Chapter 76

Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing)
Classic of the Way and Virtue



By Lao Tzu (Laozi)


 

Compiled and Indexed by Michael P. Garofalo

Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Center, Gushen Grove Notebooks, Vancouver, Washington

Chapter 75     Chapter 77     Index to All the Chapters     Taoism     Cloud Hands Blog

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Chapter 76

Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing) by Lao Tzu

Classic Book (Ching) about the Tao (Way, Nature, Patterns, Processes) and Te (Virtue, Potency, Power, Integrity, Wise Person, Sage)

 

Indexing, Concordance, Search Terms, Topics, Themes, Keys, Subjects 


English and Chinese (Wade-Giles) Terms:  Grass (ts'ao), Trees (mu), Soft and Supple is Best, Stay or Stop or Rest (ch'u), Companion or Comrade (t'u), Man or Person (jên), Yielding is Wise, Tenderness, Army or Soldiers (ping), Growing or Born (shêng), Withered, Weak or Gentle (jo), Dry, Rigid or Decayed (k'u), Yielding, Unyielding or Stiff (ch'iang), Below or Lower or Beneath (hsia), Caution Against Strength, Military Power, Tender or Soft or Pliant (jou), Flexibility, Death (ssu), Delicate or Supple (ts'ui), Above or Higher or Superior (shang), Beware of Strength, Ten Thousand (wan), Things or Beings (wu), Fell, Chop Down, Weapons, Hard or Stiff or Rigid (chien), Dry or Rotten (kao), Great or Big (ta),  戒強


Términos en Español:  Árboles,
Hierba, Suave y Flexible es Mejor, Estancia, Parada, Descanso, Compañero, Hombre, Persona, Ceder, Ternura, Ejército, Creciente, Nacido, Marchito, Débil, Suave, Rígido, Decaído, Inflexible, Inferior, Esconde, Precación, Fuerza, Potencia Militar, Pliant, Flexibilidad, Muerte, Delicado, Por Encima, Superior, Guardaos de Fuerza, Diez Mil, Cosas, Tronchar, Armas, Duro, Seco, Podrido, Grande. 

Electronic Concordance for Chapters 1 - 81 of the Tao Te Ching

 

 

 

 

English Language Translations of the Tao Te Ching

 

 

"At birth, a man is soft and weak.
At death, he is strong and powerful.
From grass to trees, all things begin life weak and frail.
At death, they are withered and dry.
Therefore, the Strong and Powerful are disciples of Death.
The Soft and Weak are disciples of Life.
Thus military strength does not ensure Victory.
A tree's strength is like the army;
the Big and Strong decline,
the Soft and Weak prevail."
-  Translation by Karl Kromal, Chapter 76 

 

 

"Man alive is tender, gentle,
Hard and fast in death.
Living plants are tender, fragile,
Dry and frail in death.
For fast and hard are marks of dying,
And gentle, tender marks of life.
Strength in arms bring destruction,
And the strong branch will be broken.
Let strength and might be put below,
And tender, gentle in control."
-  Translated by Moss Roberts, 2001, 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

 

 

"When alive, people are pliable and soft; at death, people become rigid and hard.
When alive, grasses and trees are flexible and tender; at death, they become withered and rotten.
Therefore, rigidity leads to death, flexibility results in survival.
It is because of this, the inflexible army would be defeated, like stiff trees would be broken by wind.
The big and rigid would be overtaken by the nimble and flexible."
-  Translated by Thomas Z. Zhang, Chapter 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 

 

 

"A human body is weak and pliable at birth, and is stiff and hard at death.
Grass and trees are tender and soft at birth, and are dry and brittle at death.
Therefore,
The hard and strong belong to the company of death;
The soft and weak belong to the company of life.
It follows then:
A strong army is destined to be destroyed;
A hard wood tree is doomed to be broken.
The hard and strong are in an inferior position,
The soft and weak are in a superior position."
-  Translated by David Hong Cheng, 2000, Chapter 76

 

 


"Humans are born soft and weak.
They die stiff and strong.
The ten thousand plants and trees
Are born soft tender,
And die withered and sere.
The stiff and strong
Are Death's companions
The soft and weak
Are Life's companions.
Therefore the strongest armies do not conquer,
The greatest trees are cut down.
The strong and great sink down.
The soft and weak rise up."
-  Translated by Stephen Addis, 1993, 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 

 

 

Creative Commons License
This webpage work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Created by Michael P. Garofalo, Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Center, Gushen Grove Notebooks, Vancouver, Washington  © 2020 CCA 4.0

 

 

 

Tao Te Ching  Translated by Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo  

Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching  Translated by John C. Wu

Lao-Tzu and the Tao-Te-Ching  Translated by Livia Kohn

Dao De Jing: The Book of the Way Translated by Moss Roberts

 

                             

 

 

 

"When people are born they are supple, and when they die they are stiff..
When trees are born they are tender, and when they die they are brittle.
Stiffness is thus a companion of death, flexibility a companion of life.
So when an army is strong it doe not prevail. When a tree is strong, it is cut for use.
So the stiff and strong are below, the supple and yielding on top."
-  Translated by Thomas Cleary, 1991, Chapter 76 

 

 

Cloud Hands Blog

 

 

"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  

 

 

"At birth one is soft and flexible; at death one is stiff and brittle. 
A fresh shoot is perfect supple; a weathered branch snaps in a wind. 
Flexibility is life; rigidity is death. 
If your weapon is too strong, it will bring your own destruction. 
If a tree is too strong, it will fall. 
The mighty are scum. 
The low are exalted."
-  Translated by Crispin Starwell, 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 

 

 

"While alive, humans are soft and pliable, but, when dead, they are hard and stiff.
While alive, plants, trees, and all the other myriad things are also soft and fragile, but, when dead, they are dried up and withered.
Thus it is that the hard and stiff are adherents of death, and the soft and pliable are adherents of life.
This is why, if military power is stiff, it will not be victorious.
If a tree is stiff, it will be attacked.
The stiff [strong] and great occupy a position below.
The soft and pliant occupy a position above."
-  Translated by Richard John Linn, Chapter 76 

 

 

"When people are born they are supple and soft
When they die they are stiff and hard
What is full of life is lithe and moist and resilient
What is drained of it is brittle, withered, dry
The former are the marks of life
While the latter are the marks of death
If a soldier is stiff, whether with fear or pride, he will be defeated
If a tree is stiff, it will fall to the next wind
If you become stiff to raise yourself above others, you will fall
Let yourself fall, be supple and responsive, and you will be lifted"
-  Translated by Ted Wrigley, Chapter 76 

 

 

 

Simple Taoism: A Guide to Living in Balance  By Alexander Simkins. 
The Tao of Daily Life: The Mysteries of the Orient Revealed  By Derek Lin. 
Everyday Tao: Living with Balance and Harmony   By Ming-Dao Deng. 
Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices
The Tao of Pooh   By Benjamin Hoff. 
Scholar Warrior: An Introduction to the Tao in Everyday Life  By Ming-Dao Deng. 
Vitality, Energy, Spirit: A Taoist Sourcebook  Translated by Thomas Cleary. 

 

                             

 

 

 

"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 

 

 

A Chinese Language Version of Chapter 76 of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
A note on my style of displaying the Chinese characters of the Tao Te Ching


 

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

 


Audio Version in Chinese of Chapter 76 of the Tao Te Ching

 

 

ren zhi sheng ye rou ruo. 
qi si ye jian qiang. 
cao mu zhi sheng ye rou cui. 
qi si ye ku gao. 
gu jian qiang zhe si zhi tu.   
rou ruo zhe shang zhi tu. 
shi yi bing qiang ze mie. 
mu qiang ze zhe. 
jian qiang chu xia. 
rou ruo chu shang.
-  Hanyu Pinyin (1982) Romanization, Daodejing, Chapter 76

 

 

 

 

 

Tao Te Ching in Chinese characters and English (includes a word by word key) from YellowBridge

Tao Te Ching in Chinese characters, Pinyin Romanization, English and German by Dr. Hilmar Alquiros. 

Laozi Daodejing: Chapters with Chinese characters, seal script, detailed word by word concordance, Pinyin (tone#), German, French and English. 

Chinese and English Dictionary, MDGB

Chinese Character Dictionary

Dao De Jing Wade-Giles Concordance by Nina, Dao is Open

Dao De Jing English and Wade-Giles Concordance by Mike Garofalo

Tao Te Ching in Pinyin Romanization with Chinese characters, WuWei Foundation

Tao Te Ching in Pinyin Romanization

Tao Te Ching in Chinese characters and English

Tao Te Ching: English translation, Word by Word Chinese and English, and Commentary, Center Tao by Carl Abbott

Tao Te Ching in Chinese characters, English, Word by word analysis, Zhongwen

Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition  Chinese characters, Wade-Giles Romanization, and a list of meanings for each character by Jonathan Star 

Tao Te Ching in Chinese characters: Big 5 Traditional and GB Simplified

Convert from Pinyin to Wade Giles to Yale Romanizations of Words and Terms: A Translation Tool from Qi Journal

Chinese Characters, Wade-Giles and Pinyin Romanizations, and 16 English Translations for Each Chapter of the Daodejing by Mike Garofalo. 

Tao Te Ching in Chinese characters, Pinyin and Wade Giles Romanization spellings, English; a word for word translation of the Guodian Laozi Dao De Jing Version. 

Lao Zi's Dao De Jing: A Matrix Translation with Chinese Text by Bradford Hatcher. 

 

 

"While a person is alive, he is soft and yeilding;
When dead, in the end they become stretched out stiff and rigid.
All living things including trees and plants are flexible and fragile while alive;
When dead, they become dry, withered and rotten.
Therefore it is said that those who are stiff and rigid are companions of death; while those who are soft, yeilding, flexible and fragile are companions of life.
A rigid weapon thus will be defeated;
A rigid tree thus will break.
What is rigidly large dwells below;
What is soft, yielding, flexible and fragile dwells above."
-  Translated by Nina Correa, 2005, Chapter 76 

 

 

"Man, born tender and yielding,
Stiffens and hardens in death.
All living growth is pliant,
Until death transfixes it.
Thus men who have hardened are 'kin of death'
And men who stay gentle are 'kin of life.'
Thus a hard-hearted army is doomed to lose.
A tree hard-fleshed is cut down:
Down goes the tough and big,
Up comes the tender sprig."
-  Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 76 

 

 

 

Walking the Way: 81 Zen Encounters with the Tao Te Ching by Robert Meikyo Rosenbaum

The Tao of Zen by Ray Grigg

Lifestyle Advice from Wise Persons

Tao Te Ching: Zen Teachings on the Taoist Classic by Takuan Soho 

Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face: Scripture, Ritual, and Iconographic Exchange in Medieval China by Christine Mollier  

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

 

                                     

 

 

 

"Human beings are soft and supple when alive, stiff and straight when dead.
The myriad creatures, the grasses and trees are soft and fragile 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.
An army that is inflexible will not conquer;
A tree that is inflexible will snap.
The unyielding and mighty shall be brought low;
The soft, supple, and delicate will be set above."
-  Translated by Victor H. Mair, Chapter 76 

 

 

"The human body is born soft and supple;
after death it is hard and stiff.
Plants and trees are pliant and limber when they sprout,
after death they are inflexible and rigid.

Therefore, hard and inflexible are characteristics of death.
Pliant and flexible are characteristics of life.

Thus, an army that is inflexible will be conquered
and a tree that does not yield to
the wind will snap.

The hard and inflexible will succumb.
The pliant and flexible will endure."
-  Translated by John Worldpeace, Chapter 76 

 

 

"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
is a disciple of death.
Whoever is soft and yielding
is a disciple of life.

The hard and stiff will be broken.
The soft and supple will prevail.
-  Translated by Stephen Mitchell, 1988, Chapter 76

 

 

Creative Commons License
This webpage work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Created by Michael P. Garofalo, Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Center, Gushen Grove Notebooks, Vancouver, Washington  © 2020 CCA 4.0

 

 

 

Revealing the Tao Te Ching: In-Depth Commentaries on an Ancient Classic  By Hu Xuzehi
Tao Te Ching  Annotated translation by Victor Mair  
Reading Lao Tzu: A Companion to the Tao Te Ching with a New Translation  By Ha Poong Kim
The Philosophy of the Daodejing  By Hans-Georg Moeller  
Dao De Jing: A Philosophical Translation  By Roger T. Ames and David T. Hall
Be Enlightened! A Guidebook to the Tao Te Ching and Taoist Meditation: Your Six-Month Journey to Spiritual Enlightenment   By Wes Burgess
The Way and Its Power: Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching and Its Place in Chinese Thought   By Arthur Waley

 

                             

 

 

 

"When people are born they are gentle and soft.
At death they are hard and stiff.
When plants are alive they are soft and delicate.
When they die, they wither and dry up.
Therefore the hard and stiff are followers of death.
The gentle and soft are the followers of life.
Thus, if you are aggressive and stiff, you won't win.
When a tree is hard enough, it is cut. Therefore
The hard and big are lesser,
The gentle and soft are greater."
-  Translated by Charles Muller, Chapter 76 

 

 

"At birth a person is soft and supple; at their deaths they are firm and strong.
All creatures, plants and trees are born tender and flexible,
when they are dead they become brittle and dried.
Thus it is that people who are stiff and hard are companions of death.
The soft and yielding are the followers of life.
It can be seen that a great inflexible army will fall under it's own weight,
just as a stiff unyielding tree will break in the wind.
Dwelling in an inflexible unyielding manner will bring downfall.
The pliant and supple will survive."
-  Translated by Rivenrock, Chapter 76  

 

 

"People are soft and weak in life,
hard and strong in death.
The ten thousand plants and trees are soft and frail in life,
withered and brittle in death.
Things hard and strong follow death's ways and things soft and weak follow life's:
so it is that strong armies never overcome and strong trees always suffer the axe.
Things great and strong dwell below.
Things soft and weak dwell above."
-  Translated by David Hinton, Chapter 76 

 

 

 

The Complete Works of Lao Tzu: Tao Teh Ching & Hua Hu Ching   Translation and elucidation by Hua Ching Ni
The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu   Translated by Brian Walker
Tao Te Ching  Translated by Arthur Waley
Tao - The Way   Translated by Lionel and and Herbert Giles
Taoism: An Essential Guide   By Eva Wong

 

                             

 

 

 

"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.
Thus it is that firmness and strength are the concomitants of death;
softness and weakness, the concomitants of life.
Hence he who relies on the strength of his forces does not conquer;
and a tree which is strong will fill the outstretched arms, (and thereby invites the feller.)
Therefore the place of what is firm and strong is below, and that of what is soft and weak is above." 
-  Translated by Andre Gauthier, Chapter 76  

 

 

"the ancient child asks
how do you get out of the body-mind's way and let it live
by allowing your soul to take the lead of your life
the ancient child asks
how do you let the soul take the lead of your life
be as gentle and tender as a newborn
soft, yielding, supple, and full of life force
avoid stiffness, rigidity, and naked force
emulate the living things in the world delicately
and at a distance
avoid hardening your bodymind and spirit
avoid those unyielding things that stink of decay
embody those things that are tender and pliant
which grant life and freedom
avoid mustering your talents and collecting your strengths
in a forceful or headstrong manner
remember
an unyielding tree will snap under a strong wind
or fall easily under a dull axe
pattern yourself after a great tree
will deep roots and strong branches
and you will exalt your bodymind and spirit."
-  Translated by John Bright-Fey, 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

 

 

 

Lieh-Tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living  Translated by Eva Wong
The Daodejing of Laozi   Translated by Philip Ivahoe 
Daoism: A Beginner's Guide   By James Miller
Early Daoist Scriptures  Translated by Stephen Bokencamp
Lifestyle Advice from Wise Persons
Simple Taoism: A Guide to Living in Balance  By Alexander and Annellen Simpkins
Practical Taoism  Translated by Thomas Cleary
Daoism and Chinese Culture  By Livia Kohn

 

                                       

 

 

 

"In life, man is soft and tender,
In death, he is rigid and hard.
In life, plants and trees are soft and pliant,
In death, they are withered and tough.
Thus rigidity and hardness are companions of death.
Softness and tenderness are companions of life.
That is why the soldier who trusts only in strength does not conquer,
The tree that relies on its strength invites the axe.
Great strength dwells below,
Softness and tenderness dwell above."
-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 76

 

 

"While alive, a man's body is supple;
When dead, it becomes hard.
While alive, grass and trees are supple;
When dead, they become dry and stiff.
Thus the hard and strong is of the dying sort;
The supple and weak is of the living sort.
That is why the army, having grown strong, will be wiped out,
And the tree, when grown up, will be cut down.
Thus the strong and big is inferior
To the weak and supple."
-  Translated by Gu Zhengkun, Chapter 76

 

 

"Men, when born, are weak and soft; when dead, they are stiff and hard.
When inanimate object say, the vegetable creation first produced, they are soft and tender; when dead, they are hard and dry.
Wherefore hardness and rigidity are associated with death; softness and weakness with life.
So, when soldiers are violent, they gain no victories; when the tree is strong, a combination of strength is used to fell it.
Its big parts are below; its soft and tender parts above."
-  Translated by Frederic Henry Balfour, 1884, Chapter 76 

 

 

 

Further Teachings of Lao-Tzu: Understanding the Mysteries (Wen Tzu)   Translated by Thomas Cleary

The Lunar Tao: Meditations in Harmony with the Seasons   By Deng Ming-Dao

Awakening to the Tao   By Lui I-Ming (1780) and translated by Thomas Cleary

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices   By Mike Garofalo

Zhuangzi: The Essential Writings with Selections from Traditional Commentaries   Translation and commentary by Brook Ziporyn

The Inner Chapters of Chuang Tzu (Zhuangzi)   Translated by A. C. Graham

 

                                  

 

 

 

"Man in his life is tender and weak,
He dies, and is rigid and strong,
Trees and grass in their life are supple and weak,
They die, and are stiff as a prong;
What accompany life are the tender and weak,
And death are the stiff and the strong.
The conqueror fails who relies on his strength,
The tree in its strength the woodman will chop,
The strong and the great will stay under, at length,
And the tender and weak on the top.
-  Translated by Isaac Winter Heysinger, 1903, Chapter 76

 

 

 

Tao Te Ching
 Chapter Number Index


Standard Traditional Chapter Arrangement of the Daodejing
Chapter Order in Wang Bi's Daodejing Commentary in 246 CE
Chart by Mike Garofalo
Subject Index
 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
81                  

 

 

 

"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  

 

 

"Der Mensch, wenn er ins Leben tritt,
ist weich und schwach,
und wenn er stirbt,
so ist er hart und stark.
Die Pflanzen, wenn sie ins Leben treten,
sind weich md zart,
und wenn sie sterben,
sind sie dürr und starr.

Darum sind die Harten und Starken
Gesellen des Todes,
die Weichen und Schwachen
Gesellen des Lebens.

Darum:
Sind die Waffen stark, so siegen sie nicht.
Sind die Bäume stark, so werden sie gefällt.
Das Starke und Große ist unten.
Das Weiche und Schwache ist oben."
-  Translated by Richard Wilhelm, 1911, Chapter 76

 

 

"Die Wirkungskraft des Lebendigen
Weich und zart ist der Mensch bei seiner Geburt,
starr und knöchern, wenn er stirbt.
Fein und biegsam sind die Pflanzen, wenn sie entstehen,
hart und saftlos, wenn sie absterben.
Starr und hart ist, was dem Tod anheimfällt,
weich und zart ist, was vom Leben erfüllt ist.

Wer glaubt, nur durch Waffen stark sein zu können,
wird nicht siegen;
mächtig scheinende Bäume sind immer am Ende.

Daher gilt:
Was groß und mächtig scheint,
ist schon auf dem Weg zum Zerfall,
was aber unscheinbar, zart und weich ist, das wächst."
-  Translated by Rudolf Backofen, 1949, Chapter 76

 

 

"Man when living is soft and tender; when dead he is hard and tough.
All animals and plants when living are tender and fragile; when dead they become withered and dry. Therefore it is said: the hard and the tough are parts of death, the soft and the tender are parts of life.
This is the reason why soldiers when they are too tough cannot carry the day; the tree when it is too tough will break.
The position of the strong and great is low, and the position of the weak and tender is high."
-  Translated by Ch'u Ta-Kao, 1904, Chapter 76  

 

 

Creative Commons License
This webpage work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Created by Michael P. Garofalo, Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Center, Gushen Grove Notebooks, Vancouver, Washington  © 2020 CCA 4.0

 

 

Tao Te Ching: An Illustrated Journey   Translated by Stephen Mitchell

Tao Te Ching   Translated by David Hinton

The Book of Tao: Tao Te Ching - The Tao and Its Characteristics   Translated by James Legge

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: Growth of a Religion   By Isabelle Robinet

Zhuangzi (Chuang Tsu), Daoist Scripture: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Quotations, Notes

Zhuangzi: Basic Writings   Translated by Burton Watson

Zhuangzi Speaks: The Music of Nature   An illustrated comic by Chih-chung Ts'ai

Lifestyle Advice from Wise Persons

 

                                              

 

 

 

"Man at his birth is supple and tender, but in death he is rigid and strong.
It is the same with everything.
Trees and plants in their early growth are pliant and soft, but at the end they are withered and tough.
Thus rigidity and strength are concomitants of death, but softness and gentleness are companions of life.
Therefore the warrior who relies on his strength cannot conquer death, while the powerful tree becomes a mere timber support.
For the place of the strong and the firm is below, while that of the gentle and yielding is above."
-  Translated by Walter Gorn Old, 1904, 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  

 

 

"At birth man is supple and weak, at death rigid and strong.
So with inanimate nature.
Say the vegetable creation, in its early growth it is pliable and brittle, at death it is decayed and withered.
It follows that rigidity and strength are the way to death; pliability and gentleness the way to life.
Hence a soldier who is arrogant cannot conquer; the tree which is strong is doomed.
The firm and the great occupy the lower place, the pliable and the meek the higher."
-  Translated by C. Spurgeon Medhurst, 1905, Chapter 76

 

 

"Quand l'homme vient au monde, il est souple et faible; quand il meurt, il est roide et fort.
Quand les arbres et les plantes naissent, ils sont souples et tendres; quand ils meurent, ils sont secs et arides.
La roideur et la force sont les compagnes de la mort; la souplesse et la faiblesse sont les compagnes de la vie.
C'est pourquoi, lorsqu'une armée est forte, elle n'emporte pas la victoire.
Lorsqu'un arbre est devenu fort, on l'abat.
Ce qui est fort et grand occupe le rang inférieur; ce qui est souple et faible occupe le rang supérieur."
-  Translated by Stanislas Julien, 1842, Chapter 76

 

 

 

Spanish Language Versions of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing)
Tao Te Ching en Español


Lao Tsé Tao Te Ching   Traducido al español por Anton Teplyy

Tao Te Ching   Traducido por Stephen Mitchell, versión española  

Tao Te Ching   Traducido al español por el Padre Carmelo Elorduy

Lifestyle Advice from Wise Persons   Consejos de Estilo de Vida de Sabios

Tao Te Ching en Español

Lao Tzu-The Eternal Tao Te Ching   Traducido al español por Yuanxiang Xu y Yongjian Yin 

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices   By Mike Garofalo    Maduración Duraznos: Estudios y Prácticas Taoístas por Mike Garofalo

Tao Te Ching - Wikisource

Tao Te Ching   Traducido al español por William Scott Wilson. 

Lao Tzu - Tao Te Ching   Traducido al español por Javier Cruz

Tao te king   Translated by John C. H. Wu, , versión española  

Daodejing   Español, Inglés, y Chino Versiones Lingüísticas de la Daodejing


 

                                      

 

 


Spanish Language Translations of the Tao Te Ching

 

 

"El hombre al nacer es blando y flexible,
y al morir queda duro y rígido.
Las plantas al nacer son tiernas y flexibles
y al morir quedan duras y secas.
Lo duro y lo rígido
son propiedades de la muerte.
Lo blando y flexible
son propiedades de la vida.
Por esto, la fortaleza de las armas
es la causa de su derrota,
y el árbol robusto es derribado por las hachas.
Lo grande y poderoso caerá;
lo humilde y débil se levantará."
-  Translation from Wikisource, 2013,
Capítulo 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 

 

 

"Cuando una persona está viva, es blanda y flexible.
Cuando está muerta, se vuelve dura y rígida.
Cuando una planta está viva, es blanda y tierna. 
Cuando está muerta, se vuelve marchita y seca. 
Por ello, lo duro y lo rígido son compañeros de lo muerto:
     lo bando y lo fexible son compañeros de lo vivo. 
Así pues, un ejército ponderoso tiende a caer por su propio peso,
     al igual que la madera seca está lista para el hacha.
Lo grande y poderoso será colocado abajo; lo humilide y débil será honrado."
-  Translated into English by John C. H. Wu, Spanish version by Alfonso Colodrón, 2007,
Capítulo 76

 

 

"Cuando el hombre nace es suave y flexible.
Cuando el hombre muere se vuelve duro y rígido.
Las plantas y árboles nacen delicados y tiernos.
Pero al morir se vuelven secos y ásperos.
Por eso lo duro y rígidos son símbolos de la muerte;
lo suave y flexible son símbolos de la vida.
Por lo tanto: Un ejército demasiado poderoso no vencerá.
Un árbol duro está condenado a ser derribado.
Así: Los fuerte y poderoso deben estar abajo.
Lo débil y lo tierno están arriba."
Translation from Logia Medio Dia, 2015, Tao Te Ching, Capítulo 76

 

 

"El hombre, cuando entra en la vida,
es blando y débil,
mas muere rígido y fuerte.
Las plantas, cuando entran en la vida,
son tiernas y delicadas,
mas mueren secas y tiesas.
Los duros y fuertes
son compañeros de la muerte,
los blandos y flexibles,
de la vida
Con armas rígidas se puede vencer.
A los árboles fuertes les aguarda la tala.
Lo fuerte y grande es inferior.
Lo blando y flexible, superior."
-  Translation into Spanish from Richard Wilhelm's 1911 German Version by an Unknown Spanish Translator, 2015, Capítulo 76

 

 

Creative Commons License
This webpage work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Created by Michael P. Garofalo, Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Center, Gushen Grove Notebooks, Vancouver, Washington  © 2020 CCA 4.0

 

 

 

Lao Tzu, Lao Zi

 

 

Next Chapter of the Tao Te Ching #77

Previous Chapter of the Tao Te Ching #75

Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching 

 

 

 

Tao Te Ching
Commentary, Interpretations, Research Tools, Resources
Chapter 76

 

Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse.  Complete versions of all 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching by many different translators in many languages: 124 English, 24 German, 14 Russian, 7 Spanish, 5 French and many other languages.  Links are organized first by languages, and then alphabetically by translators.  Formatting varies somewhat.  The original website at Onekellotus went offline in 2012; but, the extensive collection of these Tao Te Ching versions was saved for posterity by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine and available as of 9/9/2015.  This is an outstanding original collection of versions of the Daodejing─ the Best on the Internet.  Caution: copyright infringement may sometimes be an issue at this website. 


Tao Te Ching, Translations into English: Terebess Asia Online (TAO).  124 nicely formatted complete English language translations, on separate webpages, of the Daodejing.  Alphabetical index by translators.  Each webpage has all 81 chapters of the Tao Te Ching translated into English.  A useful collection!  Many reformatted and colored versions from the original collection at Das Tao Te King von Lao Tse.  Caution: copyright infringement may sometimes be an issue at this website. 


Lao Tzu: Te-Tao Ching - A New Translation Based on the Recently Discovered Ma-wang-tui Texts (Classics of Ancient China) Translated with and introduction and detailed exposition and commentary by Professor Robert G. Henricks.  New York, Ballantine Books, 1992.  Includes Chinese characters for each chapter.  Bibliography, detailed notes, 282 pages. 


Daodejing by Laozi: Chapters with Chinese characters, seal script, detailed word by word concordance, Pinyin (tone#), German, French and English.  This is an outstanding resource for serious students of the Tao Te Ching


Tao Te Ching: A New Translation and Commentary.  By Ellen Chen.  Paragon House, 1998.  Detailed glossary, index, bibliography, notes, 274 pages. 


The Tao and Method: A Reasoned Approach to the Tao Te Ching.  By Michael Lafargue.  New York, SUNY Press, 1994.  640 pages.  Detailed index, bibliography, notes, and tables.  An essential research tool. 


Two Visions of the Way: A Study of the Wang Pi and the Ho-Shang Kung Commentaries on the Lao-Tzu.  By Professor by Alan Kam-Leung Chan.   SUNY Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture.  State University of New York Press, 1991.  Index, bibliography, glossary, notes, 314 pages.  ISBN: 0791404560.     


Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition  By Jonathan Star.  Translation, commentary and research tools.  New York, Jeremy P. Tarcher, Penguin, 2001.  Concordance, tables, appendices, 349 pages.  A new rendition of the Tao Te Ching is provided, then a verbatim translation with extensive notes.  Detailed tables for each verse provide line number, all the Chinese characters, Wade-Giles Romanization, and a list of meanings for each character.  An excellent print reference tool! 


Chinese Reading of the Daodejing  Wang Bi's Commentary on the Laozi with Critical Text and Translation.  By Professor Rudolf G. Wagner.  A SUNY Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture.  English and Mandarin Chinese Edition.  State University of New York Press; Bilingual edition (October 2003).  540 pages.  ISBN: 978-0791451823.  Wang Bi (Wang Pi, Fusi), 226-249 CE, Commentary on the Tao Te Ching.


Tao Te Ching  Translated by D. C. Lau.  Addison Wesley, Reprint Edition, 2000.  192 pages.  ISBN: 978-0140441314. 

 

 

                                                           

 

 

The Taoism Reader  By Thomas Cleary.  Shambhala, 2012.  192 pages.


Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao  By Wayne W. Dyer.  Hay House, Reprint Edition, 2009.  416 pages. 


The Lunar Tao: Meditations in Harmony with the Seasons.  By Deng Ming-Dao.  New York, Harper Collins, 2013.  429 pages.  


The Classic of the Way and Virtue: A New Translation of the Tao-te Ching of Laozi as Interpreted by Wang Bi.  Translated by Richard John Lynn.  Translations from the Asian Classics Series.  Columbia University Press, 2004.  256 pages. 


Tao Te Ching in Chinese characters, Pinyin Romanization, English and German by Dr. Hilmar Alquiros. 


Yellow Bridge Dao De Jing Comparison Table   Provides side by side comparisons of translations of the Tao Te Ching by James Legge, D. T. Suzuki, and Dwight Goddard.  Chinese characters for each paragraph in the Chapter are on the left; place your cursor over the Chinese characters to see the Pinyin Romanization of the Chinese character and a list of meanings. 


Translators Index, Tao Te Ching Versions in English, Translators Sorted Alphabetically by Translator, Links to Books and Online Versions of the Chapters 


Taoism and the Tao Te Ching: Bibliography, Resources, Links


Spanish Language Translations of the Tao Te Ching, Daodejing en Español, Translators Index 


Concordance to the Daodejing


The Tao of Zen.  By Ray Grigg.  Tuttle, 2012, 256 pages.  Argues for the view that Zen is best characterized as a version of philosophical Taoism (i.e., Laozi and Zhuangzi) and not Mahayana Buddhism. 


Chapter 1 in the Rambling Taoist Commentaries by Trey Smith.  The Rambling Taoists are Trey Smith and Scott Bradley. 


The Philosophy of the Daodejing  By Hans-Georg Moeller.  Columbia University Press, 2006, 176 pages.  


Valley Spirit, Gu Shen, Concept, Chapter 6   Valley Spirit Center in Red Bluff, California.   Sacred Circle in the Gushen Grove. 


Lao-tzu's Taoteching
 Translated by Red Pine (Bill Porter).  Includes many brief selected commentaries for each Chapter draw from commentaries in the past 2,000 years.  Provides a verbatim translation and shows the text in Chinese characters.  San Francisco, Mercury House, 1996, Second Edition, 184 pages.  An invaluable resource for commentaries.   


Reading Lao Tzu: A Companion to the Tao Te Ching with a New Translation  By Ha Poong Kim.  Xlibris, 2003, 198 pages. 


Dao De Jing: A Philosophical Translation  By Roger T. Ames and David T. Hall.  Ballantine, 2003, 256 pages. 


Thematic Index to the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching


Lieh-Tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living.  Translated by Eva Wong.  Lieh-Tzu was writing around 450 BCE.  Boston, Shambhala, 2001.  Introduction, 246 pages. 


Revealing the Tao Te Ching: In-depth Commentaries on an Ancient Classic.  By Hu Huezhi.  Edited by Jesse Lee Parker.  Seven Star Communications, 2006.  240 pages. 


Cloud Hands Blog   Mike Garofalo writes about Mind-Body Arts, Philosophy, Taoism, Gardening, Taijiquan, Walking, Mysticism, Qigong, and the Eight Ways.


The Whole Heart of Tao: The Complete Teachings From the Oral Tradition of Lao Tzu.
By John Bright-Fey.  Crane Hill Publishers, 2006.  376 pages.

 

 

 

 

                                                 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

Laozi, Dao De Jing

 

 

Gushen Grove Notebooks for the Tao Te Ching


Research and Indexing by
Michael P. Garofalo

Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Center, Gushen Grove Notebooks (2001-2020)

East Los Angeles, California, 1946-1998; Red Bluff, California from 1998-2017; Vancouver, Washington from 2107-

Green Way Research, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 76, 2011-2020. 

Indexed and Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo

 

This webpage was last modified, edited, maintained, expanded, improved or updated on November 1, 2019.    
 
This webpage was first distributed online on July 15, 2011.       

 

Creative Commons License
This webpage work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Created by Michael P. Garofalo, Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Center, Gushen Grove Notebooks, Vancouver, Washington © 2020 CCA 4.0

 

 

 

Michael P. Garofalo's E-mail

Brief Biography of Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.

 

 


Ripening Peaches: Daoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: Resources and Guides
 

Cloud Hands Blog


Valley Spirit Qigong

Ways of Walking

The Spirit of Gardening

Months: Cycles of the Seasons

Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu, Zhuang Zhou, Master Chuang)  369—286 BCE

Chan (Zen) and Taoist Poetry

Yang Style Taijiquan

Chen Style Taijiquan

Taoist Perspectives: My Reading List

Meditation

Bodymind Theory and Practices, Somaesthetics

The Five Senses

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

Grandmaster Chang San Feng

Virtues

Qigong (Chi Kung) Health Practices

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey: Notebooks of the Librarian of Gushen Grove

Cloud Hands: T'ai Chi Ch'uan

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Index to Cloud Hands and Valley Spirit Websites

 

Gushen Grove Notebooks for the Tao Te Ching 

Introduction

Bibliography  

Index to English Language Translators of the Tao Te Ching

Thematic Index 1-81  

Chapter Index 1-81    

Concordance to the Daodejing

Recurring Themes (Terms, Concepts, Leimotifs) in the Tao Te Ching

Spanish Language Translations of the Tao Te Ching

Resources

The Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) circa 500 BCE

 

 

Cloud Hands Blog

 

 

 

Tao Te Ching
 Chapter Number Index


Standard Traditional Chapter Arrangement of the Daodejing
Chapter Order in Wang Bi's Daodejing Commentary in 246 CE
Chart by Mike Garofalo
Subject Index
 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
81                  

 

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