The Way and the Power of Virtue

  Only when the Great Way is abandoned,  is there humaneness and rightness; Only when the wise and insightful emerge,  are there great hypocrites and posers; Only when the Six Kinships are inharmonious,  is there filial piety and parental care; Only when the country is embroiled in turmoil, are there loyal ministers. This chapter opens with a criticism of social constructs and relative relationships.   In ancient China, the social virtues of humaneness or benevolence, literally defined as the “interaction between two people,” and rightness, defined by doing the right thing at the right time, were cardinal Confucian virtues that were dictated by subjective social standards and relative relationships that changed depending on who was involved and what one’s relationship was to the other.   This sort of variable virtue or moral relativism only happens when the Great Way has been abandoned and discarded.   The Way is impartial and the highest goo...