Original Text
A good traveler leaves no trace; a good speaker leaves no flaw in words; a good counter uses no tally; a good closer needs no bolt yet cannot be opened; a good binder uses no rope yet cannot be untied. Therefore, the sage is always skilled at using people, so no one is abandoned; always skilled at using things, so nothing is wasted. This is called following the inner light. Thus, the good person is the teacher of the not-good, and the not-good is the lesson for the good. If you do not respect the teacher or cherish the lesson, though you think yourself clever, you are greatly confused. This is the profound and subtle truth.
Guide
As long as one is adept at teaching without words and governing without interference, aligning with nature, great results can be achieved without much effort. The sage often saves people and uses things through the Way, leaving nothing overlooked—this is true great wisdom. Therefore, in every aspect of life, one must follow the Way; otherwise, relying only on petty cleverness for immediate gain leads only to great confusion.
Analysis
This chapter focuses on the concept of "goodness," or perfection. True goodness means acting in accordance with the Way. Therefore, for a person of the Way, there is nothing in the world to discard and no one who is useless. In this chapter, Laozi proposes the "five kinds of goodness": good action, good speech, good calculation, good closure, and good binding. These five forms of goodness are all in harmony with the great Way. Only by attaining the state of these five kinds of goodness can one move with the same ease and freedom as Cook Ding carving the ox.
What exactly are the "five excellences" that Laozi spoke of? Let us take a look below.
The first is skillful action. Those who act skillfully never leave any trace that could work against them, adept at concealing their tracks to achieve their objectives.
The second is skillful speech. People often find themselves caught by a single wrong word, which becomes a handle for others to criticize them. Therefore, a skillful speaker is not someone who talks endlessly at every opportunity, but someone who always hits the point without leaving any handle for others to seize.
The third is adeptness at mental calculation. In this world, there are people who excel at mental arithmetic, able to accurately compute results without any tools. Humans can silently track the development, operation, and various changes of intangible things, and from these changes, find the ideal way and state of living that suits them. This attitude of silently recognizing and calculating in one's dealings with the world reflects, to some extent, Laozi's philosophy of non-action.
The fourth is skillful sealing. For those adept at sealing, there is no need for locks or bolts. The "sealing" we speak of here does not mean closing oneself off from renewal in the ordinary sense, but rather a means adopted to avoid harm from one's own kind.
The fifth is the good knot. What kind of person is a good knotter? It is one who can firmly bind others without using ropes. Laozi here is not simply expounding on the "good knot" but uses a metaphorical approach, using the good knot to refer to the ability to control things. How can one obtain this ability to control? There is only one way: to act in accordance with the great Dao.
The five virtues listed above are a concrete reflection of Laozi's profound wisdom and an extension of his philosophy of natural inaction.
Therefore the sage is always skilled at saving people, so no one is abandoned; always skilled at saving things, so nothing is wasted. This is called following the inner light. "Abandoned people" refers to those cast aside as useless. "Wasted things" refers to objects discarded as worthless. No person is to be abandoned, no thing is to be wasted; both the good and the bad among people, and the useful and the useless among things, all have their value. This requires that under the illumination and revelation of the sage's wisdom and reason, the inherent goodness of people and things is brought to light.
"Therefore, the good person is the teacher of the not-good; the not-good person is the resource of the good." Here, "good person" and "not-good person" do not refer to kind and unkind people. "Good person" means one who can recognize the Great Way and act in accordance with it. "Not-good person" means one who cannot follow the Great Way in their actions. The good serve as teachers, the bad as resources, and both are treated with kindness. Especially for the not-good, they are not despised for their lack of goodness; on one hand, they are encouraged and guided—what Laozi calls "saving"—and on the other, they provide a reference for becoming good. Saving is a rational activity, fundamentally referring to exploring and pursuing the nature of things and allowing it to manifest. This nature is the nature of the Way, which is virtue. For those who have lost their human nature, exploring and pursuing their own nature is to save their own nature.
"Not valuing the teacher, not cherishing the resource, though wise, is greatly deluded — this is called the essential subtlety." Not respecting the guidance of the good, nor heeding the lessons from the bad, appears wise but is in fact deeply ignorant — such is the profound and subtle truth.
The value of natural things is similar to that of humans, entirely dependent on human discovery and application. Modern science and technology are constantly revealing the value of natural things. How can people discover the true meaning and value of their own existence? A prerequisite here is that all humans can see the meaning of their existence with the eyes of a scientist. Once humans discover the true meaning and value of their existence, they can liberate themselves from all shameful motives and behaviors, devote themselves to the activities of the world, and fully appreciate this infinitely wondrous universe.
Classic Translation
In Chapter 5, Laozi put forward the view that "Heaven and Earth are not benevolent, treating all things as straw dogs"—Heaven gives birth to all things, Earth sustains them, yet they show no benevolence, precisely because they follow the natural Way. Similarly, every aspect of life here should follow this principle, namely "good action," "good speech," "good calculation," "good closure," "good binding"—whatever one does should achieve "goodness," meaning acting in accordance with the Way. At the same time, one must recognize that all things in Heaven and Earth, whether good or not, have value; a true sage can "abandon no one, abandon nothing," maintaining an empty mind without self-righteousness.
"Good deeds leave no tracks" literally means that a skilled traveler leaves no footprints. But it is clearly not merely about walking, nor does it urge people to ride the wind like Liezi. Rather, it means that a skilled doer follows the natural course of things, making actions appear completely effortless. For instance, the best teacher does not force students to memorize with a ruler and rod, but subtly influences them like gentle rain nourishing silently; the best helper does not do everything for others, but assists discreetly so they feel no dependence; the best benefactor does not constantly give favors, but teaches others to fish so they can improve their lives on their own; the best ruler does not endlessly preach morality or impose harsh laws, but lets the people flow like water, ultimately saying, "I am simply being natural."
"Good words have no flaws" does not mean being eloquent without any blemish. Even Su Qin and Zhang Yi, who traveled the world with their silver tongues, could not be entirely free of mistakes or absolutely irrefutable. Therefore, the most "good at speaking" is to speak cautiously or not speak at all, just as Buddhism advocates no harsh words, no divisive speech, no lies, and no frivolous talk. "Many words lead to many failures" should always be remembered.
"Those who are good at counting do not use tally sticks" — do not over-calculate or over-plan everything. Too much scheming and petty cleverness lead to great loss, just as in Dream of the Red Chamber: "Too much cunning in plotting and scheming is the very thing that leads to the loss of one's precious life."
"Skillful closure uses no bolt yet cannot be opened" — one who is skilled at closing is like a door without a lock that still cannot be opened. In truth, true openness is not about having no lock, but about having no door, no house. People always seek to build stronger structures, sturdier gates, and more intricate locks to protect themselves and their possessions. Every day they fear others seeing their treasures, discovering their secrets, and worry that someone is always ready to seize their property. Living in constant fear, they find not joy but endless anxiety. The true sage, however, is "like an infant," "without a place to return," "alone and weak." He has no secrets to hide, no wealth to covet, no grand house to guard, so he need not constantly think of shutting his doors. The ancient hermits made heaven and earth their dwelling, grass and trees their mat, stars and clouds their blanket, thus they knew neither sorrow nor joy, gain nor loss, honor nor disgrace, standing apart from the world while preserving their true nature.
"A good knot is tied without a rope and cannot be undone." One skilled at tying knots binds without the constraint of a rope, so it cannot be untied. Knots are meant to secure things; people driven by desire seek more than they need and try to bind these excesses to themselves. Yet binding too much becomes a burden, and they fear losing these things, worrying that their knots are not tight enough. They dread losing everything around them—grieving over separation, lamenting illness, mourning early death—hoping to tie all people and all things firmly to themselves. A person who has attained the Way does not act like this. They live between heaven and earth without possessing anything, taking only what is necessary for life, and leaving all other things to follow their natural course. Thus, unlike ordinary people driven by desire, they feel no joy in gain and no sorrow in loss. Therefore, some remain calm when their child dies, some sing while beating a basin when their wife dies, and some mourn a friend's death with music. They have never possessed, so they have never lost. The connection between them and all things is the natural law, the formless "Way," which cannot be undone.
A sage, having mastered the Way, can employ all people and all things through it, leaving no one unusable and nothing unusable. Those who attain the Way act according to natural laws, serving as models for ordinary people, while those who have not attained the Way serve as resources for the sage to govern the world. Rulers who do not cherish the people and fail to emulate the wise are unwise; they think themselves clever but are profoundly foolish. This is as Mencius said: "Heaven gave birth to these people so that those who first understand may enlighten those who later understand, and those who first awaken may awaken those who later awaken." Those who neither understand nor learn can only be fools.