Tao Te Ching, 29

When one desires to take over an empire and act on it (interfere with it),

I see that he will not succeed.

The empire is a spiritual thing, and should not be acted on.

He who acts on it harms it.

He who holds on to it loses it.

Among creatures some lead and some follow.

Some blow hot and some blow cold.

Some are strong and some are weak.

Some may break and some may fall.

Therefore the sage discards the extremes, the extravagant, and the excessive. (Tao Te Ching, 29)

Today, I would try to interpret the above text from the topic " Government of Non-interference ".

In the above text, the virtue of non-action can still be seen or understood. It is indicated that when there is force implied in the government, it will not succeed. Meaning, when one interferes with the natural flow of government affairs, the plan will not prosper. It will not be pushed through. The government affairs should be flown naturally.

Another thing is that the empire cannot be interfered with human actions or plans because it is said to be sacred. It is a different entity, different from the humans and so it should be left untouched by humanity.

In the latter part of the text, there is a play of opposites. A sage which is to be the emperor-king should acknowledge these and live with it. He should not try to banish any of it. Therefore, the sage should discard any extremes or any excessive to keep these opposites in action. Also, discarding any excess would govern him in handling or dealing with the empire or the government.