Abstract: Daoism misses the beautiful ancient days when Dao was prevailing, but it does not shy away from reality. The 18th chapter of Laozi’s Tao Te Ching centers on the social problems arising from historical changes. Laozi mentions "ren yi" (benevolence and righteousness), "xiao ci" (filial and piety) and "zhong" (loyalty) without particular emphasis, but simply used historically rational statements. This demonstrates Laozi's dialectical thinking style of looking at both sides of arguments. The core purpose of Laozi's philosophical thinking is to guide people: to cultivate inner strength to achieve absolute sincerity and no delusions, in line with “tian de” (virtues of Heaven); and then to behave in an impartial and unselfish way, in line with “tian dao” (Dao of Heaven). The virtues of human can only be accumulated by conforming to the virtues and Dao of Heaven.

Key words: Bao su (degrading ethos), Min de (virtues of human), Xiao ci (filial and piety)