第二十九章
无为不败
原文
英译No Interference, No Failure
If one wants to take the world and govern it by force,
I don't think he can succeed.
The world is divine and cannot be ruled or controlled by force.
If he rules the world by force,
he is bound to fail;
if he controls the world by force,
he is bound to lose.
Therefore, a sage does not interfere,
so he will not fail;
a sage does not dominate,
so he will not lose.
All things have different natures.
Some go forward, some follow;
some hush, some rush;
some are strong, some are weak;
some live in peace, some live in danger.
Therefore,
the sage should get rid of the extreme, extravagant and excessive measures.
说明1、“取天下而为之”的英译
各位译者对“取”和“为”的理解有所不同。这里的“取”可以理解为“夺取”，但“为”意为“治理”，所以许渊冲的译文take the world by force；辜正坤的译文 gain the kingship by force；Arthur Waley的译文 gain what is under heaven by tampering with it我们以为不尽准确，特别是Waley把“天下”译成了what is under heaven让我们哑然。我们则译成take the world and govern it by force。应该更贴合老子的本意吧。
2、“或嘘或吹”的英译
此句的翻译也是各不相同。辜正坤：Either breathe gently or hard; 许渊冲：blow high or low; Arthur Waley: some blow hot when others would be blowing cold。一开始，我们则翻译成了“some shush(to tell sb to be quiet by saying shush)，some rush（急促行事）”。反复诵读，忽然想到译成“some hush（安静）, some rush”，不仅能表达原意，而且读起来押韵、朗朗上口，岂不美哉？
