Lao Tzu's saying that "if you rule a big country, if you cook a small fresh" has always been widely spread, this is a very popular discourse to expound the Taoist way of governing the country, this famous saying is very popular, that the governance of a big country is like cooking a small fish, there is the same reason. However, this quote from chapter 60 of the Tao Te Ching contains profound philosophy, and this famous quote has aroused many interpretations and controversies, and has attracted much attention. So, what does this sentence of Lao Tzu really mean? How to understand it?
Statue of Lao Tzu
Chapter 60 of the Tao Te Ching reads:
Governing a big country, if cooking small fresh.
His ghosts are not gods; his spirits are not gods; his gods do not hurt people; his gods do not hurt people; neither his gods hurt people, nor do saints hurt people.
The husband and wife do not hurt each other, so the virtue is returned.
In the vernacular, this chapter means:
Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish, ruling the world with the "Tao", and the ghosts and monsters lose their miraculous role; not only do the ghosts lose their miraculous role, but God will not hurt people; not only will God not hurt people, but even saints will not hurt people. Neither the ghosts nor the saints harm anyone, so their virtues echo each other and return to the state of virtue ("Xuande").
First, let's see what this passage means.
In this passage, the so-called "fresh", according to the interpretation of the "Explanation of Words", is: this word "from the fish, 羴 (膻 of the variant character) to save the sound", the original meaning is the name of the fish, but also refers to live fish, fresh fish, but also refers to the newly killed fish turtle birds and beasts, extended to fresh, distinct. In Lao Tzu's words, it refers to fresh fish. The "state" mentioned by Lao Tzu refers to the local administrative units in the Spring and Autumn Period, that is, the princely states. Therefore, "if you rule a big country, if you cook a small fresh", it means to govern a big country, just like cooking a small fish.
Of course, there have always been different interpretations of this sentence: First, it is said that governing a big country is like cooking small fish, cooking small fish oil, salt, sauce and vinegar all kinds of spices must be just right, can not be less, can not be more, otherwise, can not cook delicious. The second is to say that governing a big country is like cooking vegetables, it is not easy, it must be meticulous and careful, not only to master the heat, but also to properly prepare the seasoning, everywhere sloppy. The third is to say that a big country should be like cooking a small fish, it cannot be stirred more, more stirring is easy to rot, and less movement can be fried into delicious fish.
Lao Tzu Images
Secondly, ancient scholars put forward corrective opinions on this sentence, believing that words lost in the discourse should be replaced.
Ancient scholars proposed that the original "Lao Tzu" lost a "person" in the process of circulation, and the original words should be like this: "If the ruler of a big country cooks small fresh."
The basis for this is: (1) When Han Feizi, who was born about 291 years later than Laozi, quoted Laozi's book, the word "er" was included in the sentence, and the Han Feizi Xie Lao said: "If the ruler of a big country cooks small fresh." (2) "Three Kingdoms Chronicles of Shu Zhi" (vol. 44) Chen Shou commented: "Lao Tzu has clouds: those who rule a big country cook small fresh. (3) There is a note in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty and the Biography of the Xun Officials: "If the one who manages the great country cooks small freshness." ”
Obviously, this view is well-founded, and it is possible that the word "who" has really been lost. However, whether there is no "person" or "person" word, its basic meaning is not much different, it is emphasized that the governance of a big country and cooking small fish have the same method, and it is necessary to understand the profound principle of governing the country from frying and cooking small fish.
Tao Te Ching
Third, the various interpretations of the ancients are worth noting, and they should be carefully compared to understand the true meaning.
Ma Qichang, a famous scholar of the Republic of China, quoted the "Biography of Mao Shi's Ancient Teachings" in the early Han Dynasty: "Cooking fish is troublesome, it is broken, ruling the people is troublesome, and knowing how to cook fish is knowing how to govern the people." (See "Shijing, Juniper, Bandit Wind"); the river's public note "Lao Tzu" says: "Cooking small fish does not go to the intestines, does not go to scales, does not dare to scratch, afraid of its chyme." These explanations all show that in Lao Tzu's time, the way people cooked small fish was to cook the fish under the pot, and the small fish could not be cooked, otherwise, the small fish would all be broken. This explanation emphasizes less flipping and less tossing, and the same is true for governing big countries.
In the second year of Yongzheng (1724 AD), Hang Shijun, a scholar of the Qianlong Dynasty history, in his book Compilation of Ordering False Accusations, specifically included the relevant erroneous interpretations of the Qing Dynasty's ruling a big country if cooking small fresh, correcting that the ancients fried small fish only cleaned it, did not go to the intestines, nor did they go to the fish scales, for fear of breaking the small fish. Based on this, Hang Shijun believes that cooking small and fresh cannot be disturbed, and governing a big country cannot be troublesome. Annoyance is laborious, disturbance is fish collapse.
This explanation is confirmed by the views of earlier scholars.
The "Han Feizi Xie Lao" section says: "If the masses are shaken, they will be less successful; if they hide large instruments and move a few, they will be more defeated; if they cook small and fresh and scratch them, they will be thieves; if they rule a big country and change the law, the people will suffer." It is the noble and quiet of the prince of the Tao, and does not change the Fa again. Therefore, it is said: 'If the ruler of a great country cooks a small meal.' Although Han Fei introduced the method of governing the country and cooking small fresh food to the theory of the rule of the law, his interpretation of "if cooking small fresh food" is relatively accurate.
"Huainan Zi Qi Customs" Yun: "Lao Tzu said: 'If you rule a big country and cook small fresh, for those who are generous, do not scratch, for those who carve, they are only salty and sour. This points out the characteristics of cooking small fish and governing large countries.
Wang Bi's commentary on Lao Tzu explains: "If you rule a big country and cook small fresh, you will not be intractable, impatient and harmful, and quiet will be completely true." Therefore his kingdom is great, and his Lord is quiet, and then he can win the hearts of all. "This should be a more accurate explanation.
Fan Yingyuan of the Southern Song Dynasty believed in the "Notes on the Ancient Texts of laozi Daodejing" that "cooking small fresh" was originally "cooking small scales", and he noted: "Small scales, small fish also." Governing a large country such as Heng Xiaofeng. Those who cook small scales shall not be disturbed, and those who disturb them shall rot the fish. Those who govern a big country should do nothing, and if they do so, the people will be hurt. Cover the world's artifacts can not be done also. It is said very clearly here: "Those who cook small scales must not be disturbed, and those who disturb them are rotten", in the same way, "those who rule a big country should do nothing, and for it will hurt the people", he also particularly emphasized, "The artifacts that cover the world must not be done." "In short, do less to disturb the people, do nothing, and do not use the power to suppress the people."
In addition, successive rulers have attached great importance to this sentence of Lao Tzu, with many annotations and praises.
For example, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji noted: "Those who cook small fresh food must not be scratched, those who rule a big country must not be bothered, annoying people are hurtful, and scratching is rotten fish... This parable says also. Small fresh, small fish also, cooking small fresh can not be scratched, scratching the fish collapse, metaphorical big country, not annoying, annoying people chaos, must use the Tao, so success. ”
For another example, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Yao, noted: "If you do things for the masses and count them, you will have less success; if you hide large instruments and count them, you will be more defeated and injured; if you cook small and fresh and scratch them, you will collapse, and if you rule a big country and change the law, you will be confused..." Later, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang and Qing Dynasty Zu Fulin also had explanations, and the meaning of the interpretation was the same as that of Tang Xuanzong. This shows that successive rulers have noticed the "untouchable" and "unburdened" characteristics of Lao Tzu's rule. In fact, this emphasizes the "rule of inaction".
Finally, "Governing a big country, if you cook a small fresh" expounds the true meaning of Lao Tzu's strategy for governing the country.
(1) Wang Bi's note on Lao Tzu is particularly noteworthy. Wang Bi's explanation was: "If you rule a big country, if you cook small and fresh, you will not be intractable, impatient and harmful, and quiet will be completely true." Therefore his kingdom is great, and his Lord is quiet, and then he can win the hearts of all. Here we emphasize three points: one is "not to scratch", that is, to disturb it less and not to interfere; the second is "restless and harmful", that is, there are many irritable and harmful points; the third is "quiet is all true", that is, quiet treatment, can remain intact. To sum up, it means that less interference, meditation, can be preserved intact. Doesn't this refer to the Taoist attitude of governing the country? In fact, "governing a big country, if you cook small fresh" refers to the way of governing the country by "doing nothing".
(2) Lao Tzu advocated adhering to the principle of governing the country by "ruling without doing anything".
"Ruling by doing nothing" is not only an important concept of Taoism, but also the fundamental method of Taoist governance of the country. The "rule by doing nothing" is deduced from the nature of "Daofa nature" and is the embodiment of "Daofa nature" in the field of political management. The "Tao" operates naturally, so the act of following the "Tao" is naturally "doing nothing."
In the thirty-seventh chapter of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu put forward the idea that "the Tao always does nothing and does nothing." In Lao Tzu's view, the "Tao" is the original reality, the original operation, no desire, no purpose, no intention, no external intervention, it is always in a natural state of operation. And the "inaction" is not "immovable", not "doing nothing", but going with nature; and the so-called "nothing", that is, the utility of "doing nothing", is to instruct all things to naturally acquire their own essence of existence and operating nature, and what should be displayed can be displayed. Therefore, if those who govern the country can abide by the nature of governing, then the order of people's livelihood can be transformed in natural development, achieving the ultimate effect of governing the world. This actually refers to the emergence of the "Tao" in the field of political management, and the ruler must "do nothing" to achieve the effect of "doing nothing".
(3) When Lao Tzu expounded the Three Principles of Governing the Country in Chapter 57 of the Tao Te Ching, he emphasized "taking the world by doing nothing", and this "nothing" emphasized was "doing nothing".
In Lao Tzu's view, the most taboo way of governing the country is the "promising" of the ruler, if the ruler has no big or small management of state affairs, everything must be managed, everywhere must be managed, always managed, too wide, too fine, too diligent, it will be extremely harmful, such as: managing small things and losing big things, grabbing sesame seeds and losing watermelons; another example: making lower-level managers unable to manage, resulting in disorderly management. Lao Tzu advocated governing the world with "nothing", that is, adopting the management method of "ruling without doing anything", believing that the governance of the country should go with nature, do not interfere arbitrarily, and only by going with nature can the people rest and recuperate; on the contrary, if there is too much policy interference, it is superfluous "doing", which violates the principle of going with nature.
(4) Lao Tzu put forward in chapter 66 of the Tao Te Ching the view that "because it is indisputable, the world cannot argue with it."
In Lao Tzu's view, if the people who govern the country can maintain a humble attitude when they speak to the people, if they can put their own interests behind the interests of the people and let the people gain first, then the people will not feel under pressure, they will not feel infringed, and therefore, they can be supported by the people rather than disliked, so the ruler does not fight with the people, and no one in the world can fight with him.
(5) Lao Tzu also has a passage in the fifty-seventh chapter of the Tao Te Ching that expounds the principle of "ruling by doing nothing."
Lao Tzu said, "I do nothing and the people are self-sufficient, I am quiet and the people are self-righteous, I have nothing to do and the people are rich, I have no desire and the people are simple." Lao Tzu here in place of the ancient kings to speak in the first person, he stressed that the king to govern the country, must be "do nothing", "quiet", "nothing" and "no desire", and this is aimed at using the subjects "more taboo", "more sharp tools", "many tricks" and "many decrees", mainly emphasizing that for the governance of the country, we must follow the principle of "ruling by doing nothing" and "going with the flow", in order to achieve the governance effect of "self-transformation", "self-righteousness", "self-enrichment" and "self-simplicity", that is to say, the king should govern without doing anything, and the people can develop on their own The king should love quietness so that the people can become decent on their own; the king should do nothing, so that the people can be richer; the king should be pure in his desires, and the people can become simple. This is the basic principle of "rule by doing nothing" emphasized by Lao Tzu.
If you think about it, isn't this the same as cooking small fish, focusing on "not scratching", calming down and going with the flow?
Qin Shi Huang destroyed the Six Kingdoms, unified the world, actively and promisingly, repaired graves, dug canals, built the Great Wall, conquered the north, fought the southern barbarians, and so on, seriously disturbing the people, the people's resentment boiled over, after the war, the people could not cultivate and live, the Qin Dynasty soon perished, this is the evil result of the excessive "promising" of governing the country; in the early Han Dynasty, Liu Bang implemented the policy of cultivating and living with the people, Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing adopted the "Yellow Old Technique" of "ruling without doing anything" to govern the country, reducing land rents, encouraging farming, advocating frugality, and reducing punishments, so that the production and economy of the early Han Dynasty were greatly restored and developed. It received great results and laid an economic and political foundation for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to strengthen the centralization of power, which is the remarkable effect of "ruling without doing anything". It seems that Qin Shi Huang knew very well how to conquer the four sides and annex the world, but he did not understand the principle of "ruling a big country if you cook small fresh", and the war to destroy the six kingdoms was won, but the rule of the world was defeated; the rulers of the early Han Dynasty were well versed in the mystery of governing the country by "ruling by doing nothing", and achieved remarkable results in "the rule of Wenjing", which made the Han Dynasty strong and prosperous. This is what Lao Tzu called "the Tao always does nothing and does nothing."