Most people, taking his words too literally, are apt to misinterpret them. People have also gained an impression of Laozi as a two-faced, contradictory character, who on the one hand advocates passive inaction, yet on the other analyzes politics and war. For instance there is the passage: "A wise ruler empties the people's minds, fills their bellies, softens their will and strengthens their bodies.
老子在人們印象中也成了「個性矛盾」的兩面人，一方面消極無為，一方面他對政治、戰爭的檢討，如「是以聖人之治，虛其心，實其腹，弱其志，強其骨。