Line by Line - Verse 18, Lines 5-6

When harmony no longer prevailed throughout the six kinships,
filial sons found their manifestation;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

When there is no peace within the family,
Filial piety and devotion arise.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

The six relations are not harmonious
There is filial piety and kind affection
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

When they do not respect each other,
they start talking about "political correctness" and "family values".
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

According to R.B. Blakney, the six relations referred to in this line are "father and son, elder and younger brothers, and husband and wife." Of course, there tends to be far more relationships in a nuclear or extended family, but the underlying point remains the same.

We only praise or criticize family members because their actions and behaviors too often are contrived. If everyone lived in the bosom of Tao, it would be meaningless to say that "She is a good daughter" or "He is a bad husband." Each of us would simply do what needed to be done at any given moment and everyone else would accept these thoughts and actions as what the situation called for.

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