Tao Te Ching Chapter 14 – 赞玄 (道德經 第14章)
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Tao Te Ching — Chapter 14: The Manifestation of the Mystery
道德經 第十四章 · 贊玄 · Lao Tzu · Bilingual Edition with Classical Commentaries
Original Text — 原文
此三者不可致詰，故混而為一。其上不皓，其下不昧。
繩繩不可名，復歸於無物。是謂無狀之狀，無物之象，是謂惚恍。
迎之不見其首，隨之不見其後。執古之道，以御今之有。能知古始，是謂道紀。
English Translation — James Legge
We look at it, and we do not see it, and we name it ‘the Equable.’ We listen to it, and we do not hear it, and we name it ‘the Inaudible.’ We try to grasp it, and do not get hold of it, and we name it ‘the Subtle.’ With these three qualities, it cannot be made the subject of description; and hence we blend them together and obtain The One.
Its upper part is not bright, and its lower part is not obscure. Ceaseless in its action, it yet cannot be named, and then it again returns and becomes nothing. This is called the Form of the Formless, and the Semblance of the Invisible; this is called the Fleeting and Indeterminable.
We meet it and do not see its Front; we follow it, and do not see its Back. When we can lay hold of the Dao of old to direct the things of the present day, and are able to know it as it was of old in the beginning, this is called unwinding the clue of Dao.
✦ Key Insight
Chapter 14 attempts the impossible: to describe what cannot be seen, heard, or touched. The Dao is not darkness or light, not sound or silence — it is the formless ground from which all form arises. Lao Tzu calls it huhuang (惚恍) — the fleeting and indeterminable. Yet this very elusiveness is its power: by holding to the ancient Dao, the sage navigates the present. This is the thread that runs through all Taoist ritual and inner cultivation.
Classical Commentaries — 古典注释
王弼注 Wang Bi's Commentary
Wang Bi describes the Dao as invisible (夷), inaudible (希), and intangible (微) — these three cannot be separated and form the One. It has no form or image, no sound or echo, and therefore penetrates everywhere. It has no front or back, yet by holding to the ancient Dao we can master present existence. The formless and nameless is the ancestor of all things; though times change, all governance flows from it.
河上公注 Heshang Gong's Commentary
Heshang Gong explains that the formless, soundless, intangible One cannot be grasped by the senses or conveyed by words — it must be received in stillness and sought through spirit. The One is not a particular colour, sound, or shape. The three names (equable, inaudible, subtle) are merged into one. The sage holds to the ancient Dao to master present reality; one who knows the ancient beginning knows the guiding thread of the Dao.
About the Author
Paul Peng
Paul Peng is a Zhengyi Taoist priest from Longhu Mountain, Jiangxi — the ancestral home of the Celestial Masters' tradition. Ordained at 25 after a dream from the Celestial Master, he has practiced for 25 years under Master Zeng Guangliang. He is the curator of this store, which is officially authorized by Tianshi Fu. All items are consecrated at the temple by the resident priest team.
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