成象 · 玄牝之门

Chéng Xiàng

Classical Chinese Text

谷神不死①，是谓玄牝②。
玄牝之门，是谓天地之根。
绵绵呵！其若存！用之不堇。

Translation & Meaning

空谷般虚怀而神妙的生机永不消亡，这便叫做深微孕育万物的母体“玄牝”。 玄牝化生万物的门户，正是天地得以生成的根本。 它连绵不绝、若有若无地存在着，无论如何发挥作用都永不耗尽。

Commentary

青禾散人评注：山谷因空旷而回响不绝，大道因虚静而创生不息。“绵绵若存，用之不勤”亦是呼吸吐纳与凝神养气的枢机：绵密细长，不急不躁，生机自然源源不断。

Linguistic & Character Analysis

  • 谷 (gǔ): classical character (gǔ)
  • 神 (shén): classical character (shén)
  • 不 (bù): not / un- / without
  • 死 (sǐ): classical character (sǐ)
  • 是 (shì): this / therefore
  • 谓 (wèi): called / named / designated
  • 玄 (xuán): mystery / fathomless depth
  • 牝 (pìn): classical character (pìn)
  • 之 (zhī): particle: of / possessive / it
  • 门 (mén): gateway / portal of reality
  • 天 (tiān): heaven / nature / cosmos
  • 地 (dì): classical character (dì)
  • 根 (gēn): classical character (gēn)
  • 绵 (mián): classical character (mián)
  • 呵 (hē): [exclamation particle]
  • 其 (qí): its / their / his / her
  • 若 (ruò): classical character (ruò)
  • 存 (cún): exist / remain / dwell
  • 用 (yòng): use / function / apply
  • 堇 (jǐn): classical character (jǐn)