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Chinese text
其政闷闷，其人醇醇；其政察察，其人缺缺。
祸，福之所倚；福，祸之所伏。
孰知其极？
其无正。
正复为奇，善复为妖。
人之迷，其日固久。
是以圣人方而不割，廉而不害，直而不肆，光而不曜。
Translation
When the administration seems to lack enlightenment, the people become wealthy.
When the administration is vigilant, the people lack everything.
Happiness is born of misfortune, misfortune is concealed within happiness. Who can predict the end?
If the ruler is not just, the just will become deceitful, and the virtuous will become corrupt.
People are plunged in error, and this has lasted for a long time!
That is why the Sage is just and does not harm the people.
He is selfless and does not harm them.
He is upright and does not correct them.
He is enlightened and does not dazzle them.
Notes
A: When the administration is broad and indulgent (闷闷, mènmèn), neglecting minor details and not seeking out small faults to torment the people.
C explains the expression 醇醇 (chúnchún) as 富 (fù), “the people become wealthy”; A renders it as 富厚 (fùhòu), same meaning. Other interpreters give it the usual sense of “loyal, honest,” and consequently (B), “easy to govern”; but they eliminate the contrast that must exist between this phrase and the next one.
B, C: When the administration becomes meticulous and strict (察察, cháchá), when the laws are strictly enforced, the people, burdened by numerous regulations, cannot live in peace and are unable to escape poverty and death.
B: In general, when a person falls into some calamity, if he can repent of his mistakes, examine himself severely, and always be on guard, he can turn his misfortune into happiness.
On the other hand, when a person has achieved all his desires, if he becomes proud and indulges his passions without thinking about returning to goodness, a host of misfortunes will befall him.
G: The word 极 (jí) means 终 (zhōng), “end.” E: At the beginning, some seem to be unhappy; who can predict if they will not end up happy? Others seem happy at the beginning; who knows if they will not end up unhappy?
刘劼夫 (Liú Jiéfū): Who can predict the end, so as to avoid one (misfortune) and reach the other (happiness)?
A: The inferiors will imitate his example.
B: It is not just today that people are blind and abandon righteousness. This blindness comes gradually; their misfortune is that they do not realize it. That is why the Sage is careful about the smallest things; he always fears that the people will be lost. A applies to kings what B and other commentators apply to people in general. According to him, one should translate: “The kings have been plunged in blindness for a long time!”
B: Unjust or greedy men become just and selfless by the mere influence of his example, without needing to be punished.
E: When the Sage governs, even though he is extremely just and enlightened, he maintains a generous tolerance for all people. Otherwise, he would show excessive severity and fall into the excesses that come from abusing enlightenment, that is, from a perception that only seeks to find faults in others.
A renders the word 肆 (sì) as 伸 (shēn), “extend,” that is, “correct.”
A: Although the Sage is very enlightened, he focuses his light within and prefers to appear ignorant like ordinary people.
