Chapter LXXVI
(Chapter 76)
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Ko Yuen TranslationA Warning Against Rigidity |
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| 1. | At the birth of man, he is elastic and weak; at his death, rigid and unyielding1. This is the common law; trees also, in their youth, are tender and supple; in their decay, hard and dry. |
| 2. | So then rigidity and hardness are the stigmata of death; elasticity and adaptability, of life. |
| 3. | He then who putteth forth strength is not victorious; even as a strong tree filleth the embrace2. |
| 4. | Thus the hard and rigid have the inferior place, the soft and elastic the superior. |
S. Mitchell Translation |
| Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard. Plats are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible The hard and stiff will be broken. |
James Legge Translation |
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| 1. | Man at his birth is supple and weak; at his death, firm and strong. (So it is with) all things. Trees and plants, in their early growth, are soft and brittle; at their death, dry and withered. |
| 2. | Thus it is that firmness and strength are the concomitants of death; softness and weakness, the concomitants of life. |
| 3. | Hence he who (relies on) the strength of his forces does not conquer; and a tree which is strong will fill the out-stretched arms, (and thereby invites the feller.) |
| 4. | Therefore the place of what is firm and strong is below, and that of what is soft and weak is above. |
GNL not Lao InterpolationFlexibility |
| A newborn is soft and tender, A crone, hard and stiff. Plants and animals, in life, are supple and succulent; In death, withered and dry. So softness and tenderness are attributes of life, And hardness and stiffness, attributes of death. Just as a sapless tree will split and decay |
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Ko Yuen Commentary |
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| 1. | Unable to adapt himself to his environment. |
| 2. | Is ready for cutting, and also, unable to grow further, decays. |
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