玄符章第五十五
Key Takeaway: "He who embodies abundant virtue is like a newborn baby… His bones are soft and his sinews supple, yet his grip is firm." — Laozi, Daodejing Chapter 55
One who contains deep virtue is like a newborn babe. Wasps and scorpions do not sting it; birds of prey do not seize it. Its bones are soft and tendons tender, yet its grip is surprisingly firm—a foundational perspective explored in Daodejing Chapter 55 Translation.
Daodejing Chapter 55 Translation: Harmony Reached Through Pure Vitality
The wisdom of Daodejing Chapter 55 Translation addresses a fundamental human dynamic: how we navigate ambition, quietude, and the natural flow of existence. In the classical tradition, this passage serves as both a metaphysical mirror and a practical compass for daily living and leadership. Explore how this principle translates into contemporary daily life in our guide to From the Newborn to Burnout: What Laozi Knew About Sustainable Strength.
By shifting our focus from outer coercion to internal stillness, we uncover a more resilient way of relating to ourselves and the world around us.
Complete Chapter Translation: Modern Western Reading
The impunity of things fraught with the “power” May be likened to that of an infant. Poisonous insects do not sting it, Nor fierce beasts seize it, Nor clawing birds maul it, Its bones are soft, its sinews weak; but its grip is strong.
Not yet to have known the union of male and female, but to be completely formed, Means that the vital force is at its height; To be able to scream all day without getting hoarse Means that the harmony is at its perfection.
To understand such harmony is to understand the always so. To understand the always-so is to be illumined. But to fill life to the brim is to invite omens.
If the heart makes calls upon the life-breath, rigidity follows. Whatever has a time of vigour also has a time of decay. Such things are against Tao,
And whatever is against Tao is soon destroyed.
道德经中文原文与对照
【原文】 含德之厚，比於赤子。毒蟲不螫，猛獸不據，矍鳥不搏。骨弱筋柔而握固。未知牝牡之合而睃作，精之至也。終日號而不嗄，和之至也。知和曰常，知常曰明。益生曰祥。心使氣曰強。物壯則老，謂之不道，不道早已。
核心要义解析 (Philosophical Insights)
- 道义发微：本章通过“玄符章第五十五”阐发了《道德经》的核心精髓。从“有”与“无”、“动”与“静”的辩证转化中，提醒我们在日用常行中摒弃过度的功利执念，回归纯粹本真的生命状态。
- 现代启示：当外界喧嚣与评判标准不断施加压力时，保持内心的虚静与不争，反而是最强大的定力与智慧。
Follow the sequential development of the text in Laozi’s next philosophical movement in Mysterious Virtue: Those Who Know Do Not Speak; Those Who Speak Do Not Know.
For a deeper comparative examination of these ideas, explore our related study on Cosmic Evolution: The Tao Gives Birth to One, Two, and Three.
