Chapter 5: Let Go of Partiality and Hold the Middle Path

Hello everyone, and welcome to Chapter Five. This chapter focuses on the impartial, balanced nature of heaven, earth and the wise. It uses the metaphor of a bellows to explain the endless, dynamic operation of the universal void, and finally lays out the core principle of self-cultivation and living: endlessly chasing external knowledge dissipates inner stability; only long-term adherence to inner equilibrium is the fundamental way.
Countless interpretations of this text have been written through the ages, each bearing unique insights shaped by personal life experience. None ranks higher than another, and all deserve quiet reflection. The following discussion unfolds around universal laws of mental balance and natural operation, not presented as the sole authoritative truth. Readers are free to hold their own independent perspectives.
Original Ancient Text
Heaven and Earth hold no personal favor; they regard all living things as ritual straw offerings.
The wise hold no personal favor; they regard all common people as ritual straw offerings.
The space between heaven and earth is just like a bellows: empty yet inexhaustible; the more it moves, the more it produces.
Chasing endless external knowledge quickly drains inner stability. Far better to abide by the balanced middle state.
Most readers misunderstand this chapter at first glance, misinterpreting "no personal favor" as cold cruelty from heaven and the wise. They only skim the literal surface and fail to grasp the underlying logic that universal laws are entirely fair and free of bias. This chapter breaks down three core layers step by step, supported by well-known Western historical and philosophical stories to fully explain the truth of releasing partiality, maintaining inner emptiness, and adhering to the balanced middle path.
Layer 1: Heaven and the wise abandon subjective preference, equally embrace all lives and thoughts
The opening two lines set the core theme of the chapter. First we clarify the meaning of the "favor" mentioned here: it refers to natural human partiality based on likes and dislikes, closeness and estrangement. Ordinary people instinctively categorize things into beloved and loathed, treating favored things well while dismissing those they dislike. This subjective tilt creates an unbalanced mental state.
When Laozi writes "no personal favor", he does not mean cold ruthlessness. Instead, it describes fully releasing biased obsessions rooted in personal likes and dislikes. One avoids artificially ranking all beings and people into high and low tiers, refuses to interfere with the natural development of things based on personal taste, and fully follows the inherent balanced rhythm of all existence.
Straw dogs used in ancient rituals are honored during ceremonies yet discarded afterward. Heaven views all creatures, and the wise view all common people, in exactly this way: they do not deliberately nurture one group of life or suppress another. All things naturally rise and fade, all people naturally shift in their thoughts. Heaven and the wise never use personal partiality to forcibly reverse the collective state of all beings.
From the logic of balance: once partiality takes root in the heart, mental focus shifts one-sidedly, leading to differential treatment in words and deeds. Heaven bears all existence; if it showed favoritism, it would squeeze the living space of some things and break dual balance. If rulers govern people guided by personal likes, favoring confidants and suppressing dissent, division and conflict will inevitably emerge, throwing the whole social mental atmosphere into imbalance. Only by letting go of partiality can one fairly embrace all people.
Western Reference Case: The ancient Greek statesman Aristides, known as "the Just", judged city-state affairs solely by objective merit and law. He never gave special treatment to those who flattered him, nor looked down on people of humble origins. No factional bias existed in government, and the public rarely harbored resentment. In contrast, the Roman tyrant Caligula was completely consumed by private desire. He showered favor on corrupt confidants, seized countless treasures for personal pleasure, and arbitrarily suppressed anyone who opposed him. Society split into hostile factions, and his regime ultimately collapsed. These two contrasting figures clearly prove partiality breeds imbalance, and releasing personal preference aligns with the fair origin of all things.
Layer 2: The universe resembles a bellows; the void is its foundation, cycling dynamically to generate endless life
The text uses a smelting bellows as a metaphor: all space between heaven and earth works exactly like a bellows. Its interior is empty yet never depleted; the more you draw and push it back and forth, the more airflow it generates. The void acts as the underlying carrier for all worldly operation. All life and thought circulate and evolve within this space, and the void itself never fills up no matter how much change occurs.
The human mind functions oppositely. If we continuously stock obsessions with gain, loss, comparison and greed, inner space clogs, easily triggering anxiety and strife. Only by guarding inner emptiness and refusing to pile up biased thoughts can we reserve ample mental capacity, making external ups and downs unable to shake personal stability. The void is not lifeless emptiness, but dynamic balance. Precisely because it holds no fixed obsessions, it can endlessly absorb all external shifts.

Western Reference Case: The Roman statesman Cincinnatus was granted absolute military power during a national crisis. After defeating the enemy, he immediately laid down all authority and returned to farming. He never hoarded obsession with fame or power, always retaining a spacious, peaceful inner space, and remained stable amid endless court turmoil. His contemporary Julius Caesar’s heart was filled with obsession for expansion and supreme kingship. His mind choked with desire drove reckless conduct, which eventually led to his assassination. Comparing the two men perfectly illustrates that inner emptiness allows calm adaptation, while a mind crammed with obsession traps a person at every turn.
Layer 3: Pursuing external knowledge drains the inner self; abiding by the middle path is the root of all harmony
The closing lines provide a practical method for inner cultivation: endlessly chasing all kinds of viewpoints and judgment standards quickly depletes inner stability; it is far better to sustain an unbiased, balanced inner state long-term.
"Chasing endless external knowledge" means unrestrainedly collecting outside opinions and yardsticks of right and wrong, constantly absorbing clashing foreign ideas. When people endlessly pursue external judgment standards, their inner thoughts scatter and waver, and their spirit rapidly sinks into confusion and imbalance. Most schools of thought and arguments from past generations carry one-sided subjective standards; accepting all of them tangles the mind in countless conflicting notions. To "abide by the middle path" is to guard a balanced core mind, leaning to no extreme, unshackled by complicated external viewpoints, and maintaining steady, peaceful mental state permanently.
Connecting with the previous two layers: impartiality of heaven represents outer emptiness, the bellows metaphor describes the inner void of all existence, and abiding by the middle path stands for personal mental emptiness. The three ideas advance layer by layer from the cosmic macro level down to individual inner practice.
Western Reference Case: Various schools of ancient Greek philosophy each clung to their own set of judgment standards. Scholars traveled widely to debate, each convinced their doctrine held the sole truth. Their minds tangled in conflicting ideas and churned in endless strife. Meanwhile Stoicism advocated abandoning complicated external rhetoric and clinging to the restrained, balanced middle core of the mind. The wise Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius practiced this philosophy all his life. He rejected flashy sophistry and obsessive pursuit of trivial novelties, governing with consistent restrained balance—neither indulging in luxury nor enforcing harshness. The public lived in peace and the realm recovered steadily, a real embodiment of "abiding by the middle path".
Unified Logical Thread Across All Five Chapters
Chapter One: Release obsession with the label of "virtue", strip away artificial glorification.
Chapter Two: Dissolve binary divisions of beauty and ugliness, good and evil, refuse fixation on one-sided judgment.
Chapter Three: Avoid setting external goals of pursuit, reduce greed and contention.
Chapter Four: Temper personal sharpness and chaotic thoughts, return to the universal void origin.
Chapter Five: Let go of subjective partiality, refrain from blind pursuit of external knowledge, and permanently uphold inner equilibrium.
Across five chapters, the narrative gradually turns inward, shifting focus from external judgment and craving to polishing an impartial, empty inner mind that adheres to the middle way. The full discussion forms a complete, closed logical loop.
Chapter Conclusion
Works interpreting this chapter each carry unique insights, and every perspective brings inspiration. This chapter sorts textual logic layer by layer, paired with well-known Western historical cases to aid understanding. It breaks free from the age-old misreading that heaven is cold and heartless, revealing the underlying balanced laws of casting aside partiality, maintaining inner emptiness, and holding the middle path.
The core of self-cultivation and daily conduct lies in emulating heaven’s impartial pattern, reserving empty mental space within, refusing blind pursuit of complicated external knowledge, and sustaining a neutral, peaceful core heart long-term. Only then can one’s inner spirit resonate harmoniously with the eternal balancing laws of all existence.
This chapter draws to a close. We will continue interpreting the ancient manuscript in the next chapter.
I live by writing, seek peace and blessings