Daodejing Chapter 37: the nameless uncarved block

The Dao does nothing,
But leaves nothing undone.
When nobles and kings
Stay true to the Dao,
The myriad things
Transform of their own accord.
If desire arises within the myriad things
During their transformation,
I will calm them with
The nameless uncarved block.
This will free them of desire.
Free of desire,
They will be tranquil,
And all-under-heaven
Will find peace
Of its own accord.

「道常無為而無不為，侯王若能守之，萬物將自化；化而欲作，吾將鎮之以無名之樸。夫亦將無欲，無欲以靜，天下將自定。」

The most effective leaders do not interfere with what their people are doing or how they lead their lives. They do not indulge in grandiose schemes or fight for ever greater power. The less they micromanage their people’s affairs, the more the people will accomplish of their own accord.

There will of course be times when the people are tempted to go off track. On such occasions, the effective leader will humbly and gently nudge them back on the right direction by showing them the right path exemplified by the “nameless uncarved block.”

Chapter 37 marks what is traditionally regarded as the end of the first half of the Daodejing, which explores the nature of the Dao (道/dào). The second half, perhaps not too surprisingly, investigates the meaning of power (德/dé).

Two 2,000-year-old silk manuscripts of the Daodejing discovered in 1973 in Mawangdui (馬王堆) in the modern city of Changsha in Hunan province, however, place the two parts in the opposite order. These manuscripts have been found to predate the “traditional” version, so in all probability the order in them is the “correct” one.

To avoid unnecessary confusion, however, I have stuck to the “traditional” order for the purpose of my own translation.

Note
I took this image at Longhu (Dragon Tiger) Mountain, a famous Daoist site about ten miles south of Yingtan in Jiangxi Province. A great place to visit!