Many readers misinterpret this chapter. By interpreting the text literally, they assume the Dao De Jing advocates a “policy of keeping people ignorant” to serve ruling powers and better control the populace.
The ancients who showed their skill in practising the Dao did so, not to enlighten the people, but rather to make them simple and ignorant.
The difficulty in governing the people arises from their having much knowledge. He who (tries to) govern a state by his wisdom is a scourge to it; while he who does not (try to) do so is a blessing.
He who knows these two things finds in them also his model and rule. Ability to know this model and rule constitutes what we call the mysterious excellence (of a governor). Deep and far-reaching is such mysterious excellence, showing indeed its possessor as opposite to others, but leading them to a great conformity to him.
The terms “wise” and “wisdom”, as well as “ignorant”, are polysemous here:
- “wise” and “wisdom” refer to discriminative cleverness—superficial shrewdness that fixates on distinctions, scrutiny, and contention.
- “ignorant” denotes non-discriminative simplicity—an outward appearance of “naivety” that embodies natural integrity.
As Chapter 65 states, excessive emphasis on such “cleverness”—obsession with intricate names, forms, concepts, and standards, or entanglement in calculation and scheming—severs humans from authenticity.
True statesmanship flows with the Dao’s simplicity.
Governance through cunning statecraft, manipulative schemes, or overreaching regulations invariably sows discord in society, thwarting the natural order as water defies containment.
The Paradox of Reality
The movement behind phenomena often operates inversely to surface appearances.
This echoes the chapter’s warning that worldly “wisdom” breeds systemic chaos, while returning to primordial simplicity aligns with the profound virtue that harmonizes all things.
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