Chapter 76

人之生也柔弱，其死也堅強。
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。
是以兵強則滅，木強則折。
強大處下，柔弱處上。

People are soft and weak when alive, hard and strong when dead.
Grass and trees are soft and tender when alive, dry and brittle when dead.
So the hard and strong are the companions of death; the soft and weak are the companions of life.
That is why a strong army is destroyed, a strong tree breaks.
The strong and great lie below; the soft and weak rise above.