ChineseStudy

55. The Newborn Child

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English translation

One who holds virtue in full measure may be compared to a newborn child.

The newborn represents life before affectation and calculated conflict. Deep virtue likewise works without posturing or aggressive self-protection.

Bees, scorpions, and venomous snakes do not sting or bite; fierce beasts do not seize; birds of prey do not strike.

The vivid image suggests that one who is as unthreatening and uncontentious as an infant provokes less hostility and conflict.

Its bones are weak and its muscles soft, yet its grip is firm.

Softness is not the absence of strength. The infant's natural grip shows a power that is full without becoming rigid or forceful.

Though the infant knows nothing of sexual union, its genitals can become erect; this shows the fullness of its vital essence.

The bodily response is spontaneous, not driven by conscious desire. It serves as an image of life energy that is whole and naturally abundant.

It can cry all day without growing hoarse; this shows harmony at its fullest.

The infant uses its voice without strained effort because breath and body work together naturally. Inner harmony allows sustained action with less exhaustion.

To understand harmony is to know what is constant; to know what is constant is clarity. To force life to increase is ominous.

Lasting life follows its own balance. Attempts to push, overfeed, or artificially intensify it can disrupt the very order that sustains it.

When the mind forces the vital breath, this is called coercive strength.

Life moves away from its natural balance when intention tries to dominate the body's energies. The warning concerns forced exertion, not vitality itself.

When things grow excessively strong, they begin to age. This is called departing from the Way; what departs from the Way comes to an early end.

Strength pushed beyond its proper measure turns into decline. Restraint helps prevent vigor from exhausting itself.

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