Dao De Jing, chapter 28

[He who] knows his maleness and guards his femaleness
Serves as a creek for all under heaven.
Being a creek for all under heaven,
The constant Potency does not leave him
And he reverts to [being like] an infant.
[He who] knows his whiteness and guards his blackness
Serves as a model for all under heaven.
Being a model of all under heaven,
The constant Potency does not err [with him]
And he reverts to [being] never-ending.
[He who] knows his honor and guards his dishonor
Serves as a valley for all under heaven.
Being a valley for all under heaven,
The constant Potency simply suffices [for him]
And he reverts to [being] simplicity.^[28-1]
The simplicity [i.e., primordial matter] was dispersed yet served as potentiality—
[Thus] the sage who is employed then serves as head minister
In his great exercise of government doesn’t divide [his people].

^[28-1] Other texts swap lines 6-10 with 11-15

知其雄，守其雌，
为天下溪。
为天下溪，
常德不离，
复归于婴儿。
知其白，守其黑，
为天下式。
为天下式，
常德不忒，
复归于无极。
知其荣，守其辱，
为天下谷。
为天下谷，
常德乃足，
复归于朴。
朴散则为器，
圣人用之，则为官长，
故大制不割。

Being [like?] a creek or valley is clearly metaphoric of … something. The last few lines are also obscure, though here it’s because they depend on wordplay: 器 can be a tool, a vessel, or more generally something that has been made and, as an adjective, potential, which when applied to a scholar, someone who could potentially be appointed to office. I may need to prioritize clarity over the play.

I may have finally run out of steam with DDJ—at any rate, this chapter a couple weeks to finally complete and I’ve not even looked at the next, spending brain cycles on other projects. I may return to this later? We’ll see. It’s not like I wanted to be obsessed with it.

---L.