In the advanced development of civilization,artificial ornamentation (wen) they often emerge alongside it. When 'benevolence' and 'sage wisdom' are institutionalized as social standards, they easily become masks concealing personal desires. Laozi believed that only by practicing 'discarding sagehood and wisdom' can one completely strip away external moral labels and allow life to return to its original, pure state—'simple' (unstained silk) and 'natural' (uncarved wood).

Core Logic Analysis

• Dialectic on Historical Alienation: Confucius promoted benevolence to save the world, but during Emperor Wu’s era, it was instrumentalized and dogmatized, turning morality into a currency of power and leading to widespread hypocrisy.
• The Breakdown Between Form and Substance: Laozi pointed out that sage wisdom, benevolence, and skillful gain are merely 'ornamentation.' Without genuine inner commitment, these standards cannot truly stabilize people's hearts.
• The Reduction of Self-Interest and Desire: By discarding the 'skillful learning' driven by fame and profit, practitioners can see through society’s constructed evaluation systems and thus avoid being enslaved by worldly standards.

Classic Passages

‘Abandon sagehood 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; abandon cleverness and reject gain, and thieves will vanish.’