Original Text
The ceaseless transformations of the void are unending, which is the mysterious and unfathomable source of all creation. The subtle gate of the mother of life is the root from which heaven and earth arise. It exists continuously, its function inexhaustible.
Guide
Laozi introduced the concept of the "Valley Spirit," using "valley" to symbolize its form, illustrating its vastness and emptiness, and "spirit" to describe its changes, explaining its endless transformations. He used the "Mysterious Female Gate" as a metaphor for the "Way," vividly depicting a scene where all things in heaven and earth are produced from the Way.
Analysis
In this chapter, Laozi continues to elucidate the characteristics of the Dao. His method still employs metaphor and metonymy: using the valley to symbolize the Dao, illustrating that it is both empty and substantial; using the spirit to compare to the Dao, showing its unpredictability; using the mysterious female gate to compare to the Dao as the source of all things. Laozi aims to explain that the Dao's function is inexhaustible. In terms of time, the Dao endures without decay, everlasting. In terms of space, the Dao is omnipresent and infinite. The Dao nurtures the universe and all beings, giving rise to endless life.
“The Valley Spirit never dies; it is called the Mysterious Female.” Here, “The Valley Spirit never dies” refers to the Dao, indicating that the Dao is vast and boundless, ever-changing and mysterious, eternal and indestructible. “Mysterious” as a concept frequently appears in the Dao De Jing. Its original meaning is deep black, implying profound, mysterious, subtle, and unfathomable. “Female” originally refers to female animals, but here it metaphorically represents the Dao with infinite creative power. “Mysterious Female” refers to the wondrous feminine principle, the mother that conceives and gives birth to all things in heaven and earth. Comparing the mysterious and nameless Dao to the reproductive organs of a female animal vividly illustrates the omnipotent, all-nurturing nature of the Dao. This crude yet concise method of expression appears multiple times in the Dao De Jing.
"The gate of the mysterious female is called the root of heaven and earth." The gateway of the mysterious female is the source that nurtures heaven and earth and gives birth to all things. Its function is immense. "The gate of the mysterious female" and "the root of heaven and earth" both illustrate that the Dao is the origin from which heaven, earth, and all things arise. In ancient times, some interpreted the essence of this chapter as the art of fetal breathing and health preservation, believing that "the gate of heaven and earth is where the breath of yin and yang, life and death, is exhaled and inhaled. Each morning, facing south, extend both hands over the knees, slowly press and release the hundred joints, expel turbid air through the mouth, and draw in clear air through the nose, thus expelling the old and taking in the new. Hold the breath for a long time, then slowly exhale, while using the left and right hands to push and pull up and down, front and back. When holding the breath, imagine the great peace primordial energy descending into the hairline, flowing through the five organs, and moistening the four limbs, like a mountain receiving clouds, like the earth receiving moisture, the complexion becoming radiant, the ears and eyes sharp, food and drink flavorful, strength doubled, and all ailments gone." (Quoted from "Miscellaneous Health Secrets" in the "Imperial Encyclopedia of Arts and Sciences") This interpretation links Laozi's thought with traditional health practices. Such a perspective can also be seen as an extension of Laozi's teachings.
"It seems to exist continuously, yet its use is never exhausted." It appears to persist endlessly, its function never depleted. The Dao leaves no trace, yet it operates everywhere. Born before heaven and earth, it endures through the ages, like an invisible hand that nurtures all of nature; it also acts as an arbiter of all things, determining the rise and fall of events and human affairs.
The Tao is vast and boundless, omnipotent, yet eternally imperishable and traceless. It is the mother of all things, the source of everything, inexhaustible in supply; all things follow the Tao and act of themselves, endlessly generating life.