Translation: The people starve because their rulers levy too many taxes; therefore they starve.
Analysis: The most straightforward interpretation. The rulers impose heavy taxes and levies, plundering the fruits of the people's labor in great quantities, leaving them without enough to eat. Heshanggong's commentary does not elaborate specifically, but the core of Wang Bi's annotation for the entire chapter lies precisely here: among the various manifestations of the rulers' "purposeful action" (有为), excessive taxation is the most fundamental.
Similar views: Consensus among all major commentators.
Translation: The people are impoverished because those above consume too much in taxes; therefore they are impoverished.
Analysis: Here "饥" (hunger) is taken in its broader sense of "poverty." It is not merely about not having enough to eat, but a comprehensive destitution—the rulers indulge in extravagant consumption, extracting the people's wealth, leading to the decline of the people's livelihood.
Similar views: The broader interpretation adopted by some commentators.
Translation: The people are difficult to govern because the rulers intervene excessively through purposeful action (有为); therefore they are difficult to govern.
Analysis: A direct application of Laozi's thought on non-action (无为). When rulers issue too many decrees, impose overly detailed regulations, and intervene excessively, the people become confused and resentful, making governance even more difficult. Wang Bi's annotation for the entire chapter carries this central thesis: the rulers' "purposeful action" (有为)—excessive taxation, over-governance, and extravagant pursuit of life's pleasures—is the root of all social problems.
Similar views: The core of Wang Bi's annotation for this chapter. Heshanggong: "民之不理，以其君上多有所为，政教烦也" — "The people cannot be well-ordered because their ruler above engages in too many actions, and governance and edicts become burdensome."
Translation: The people lack stability because the rulers' policies and measures are too numerous; therefore they lack stability.
Analysis: Here "治" (govern) takes the meaning of "stability," and "有为" (purposeful action) takes the meaning of "specific policies and decrees." The root of social turmoil lies not in the people themselves, but in the excessive policies issued from above—constant reversals, red tape, and bureaucratic burdens that the people can no longer endure. This echoes Chapter 57: "天下多忌讳，而民弥贫" — "The more prohibitions there are in the world, the poorer the people become."
Similar views: Chapter 57: "天下多忌讳，而民弥贫" — "The more prohibitions there are in the world, the poorer the people become."
Translation: The people take death lightly (are unafraid of death) because the rulers' pursuit of extravagant living is too excessive; therefore the people risk their lives recklessly.
Analysis: The most mainstream interpretation. "其" (their) refers to the rulers (an abbreviation of "其上," meaning "those above"). The rulers desperately pursue luxurious pleasures ("求生之厚," "pursuing life's pleasures excessively"), extracting from the people to serve their own needs, until the people are driven to desperation and no longer fear even death—as the saying goes, "民不畏死，奈何以死惧之" — "When the people do not fear death, what is the use of threatening them with death?" (Chapter 74). Heshanggong's annotation: "人君求生活之道太厚，奉养太奢。民为其困不聊生，轻入死地" — "The ruler pursues the way of living too lavishly, with upkeep too extravagant. The people, suffering hardship and unable to make a living, lightly enter the realm of death."
Similar views: Heshanggong's annotation. Directly echoes Chapter 74: "民不畏死" — "When the people do not fear death."
Translation: The people take death lightly because their own attachment to life is too excessive (too desperate to cling to life); therefore they paradoxically take death lightly.
Analysis: Here "其" (their) refers to the people themselves. This is a paradoxical interpretation: the more one clings to living (desperately grasping at life), the more one will take reckless risks and actually become unafraid of death. Excessive attachment to "living" (greed for wealth, greed for profit in order to survive) is precisely what leads to risking one's life. This forms a contrast with the next sentence, "无以生为者" ("those who do not make living their purpose").
Similar views: Interpretations by some commentators from the perspective of "valuing life" (贵生).
Translation: The people take death lightly because (the rulers) greedily extract the people's livelihood; therefore they take death lightly.
Analysis: Here "厚" (thick/excessive) takes the meaning of "greedy." The rulers insatiably exploit the people's wealth and resources, severely damaging the people's conditions for survival ("生" meaning "livelihood"), making life worse than death. Thus the people "take death lightly"—here, taking death lightly reflects not bravery but despair.
Similar views: Echoes Chapter 72: "无狎其所居，无厌其所生" — "Do not oppress their dwellings, do not weary their livelihood."
Translation: Only those who do not make the pursuit of life's pleasures their purpose surpass those who overvalue life.
Analysis: The conclusion of the entire chapter. Those who do not take material desires and pleasures as life's purpose actually live better and longer than those who desperately "value life" (贵生)—pursuing longevity and indulging in pleasures. This is consistent with the thought expressed in Chapter 50 regarding "善摄生者" ("one who is skilled at nurturing life")—the one who is truly skilled at nurturing life does not cling to "life."
Similar views: Echoes Chapter 50: "善摄生者" — "One who is skilled at nurturing life."
Translation: Only those who do not act deliberately for life's sake surpass those who cherish life (yet pursue it excessively).
Analysis: Here "以" takes the meaning of "because of." Those who do not act deliberately out of fear of death or desperation to survive (who do not anxiously strive for a living) are in fact wiser than those who excessively cherish life. This is the core proposition of Daoist "non-action as life cultivation" (无为养生)—the more deliberately one pursues life, the more one damages life.
Similar views: Heshanggong: "无以生为务者，是其贤于贵生也" — "Those who do not make life's pursuits their concern—they are superior to those who overvalue life."
Translation: Only those who do not pursue material desires are truly wise and virtuous, surpassing those who overvalue life.
Analysis: Here "贤" takes the meaning of "wise and virtuous" (贤明), carrying a moral evaluation. This interpretation goes beyond merely saying "better off" to assert "more virtuous"—on the moral plane, it negates the value orientation of "overvaluing life" (贵生), whether that means excessive health cultivation or indulgent hedonism.
Similar views: Interpretations with a morally evaluative dimension.
This chapter contains 10 interpretation combinations.
[Core Divergences]
Chapter 75 is one of the sharpest political critiques in the Tao Te Ching. The entire chapter is constructed with three perfectly parallel causal sentence patterns ("民之X，以其上之Y，是以X" — "The people's X is because their rulers' Y; therefore X"), with the spearhead aimed directly at the rulers: the people starve (excessive taxation) → the people are hard to govern (purposeful action / over-governance) → the people take death lightly (excessive pursuit of life's pleasures)—the rulers' three great crimes escalate progressively, from economic exploitation to political interference to moral degradation. The concluding line, "无以生为者，是贤于贵生" ("those who do not make living their purpose surpass those who overvalue life"), articulates the chapter's philosophical theme: the highest wisdom of survival lies not in desperately pursuing survival (overvaluing life / 贵生), but in transcending one's attachment to survival (not making living one's purpose / 无以生为). Wang Bi and Heshanggong share a highly consistent understanding of this chapter: the rulers' "purposeful action" (有为) is the root of all social problems; only by returning to non-action (无为), tranquility, and freedom from excessive desires can a state truly be well-governed.