Chapter 1 – Sentence 5

Giles:

Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.

 

Goldwater:

Earth encompasses those aspects of nature that relate to the earth, and that are not subject to much change, except by the influence of human behavior, such as whether the distance is far or near, whether the road is dangerous or safe, whether the passes are wide or narrow, and whether crossing the distance leads to death or life.

 

Traditional Chinese

地者，遠近，險易，廣狹，死生也。

 

Simplified Chinese

地者，远近、险易、广狭、死生也。

 

Pin Yin

dì zhě, yuǎn jìn, xiǎn yì,
guǎng xiá, sǐ shēng yě.

 

地者，遠近，險易，廣狹，死生也。
Earth, far near, dangerous safe, wide narrow, death life.

 

地 者， 遠 近，
Earth, far near

 

險 易 廣 狹
dangerous safe wide narrow

 

死 生 也。
death life .

 

Earth (refers to) far (or) near, dangerous (or) safe, wide (or) narrow, death (or) life.

Earth (encompasses those aspects of nature that relate to the earth, and that are not subject to much change, except by the influence of human behavior, such as whether the distance is) far (or) near, (whether the road is) dangerous (or) safe, (whether the passes are) wide (or) narrow, (and whether crossing the distance leads to) death (or) life.

Earth encompasses those aspects of nature that relate to the earth, and that are not subject to much change, except by the influence of human behavior, such as whether the distance is far or near, whether the road is dangerous or safe, whether the passes are wide or narrow, and whether crossing the distance leads to death or life.

Comments:

1. In the dichotomy of Yin and Yang, Yin refers to those aspects of nature that mankind developed awareness of 2nd.

2. 2nd, mankind developed awareness of forces within human control. Such forces were considered to be under control of the earth. The word earth refers to those aspects of nature that are controlled by the earth; in other words, those aspects of nature that are not in a constant state of change, but that change only when humans exert control. These include such as whether the distance between opposing armies is far or near, whether the road between is dangerous or safe, whether the road crosses broad plains or narrow passes, and whether the march will lead to death or life.

3. The notion of earth relates to everything in the world 1) that is located or that exists among mankind and 2) that mankind has the ability to interact with directly or to influence in some way.

4. Since there is subdivision within Yang, the examples of earth are not interrelated. Each of the examples here has no influence on the others.