Original Text
When the great Way is abandoned, benevolence and righteousness arise. When wisdom and cleverness appear, hypocrisy and deceit emerge. When families are in discord, filial piety and parental kindness are manifested. When the state is in chaos, loyal ministers are revealed.
Guide
In Laozi's view, the emergence of benevolence and righteousness, which everyone yearns for, is precisely because the great Way has been abandoned; the appearance of cunning, deceit, and hypocrisy is precisely because people rely on their wisdom to guard against and discern them. Similarly, the emergence of filial piety, compassion, and loyal ministers is no different. At first glance, Laozi's statement is difficult to understand, but upon careful reflection, the truth is fully contained within it.
Analysis
In this chapter, Laozi once again expounds his dialectical thought. When the Great Way prevails, qualities like benevolence and righteousness naturally exist in people's actions. People do not lack these virtues, so they are unaware of their presence, and there is no need to advocate for them. Only when social order is in chaos, the Great Way is lost, and benevolence and righteousness are extinguished, do people advocate for them due to their absence.
From ancient times to the present, benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, filial piety, and compassion have all been highly esteemed by people. Confucius's highest ideal was "benevolence and righteousness," with "benevolence" becoming the core thought and value orientation of Confucian culture. However, Laozi creatively pointed out that it is only when the great Way of the human world is artificially abandoned that people establish rituals to regulate behavior and distinguish between noble and base, resulting in the emergence of hypocrisy and deceit that did not exist before.
Laozi was a master of penetrating insight into worldly affairs, always able to see the essence of a problem from its appearance and the cause from its effect, with this essence and cause often hidden in the opposite of the appearance and effect.
Why can Laozi always find answers from the opposite side of appearances and results? The reason lies in that we humans are the most complex emotional beings, possessing our own thoughts and will, capable of reasoning, and when dealing with problems, we have our own unique ideas and codes of conduct. Although humans are generated by the Great Dao and develop and grow within it, as wisdom awakens, they become increasingly arrogant and self-centered. Humans forget their origins and no longer follow the natural Dao. This indifferent attitude toward the Dao causes humans to drift further and further away from it.
The further one deviates from the Great Way, the direct consequence is humanity's self-destruction; to avert such a tragedy, humans artificially created behavioral norms to impose constraints, thus giving rise to decrees, reward and punishment systems, policies, and laws. Although these policies and laws alleviate social pressures to some extent, they cannot fundamentally solve the problem. Abandoning the Great Way inevitably leads to deliberate action, and once action is taken, distinctions between good and bad emerge; we must praise and commend what is good and correct, while severely condemning and punishing what is bad and wrong—only then can society function normally.
In response to this situation, Laozi proposed the concept of benevolence and righteousness. What is benevolence and righteousness? Benevolence, from the ancient character structure, consists of "two persons." Why two persons? Because without comparison, there is no standard for discernment; only with a reference can differential treatment occur. If humans had no interaction with each other, we could not be called "human." Confucius once defined benevolence, saying, "The benevolent love others." If one does not even love their own kind, are they worthy of being called human? Is such behavior worthy of being called benevolence? Righteousness means justice, morality, and loyalty.
The combination of "benevolence" and "righteousness" forms "benevolence and righteousness," which in this chapter refers to actions that are reasonable, morally upright, and loving toward one's kind. Benevolence and righteousness bring harmony and stability, while their absence inevitably leads to disaster. Once people understand this truth, they all practice benevolence and righteousness, which is a manifestation of their wisdom.
So why advocate for benevolence and righteousness? Because there exists unkindness and injustice, and the Great Way, as society's natural standard of fairness, has been abandoned. Why does this happen? Because humans are creatures driven by desires; driven by these desires, people inevitably use various means to satisfy their selfish wants. Some flatter and fawn over superiors to climb the ranks; some deceive others and distort truth to exonerate themselves; others put on a loyal facade while secretly plotting to harm others, using all sorts of tricks solely for personal gain. They have not a shred of benevolence or righteousness in their hearts, yet pretend to be full of it, their hypocritical nature hidden beneath a veneer of elegance and sweet words. The more they feign virtue, the greater the benefits they reap.
This behavior of deceiving others at every turn is called great hypocrisy. Why do counterfeit goods, fraud, and swindling exist? It is because people employ cunning and cleverness. How should the word "hypocrisy" be explained? "Man-made" is hypocrisy. Man-made refers to actions taken intentionally rather than in accordance with nature, which violate the great Way. Therefore, we call all man-made things hypocritical and not simple or natural. When people act with intention, they often unconsciously mix in their own cleverness, leading to behaviors like deceit and scheming. Although these actions are carried out in secret, hidden under a cloak of hypocrisy, they can still be perceived, and even exposed and criticized by others.
Why advocate for filial piety and parental kindness, as well as harmony between husband and wife? It is precisely because the six familial relationships (father-son, brother-brother, husband-wife) have fallen into discord. Why do loyal ministers emerge? It is precisely because treacherous ministers hold sway and the state is steeped in chaos and darkness.
Only when the six familial bonds are discordant does filial piety and parental kindness become advocated. Why is this said? Discord among the six bonds results from human intellect; with intellect comes selfish desires, and when these desires go unfulfilled, conflict and strife inevitably arise. Such strife, growing from small to large, endangers the peace of the state, thus necessitating the formulation of behavioral norms: children should be filial to their parents, and parents should love their children—this is filial piety and parental kindness. Yet when people's hearts lack these concepts, there is no such thing as filial piety or parental kindness; everyone lives in harmony, without distinctions of age or rank, presenting a scene of tranquility. Once such standards exist in the mind, people must constantly consider whether their actions conform to the standards of filial piety and parental kindness, and others judge our behavior by these standards; if we are the slightest bit careless, we will be harshly criticized, and the harmonious scene of joy will be destroyed. "When the state is in chaos, loyal ministers appear" should not be simply understood as loyal ministers emerging only when the state is in disorder, but rather that in times of national stability, when the people are prosperous and free, what use is there for loyal ministers? This is like a wise ruler who remains unknown; an arbiter in times of peace and stability does not reveal himself, only stepping forward in critical moments of national chaos to save the state from peril.
On the surface, Laozi's criticism of benevolence, righteousness, filial piety, and parental kindness seems to oppose Confucian virtues, but in reality, the thoughts of Laozi and Confucius are not contradictory; both aim to achieve social fairness and justice. Confucius emphasizes establishing a moral system where people follow fair and just codes of conduct, speaking from the positive side, while Laozi advocates directly returning to humanity's original state, speaking from the negative side.
Classic Analysis
This chapter reveals Laozi's dialectical thinking in the realm of benevolence, righteousness, and morality. Benevolence, righteousness, wisdom, filial piety, and loyalty are virtues most valued by the world, yet Laozi sees them as intrinsically linked to great hypocrisy, cunning deceit, discord, and chaos. Wang Bi said, "The most beautiful names arise from the greatest evil, meaning beauty and ugliness are one." The emergence of benevolence and righteousness stems precisely from the abandonment of the Great Way; without a neglected Way, benevolence and righteousness cannot be highlighted. Confucius and Mencius are called sages precisely because they lived in an era of ritual collapse and moral decay, where they could advocate their doctrine of virtuous governance and earn the world's respect. The same applies to wisdom: if everyone were guileless and acted according to natural principles, how could deceit arise? In a harmonious and united family, with a loving father, filial children, close brothers, and a peaceful couple, how could one stand out as filial or unfilial? When the world is peaceful and untroubled, with the ruler following the Way and the people observing order, where would there be a need for loyal ministers who sacrifice their lives for righteousness and die for benevolence?
Emperor Shun is a paragon of filial piety, yet his filial devotion was precisely highlighted by his father's obtuseness and his brother's treachery. Legend has it that his father Gusou, stepmother, and half-brother Xiang repeatedly tried to kill him: when Shun was repairing the barn roof, they set fire from below, but he escaped by jumping down with two bamboo hats; when Shun was digging a well, Gusou and Xiang filled it with earth, but he dug a tunnel to escape. Clearly, his father, stepmother, and brother were not merely unkind, and it was in such an environment that Shun earned his reputation for filial piety. When mentioning loyal ministers, people think of Yue Fei, Shi Kefa, Wen Tianxiang, and Fang Xiaoru, but they earned their fame for loyalty precisely because they encountered chaotic times and great upheavals, and the price they paid for such fame was tragic. In times of peace and prosperity, few are called loyal ministers, because the world then has no need for them to sacrifice themselves or to demonstrate their noble virtue with their lives.
Therefore, when observing people and things, we must not only see their surface; the good or bad, loyalty or treachery of a person, and the pros and cons, right or wrong of a matter should be analyzed from a dialectical perspective with a developmental view. Only then will we avoid being overly biased.