Tao Te Ching·Chapter 03: the proper governing by the sages

道德经 · 第三章

Tao Te Ching · Chapter 03

不上賢，使民不爭;不貴難得之貨，使民不為盜;不見可欲，使民不亂。

Not promoting those of superior character, Will save the common people from becoming contentious.
Not prizing property that is hard to come by, Will save them from becoming thieves.
Not making a show of what might be desired, Will save them from becoming disgruntled.

是以聖人之治也，虛其心，實其腹;弱其志，强其骨。

It is for this reason that in the proper governing by the sages:
They empty the hearts and minds of the people and fill their stomachs,
They weaken their aspirations and strengthen their bones,

恆使民無知無欲也。使夫知不敢弗爲而已。

Ever teaching the common people to be unprincipled in their knowing
And objectless in their desires, They keep the hawkers of knowledge at bay.

爲無爲則無不治矣。

It is simply in doing things noncoercively, That everything is governed properly.