Translation: Without stepping out the door, one can know all under heaven; without peering through the window, one can perceive the workings of the Way of heaven.
Analysis: This is the core proposition of Laozi's epistemology. Wang Bi (王弼): "事有宗，而物有主，途虽殊而同归也，虑虽百而其致一也。道有大常，理有大致，执古之道，可以御今。" — "Affairs have their source, and things have their master; though paths diverge, they converge at the same destination; though deliberations are manifold, they arrive at the same conclusion. The Tao (道) has its great constancy, and principle has its great pattern; by holding to the Tao of antiquity, one can govern the present." All things follow fundamental laws; once one grasps this law (the Tao), there is no need to examine myriad things one by one. "Not stepping out the door" is not a rejection of practice, but rather an affirmation that true wisdom lies in penetrating the root of things.
Similar views: Wang Bi: "道有大常，理有大致，执古之道，可以御今。" — "The Tao has its great constancy, and principle has its great pattern; by holding to the Tao of antiquity, one can govern the present."
Translation: Without going out the door, one can know the way of the human world; without peering through the window, one can perceive the way of heaven and earth.
Analysis: Heshang Gong's theory of "knowing others through oneself": "以己身知人身，以己家知人家，所以见天下也。天道与人道同，天人相通，精气相贯。" — "Through one's own body one knows others' bodies, through one's own household one knows others' households—this is how one perceives all under heaven. The Way of heaven and the way of humanity are the same; heaven and humanity are interconnected, and vital Qi (气) flows between them." The Sage (圣人), through inner contemplation of the self, can infer all under heaven—because heaven and humanity are interconnected, and the self is a microcosm of the universe. This is an epistemology of inner cultivation based on "the body as universe."
Similar views: Heshang Gong: "以己身知人身，以己家知人家。天道与人道同。" — "Through one's own body one knows others' bodies, through one's own household one knows others' households. The Way of heaven and the way of humanity are the same."
Translation: The farther one goes out, the less one truly knows.
Analysis: This complements the paradoxical proposition of the preceding sentence. Wang Bi: "无在于一而求之于众也……若其不知，出愈远愈迷也。" — "The essential resides in the one, yet people seek it among the many... If one does not know the fundamental, the farther one goes out, the more lost one becomes." If one fails to grasp the fundamental Tao, then even traveling the entire world reveals only a profusion of phenomena while losing sight of the essence. This extends the idea from Chapter 48—"In the pursuit of learning, one gains daily; in the pursuit of the Tao, one loses daily" (为学日益，为道日损)—the accumulation of knowledge is not the same as the growth of wisdom.
Similar views: Wang Bi: "无在于一而求之于众也……出愈远愈迷也。" — "The essential resides in the one, yet people seek it among the many... The farther one goes out, the more lost one becomes."
Translation: The more one pursues externally, the less one knows.
Analysis: Heshang Gong: "谓去其家观人家，去其身观人身，所观益远，所见益少也。" — "This means leaving one's own household to observe others' households, leaving one's own self to observe others' selves—the farther one observes, the less one truly sees." The farther one departs from the self, the harder it becomes to grasp the core of truth. This is not a denial of experiential knowledge, but an emphasis that the true source of wisdom lies within, not without. Through inner reflection, the cultivator of the Tao can comprehend the principles of all things; if one clings to external seeking, one abandons the root and chases the branches.
Similar views: Heshang Gong: "所观益远，所见益少也。" — "The farther one observes, the less one truly sees."
Translation: Thus the Sage knows without traveling, discerns right and wrong without seeing, and accomplishes all things without deliberate action.
Analysis: This is the summation of the entire chapter. The three "withouts" (不) progress in ascending order: knows without traveling—having grasped the Tao, one can infer all affairs; discerns without seeing—having penetrated principle, one can judge right from wrong; accomplishes without acting—having accorded with nature, all things come to completion of themselves. Wang Bi: "得物之致，故虽不行而虑可知也。识物之宗，故虽不见，而是非之理可得而名也。明物之性，因之而已。" — "Having attained the ultimate nature of things, one can know through reflection without traveling. Having recognized the origin of things, one can discern the principles of right and wrong without seeing. Having understood the nature of things, one simply follows it."
Similar views: Wang Bi: "明物之性，因之而已。故虽不为而使之成矣。" — "Having understood the nature of things, one simply follows it. Thus, without acting, one brings all things to completion."
Translation: Thus the Sage knows without needing to travel afar, understands without needing to see firsthand, and causes all things to come to completion without deliberate action.
Analysis: Heshang Gong interprets this from the perspective of governance: "圣人不上天，不入渊，能知天下者，以心知之也。上好道，下好德……原小知大，察内知外。上无所为，则下无事，家给人足，万物自化就也。" — "The Sage does not ascend to heaven nor plunge into the abyss; he can know all under heaven because he knows through the heart-mind. When the ruler loves the Tao, the people below love Virtue (德)... From the small one traces the great, from the inner one perceives the outer. When those above practice non-action (无为), those below have no burdens; households are provided for, people are sufficient, and all things transform and come to completion of themselves." The Sage observes all under heaven through the Tao, communing with myriad things through the inner mind; without issuing decrees, all under heaven governs itself. This is the concrete practice of "governing through non-action."
Similar views: Heshang Gong: "上无所为，则下无事，家给人足，万物自化就也。" — "When those above practice non-action, those below have no burdens; households are provided for, people are sufficient, and all things transform and come to completion of themselves."
This chapter contains 6 interpretation combinations.
[Core Divergences]
Chapter 47 is the concentrated expression of Laozi's epistemology. The core proposition is: true knowledge does not come from outward pursuit, but from the inner grasp of fundamental law (the Tao). The three sentences of the chapter form a rigorous argument: (1) positive thesis—without stepping out the door one can know all under heaven, without peering through the window one can perceive the Way of heaven; (2) negative proof—the farther one goes out, the less one knows; (3) conclusion via the Sage—knowing without traveling, discerning without seeing, accomplishing without acting. Behind this seemingly extreme proposition lie two different philosophical supports: Wang Bi's "holding the one to govern the many"—though the myriad affairs of the world are complex, their underlying law (the Tao) is unified; having grasped this law, there is no need to examine things one by one; Heshang Gong's "interconnection of heaven and humanity"—the human body is itself a microcosm of the universe, and by contemplating the movement of one's own vital Qi, one can infer the laws of heaven and earth. Both point toward the same practical conclusion: the Sage does not occupy himself with broad learning and extensive observation, but prioritizes grasping the fundamental. This chapter is closely linked to the next chapter (Chapter 48), "In the pursuit of learning, one gains daily; in the pursuit of the Tao, one loses daily"—learning is the outward accumulation of knowledge, while the Tao is the inward grasp of the fundamental. The two proceed in opposite directions, and Laozi clearly chooses the latter.