Abandon sagehood and discard its institutions, return to the original and preserve the primordial. The Five Emperors set precedents and Cangjie created writing, but they were not as good as the Three Sovereigns who tied knots and had no written characters. Abandon wisdom — abandon intelligence, return to non-action. The people would benefit a hundredfold — agriculture is cultivated, the official has no private interests. Abandon benevolence and forsake righteousness — cut off the appearance of kindness in benevolence, abandon the preference for eloquent words in righteousness. The people will once again become filial and kind — it is the result of pure moral influence. Abandon skill and forsake profit — to abandon skill means to eliminate deceit and falsehood that confuse truth; to forsake profit is to block the path of greed and close the gate of power. There will be no thieves or bandits — when the ruler is just and moral, there are no wicked or selfish people below. These three things refer to the above three matters that have been abandoned, and are considered insufficient as culture alone — culture is not enough to educate the people; therefore, it is necessary to have something to which one can turn for guidance. See simplicity and embrace plainness — to see simplicity means to uphold simplicity and preserve authenticity, without valuing literary embellishment; to embrace plainness means to demonstrate sincerity and simplicity so as to set an example for the people below, thus becoming a model to follow. Reduce selfishness and minimize desires — to have little selfishness means to be upright and selfless; to have few desires means to know contentment.