Taoism

Chapter11— The Use of What Has No Substantive Existence

◆ About this chapter

Chapter 11 of the Tao Te Ching serves as a foundational inquiry into the utility of void and potentiality within material forms. Through analogies of wheel construction, pottery, and architecture, the text argues that the functional essence of objects resides not in their solid substance but in the unmanifest spaces they create. Situated early in the work, this chapter establishes a critical metaphysical distinction between being and non-being that permeates subsequent reflections on governance and self-cultivation.

Translation:

About this translation

King James Version (1611)

1611 · Public domain

The most influential English translation ever made. Sometimes archaic, but the standard PD English text.

Translators commissioned by King James I of England, 1604–1611

The thirty spokes unite in the one nave; but it is on the empty space for the axle, that the use of the wheel depends. ²Clay is fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness, that their use depends. ³The door and windows are cut out from the walls to form an apartment; but it is on the empty space, that its use depends.

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Chapter Discussion

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— 11 —sacredatlas.org