The Decay of Manners, The Deterioration of Society, Disharmony and Disorder, 俗薄
"When humankind strayed from the natural way of life,
Relative social disciplines began to appear.
When intelligence and cleverness of mind are admired,
Great hypocrisy is born.
When disharmony manifested in family relations,
Children who respected their parents
And parents who respected their children
Became rare examples.
When chaos prevailed in the county,
Only a few loyal ministers were recognized.
Let all people return to their true nature.
Love, kindness, wisdom, family harmony, and loyalty
Should not be taught one by one,
Separately from an honest life.
Then, once again,
People will regain the natural virtue of wholeness.
The world will be naturally ordered.
There will be no one who singly and cunningly
Works for personal interest alone."
- Translated by
Hua-Ching Ni, 1979, Chapter 18
Walking the Way: 81 Zen Encounters with the Tao Te Ching
The Tao of Zen
Tao Te Ching: Zen Teachings on the Taoist Classic
Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face: Scripture, Ritual, and Iconographic Exchange in Medieval China
"When the great Reason is obliterated, we have benevolence and justice.
Prudence and circumspection appear, and we have much hypocrisy.
When family relations no longer harmonize, we have filial piety and paternal
devotion.
When the country and the clans decay through disorder, we have loyalty and
allegiance."
- Translated by
D. T. Suzuki and Paul Carus, 1913,
Chapter 18
"Therefore;
when the Heavenly Way was forgotten,
there arose 'humaneness' and 'righteousness;'
when cunning and Wit arose,
there came great falsity;
when the loving relations between people, as if all of one family,
was lost, there arose Religions in the world.
Once the state and royal house were in disarray,
there arose 'upright ministers!'"
- Translated by
Jerry C. Welch, 1998,
Chapter 18
By Hu Xuzehi
Annotated translation by Victor Mair 
By Ha Poong Kim
By Hans-Georg Moeller 
By Roger T. Ames and David T. Hall
By Wes Burgess
By Arthur Waley
"When the Way of the Great Dao 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."
- Translated by
James Legge, 1891,
Chapter 18
"When the Great Way is abandoned,
we get benevolence and righteousness.
When wisdom and knowledge appear,
we get great deception.
When there is no harmony in the family,
we get family values and kindness.
When the homeland is in chaos and confusion,
we get loyal bureaucrats."
- Translated by
Roderic and Amy
Sorrell, 2003, Chapter 18
Tao Te Ching
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching
Translated by Livia Kohn
Dao De Jing: The Book of the Way
"Wherever the cosmic order is neglected,
Goodness and morality are born.
When the heart’s awareness is repressed,
The intellect is led into hypocrisy.
When the family loses its natural harmony,
The rules of duty and honor are enforced.
When the natural society is disrupted,
The dragon of state arises,
And powerful leaders take over."
- Translated by
Brian Donohue,
2005, Chapter 18
"When Tao is abandoned,
Benevolence and morality arise.
When wisdom and knowledge arise,
Hypocrisy flourishes.
When there is discord in the family,¹
Filial piety and parental affection arise.
When the country is in darkness and turmoil,
Loyal ministers appear."
- Translated by
Keith H. Seddon, Chapter 18
By Alexander Simkins
By Derek Lin
By Ming-Dao Deng.
By Benjamin Hoff.
By Ming-Dao Deng
Translated by Thomas Cleary
"When people
lost sight of the way to live
Came codes of love and honesty,
Learning came, charity came,
Hypocrisy took charge;
When differences weakened family ties
Came benevolent fathers and dutiful sons;
And when lands were disrupted and misgoverned
Came ministers commended as loyal."
- Translated by
Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 18
Translation and elucidation by Hua Ching Ni
Translated by Brian Walker
Translated by Arthur Waley
Translated by Lionel and and Herbert Giles
By Eva Wong
"It was when the Great Way declined
That human kindness and morality arose;
It was when intelligence and knowledge appeared
That the Great Artifice began.
It was when the six near ones were no longer at peace
That there was talk of “dutiful sons”;
Nor till fatherland was dark with strife
Did we hear of “loyal slaves”."
- Translated by
Arthur Waley, 1934, Chapter 18
Translated by Eva Wong 
Translated by Philip Ivahoe
By James Miller
Translated by Stephen Bokencamp
By Alexander and Annellen Simpkins
Translated by Thomas Cleary
By Livia Kohn
"On
the decline of the great Tao,
The doctrine of "humanity" and "justice" arose.
When knowledge and cleverness appeared,
Great hypocrisy followed in its wake.
When
the six relationships no longer lived at peace,
There was praise of "kind parents" and "filial sons."
When
a country fell into chaos and misrule,
There was praise of "loyal ministers." "
- Translated by
Lin Yutang, 1955, Chapter 18
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Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching
Tao Te Ching
Commentary, Interpretations, Research Tools, Resources
Chapter 18
Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition
By Jonathan Star. Translation, commentary and research tools. New York, Jeremy P. Tarcher, Penguin, 2001. Concordance, tables, appendices, 349 pages. A
new rendition of the Tao Te Ching is provided, then a verbatim translation with
extensive notes. Detailed tables for each verse provide line number, all
the Chinese characters, Wade-Giles romanization, and a list of meanings for
each character. An excellent reference tool!
Yellow Bridge
Dao De Jing Comparison Table, Chapter 18 Provides side by side comparisons of translations of the Tao Te
Ching by James Legge,
D. T. Suzuki, and Dwight Goddard. Chinese characters for each paragraph in
the Chapter are on the left; place your cursor over the Chinese characters to
see the Pinyin romanization of the Chinese character and a list of meanings.
The Complete Works of Lao Tzu: Tao Teh Ching & Hua Hu Ching
Tao Te Ching Commentaries - Google Search
Translators'
Index, Tao Te Ching Translators Sorted Alphabetically by Translator, Links
to Books and Online Versions
Tao Te Ching: A
Bibliography and Index of Translations on the Web
Chapter 18 in the
Rambling
Taoist Commentaries by Trey Smith. The
Rambling Taoists are Trey Smith and Scott Bradley.
By Hu Xuzehi. Seven Star Communications, 2006, 240 pages.
The Philosophy of the Daodejing
Valley Spirit, Gu Shen,
Concept, Chapter 18
Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse
The largest collection of very nicely formatted complete versions of the Tao
Te Ching. The
collection includes 209 complete versions in 27 languages,
plus 28 Chinese versions. There are 112 English language
versions of the
Tao Te Ching available at this website. A variety of search methods and comparision methods are provided, as well a a detailed
index.
Offline on 5/10/2013.
Tao Te Ching
English Translations from Terebess Asia Online.
Over 30 translations.
Lao-tzu's Taoteching
Reading Lao Tzu: A Companion to the Tao Te Ching with a New Translation
Dao De Jing: A Philosophical Translation
Thematic Index to the
81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching
Lao Tzu: Te-Tao Ching - A New Translation Based on the Recently Discovered Ma-wang-tui
Texts (Classics of Ancient China)
Gushen Grove Notebooks for the Tao Te Ching
October 30, 2011
Green
Way Research, Valley Spirit
Grove, Gushen Grove Notebooks, Red Bluff, California
This webpage was last modified or updated on May
13, 2013.
This webpage was first distributed online on February 7, 2011
Brief Biography of Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.
Valley Spirit Grove, Red Bluff, California
Weekend Qigong Workshops with Mike Garofalo in Beautiful Red Bluff, California
Ripening Peaches: Daoist Studies and Practices
One Old Druid's Final Journey: Notebooks of the Librarian of Gushen Grove
Index to Translators of the Tao Te Ching
The Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) circa 500 BCE
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