Tao Te Ching · Ch. 80

小國寡民。使有什伯之器而不用;使民重死而不遠徙。雖有舟輿,無所乘之,雖有甲兵,無所陳之。使民復結繩而用之。甘其食,美其服,安其居,樂其俗。鄰國相望,雞犬之聲相聞,民至老死,不相往來。

Xiǎo guó guǎ mín. Shǐ yǒu shí bǎi zhī qì ér bù yòng; Shǐ mín zhòng sǐ ér bù yuǎn xǐ. Suī yǒu zhōu yú, wú suǒ chéng zhī, suī yǒu jiǎ bīng, wú suǒ chén zhī. Shǐ mín fù jié shéng ér yòng zhī. Gān qí shí, měi qí fú, ān qí jū, lè qí sú. Lín guó xiāng wàng, jī quǎn zhī shēng xiāng wén, mín zhì lǎo sǐ, bù xiāng wǎng lái.

Let the country be small and the population few. Even if there are labour-saving tools, let them not be used. Let the people take death seriously and not travel far. Even if there are boats and carriages, let there be no occasion to ride in them; even if there are weapons and armour, let there be no occasion to deploy them. Let the people return to keeping records by knotting cord. Let them find their food sweet, their clothing beautiful, their homes peaceful, their customs joyful. Neighbouring countries may be within sight of each other, and the sounds of roosters and dogs may be heard across the border — yet the people will grow old and die without ever having visited one another.

— Tao Te Ching 80

Source: Wang Bi edition (Chinese) + Hanyu Pinyin transliteration