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"There was something nebulous existing (yu wu hun ch'eng), Born before heaven and earth. Silent, empty, Standing alone (tu), altering not (pu kai), Moving cyclically without becoming exhausted (pu tai), Which may be called the mother of all under heaven. I know not its name, I give its alias (tzu), Tao. If forced to picture it, I say it is "great" (ta). To say it is "great" is to say it is "moving away" (shih), To say it is "moving away" is to say it is "far away" (yüan), To say it is "far away" is to say it is "returning" (fan). Therefore Tao is great, Heaven is great, Earth is great, The king is also great. In the realm there are four greats, And the king is one of them. Humans follow (fa) earth, Earth follows heaven, Heaven follows Tao, Tao follows self-becoming (tzu-jan)."