<p><strong>刍狗</strong></p>

<p><em>A Chinese-English Dictionary</em></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>straw dogs (used as offerings in ancient sacrifices, brought in with pomp but thrown away afterwards)</p>
</blockquote>

<p><br></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>天地不仁, 以万物为刍狗；圣人不仁, 以百姓为刍狗。(《道德经》) 
  tiāndì bù rén, yǐ wànwù wéi chú gǒu ； shèngrén bù rén, yǐ bǎixìng wéi chú gǒu. (《Dàodé Jīng》)</p>
  
  <p>Heaven and earth are ruthless, and treat the myriad creatures as straw dogs; the sage is ruthless, and treats the people as straw dogs.</p>
</blockquote>

<hr>

<p><em>ABC</em></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>person/thing discarded after use</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-01T10:24:05.207Z
This answer is wrong，This explanation is a wild spread  misread。
sfy
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-01T11:08:31.037Z
@Jacob which part?
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-05-01T20:55:45.073Z
agree. what's wrong about it? EDIT: oh, you were talking about 不仁 - tracking.:)
Master Sparkles
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-04-30T15:21:44.370Z
2015-04-30T15:21:44.370Z
Mou某
<p>刍狗 ：dogs made by straws（for sacrifice purpose）。</p>
<p>仁 means favour（prefer）</p>
<p>many people think 仁 means <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ruth" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ruth</a> which often appears in Confucius‘s quotes，that's not true。</p>
<p>天地不仁 。。。means heaven and earth don't favour anything，they treat humans and straw dogs in the same way.</p>
<p>圣人不仁。。。 means kings don't favour some of their people more than others，they don't meddle in their affairs。</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2015-05-01T17:05:25.393Z
2020-09-06T23:20:22.500Z
2020-09-06T23:20:22.500Z
sfy
<p>The term “straw dogs” (芻狗) may refer to dolls made of straw that served as offerings during ritual ceremonies and that were discarded and trampled upon as soon as the ceremony for which they are used had ended.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-02-06T06:30:51.883Z
2023-02-06T06:30:51.883Z
Shui Xian
<p>天地不仁，以萬物為芻狗 that's Dao De Jing Chapter 5, 
I give a try: heaven and earth are not benevolent (I understand)
萬物 all the creatures 為 act  芻狗 grass dogs? dogs playing on grass? dogs made of grass?
What to you think?
is my translation of the second line in the right direction?</p>

<translation><meaning>
the meaning of "grass dogs (dogs of grass)"
# the meaning of "grass dogs (dogs of grass)"

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-04-30)

天地不仁，以萬物為芻狗 that's Dao De Jing Chapter 5,
I give a try: heaven and earth are not benevolent (I understand)
萬物 all the creatures 為 act 芻狗 grass dogs? dogs playing on grass? dogs made of grass?
What to you think?
is my translation of the second line in the right direction?

**Tags:** translation, meaning


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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-04-30. Score: 5

**刍狗**

*A Chinese-English Dictionary*

> straw dogs (used as offerings in ancient sacrifices, brought in with pomp but thrown away afterwards)

> 天地不仁, 以万物为刍狗；圣人不仁, 以百姓为刍狗。(《道德经》)
> tiāndì bù rén, yǐ wànwù wéi chú gǒu ； shèngrén bù rén, yǐ bǎixìng wéi chú gǒu. (《Dàodé Jīng》)
>
> Heaven and earth are ruthless, and treat the myriad creatures as straw dogs; the sage is ruthless, and treats the people as straw dogs.

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*ABC*

> person/thing discarded after use

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: This answer is wrong，This explanation is a wild spread  misread。  
> **username_1**: @Jacob which part?  
> **username_3**: agree. what's wrong about it? EDIT: oh, you were talking about 不仁 - tracking.:)  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2015-05-01. Score: 3

刍狗 ：dogs made by straws（for sacrifice purpose）。

仁 means favour（prefer）

many people think 仁 means [ruth](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ruth) which often appears in Confucius‘s quotes，that's not true。

天地不仁 。。。means heaven and earth don't favour anything，they treat humans and straw dogs in the same way.

圣人不仁。。。 means kings don't favour some of their people more than others，they don't meddle in their affairs。


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### Answer by username_4 on 2023-02-06. Score: 0

The term “straw dogs” (芻狗) may refer to dolls made of straw that served as offerings during ritual ceremonies and that were discarded and trampled upon as soon as the ceremony for which they are used had ended.


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