安民 · 虚心实腹

Ān Mín

Classical Chinese Text

不上贤，使民不争；不贵难得之货，使民不为盗；不见可欲，使民不乱。
是以圣人之治也，虚其心，实其腹，弱其志，强其骨，恒使民无知、无欲也。
使夫知不敢、弗为而已，则无不治矣。

Translation & Meaning

不刻意推崇虚名与巧智，使百姓不致争名夺利；不哄抬稀缺奇珍的价值，使百姓不致起意盗窃；不炫耀挑动贪欲的事物，使人心不致烦乱迷失。 因此圣人的治理之道是：澄澈人们浮躁的心念，充实人们安定的生活，淡化人们攀比逞强的妄志，强健人们内在的筋骨体魄。 常使百姓远离机巧伪智与膨胀贪欲，让那些投机取巧的聪明人也无从妄作。 依循顺应自然的无为之道行事，天下便没有治理不好的事。

Commentary

青禾散人评注：“虚其心，实其腹”既是治世要诀，亦是个人修身良方。现代人往往“实其心而虚其腹”——头脑塞满焦虑与比较，身体却空虚疲惫。涤除人为制造的稀缺焦虑，方能回归本真的安定。

Linguistic & Character Analysis

  • 不 (bù): not / un- / without
  • 上 (shàng): elevate / utmost / high
  • 贤 (xián): talents / worthy / clever
  • 使 (shǐ): cause / make / command
  • 民 (mín): classical character (mín)
  • 争 (zhēng): compete / contend / rival
  • 贵 (guì): prize / cherish / valuable
  • 难 (nán): difficult / arduous
  • 得 (dé): obtain / acquire / gain
  • 之 (zhī): particle: of / possessive / it
  • 货 (huò): goods / treasure / items
  • 为 (wèi): act / deem / become
  • 盗 (dào): steal / thieves / plunder
  • 见 (jiàn): see / display / manifest
  • 可 (kě): can / capable of being
  • 欲 (yù): intent / desire / craving
  • 乱 (luàn): chaos / disorder / turmoil
  • 是 (shì): this / therefore
  • 以 (yǐ): in order to / by means of
  • 圣 (shèng): sage / enlightened one
  • 人 (rén): person / human
  • 治 (zhì): govern / bring order / rule
  • 也 (yě): [modal particle of assertion]
  • 虚 (xū): empty / clear / open
  • 其 (qí): its / their / his / her
  • 心 (xīn): heart-mind / awareness
  • 实 (shí): fill / nourish / substance
  • 腹 (fù): belly / vital center
  • 弱 (ruò): weaken / soften / yield
  • 志 (zhì): will / intent / claim
  • 强 (qiáng): strengthen / firm / robust
  • 骨 (gǔ): bones / structural vitality
  • 恒 (héng): eternal / dynamic constant
  • 无 (wú): formless void / non-being / without
  • 知 (zhī): know / distinguish / recognize
  • 夫 (fū): for / indeed / now
  • 敢 (gǎn): dare / venture forward
  • 弗 (fú): not / does not
  • 而 (ér): yet / and / but
  • 已 (yǐ): arises / already / cessation
  • 则 (zé): classical character (zé)
  • 矣 (yǐ): [modal particle of realization]