益谦 · 曲则全

Yì Qiān

Classical Chinese Text

曲则全，枉则直，洼则盈，敝则新，少则得，多则惑。是以圣人抱一①为天下式。
不自见，故明；不自是，故彰；不自伐，故有功；不自矜，故长。
夫唯不争，故天下莫能与之争。古之所谓"曲则全"者，岂虚言哉？诚全而归之。

Translation & Meaning

懂得委曲顺应反而能保全整体，暂受屈折反而能伸展刚直，地势低洼反而能汇聚盈满，旧物凋敝反而能焕发新生，欲求简少反而能真正获得，贪多务得反而会陷入迷乱。 因此圣人坚守大道之“一”，作为天下人效法的典范。 不自我炫耀，所以心眼清明；不自以为是，所以事理昭彰；不自我夸功，所以成就斐然；不骄傲自大，所以恒久受敬。 正因为从不争强好胜，天下反而没有人能与他相争。古人所说“委曲反而得以保全”，难道是空话吗？实在是因为真正能够保全本真并归向圆满啊。

Commentary

青禾散人评注：“少则得，多则惑”直指现代信息焦虑与目标过剩之症结。懂得退让与留白（曲、洼、少），生命反而自然趋于丰盈与完整。

Linguistic & Character Analysis

  • 曲 (qǔ): classical character (qǔ)
  • 则 (zé): classical character (zé)
  • 全 (quán): classical character (quán)
  • 枉 (wǎng): classical character (wǎng)
  • 直 (zhí): classical character (zhí)
  • 洼 (wā): classical character (wā)
  • 盈 (yíng): fulfill / overflow
  • 敝 (bì): classical character (bì)
  • 新 (xīn): classical character (xīn)
  • 少 (shǎo): classical character (shǎo)
  • 得 (dé): obtain / acquire / gain
  • 多 (duō): classical character (duō)
  • 惑 (huò): classical character (huò)
  • 是 (shì): this / therefore
  • 以 (yǐ): in order to / by means of
  • 圣 (shèng): sage / enlightened one
  • 人 (rén): person / human
  • 抱 (bào): classical character (bào)
  • 一 (yī): classical character (yī)
  • 为 (wèi): act / deem / become
  • 天 (tiān): heaven / nature / cosmos
  • 下 (xià): under / earthly realm / humble
  • 式 (shì): classical character (shì)
  • 不 (bù): not / un- / without
  • 自 (zì): classical character (zì)
  • 见 (jiàn): see / display / manifest
  • 故 (gù): therefore / thus / consequence
  • 明 (míng): classical character (míng)
  • 彰 (zhāng): classical character (zhāng)
  • 伐 (fá): classical character (fá)
  • 有 (yǒu): manifest being / cosmos / to possess
  • 功 (gōng): achievement / merit
  • 矜 (jīn): classical character (jīn)
  • 长 (cháng): long / enduring / grow
  • 夫 (fū): for / indeed / now
  • 唯 (wéi): only / precisely because
  • 争 (zhēng): compete / contend / rival
  • 莫 (mò): classical character (mò)
  • 能 (néng): fruitful / capacity / ability
  • 与 (yǔ): classical character (yǔ)
  • 之 (zhī): particle: of / possessive / it
  • 古 (gǔ): classical character (gǔ)
  • 所 (suǒ): place / frontier / that which
  • 谓 (wèi): called / named / designated
  • 者 (zhě): aspects / those who / things
  • 岂 (qǐ): classical character (qǐ)
  • 虚 (xū): empty / clear / open
  • 言 (yán): words / speech
  • 哉 (zāi): classical character (zāi)
  • 诚 (chéng): classical character (chéng)
  • 而 (ér): yet / and / but
  • 归 (guī): classical character (guī)