第三十六章

以柔克刚

Conquer the Strong with the Weak

If you want to restrain it,

you must first expand it;

if you want to weaken it,

you must first strengthen it;

if you want to abandon it,

you must first flatter it;

if you want to take,

you must first give.

This is the subtle truth,

showing that weakness triumphs over strength.

Fish cannot survive without water.

The sharpest weapons of a state cannot be shown off.

1、“微明”的英译

“微明”有以下解释：1）微弱的光亮；稍微明亮。2）知幽眇之理而收显著之效。很显然，第二种解释符合老子的原意。许渊冲直译成“the twilight（微光） before the day”，欠推敲；Arthur Waley译成“dimming（使变模糊）one's light”更是和原文意思相差甚远；辜正坤译成“subtle（微妙的）wisdom”接近原文意思，但没有揭示出“理”。我们的用词“the subtle truth”,想必更靠近老子的“微明”吧？

2、“国之利器不可以示人”的英译

许渊冲译成“The sharpest weapon of a state should not be shown to others.”；辜正坤译成“The instruments（工具） of power of a state should not be shown to the public.”；Arthur Waley译成“Best to leave the State's sharpest weapons where none can see them.”。老子的意思真的是“国家的利器不可以拿给人看”吗？当然，“示人”有二层意思：一是给人看，二是向人炫耀。我们认为老子的意思是侧重第二个意思，因而我们译成了“The sharpest weapons of a state cannot be shown off.”。