# What Critique of Conventional Virtue means in Tao Te Ching

> The book critiques Confucian virtues like benevolence, righteousness, and propriety, arguing that they emerge only when the Tao is lost, and that they represent a decline from a more natural, unselfconscious state of harmony.

## Explanation

The book critiques Confucian virtues like benevolence, righteousness, and propriety, arguing that they emerge only when the Tao is lost, and that they represent a decline from a more natural, unselfconscious state of harmony.

Legge discusses the opposition between Taoism and Confucianism, highlighting Taoism's critique of Confucian moral and social principles.

Chuang-tzŭ's condemnation of Huang Ti for disturbing the 'State of Perfect Unity' suggests a critique of conventional governance and virtue.

Chuang-tzŭ satirizes Confucians and Mohists, exposing their doctrines through metaphorical illustrations.

Heaven, Earth, and sages do not act from benevolence (jen), treating all things and people as straw dogs—an impersonal, non-interventionist approach that critiques conventional moralizing.

## Links

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