Truthful words are not fancy;
fancy words are not truthful.
The good are not argumentative;
the argumentative are not quite good.
The wise know the truth not by storing up knowledge;
those who focus on storing up knowledge do not know the truth.
The sage does not hoard for herself.
The more she helps others,
the richer life she lives.
The more she gives to others,
the more abundance she realizes.
The Tao of heaven benefits all beings without harming anyone.
The Tao of the sage assists the people without competing with anyone." - Meaning and context.">
Chapter 81, translated by Yuhui Liang

Truthful words are not fancy;
fancy words are not truthful.
The good are not argumentative;
the argumentative are not quite good.
The wise know the truth not by storing up knowledge;
those who focus on storing up knowledge do not know the truth.
The sage does not hoard for herself.
The more she helps others,
the richer life she lives.
The more she gives to others,
the more abundance she realizes.
The Tao of heaven benefits all beings without harming anyone.
The Tao of the sage assists the people without competing with anyone.

— Laozi

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Truthful words are not fancy;
fancy words are not truthful.
The good are not argumentative;
the argumentative are not quite good.
The wise know the truth not by storing up knowledge;
those who focus on storing up knowledge do not know the truth.
The sage does not hoard for herself.
The more she helps others,
the richer life she lives.
The more she gives to others,
the more abundance she realizes.
The Tao of heaven benefits all beings without harming anyone.
The Tao of the sage assists the people without competing with anyone.
" in the context of "Chapter 81, translated by Yuhui Liang" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
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
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.