al otro lado del corte.

«Line 4 in Text B, like the standard text, begins with sui (“even though”) in which case the reading “magnificent scenes” seems more appropriate. But the pattern wei yu X, tse Y—“only when you have X condition do you then have Y result”—must surely be preferred over» — Henricks declara preferible el patrón *solo cuando tienes X, entonces Y* sobre el torpe *aunque tengas X, entonces Y*; la frase cruza el corte de plana.

«the awkward sui yu X, tse Y—“even though you have X, then Y.” And, of course, that reading makes such good sense.» — cierre al otro lado del corte, con la razón que Henricks da: esa lectura hace muy buen sentido.

«Arguing in favor of sui being the correct word at the start of line 4, however, is the fact that sui is written as wei elsewhere in the Ma-wang-tui texts (in chapters 27 and 32 in Text A and 32 in Text B). With sui as the opening word, one might then translate, “Even though he’s inside a fortified hostel at rest, he remains ill at ease” (understanding the ch’ao in Text B [Text A has a lacuna] as a loan for the ch’ao with the heart radical that means “disappointed” or “sad”).» — y Henricks consigna enseguida lo que juega a favor de la lectura contraria, con la traducción que entonces convendría.

«This interpretation has had support over the years. See, for example, Cheng, part III, pp. 26-27; and Chang, 1981, pp. 161-62. The point in any event seems to be that the Sage-ruler rarely, if ever, lets his guard down and never takes serious matters lightly.» — cierre de esa nota: Henricks registra el apoyo que esa otra lectura ha tenido y lo que queda en pie en cualquier caso, que el sabio gobernante casi nunca baja la guardia.

«164. Chan, 1963, p. 160. 165. Chan, 1963, p. 160. 166. Chou, 1984, p. 160. 167. Translated by Wing-tsit Chan (Chan, 1963, p. 166). 168. See Henricks, 1981b, pp. 60-61. 169. Chan, 1963, p. 166.» — cierre de las Notas Adicionales: las seis últimas son referencias escuetas, sin argumento, y se citan aquí como muestra de esa clase de nota.

«BIBLIOGRAPHY I. Important Studies Boltz, William. “The Religious and Philosophical Significance of the ‘Hsiang erh’ Lao tzu in the Light of the Ma-wang-tui Silk Manuscripts.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African» — encabezado de la bibliografía y arranque de su primera sección; el volumen la reparte en cinco apartados.

«Robinet, Isabelle. “La notion de hsing dans le taoïsme et son rapport avec celle du confucianisme.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 106, no. 1 (January-March 1986): 183-96.» — asiento bibliográfico del único trabajo de Isabelle Robinet que este volumen cita: un artículo de 1986 sobre la noción de hsing, no su Méditation taoïste.

«Watson, Burton. Hsün Tzu: Basic Writings. New York: Columbia University Press, 1963. ————. The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu. New York: Columbia University Press, 1968.» — los dos asientos de Burton Watson, de los que sale el Chuang-tzu que Henricks cita a lo largo del comentario.

«II. Editions of the Ma-wang-tui Texts Ch’ang-sha Ma-wang-tui san-hao Han mu po-shu. Shanghai: 1974. “Ma-wang-tui Han mu ch’u-t’u Lao-tzu shih-wen.” Wen-wu 11 (1974): 8-20. Ma-wang-tui Han mu po-shu. Vol. 1. Peking: Wen-wu, 1974. Ma-wang-tui Han mu po-shu Lao-tzu. Peking: Wen-wu, 1976. Ma-wang-tui Han mu po-shu. Vol. 1. Peking: Wen-wu, 1980. Po-shu Lao-tzu. Taipei: Ho-lo t’u-shu, 1975. Yen I-p’ing, ed. Po-shu chu-chien. Taipei: I-wen, 1976.» — segunda sección de la bibliografía: las siete ediciones chinas de los propios manuscritos, de 1974 a 1980, que son la base material de esta traducción; es un tramo de BIBLIOGRAFÍA, releído entero en el crudo, y la guarda anticosido se apagó por los años entre paréntesis.

«III. Variorum Editions of the Lao-tzu Chang Sung-ju. Lao-tzu chiao-tu. Chi-lin: Jen-min ch’u-pan-she, 1981.* Cheng Liang-shu. “Lao-tzu hsin-chiao.” Ta-lu tsa-chih. Part I, vol. 54, no. 4 (April 1977), pp. 23-46. Part II, vol. 57, no. 3 (September 1978), pp. 14-30. Part III, vol. 57, no. 5 (November 1978), pp. 21-41. Part IV, vol. 58, no. 4 (April 1979), pp. 33-43. Part V, vol. 58, no. 6 (June 1979), pp. 42-50. Part VI, vol. 59, no. 1 (July 1979), pp. 35-50. Part VII, vol. 59, no. 2 (August 1979), pp. 41-48. Part VIII, vol. 59, no. 3 (September 1979), pp. 36-42. Part IX, vol. 59, no. 4 (October 1979), pp. 23-39.* Chiang Hsi-ch’ang. Lao-tzu chiao-ku. Taipei: Ming-lun, 1973. Chu Ch’ien-chih. Lao-tzu chiao-shih. Peking: Chung-hua shu-chü, 1963. Ma Hsü-lun. Lao-tzu chiao-ku. Peking: Chung-hua shu-chü, 1974. Shima Kunio. Rōshi kōsei. Tokyo: Kyūko, 1973.» — tercera sección: las ediciones variorum del Lao-tzu que Henricks maneja, con el asterisco que marca las que incorporan las variantes de Ma-wang-tui; tramo de BIBLIOGRAFÍA releído entero, con la guarda anticosido apagada.

«IV. Selected Translations of the Lao-tzu and General Studies of Taoism Chan, Wing-tsit. The Way of Lao Tzu. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1963. Creel, H. G. What is Taoism? And Other Studies in Chinese Cultural History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970. Duyvendak, J.J.L. Tao Te Ching: The Book of the Way and Its Virtue. London: John Murray, 1954. Kaltenmark, Max. Lao Tzu and Taoism. Translated from the French by Roger Greaves. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1970. Lau, D. C. Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1963. ————. Chinese Classics: Tao Te Ching. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1982. Maspero, Henri. Taoism and Chinese Religion. Translated from the French by Frank A. Kierman, Jr. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1981. Needham, Joseph. “The Tao Chia (Taoists) and Taoism.” Science and Civilization in China. Vol. 2, pp. 33-164. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1954. Seidel, Anna. “Taoism.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, Macropaedia. Vol. 17, pp. 1034-44. Strickmann, Michel. “History of Taoism.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, Macropaedia. Vol. 17, pp. 1044-55. Waley, Arthur. The Way and Its Power: A Study of the Tao Te Ching and its Place in Chinese Thought. London: George Allen and Unwin, Ltd., 1934. Welch, Holmes. Taoism: The Parting of the Way. Boston: Beacon Press, 1957.» — cuarta sección: las traducciones y los estudios generales del taoísmo que el volumen declara, de Wing-tsit Chan y Arthur Waley a Maspero, Needham, Seidel y Strickmann; tramo de BIBLIOGRAFÍA releído entero, con la guarda anticosido apagada.

«ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR Robert G. Henricks is Professor of Religion at Dartmouth College where he has taught since 1976. He is a well-known scholar of the Ma-wang-tui texts, with a dozen publications devoted to them in major international journals. In addition to his work on Lao-tzu, Professor Henricks is the author of Philosophy and Argumentation in Third Century China: The Essays of Hsi K’ang (1983) and The Poetry of Han-shan (Cold Mountain): A Complete Annotated Translation (1989).» — la solapa de autor, levantada COMO SOLAPA y no como voz de la obra: sitúa a Henricks como profesor de religión en Dartmouth desde 1976 y le adjudica una docena de publicaciones sobre los textos de Ma-wang-tui y otros dos libros; la guarda anticosido se apagó por los años entre paréntesis de esos títulos.

«Andersen, Poul. The Method of Holding the Three Ones: A Taoist Manual of Meditation of the Fourth Century A.D. London: Curzon Press, 1979. Ch’en Ch’i-yu. Han-fei-tzu chi-shih. Taipei: World Book Co., 1963. Ch’en, Ellen. “Is There a Doctrine of Physical Immortality in the Tao Te Ching?” History of Religions 12, no. 3, 1973. Creel, Herlee G. What Is Taoism? and Other Studies in Chinese Cultural History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970. Erkes, Eduard. Ho-shang-kung’s Commentary on Lao-tse. Ascoma (Switzerland): Artibus Asiae, 1950.» — arranque de la quinta sección de la bibliografía, rotulada *V. Other Works Cited* al pie de la plana anterior: el manual taoísta de meditación de Poul Andersen, el Han-fei-tzu de Ch'en Ch'i-yu, el artículo de Ellen Ch'en sobre la inmortalidad física en el Tao Te Ching, el What Is Taoism? de Creel y el comentario de Ho-shang-kung en la edición de Erkes; tramo de BIBLIOGRAFÍA releído entero, con la guarda anticosido apagada por los años entre paréntesis.

«*Incorporates the Ma-wang-tui variants.» — la nota que el troceo deja sola en su plana: explica el asterisco con que la tercera sección de la bibliografía marca las ediciones variorum que incorporan las variantes de Ma-wang-tui.

«Henricks, Robert G. “Examining the Ma-wang-tui Silk Texts of the Lao-tzu: With Special Note of their Differences from the Wang Pi Text.” T’oung Pao 65, nos. 4-5 (1979a): 166-99. ———. “The Ma-wang-tui Manuscripts of the Lao-tzu and the Problem of Dating the Text.” Chinese Culture 20, no. 2 (June 1979b): 1-15. ———. “A Note on the Question of Chapter Divisions in the Ma-wang-tui Manuscripts of the Lao-tzu.” Early China 4 (June 1979c): 49-51. ———. “A Complete List of the Character Variants in the Ma-wang-tui Texts of Lao-tzu.”» — los primeros asientos propios de Henricks en la bibliografía, que miden su trabajo previo sobre estos manuscritos: cuatro artículos de 1979 y 1981 sobre las diferencias con el texto de Wang Pi, la datación, las divisiones en capítulos y la lista completa de variantes de carácter; tramo de BIBLIOGRAFÍA releído entero, con la guarda anticosido apagada por los años entre paréntesis.

«———. “The Philosophy of Lao-tzu Based on the Ma-wang-tui Texts: Some Preliminary Observations.” Bulletin of the Society for the Study of Chinese Religions, 9 (October 1981b): 59-78. ———. “Character Variants in the Ma-wang-tui Texts of Lao-tzu.” Tsing Hua Journal of Chinese Studies, New Series 13: nos. 1 and 2 (December 1981c): 221-34. ———. “On the Chapter Divisions in the Lao-tzu.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) 45, no. 3 (1982): 501-24. ———. “Review of D. C. Lau’s Tao Te Ching: Chinese Classics.” Journal of Asian Studies 44, no. 1 (November 1984): 177-80. ———. “The Ma-wang-tui Texts of Lao-tzu and Lines of Textual Transmission.” Chinese Culture 26, no. 2 (June 1985): 29-43. ———. “Ma-wang-tui.” The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986,» — continuación de esa serie en la plana siguiente, hasta la entrada de enciclopedia de 1986 sobre Ma-wang-tui a la que el propio comentario remite; tramo de BIBLIOGRAFÍA releído entero, con la guarda anticosido apagada.

«PART TWO TRANSLATION WITH TEXT, COMMENTARY, AND NOTES» — la portadilla de la Parte Dos, que es la que anuncia la transcripción china, el comentario y las notas.

«[CHAPTER 66] [CHAPTER 80] [CHAPTER 81] [CHAPTER 67] [CHAPTER 68] [CHAPTER 69] [CHAPTER 70] [CHAPTER 71] [CHAPTER 72] [CHAPTER 73] [CHAPTER 74] [CHAPTER 75] [CHAPTER 76] [CHAPTER 77] [CHAPTER 78] [CHAPTER 79] Tao (The Way)» — tramo del índice donde se ve el orden de Ma-wang-tui: los capítulos 80 y 81 caen entre el 66 y el 67, y la segunda mitad del libro, rotulada Tao, empieza después del 79.

«[CHAPTER 20] [CHAPTER 21] [CHAPTER 24] [CHAPTER 22] [CHAPTER 23] [CHAPTER 25] [CHAPTER 26]» — el otro desplazamiento visible en el índice: el capítulo 24 va entre el 21 y el 22.

Crítica de fuentes (criterios de inclusión y descarte) — La Parte Dos entera es un aparato crítico capítulo por capítulo: declara su base textual (dos ediciones chinas de 1976 y 1980, cotejadas contra los facsímiles), fija los símbolos de la transcripción, distingue laguna de omisión, data cada manuscrito por la caligrafía y por la evitación de los nombres tabú imperiales, adjudica errores a cada copista por su forma y por el salto de línea, y coteja cada variante contra el texto de Wang Pi, el de Ho-shang Kung, el de Fu I y el de Yen Tsun. Henricks declara además dónde sigue a Hsü K'ang-sheng, a Cheng Liang-shu o a Chou Tz'u-chi y dónde se aparta de ellos, de Wing-tsit Chan, de D. C. Lau, de Arthur Waley, de William Boltz y de Herrlee Creel.

Cadena de transmisión (quién tomó de quién) — El volumen traza la transmisión del texto como problema medible: dos manuscritos de una misma tumba que ya divergen entre sí, un orden de partes invertido respecto del recibido, capítulos que aún no estaban divididos hacia el 168 a. C. y que se fijan en ochenta y uno hacia el 50 a. C., sustituciones de palabras impuestas por el nombre personal de cuatro emperadores Han, y recuentos de caracteres que van de 5,268 en Wang Pi a los 5,722 que Fu I decía haber visto.