[TTC Study] Chapter 19 of the Tao Teh Ching

[Taoist Texts]

或命之或所屬

見素保樸 少私寡欲 Cherish simplicity, lessen selfishness and desire

 

That's what i've got so far. Not satisfied with anything i've come up with for the missing part.

所屬 is a combo meaning 'vassals, subordinates'

 

 

道德經19

 

《道德經》: 絕聖棄智，民利百倍；絕仁棄義，民復孝慈；絕巧棄利，盜賊無有。

此三者以為文不足。故令有所屬：見素抱樸，少私寡欲。

《老子河上公章句·還淳》: 絕聖棄智，民利百倍。絕仁棄義，民復孝慈。絕巧棄利，盜賊無有。此三者，以為文不足，故令有所屬。見素抱樸，少私寡欲。

《郭店·老子甲》: 絕智棄辯，民利百倍。絕巧棄利，盜賊亡有。絕偽棄慮，民復季子。三言以為文不足，或令之或乎屬。視素保樸，少私寡欲。

《馬王堆·老子甲道經》: 絕聲棄知，民利百負；絕仁棄義，民復畜茲；絕巧棄利，盜賊無有。此三言也，以為文未足。故令之有所屬：見素抱□□□□□。

《馬王堆·老子乙道經》: 絕聖棄知，而民利百倍；絕仁棄義，而民復孝茲；絕巧棄利，盜賊無有。此三言也，以為文未足。故令之有所屬：見素抱樸，少□而寡欲。

 

此三者，以為文不足，These three tactics make up for insufficiency of culture

故令有所屬。Therefore to make your vassals obedient

見素抱樸，少私寡欲。Observe your own simplicity, lessen your desires.

[ion]

Stop pretentious enlightenment,

and the lost might not be so confused.

Stop pretentious piousity and charitable,

and the poor will no longer blame themselves for poverty.

Be up front and don't seek any rerward,

and there wont be anyone compelled to thievery.

Understanding enlightenment and acting it out,

having an unspoken agenda

and exaltation of the self through pity on an unreal distinction are lacking in sufficiency.

Be more plainthen everyone else and seem boring

By having no selfish desires

[dust]

Riyue,

 

At the moment it seems like you're making guesses / assumptions based on what you think the character resembles.

 

On what are you basing your opinion?

 

If you haven't yet, read this: http://dict.shufaji.com/word-1728.html

 

 

 

 

金文

则在两组丝线

之间加一把刀

And if you're still not convinced, go here:

 

http://www.zitizhuanhuan.com/zixing/

 

and search 绝 ... and you will find a number of permutations for the character, some of them resembling very closely the Chu

[Riyue]

Riyue,

 

At the moment it seems like you're making guesses / assumptions based on what you think the character resembles.

 

On what are you basing your opinion?

 

What you are quoting does not convince me.

I have seen this already in other dictionaries.

What i am trying to say is this:

Transcriptions does not help - because

1 they confuse.

2 they misguide to understand only what the transcriber sees.

 

Why not describing just - how you personal understand the character?

If you see a knife - what is for me the frame of the loom - then this is your view.

Your quotations does not proof that the frame is a knife..

They show only various forms which have been later on seen as the modern 绝 by some people。

繼 is nearer to the character in Guodian we are speaking about. (sinograph #1 of guodian #19)

It has the meaning to continue... but this is not what the guodian text tries to express.

[Riyue]

Here you have the picture of an ancient loom for silk:

 

-

now you can compare it with Guodian #19 character 1

 

[dust]

繼 is nearer to the character in Guodian we are speaking about. (sinograph #1 of guodian #19)

It has the meaning to continue... but this is not what the guodian text tries to express.

 

OK, this I can work with. It is... plausible.. that it's a version of 继.

 

However, 继 is simply an altered version of 绝 -- illustrating putting the cut pieces of silk back together (i.e. continue)

 

 

 

 

 

Please take a look at the chapter 20 slips and tell me what you think of the first character there.

 

It has double the reels of silk compared to the character in ch.19 (though this doesn't necessarily mean anything other than that someone forgot to write the extra 2 reels in the first one!)