Translation Info: beck | blakney | byrn | feng | ganson | gnl | hansen | legge | mccarroll | mcdonald | merel | merel2 | mitchell | muller | rosenthal |
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beck

Valuing Life
People are hungry,
because rulers eat too much tax-grain.
That is why people are starving.

People are hard to govern,
because rulers interfere too much.
That is why they are hard to govern.

People do not care about death,
because rulers demand too much of life.
That is why they do not care about death.
Only those who do not interfere with living
are best at valuing life.
blakney

To value life above its worth ...

The people starve because of those
Above them, who consume by tax
In grain and kind more than their right.
For this, the people are in want.

The people are so hard to rule
Because of those who are above them,
Whose interference makes distress.
For this, they are so hard to rule.

The people do not fear to die;
They too demand to live secure:
For this, they do not fear to die.
So they, without the means to live,
In virtue rise above those men
Who value life above its worth.
byrn

People are hungry because rulers eat too much income, too much tax-grain. Therefore they starve, but also because of bad interference from those above. Some turn hard to rule as their rulers do too many things. That's why they're hard to keep in order.
If so, the people are not very afraid of death, as they're anxious to make a living. That's why they take death lightly in such cases.

So: Those who interfere not with their living that are wise in exalting life. Maybe he who seeks only little after life can excel in making life valuable. But all that have hearts set only little on life could be superior to those who set store by life.

feng

Why are the people starving?
Because the rulers eat up the money in taxes.
Therefore the people are starving.

Why are the people rebellious?
Because the rulers interfere too much.
Therefore they are rebellious.

Why do the people think so little of death?
Because the rulers demand too much of life.
Therefore the people take death lightly.

Having little to live on, one knows better than to value life too much.
ganson

Rule Without Interfering

The people starve
when rulers impose heavy taxes.
That is why people starve.

The people are rebellious
when rulers meddle in their affairs.
That is why people are rebellious.

The people do not fear death
when they try to lead a better life.
That is why they do not fear death.

Those who do not interfere with life
receive genuine value from it.
gnl

Rebellion
When rulers take grain so that they may feast,
Their people become hungry;
When rulers take action to serve their own interests,
Their people become rebellious;
When rulers take lives so that their own lives are maintained,
Their people no longer fear death.

When people act without regard for their own lives
They overcome those who value only their own lives.

hansen

The Destructiveness of Envy
Starvation among the people comes from how much taxes-in-kind those above them 'eat'.
From this: they starve.
The difficulty in governing people comes from those above them taking deeming-action.
From this: they are difficult to govern.
People take death lightly because those above them seek life's richness.
From this they take death lightly.
In general: only those who don't deem-act using 'life' --these are worthies at valuing life.
legge

The people suffer from famine because of the multitude of taxes
consumed by their superiors. It is through this that they suffer
famine.

The people are difficult to govern because of the (excessive)
agency of their superiors (in governing them). It is through this
that they are difficult to govern.

The people make light of dying because of the greatness of their
labours in seeking for the means of living. It is this which makes
them think light of dying. Thus it is that to leave the subject of
living altogether out of view is better than to set a high value on
it.
mccarroll

Why are the people starving?
Because their leaders eat up too much of the tax-grain;
that is why the people are starving.
Why are thc people difficult to govern?
Because their leaders interfere;
that is why the people are difficult to govern.
Why do the people treat death lightly.
Because their leaders are so grossly absorbed
in the pursuit of living;
that is why the people treat death lightly.

Indeed, it is wiser to ignore life altogether
than to place too high a value on it.
mcdonald

When people go hungry,
the government's taxes are too high.
When people become rebellious,
the government has become too intrusive.

When people begin to view death lightly,
wealthy people have too much
which causes others to starve.

Only those who do not cling to their life can save it.
merel

Extremis

If rulers take too much grain
People rapidly starve;
If rulers take too much freedom
People easily rebel;
If rulers take too much happiness.
People gladly die.

By not interfering the sage improves the people's lives.
merel2

Execution
If people were not afraid of death,
Then what would be the use of an executioner?
If people were only afraid of death,
And you executed everyone who did not obey,
No one would dare to disobey you.
Then what would be the use of an executioner?
People fear death because death is an instrument of fate.
When people are killed by execution rather than by fate,
This is like carving wood in the place of a carpenter.
Those who carve wood in place of a carpenter
Often injure their hands.













mitchell

When taxes are too high,
people go hungry.
When the government is too intrusive,
people lose their spirit.

Act for the people's benefit.
Trust them; leave them alone.


muller

The reason people starve
Is because their rulers tax them excessively.
They are difficult to govern
Because their rulers have their own ends in mind.

The reason people take death lightly
Is because they want life to be rich.
Therefore they take death lightly.
It is only by not living for your own ends
That you can go beyond valuing life.
rosenthal

INJURING THROUGH GREED
When taxes are too heavy,
hunger lays the people low.
When those who govern interfere too much,
the people become rebellious.

When those who govern demand too much
of people's lives, death is taken lightly.
When the people are starving in the land,
life is of little value,
and so is more easily sacrificed by them
in overthrowing government.

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