Chapter 13 of the Laozi

Chinese Text

宠chǒng辱rǔ若ruò惊jīng ， 贵guì大dà患huàn若ruò身shēn。 
何hé谓wèi宠chǒng辱rǔ？  辱rǔ为wéi下xià。 
得dé之zhī若ruò惊jīng， 失shī之zhī若ruò惊jīng， 是shì谓wèi宠chǒng辱rǔ若ruò惊jīng。 
何hé谓wèi贵guì大dà患huàn若ruò身shēn？ 
吾wú所suǒ以yǐ有yǒu大dà患huàn， 为wéi我wǒ有yǒu身shēn。 
及jí我wǒ无wú身shēn， 吾wú有yǒu何hé患huàn！ 
故gù贵guì身shēn于yú天tiān下xià， 若ruò可kě讬tuō天tiān下xià； 爱ài以yǐ身shēn为wéi天tiān下xià者zhě， 若ruò可kě寄jì天tiān下xià。

Translation

The sage fears favor as much as disgrace; his body is to him as a great calamity.
What is meant by: he fears favor as much as disgrace?
Disgrace is something low. When one obtains it, one is filled with fear; when one loses it, one is filled with fear.
This is why it is said: he fears favor as much as disgrace.
What is meant by: his body is to him as a great calamity?
If we experience great calamities, it is because we have a body.
When we no longer have a body (when we have freed ourselves from our body), what calamities could we experience?
Therefore, when a man fears to govern the empire himself, the empire can be entrusted to him; when he is reluctant to govern the empire, the empire can be entrusted to his care.

Notes

I constructed with G: 惊宠辱若惊 jīng chǒng rǔ ruò jīng.

C, G: Instead of 贵大患若亲 guì dà huàn ruò qīn, it should be constructed as: 贵亲若大患 guì qīn ruò dà huàn.

H: This chapter shows the evils one exposes oneself to by seeking glory and profit. 老子 Lǎozǐ wants to teach people to value the 道 Dào and to forget themselves, in order to free themselves from the bonds that chain them.

苏子由 Sū Zǐyóu: In antiquity, eminent men feared favor as much as disgrace, because they knew that favor is only the precursor of disgrace. They found it difficult to bear their body (the same commentator explains below the word 贵 guì, commonly "noble," by 难有 nán yǒu, "they found it difficult to bear"), as one finds it difficult to bear a great calamity, because they knew that our body is the root of calamities. This is why they renounced favor, and disgrace did not reach them; they forgot their body and calamities did not befall them.

H understood the word 贵 guì in the ordinary sense of "honors." According to him, this word here refers to the dignity of king or minister: the people of the world believe that honors are a cause for joy; they do not know that honors are a great calamity like the body. Ibid. The author compares honors to the body. He thinks that the body is the source of all bitterness in life and the root of all misfortunes.

苏子由 Sū Zǐyóu: Favor and disgrace are not two distinct things. Disgrace is born from favor; but the people of the world do not understand this truth, and they regard favor as something high, disgrace as something low. If they knew that disgrace is born from favor, they would recognize that favor is certainly something low and despicable.

苏子由 Sū Zǐyóu: He does not dare to enjoy peace in the midst of his favor.

E: If a man is bound and troubled by wealth and honors, it is because he does not know how to contain the affections inherent in his nature. When he is placed above others, could he not be troubled?

The phrases 贵以身为天下 guì yǐ shēn wéi tiānxià "to regard governing the empire as a heavy burden," and 爱以身为天下 ài yǐ shēn wéi tiānxià, mean: "to disdain governing the empire oneself." According to this commentary, 贵 guì (commonly "noble") here has the meaning of "heavy, burdensome," and verbally, "to regard as heavy, burdensome." Pi-ching, ibid., 不轻 bù qīng "not to regard the task of governing the empire lightly."

Lit. "to have regret," that is, not to care about governing the empire.

E: The perfect man only needs food to satisfy his hunger (he does not seek an abundance of exquisite dishes), he only needs clothes to cover his body (he scorns the luxury of clothing); the little he asks of men for his sustenance is more than enough for him. The wealth of the entire empire, the revenues of all the provinces are useless for life, and on the contrary only serve to attract great misfortunes. This is why he regards the government of the empire as a heavy burden. 则所以重为天下 zé suǒ yǐ zhòng wéi tiānxià "If the empire is entrusted to such a man, all the people of the empire will be showered with his benefits." The expression 为天下 wéi tiānxià is explained in A as "to govern the empire, to be the master of the empire."

刘季甫 Liú Jìfǔ: If he has obtained glory and honors, and pays no more attention to them than if they were foreign to him, then the empire can truly be entrusted to him.

Ibid. Our body is a burden to us. As soon as we have rid ourselves of it (that is, B: as soon as we no longer concern ourselves with things that flatter the senses and passions), we are free from all burdens, and we no longer experience any calamity. When 舜 Shùn was still a common man, he became the friend (and minister) of Emperor 尧 Yáo and yet he was as indifferent to this glory as if he had possessed it since birth. He was later raised to the sublime rank of emperor: one could say he was showered with honors, and yet he paid as little attention to them as if they were foreign to him.