德圆七 - Te Chapter 67

小邦寡民 使十百人之器毋用 使民重死而远送

有车周无所乘之 有甲兵无所陈之 使民复结绳而用之

甘亓食 美亓服 乐亓俗 安亓居

邻邦相朢 鸡狗之声相闻

民至老死 不相往来

缩小国邦的区域范围，减少人口的密度。（前者）使得即便有十倍百倍于人力的工具也无用武之地，（后者）使民众畏惧死亡而遣送（他们）到更远的地方去。 哪怕停靠了很多车辆，也无处可去；哪怕有皮甲兵刃，也没地方需要列阵。（这就）使民众回到上古结绳记事的状态。 吃得香甜；穿得漂亮；生活得很快乐；居住得很安适。 相邻的邦国互相可以看到，公鸡打鸣和狗叫声彼此都能听到，但是民众自给自足又没有野心，彼此之间一生都不互相往来。

• 周，密也；可能通“舟”；

• 朢，月满与日相朢，以朝君也。

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Shrinking the geographical area of a state and reducing the population density will make it impossible for even ten or a hundred times more tools to be used, and will cause the people to fear death and migrate to faraway places.

Even with many vehicles, there will be nowhere to go and even with armored soldiers, there will be no need for military formations. This will bring the people back to the state of being self-sufficient and without ambition as in ancient times.

They will live comfortably, eat deliciously, wear beautiful clothes, and live a happy life.

Neighboring states can see and hear each other's roosters and dogs, but the people will be self-sufficient and without ambition, and will not interact with each other throughout their lives.