Thirty spokes to a hub, create a void, (is) used as a wheel. Clay mo

無用 · Wú Yòng

Classical Chinese Text

三十辐共一毂，当其无，有车之用。埏埴以为器，当其无，有器之用。凿户牖以为室，当其无，有室之用。
故有之以为利，无之以为用。

Translation & Meaning

Thirty spokes to a hub, create a void, (is) used as a wheel. Clay molded into a vessel, creates a void, (is) used as a container. Walls carved into windows and doors, create a void, (is) used as a room.

Linguistic & Character Analysis

  • 三 (sān): classical character (sān)
  • 十 (shí): classical character (shí)
  • 辐 (fú): classical character (fú)
  • 共 (gòng): classical character (gòng)
  • 一 (yī): classical character (yī)
  • 毂 (gū): classical character (gū)
  • 当 (dāng): classical character (dāng)
  • 其 (qí): its / their / his / her
  • 无 (wú): formless void / non-being / without
  • 有 (yǒu): manifest being / cosmos / to possess
  • 车 (chē): classical character (chē)
  • 之 (zhī): particle: of / possessive / it
  • 用 (yòng): use / function / apply
  • 埏 (shān): classical character (shān)
  • 埴 (zhí): classical character (zhí)
  • 以 (yǐ): in order to / by means of
  • 为 (wèi): act / deem / become
  • 器 (qì): classical character (qì)
  • 凿 (záo): classical character (záo)
  • 户 (hù): classical character (hù)
  • 牖 (yǒu): classical character (yǒu)
  • 室 (shì): classical character (shì)
  • 故 (gù): therefore / thus / consequence
  • 利 (lì): benefits / nourishes