DAO DE JING CHAPTER 64 — ORIGINAL READING RECORD
Received wording displayed with Wang Bi commentary; our working English.

其安易持，其未兆易謀。其脆易泮，其微易散。為之於未有，治之於未亂。合抱之木，生於毫末；九層之臺，起於累土；千里之行，始於足下。為者敗之，執者失之。是以聖人無為故無敗，無執故無失。民之從事，常於幾成而敗之。慎終如始，則無敗事。是以聖人欲不欲，不貴難得之貨；學不學，復眾人之所過。以輔萬物之自然，而不敢為。

1. 其安易持，其未兆易謀。其脆易泮，其微易散。
What is settled is easy to maintain; what has not yet given a sign is easy to plan for. What is fragile is easy to break apart; what is minute is easy to disperse.

2. 為之於未有，治之於未亂。
Attend to it before it has arisen; put it in order before it is disordered.

3. 合抱之木，生於毫末；九層之臺，起於累土；千里之行，始於足下。
A tree that fills the embracing arms grows from a fine tip; a nine-tiered platform rises from accumulated earth; a journey of a thousand li begins beneath the feet.

4. 為者敗之，執者失之。
Those who act upon it spoil it; those who grasp it lose it.

5. 是以聖人無為故無敗，無執故無失。
Therefore the sage is without contrived action and so does not spoil; without grasping and so does not lose.

6. 民之從事，常於幾成而敗之。慎終如始，則無敗事。
When people pursue an undertaking, they often spoil it when it is nearly complete. Be as careful at the end as at the beginning, and there will be no spoiled undertaking.

7. 是以聖人欲不欲，不貴難得之貨；
Therefore the sage desires not-desiring and does not prize goods difficult to obtain;

8. 學不學，復眾人之所過。
learns not-learning and returns to what people have passed beyond.

9. 以輔萬物之自然，而不敢為。
In this way the sage assists the self-so character of the myriad things and does not dare to act upon them.

WORD CHECKS
安 / 未兆 | settled / not yet showing a sign | The opening names conditions in which attention can still matter.
毫末 / 累土 | fine tip / accumulated earth | The growth images include a tiny beginning and accumulation.
千里 / 足下 | a thousand li / beneath the feet | The line contains a Chinese distance word, not the English word mile.
為 / 執 | acting upon / grasping | The chapter questions a kind of doing and holding, not simply the presence of effort.
幾成 / 慎終 | nearly complete / care at the end | The danger is not confined to the start of an undertaking.
欲不欲 / 學不學 | desiring not-desiring / learning not-learning | The ending unsettles familiar goals rather than merely urging persistence.
輔 / 自然 | assisting / self-so | Support is contrasted with imposing an outcome on things.

TEXT / CHAPTER / EDITION OR DISPLAYED SOURCE:
EXACT CHINESE FRAGMENT:
TRANSLATOR / MY OWN WORKING TRANSLATION:
CLAUSE BEFORE / CLAUSE AFTER:
WHAT THE WHOLE CHAPTER ADDS:
COMMENTARY: WHOSE WORDS / WHERE:
MY APPLICATION, CLEARLY LABELLED:
WORDING OR INTERPRETATION TO CHECK:

EIGHT CASES AND ANSWER NOTES
1. A card says “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Is that the exact Chinese wording printed here?
No. It is a familiar English rendering or paraphrase.
The selected Chinese says 千里 and 足下. Our closer working English retains “a thousand li” and “beneath the feet.” Credit a named translator for a quoted English version.

2. You quote the journey line as a fragment. Must you print the entire chapter beside it every time?
No. Identify the fragment and its source clearly.
A short quotation can be useful. If you claim to explain the whole chapter, its later warnings and ending become part of the evidence you need.

3. Does the chapter describe failure only when an undertaking first starts?
No. It explicitly mentions failure near completion.
民之從事，常於幾成而敗之 is followed by 慎終如始. Keeping care through the end is one of the chapter’s central turns.

4. Wang Bi’s note says 此四者，皆說慎終也. Should it be inserted into the chapter as another Laozi sentence?
No. Keep the commentary separate.
The note interprets the first four conditions through care at the end. It is useful evidence for a named reading, while remaining a commentator’s words.

5. Someone calls 無為 a command to ignore every emerging problem. Which words complicate that reading?
為之於未有，治之於未亂 and 輔.
The chapter speaks of attending before disorder and assisting. A reading of nonaction needs to explain these words alongside the warning about acting upon and grasping.

6. Does 始於足下 literally state that success is guaranteed once a project begins?
No. That promise is an addition.
The passage contains warnings about spoilage and loss. A motivational use may draw on the image, but it should be identified as an application rather than a guaranteed result.

7. The checked webpage is titled Wang Bi edition. Does that prove every displayed character is identical to an autograph Wang Bi used?
No. A received edition has its own transmission history.
The SEP discussion distinguishes received versions, early witnesses and later changes. This guide names its base text and does not reconstruct an original manuscript.

8. You use the chapter to reflect on a draft that is almost finished. How can you show where the ancient text ends and your example begins?
Quote 幾成 and 慎終, then label the draft example as your analogy.
The words support a question about care near completion. Your imagined editing situation is not an ancient case study or proof of a universal project method.

Sources
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E9%81%93%E5%BE%B7%E7%B6%93_(%E7%8E%8B%E5%BC%BC%E6%9C%AC)
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/laozi/