It means: Man takes the law of the earth, the earth takes the law of the sky, and the sky takes the law of "Tao", and the Tao is purely natural.
Source: Laozi’s "Tao Te Ching·Chapter 25".
Original text:
Tao Te Ching·Chapter 25
Author Laozi
Spring and Autumn Period of Dynasty
There is a mixture of things, born from heaven and earth, lonely and lonely, independent and not changing, moving around without peril, it can be the mother of heaven and earth.
I don’t know its name, but its name is Tao, and its strong name is Da. ? The big day is said to be gone, and the passing day is said to be far away.
Far away is the opposite. ? Therefore, the Tao is great, the sky is great, the earth is great, and the king is also great. ? There are four major ones in the domain, and the king occupies one of them.
Man follows the earth, the earth follows the sky, heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature.
Translation
There is something that was created out of nowhere and existed before the heaven and earth were formed. Its voice cannot be heard and its shape cannot be seen. It is silent and empty. It does not rely on any external force and exists independently forever. It circulates and never fails. It can be the foundation of all things.
I didn’t know its name, so I reluctantly called it “Tao”, and then I reluctantly named it “Da”. It is vast and boundless and moves endlessly. It moves endlessly and stretches far away. It stretches far away and returns to the origin.
So it is said that Tao is big, the sky is big, the earth is big, and people are big. There are four major elements in the universe, and humans live in one of them. Man takes the law of the earth, the earth takes the law of heaven, and heaven takes the law of "Tao", and the Tao is purely natural.
Extended information:
Tao Te Ching, a philosophical work by Lao Tzu (Li Er) in the Spring and Autumn Period, also known as "Tao Te Ching", "Lao Tzu", "Five Thousand Words", "Laozi's Five Thousand Essays" is a work written by the pre-Qin scholars in ancient China before they split up. It is an important source of Taoist philosophical thought.
The Tao Te Ching is divided into two parts. The original text is the first part "De Jing" and the second part "Tao Jing". They are not divided into chapters. Later they were changed to "Tao Jing". Chapter 37 comes first, and after chapter 38 it is "De Jing", divided into 81 chapters.
The text of the "Tao Te Ching" takes "morality" in the philosophical sense as its outline, discussing the ways of self-cultivation, governing the country, using military force, and maintaining health. Most of it takes politics as its purpose. It is the so-called "inner sage and outer king". His studies are profound and comprehensive, and he is known as the king of scriptures.
The Tao Te Ching is one of the greatest masterpieces in Chinese history and has had a profound impact on traditional philosophy, science, politics, religion, etc.
According to UNESCO statistics, "Tao Te Ching" is the cultural classic that has been translated into foreign languages ??and published the most besides the Bible.
Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia---Tao Te Ching