Reach Old Age
Translation by Tree Buffalo
Let a small state (with few people) possess a thousand labor-saving devices, but have no reason to use them.
Let the people take death seriously, but at the same time have no reason to move far away.
They might have boats and carts, but would have no place to ride them to.
They might have armor and weapons, but would have no occasion to wear them.
Let them restore the simple ways of communicating, and use those ways as well.
Relish their food, beautify their clothes, be content with their homes, and delight in their everyday lives.
Such neighboring communities may be within sight of each other, and the sounds of their roosters and dogs may hear each other.
But their people will reach old age and die without ever having gone to visit each other.
Read some of the first English translations of Chapter 80 here.
