<p>The overall meaning of the three is to suggest that the emperor shall not bathe in the wealth he possess and neglect the voice of his suffering people.</p>
<hr />
<p><strong>EDIT:</strong></p>
<p>As mentioned in @huotuichang's comment below, this phrase does not only apply to emperors, although it might have originally been used to refer to emperors.</p>
<hr />
<p>I'll explain each with their literal translation and connotation.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>五色令人目盲</p>
<p>&quot;Five colors blind your eyes.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Five colors</strong> refer to the treasures and jewelries. The various colors of luxuries shine to blind the eyes.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>五音令人耳聾</p>
<p>&quot;Five notes make one deaf.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Five notes</strong> refer to the pleasing music pieces. While one enjoys the melodies being played, he is not able to hear the crying of his people.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>五味令人口爽</p>
<p>&quot;Five flavors make one loses taste.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Five flavors</strong> refer to the tasteful foods and drinks. <strong>口爽</strong> means losing one's taste. If one eats such foods daily, he will eventually lose his taste and will not be able to swallow the foods of the poor.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-14T03:32:53.377Z
The clarification is good, although the first sentence, the "emperor" interpretation, is improper, insofar as I learned. In a nutshell, you don't have to relate this general saying to sovereignty stuff at all.
xiaohuamao
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-14T13:51:24.147Z
I have updated the answer. Thanks for clarifying!
Thomas Hsieh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-21T03:12:33.040Z
"五" does not really mean "Five". It means the variety denoted by the representative elements. "五色", "五音" and "五味" are specific terms.  Hence, we should capitalize them as "Five Colors", "Five Notes" and "Five Flavors".
Henry HO
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-21T04:05:19.773Z
I understand that they don't mean literally "five" in quantity. But I thought these are figurative terms (metaphors) rather than named entities, right?
Thomas Hsieh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-21T06:55:25.827Z
They appear more like religious terms than figurative terms to me.  (In fact, the translated version make perfect sense even when "five" is omitted.  e.g. "Flavors dull your taste".)
Henry HO
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-21T15:34:24.787Z
Yeah, that makes sense. You're probably right.
Thomas Hsieh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-13T17:11:41.443Z
2015-04-14T13:50:59.713Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Thomas Hsieh
<p>爽 = 爽傷</p>

<p><a href="http://baike.baidu.com/view/6864170.htm">http://baike.baidu.com/view/6864170.htm</a></p>

<p>五味令人口爽</p>

<p>Five flavours will hurt the mouth (taste buds?) Too much flavourful food will gradually erode your ability to taste.</p>

<p><a href="http://baike.baidu.com/view/344826.htm">http://baike.baidu.com/view/344826.htm</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-13T17:07:51.793Z
2015-04-13T17:07:51.793Z
monalisa
<p>To make long story short, 爽=错 in ancient Chinese. It is a negative word.</p>

<p>You still see it in modern Chinese such as 爽約, break the appointment.</p>

<p>Or 屡試不爽，attempts many times without failure. </p>

<p>Sorry I cannot help you with the translation. But it is a negative word.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-20T07:14:57.657Z
For example, "爽約"
Henry HO
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-14T15:46:15.207Z
2015-04-14T15:46:15.207Z
FortCpp
<p>From Dao De Jing (道德經), part 12:</p>

<pre><code>五色令人目盲 // Five colors make a man blind
五音令人耳聾 // Five notes make a man deaf
五味令人口爽
</code></pre>

<p>I have a problem with translation of the third line:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Five flavours make the mouth feel well.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>It seems proper, but it doesn't make sense, and moreover, on ctext.org it is translated contrary. The third line should also be negative. Where am I wrong?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-15T01:56:19.600Z
爽，犯錯﹑違失。见[台湾教育部国语辞典](http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/newDict/dict.sh?cond=%B2n&pieceLen=50&fld=1&cat=&ukey=-2074459115&serial=2&recNo=38&op=f&imgFont=1)。
tvk
<meaning-in-context>
道德經 (Dao De Jing): 「五味令人口爽」 translation
# 道德經 (Dao De Jing): 「五味令人口爽」 translation

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-04-13)

From Dao De Jing (道德經), part 12:
五色令人目盲 // Five colors make a man blind
五音令人耳聾 // Five notes make a man deaf
五味令人口爽

I have a problem with translation of the third line:

Five flavours make the mouth feel well.

It seems proper, but it doesn't make sense, and moreover, on ctext.org it is translated contrary. The third line should also be negative. Where am I wrong?

**Tags:** meaning-in-context

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 爽，犯錯﹑違失。见[台湾教育部国语辞典](http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/newDict/dict.sh?cond=%B2n&pieceLen=50&fld=1&cat=&ukey=-2074459115&serial=2&recNo=38&op=f&imgFont=1)。  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2015-04-13. Score: 8

The overall meaning of the three is to suggest that the emperor shall not bathe in the wealth he possess and neglect the voice of his suffering people.

---

**EDIT:**

As mentioned in @huotuichang's comment below, this phrase does not only apply to emperors, although it might have originally been used to refer to emperors.

---

I'll explain each with their literal translation and connotation.

> 五色令人目盲
>
> "Five colors blind your eyes."

**Five colors** refer to the treasures and jewelries. The various colors of luxuries shine to blind the eyes.

> 五音令人耳聾
>
> "Five notes make one deaf."

**Five notes** refer to the pleasing music pieces. While one enjoys the melodies being played, he is not able to hear the crying of his people.

> 五味令人口爽
>
> "Five flavors make one loses taste."

**Five flavors** refer to the tasteful foods and drinks. **口爽** means losing one's taste. If one eats such foods daily, he will eventually lose his taste and will not be able to swallow the foods of the poor.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: The clarification is good, although the first sentence, the "emperor" interpretation, is improper, insofar as I learned. In a nutshell, you don't have to relate this general saying to sovereignty stuff at all.  
> **username_2**: I have updated the answer. Thanks for clarifying!  
> **username_4**: "五" does not really mean "Five". It means the variety denoted by the representative elements. "五色", "五音" and "五味" are specific terms.  Hence, we should capitalize them as "Five Colors", "Five Notes" and "Five Flavors".  
> **username_2**: I understand that they don't mean literally "five" in quantity. But I thought these are figurative terms (metaphors) rather than named entities, right?  
> **username_4**: They appear more like religious terms than figurative terms to me.  (In fact, the translated version make perfect sense even when "five" is omitted.  e.g. "Flavors dull your taste".)  
> **username_2**: Yeah, that makes sense. You're probably right.  

---

### Answer by username_5 on 2015-04-13. Score: 7

爽 = 爽傷

<http://baike.baidu.com/view/6864170.htm>

五味令人口爽

Five flavours will hurt the mouth (taste buds?) Too much flavourful food will gradually erode your ability to taste.

<http://baike.baidu.com/view/344826.htm>


---

### Answer by username_6 on 2015-04-14. Score: 2

To make long story short, 爽=错 in ancient Chinese. It is a negative word.

You still see it in modern Chinese such as 爽約, break the appointment.

Or 屡試不爽，attempts many times without failure.

Sorry I cannot help you with the translation. But it is a negative word.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: For example, "爽約"  

---

