第十八章 Dao De Jing · Chapter 18
Virtues are praised only when the great Way has been lost.
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大道废，有仁义；
When the great Way perishes, appears humaneness and justice.
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智慧出，有大伪；
When intelligence is manifest, arises great deception.
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六亲不和，有孝慈；
When the six family relationships are not in harmony, emerges filial piety and compassion.
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国家昏乱，有忠臣。
When the country is in chaos, stands out loyal ministers.
Words in this chapter
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 大 | dà | great, big |
| 道 | dào | the Way |
| 废 | fèi | to fall into disuse |
| 有 | yǒu | to have, to possess |
| 仁 | rén | humaneness, humane |
| 义 | yì | justice |
| 智慧 | zhì huì | cleverness, intelligence |
| 出 | chū | to come out, emerge |
| 伪 | wěi | falsehood, artifice |
| 六亲 | liù qīn | the six family relations |
| 不 | bù | not |
| 和 | hé | in harmony |
| 孝 | xiào | filial piety |
| 慈 | cí | compassion, kindness |
| 国家 | guó jiā | the state |
| 昏乱 | hūn luàn | in dark disorder |
| 忠臣 | zhōng chén | loyal ministers |
Compare: James Legge (1891)
When the Great Tao (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.
Public domain. Source: Wikisource.
Meaning of chapter 18
Chapter 18 argues that the virtues people praise appear only when something has already gone wrong. When the great Way is abandoned, 仁义 (humaneness and justice) appear; when cleverness emerges, great deceit follows; when the six family relations are out of harmony, filial piety and parental kindness appear; when the state is in chaos, loyal ministers stand out.
The structure is the same four times: a loss, then a remedy that is honored as a virtue. The chapter does not call these virtues bad. It treats them as signs of a lack, as loyalty only stands out where disloyalty is common. Humaneness and justice were central virtues for the followers of Confucius, and the chapter is often read as a reply to them, though no school is named.
The bamboo manuscripts found at Guodian do not have the line on cleverness and deceit; Wang Bi's text has it, and so does this site. Chapter 19 draws the conclusion, telling the ruler to give up humaneness and justice, and chapter 38 traces a similar decline from the Way to virtue, humaneness, justice and ritual.