When the Great Dao (Way or Method) ceased to be observed, benevolence and righteousness came into vogue. (Then) appeared wisdom and shrewdness, and there ensued great hypocrisy. When harmony no longer prevailed throughout the six kinships, filial sons found their manifestation; when the states and clans fell into disorder, loyal ministers appeared.
Note
This chapter can be understood from two perspectives.
- First: Its direct content highlights how the loss of virtue in rulers and the abandonment of the great Dao create the need to promote benevolence and justice to counter social decay. Laozi thus diagnoses the pathological phenomena of his era, exposing the cracks in a corrupt system.
- Second: It reveals the dialectical interdependence of opposites. Applying this philosophy to society, Laozi analyzes relationships of unity and contradiction, such as wisdom versus falsehood, filial piety versus familial conflict, and loyal officials versus national chaos.
For example, in a well-governed state with familial harmony, loyalty and filial piety are not emphasized; these virtues only emerge amid familial discord or political turmoil, demonstrating their mutual dependence.
In essence, Laozi underscores that society’s glorification of certain moral values arises precisely from their absence. The demand for virtue stems from its scarcity—a paradox that reflects the depth of his dialectical analysis.
Further Reading
The critique in Chapter Eighteen, “When the Great Tao is abandoned, benevolence and righteousness arise,” is also directly related to the concept of non-action in Chapter Three: “Not exalting the worthy prevents contention among the people; not valuing rare goods prevents theft among the people.” Chapter Three proposes specific measures for non-action (not exalting the worthy, not valuing rare goods), while Chapter Eighteen reveals the drawbacks of “deliberate action” (human intervention) through the rise of “benevolence and righteousness”—when society must deliberately emphasize morality, it indicates that the “Great Tao” has already been abandoned. Together, they construct the political philosophy of “governance through non-action.”
Chapter Eighteen’s statement, “When the Great Tao is abandoned, benevolence and righteousness arise; when wisdom emerges, great hypocrisy appears,” is directly related to Chapter Nineteen: “Abandon sageliness and discard wisdom, and the people will benefit a hundredfold; abandon benevolence and discard righteousness, and the people will return to filial piety and kindness.” Chapter Nineteen proposes extreme measures such as “abandoning sageliness and wisdom” and “abandoning benevolence and righteousness,” while Chapter Eighteen reveals the root cause of moral alienation through the contrast between “the abandonment of the Great Tao” and “the emergence of benevolence and righteousness.” Together, they construct a governance logic of “negation and reconstruction”—only by discarding artificial “sageliness, wisdom, benevolence, and righteousness” can society return to the natural “Great Tao.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight distinguishes between “higher virtue” (virtue through non-action) and “lower virtue” (virtue through deliberate action), while Chapter Eighteen reveals the drawbacks of “lower virtue” through the contrast between “the abandonment of the Great Tao” and “the emergence of benevolence and righteousness”—when society must deliberately emphasize morality, it indicates the loss of “higher virtue.” Together, they reinforce the governance concept of “virtue through non-action.”
大道廢，有仁義；智慧出，有大偽；六親不和，有孝慈；國家昏亂，有忠臣。
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