Ch. 57
“
The more prohibitions that are imposed on people,
The poorer the people become.
The more laws and regulations that exist,
The more thieves and brigands appear.
The more laws and order are made prominent,
the more thieves and robbers there will be.
• Variant translation: The more prohibitions there are, the poorer the people will be.
— Laozi
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The more prohibitions that are imposed on people,
The poorer the people become.
The more laws and regulations that exist,
The more thieves and brigands appear.
The more laws and order are made prominent,
the more thieves and robbers there will be.
• Variant translation: The more prohibitions there are, the poorer the people will be." in the context of "Ch. 57" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Laozi" (Quotes, Tao Te Ching)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Laozi
老子 Lǎozi (c. 6th – 5th century BC) was a Chinese monist philosopher; also called Lao Zi, Lao Tzu, Lao Tse, or Lao Tze. The Tao Te Ching (道德經, Pinyin: Dào Dé Jīng, or Dao De Jing) represents the sole document generally attributed to Laozi.
About Laozi
老子 Lǎozi (c. 6th – 5th century BC) was a Chinese monist philosopher; also called Lao Zi, Lao Tzu, Lao Tse, or Lao Tze. The Tao Te Ching (道德經, Pinyin: Dào Dé Jīng, or Dao De Jing) represents the sole document generally attributed to Laozi.
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