| Original | English Translation |
|---|---|
| Heaven and earth are not humane, | |
| treating the ten thousand things as straw dogs; | |
| the sage is not humane, | |
| treating the people as straw dogs. | |
| Between heaven and earth, | |
| is it like a bellows? | |
| Empty, yet not collapsing, | |
| moving, and still more emerges. | |
| Many words often lead to exhaustion; | |
| better to guard the center. |
sky; heaven; nature; fate; day
earth; ground; land; place; region; territory
not; no; un-; non=
benevolence; humanity; kindness; humane; virtuous
by means of; use; because; so as to; in order to
ten thousand; myriad; countless; all; everything
thing; object; matter; creature; substance
do; make; become; be; serve as; for; because of
straw; fodder; coarse grass; to cut grass; rough/unrefined
dog; canine; cur
holy; sacred; sage; saintly; divine
person; human; people; others; mankind
hundred; many; numerous; manifold
surname; family name; clan; to be named (family)
it, him, her, them; of; 's; go to; reach
space; gap; interval; room; between; separate
his; her; its; their; that; the one who; such
still; yet; like; as if; hesitate
bag; pouch; leather sack; bellows
small bamboo flute; pipe; wind instrument
question particle; exclamation; in; at; from
empty; void; hollow; false; frail; vain
and; but; yet; while; moreover
bend; yield; crouch; suffer injustice; constrained
move; stir; act; affect; motion
heal; recover; more; increasingly; surpass
go out; emerge; produce; occur; issue
many; much; numerous; abundant; frequent; to abound
word; speech; to speak; to say
number; count; enumerate; numerous; often
exhaust; extremity; poor; reach the end; investigate thoroughly
like; as; if; resemble; conform to
guard; keep; defend; observe; maintain
middle; center; central; within; hit the mark