Chapter 76, Daodejing, Laozi

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 76

"A man living is yielding and receptive.
Dying, he is rigid and inflexible.
All Things, the grass and trees:
Living, they are yielding and fragile;
Dying, they are dry and withered.
Thus those who are firm and inflexible
Are in harmony with dying.
Those who are yielding and receptive
Are in harmony with living.
Therefore an inflexible strategy will not triumph;
An inflexible tree will be attacked.
The position of the highly inflexible will descend;
The position of the yielding and receptive will ascend."
-  Translated by R. L. Wing, 1986, Chapter 76 

"Human beings are
soft and supple when alive,
stiff and straight when dead.

The myriad creatures, grasses and trees are
soft and supple when alive,
dry and withered when dead.

Therefore it is said:
the rigid person is a disciple of death;
the soft, supple and delicate are lovers of life.

The army that is inflexible will not conquer;
the tree that cannot bend will snap!

The unyielding and mighty will be brought low;
the soft, supple and delicate will rise above them."
-  Translated by Jerry C. Welch, 1998, Chapter 76   

"The living are soft and yielding;
the dead are rigid and stiff.
Living plants are flexible and tender;
the dead are brittle and dry.
Those who are stiff and rigid
are the disciple of death.
Those who are soft and yielding
are the disciples of life.
The rigid and stiff will be broken.
The soft and yielding will overcome."
-  Translated by John H. McDonald, 1996, Chapter 76   

"When a person is living they are soft and easy to bend. 
When they are dead, they become hard and stiff. 
When a plant is living, it is soft and tender. 
When it is dead, it becomes withered and dry.

The hard and stiff belongs to the company of the dead. 
The soft and easy to bend belongs to the company of the living.

A mighty army can to fall by its own weight,
Just as dry wood is ready for the ax.

The mighty and great will be put low;
The humble and weak will be raised high."
-  Translated by J. L. Trottier, 1994, Chapter 76 


人之生也柔弱.
其死也堅強.
萬物草木之生也柔脆.
其死也枯槁.
故堅強者死之徒.
柔弱者生之徒.
是以兵強則不勝.
木強則共.
強大處下.
柔弱處上.
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 76

jên chih shêng yeh jou jo.
ch'i ssu yeh chien ch'iang.
wan wu ts'ao mu chih shêng yeh jou ts'ui.
ch'i ssu yeh k'u kao.
ku chien ch'iang chê ssu chih t'u. 
jou jo chê shêng chih t'u. 
shih yi ping ch'iang tsê pu shêng.
mu ch'iang tsê ping. 
ch'iang ta ch'u hsia.
jou jo ch'u shang.
-  Wade-Giles Romanization (1892), Tao Te Ching, Chapter 76


"When people are born, they are soft and yielding.
When people die, they are stiff and unyielding.
Ten-thousand things (everything) like grass and trees, when they are born, they are soft and supple.
When they die, they are rigid and dry.
Stiffness and unyielding are death’s companions.
Softness and yielding are life’s companions.
Unyielding armies will not win.
Unyielding trees become weapons.
Great strength dwells below.
Weakness dwells above."
-  Translated by Alan Sheets, 2002, Chapter 76 


"Abstain from Hardness
Chieh Ch'iang

Man is soft and weak at birth;
At death he is hard and rigid.
The ten thousand things, herbs and trees,
Are soft and delicate when growing up;
In dying, they wither and look haggard.
Thus hardness and rigidity are companions of death;
Softness and weakness are companions of life.
Therefore armies, having become rigid, will not win;
Trees, having become rigid, will break asunder.
The big and rigid will be laid low;
The soft and weak will be lifted up."
-  Translated by Henry Wei, 1982, Chapter 76
 

"El hombre al nacer es blando y débil;
cuando muere, rígido, firme y duro.
Las diez mil plantas y árboles son tiernos y frágilesal nacer;
cuando mueren están secos y consumidos.
De ahí el dicho:
'La firmeza y la dureza,
son atributos de la muerte;
la blandura y la debilidad,
son atributos de la vida.'
Por esta razón las armas fuertes no vencen,
el árbol vigoroso muere.
Lo firme y lo grande ocupan el lugar inferior;
lo blando y lo débil, el superior."
  -  Translated by Juan Ignacio Preciado, 1978, Capítulo 76  


"A living person is gentle and tender, while a dying person is rigid and hard.
A living plant is gentle and tender, while a dying plant is dry and withered.
Thus, one who is rigid and hard is on the way to die.
One who is gentle and tender is on the way to live.
Thus, a strong army will soon be annihilated.
A hard stick of wood will soon be broken.
A piece of hard leather will soon be split.
Teeth are stronger than lips, yet the teeth decay first.
Therefore, hardness and strength are inferior, gentleness and tenderness are superior."
-  Translated by Tang Zi-Chang, Chapter 76 


"Alive, a man is supple, soft;
In death, unbending, rigorous.
All creatures, grass and trees, alive
Are plastic but are pliant too,
And dead, are friable and dry.
Unbending rigor is the mate of death,
And wielding softness, company of life:
Unbending soldiers get no victories;
The stiffest tree is readiest for the axe.
The strong and mighty topple from their place;
The soft and yielding rise above them all."
-  Translated by Raymond Blakney, 1955, Chapter 76  


A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes over 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter.   

Chapter 76, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

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