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This is too important and prevalent an error to bury in the DDJ section so I have put it here. In Chapter Five of the Dao De Jing, there is this 姓 character which is usually translated as "people" but actually means: "surname / one's family name / a clan / a family / people" 以thus, 百 numerous, 姓 surnames, 為 acted upon, 芻狗 straw dogs In the chapters preceding this one, Lao Tzu speaks to errors of trying to stick out and be comptetive rather than working for the collective effort. What he is saying here is that "The sage doesn't judge by family lineages" (姓 is a picture of "woman" on the left and "birth" on the right, as ancient Chinese society was matrilineal) Here is my translation from the beginning to this line: Chapter Five 01 天地不仁, tiān dì bù rén, Heaven and Earth do not distinguish between one man and another 02 以萬物為芻狗。 yǐ wàn wù wéi chú gǒu。. Therefore, the myriad creatures are treated like straw dogs 03 聖人不仁, shèng rén bù rén, The wise do not show their favour 04 以百姓為芻狗。 yǐ bái xìng wéi chú gǒu。 Thus, all the clan affiliations and names are treated like straw dogs 05 天地之間, tiān dì zhī jiān, There is Heaven, and there is Earth, and thus there is the shining space in between them