How many Brutal Years Follow A Great Army?
| Original | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 以 道 佐 人 主 者 | along the Way, the servant becomes the master |
| 不 以 兵 強 天 下 | not by means of the strongest army under-heaven |
| 其 事 好 還 | and its fondness for returning to battle |
| 師 之 所 處 荊 棘 生 | when from the army's camp thistles-and-thorns emerge |
| 焉 大 軍 之 後 必 有 凶 年 | how many brutal years will follow the wake of the great-army? |
| 善 者 果 而 已 | increasing results and nothing more |
| 不 敢 以 取 強 | not daring to persue the strong |
| 果 而 勿 矜 | results but never sympathy |
| 果 而 勿 伐 | results but never attacking |
| 果 而 勿 驕 | results but never arrogant |
| 果 而 不 得 已 | results but never follow-through |
| 果 而 勿 強 | results but never strength |
| 物 壯 則 老 | the strong things are the old |
| 是 謂 不 道 | this is called "not the way" |
| 不 道 早 已 | "not the way" by a long-shot |
My Comments:
... So, I dont think I unwound this all the way, its inconsistent with itself and it is dumb (as interpeted)
... on a positive note, the other translators are also all wet, and, in areas they act like they know what he meant, they are no where near the original symbols. even Gia-Fu Feng, who's translations are normally very close to the original, and also quite understandable.
... it may be worth revisiting, but I dont "smell" some hidden nugget that I wish I could unravel.
what I think it says is ... there are ways for a peasant to become the ruler. but it shouldnt be by war, because after the war, there is a leadership problem, where the unqualified idiot focuses on "results" and "outputs" and stuff, so everything gets cheap and crappy, and no one builds anything thats made to last, and that's just anti-dao ist.