76. Softness and Life｜Tao Te Ching

人（rén）之（zhī）生（shēng）也（yě）柔（róu）弱（ruò），（）其（qí）死（sǐ）也（yě）坚（jiān）强（qiáng）。（）

When people are alive, they are soft and yielding; when they die, they become stiff and rigid.

Softness allows movement, change, and response. Rigidity marks the end of those living capacities.

万（wàn）物（wù）草（cǎo）木（mù）之（zhī）生（shēng）也（yě）柔（róu）脆（cuì），（）其（qí）死（sǐ）也（yě）枯（kū）槁（gǎo）。（）

Plants and all living things are tender and fragile while alive; when they die, they become dry and withered.

The growth of plants makes the same point: life appears in tender forms, while dry hardness signals that vitality is gone.

故（gù）坚（jiān）强（qiáng）者（zhě）死（sǐ）之（zhī）徒（tú），（）柔（róu）弱（ruò）者（zhě）生（shēng）之（zhī）徒（tú）。（）

Therefore, the hard and rigid belong with death, while the soft and yielding belong with life.

This does not praise helplessness. It values adaptability, restraint, and the flexibility that keeps life responsive.

是（shì）以（yǐ）兵（bīng）强（qiáng）则（zé）不（bù）胜（shèng），（）木（mù）强（qiáng）则（zé）共（gòng）。（）

Thus an army that relies on sheer force will not prevail, and a tree that grows rigid will be brought down.

Strength becomes brittle when it leaves no room to adjust. What can bend and adapt is more likely to endure.

强（qiáng）大（dà）处（chù）下（xià），（）柔（róu）弱（ruò）处（chù）上（shàng）。（）

What is hard and mighty takes the lower place; what is soft and yielding takes the higher place.

Following the image of living plants, hardness points toward decline, while softness still holds the capacity to grow.

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