一孔录The video for this chapter is still in production. For now this page gives the original text, the facsimile page, a working translation and the commentary; the full reading follows when the video is out.
道可道，非常道；名可名，非常名。無名，天地之始；有名，萬物之母。故常無欲，以觀其妙；常有欲，以觀其徼。此兩者，同出而異名，同謂之玄。玄之又玄，衆妙之門。The Way that can be told is not the constant Way; the name that can be named is not the constant name. Nameless, it is the beginning of heaven and earth; named, it is the mother of the ten thousand things. So, ever without desire, one sees its subtlety; ever with desire, one sees where it ends. These two come out together but are named differently; together they are called the dark. Dark upon dark: the gate of all subtleties.
What this chapter says
一孔按：凡是说得出、叫得出名字的，都只对得上某一件事、某一个样子；万物从哪里来，那个源头叫不出名字，只能指一指。常有人问：“道可道，非常道”到底在说什么？上面是一孔录的回答。
Yikonglu's reading of this chapter is in Chinese for now; the English version comes with the video.
白Plain Chinese
能说出来的道，不是恒常的道；能叫出来的名，不是恒常的名。还没有形、没有名的时候，是天地的开端；有了形、有了名的时候，是万物的母亲。所以常处在无欲之中，才能看清它的精微；常处在有欲之中，只能看到它的归趋。这两样同一个来处，名字不同，都可以叫作“玄”。玄而又玄，是一切精微所从出的门。
Draft plain-Chinese rendering following Wang Bi; it will be checked when the chapter is taught.
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