Tao Te Ching · Chapter
XXXI explained
This chapter discusses the Taoist view of warfare and weapons as instruments of evil omen, which are to be avoided by those who follow the Tao.
What happens
This chapter discusses the Taoist view of warfare and weapons as instruments of evil omen, which are to be avoided by those who follow the Tao. The superior man prizes calm and repose, using force only when compelled by necessity, and regards victory without delight, associating it with mourning and grief for the slain.
Themes in this chapter
Wu Wei (Non-Action or Effortless Action)
The chapter emphasizes not employing arms willingly and using force only under compulsion, aligning with the principle of non-action and minimal intervention.
The Soft Overcoming the Hard
By rejecting the glorification of weapons and violence, the chapter illustrates the Taoist preference for softness and calm over aggressive force.
Critique of Conventional Virtue
The chapter subverts conventional martial honor by associating victory with mourning and treating weapons as instruments of evil, challenging societal norms about war.
Characters to notice
- Laozi
The speaker of the chapter's teachings on the Tao and the proper attitude toward arms and warfare.
Key passages
“Now arms, however beautiful, are instruments of evil omen, hateful, it may be said, to all creatures. Therefore they who have the Tao do not like to employ them.”
Weapons, no matter how finely made, are unlucky and detested by all beings; thus, those who follow the Tao avoid using them.
This passage underscores the Taoist rejection of violence and the association of weapons with misfortune.
“Calm and repose are what he prizes; victory (by force of arms) is to him undesirable. To consider this desirable would be to delight in the slaughter of men; and he who delights in the slaughter of men cannot get his will in the kingdom.”
The wise person values peace and tranquility, not victory through force. Wanting such victory means taking pleasure in killing, and one who delights in killing cannot achieve true influence in the world.
This highlights the moral stance against war and the idea that true power comes from non-violence.
“He who has killed multitudes of men should weep for them with the bitterest grief; and the victor in battle has his place (rightly) according to those rites.”
One who has caused many deaths should mourn them deeply, and the victor in war should be treated with the rituals of mourning, not celebration.
The chapter reframes victory as a cause for sorrow, aligning with the theme of reversal and the critique of conventional virtue.