Tao Te Ching, 18

When the great Tao declined,

The doctrines of humanity (jen) and righteousness (li) arose.

When knowledge and wisdom appeared,

There emerged great hypocrisy.

When the six family relationships are not in harmony,

There will be the advocacy of filial piety and deep love to children.

When a country is in disorder,

There will be praise of loyal ministers. (Tao Te Ching, 18)

Today, I would try to interpret the above cannon from the topic "The Absence of Natural Harmony".

It is said that the Tao Te Ching book contains the play of opposites which complement each other thus creating harmony (i).  In this cannon, the chaos paved the way for the good things to arise. For example, the declining of the Tao made the doctrine of humanity and righteousness to arise. In the same way, the the good thing paved the way for chaos to occur. For example, when a lot of, lets say people, claims to be knowledgeable and wise, hypocrisy then starts to emerge.

The play of opposites in the Tao Te Ching lets the people understand better what the Tao really is. Although there is no exact definition of the Tao, the description presented by the cannons somehow tells what it really is. In the above cannon, it can be depicted that the Tao appears in both the negative and positive side of events. It can be understood that the Tao is best experienced when there is both peace and disorder. The human consciousness has to realize the presence of the Tao because it is not readily given to humans and that is best sought when there is a play of opposites. Peace and disorder enables the person to seek out reasons and when he/she is well guided, then the Tao maybe revealed to him/her.

In the above cannon also, it can be understood that the realization of the Tao needs the reaction of the person experiencing the peace and disorder. There is a need of human intervention to shape the fate of the person. When the person reacts positively, then somehow he/she is directed towards the Tao which is the path of life.

Overall, the cannon says that there would be no peace if there is no disorder. Meaning one positive attribute cannot be known without the presence of the negative one. In relation to the Tao, because of these opposites, a person can react to a certain situation that can lead him/her in knowing the Tao.

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Reference:
(i) https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/chinese_taoism.html