Cooking a Small Fish

治国烹鲜

Zhì Guó Pēng Xiān

Rule a great state the way you cook a small fish: turn it as little as you can. Let the Tao hold the world and ghosts give no trouble — and the two come together in peace.

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5 sentences · 3 notes

治zhì大dà国guó，若ruò烹pēng小xiǎo鲜xiān。

1Governing a great state is like cooking small fish.

以yǐ道dào莅lì天tiān下xià，其qí鬼guǐ不bù神shén；非fēi其qí鬼guǐ不bù神shén，其qí神shén不bù伤shāng人rén；非fēi其qí神shén不bù伤shāng人rén，圣shèng人rén亦yì不bù伤shāng人rén。

2Let the kingdom be governed according to the Tao, and the manes of the departed will not manifest their spiritual energy.

3It is not that those manes have not that spiritual energy, but it will not be employed to hurt men.

4It is not that it could not hurt men, but neither does the ruling sage hurt them.

夫fú两liǎng不bù相xiāng伤shāng，故gù德dé交jiāo归guī焉yān。

5When these two do not injuriously affect each other, their good influences converge in the virtue (of the Tao).

Chinese commentary · 3 notes

The notes printed with this chapter in Chinese editions, kept in Chinese, for readers who come to the text that way.

1小鲜：小鱼。

2莅：临。这里是治理的意思。

3神：灵验，起作用。

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Read this chapter in Chinese · 治国烹鲜