The Other China
夫唯不爭，故天下莫能與之爭。
‘It is because he is free from striving that no one in the world can strive against him’ — this line from Tao Te Ching encapsulates the spirit of the following selection of works by Lao Shu 老樹, the nom de plume of Liu Shuyong (劉樹勇, 1962-).
Liu is a Beijing-based artist, writer and critic whose works are featured in The Other China. For his latest art work (and merch), see Lao Shu Paintings 老樹畫畫 at NetEase 網易, a site from which the following works are taken.
***
The Chinese rubric of this chapter in The Other China — 夫唯不爭，故天下莫能與之爭 — is the theme of the second painting in this selection.
— Geremie R. Barmé
Editor, China Heritage
30 January 2026
***
不屑與世相爭，
平然淡泊此生。
The partial becomes complete; the crooked, straight; the empty, full; the worn out, new. He whose (desires) are few gets them; he whose (desires) are many goes astray. Therefore the sage holds in his embrace the one thing (of humility), and manifests it to all the world. He is free from self-display, and therefore he shines; from self-assertion, and therefore he is distinguished; from self-boasting, and therefore his merit is acknowledged; from self-complacency, and therefore he acquires superiority. It is because he is thus free from striving that therefore no one in the world is able to strive with him.
That saying of the ancients that “the partial becomes complete” was not vainly spoken:-all real completion is comprehended under it.
曲則全，枉則直，窪則盈，敝則新，少則得，多則惑。是以聖人抱一為天下式。不自見，故明；不自是，故彰；不自伐，故有功；不自矜，故長。夫唯不爭，故天下莫能與之爭。古之所謂曲則全者，豈虛言哉。誠全而歸之。
— Laozi, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 22
老子，《道德經．二十二章》
trans. James Legge
***
An attitude of inner equanimity,
a balcony with blossoming flowers.
Forgetting all that worldly nonsense,
I just hang here zoning out alone.
— Lao Shu, The Dingyou Year [of 2017]
***
Not interested in all that striving,
instead my life is a placid place.
Chilling out is my ideal lifestyle,
leave the rest to the spring wind.
— Lao Shu, early spring in The Dingyou Year [of 2017]
***
Dunno about other people,
they’re a real pain to deal with.
Better just to focus on these plums
and chill out at home with the cat.
— made by Lao Shu during the winter of The Bingshen Year [of 2016]
***
The passing cavalcade inspires some thoughts
and nature’s bounty evokes deep feelings.
But it’s always hard to find someone to vibe with,
so I sit here strumming a tune, to and for myself.
— Lao Shu, The Bingshen Year [of 2016]
***
Life can be a Pavilion of Passing Clouds,[1]
untouched by the vicissitudes of the times.
Gain and Loss — for what do they count?
Blossoms alone deserve my respect.
— Lao Shu, middle of the spring of the Dingyou Year [of 2017]
[Note 1: ‘The Pavilion of Passing Clouds’ 過雲樓 is also the name of a library in Suzhou where a father-and-son team of bibliophiles collected rare and endangered books during the dying days of the Manchu-Qing dynasty.]
Source:
- 老樹，不屑與世相爭，平然淡泊此生。心存一個閒夢，其它隨了春風。 ，《網易》，2026年1月28日
***
