道德經 第76章
人之生也柔弱
The Material Physics of Yielding
Chinese Text
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。
Translation
人之生也柔弱，其死也堅強 When humans live, they are yielding and pliable. When they die, they are hard and stiff.
草木之生也柔脆，其死也枯槁 When grasses and trees live, they are yielding and tender. When they die, they are withered and desiccated.
故堅強者死之徒，柔弱者生之徒 Therefore: the hard and stiff are followers of death. The yielding and pliable are followers of life.
是以兵強則滅，木強則折 Therefore: when weapons are rigid, they are destroyed. When wood is rigid, it breaks.
強大處下，柔弱處上 The rigid and large occupy the lower position. The yielding and pliable occupy the upper position.
Key Terms
| Character | Pinyin | Structural Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 柔 | róu | yielding, flexible, soft |
| 弱 | ruò | pliable (double 弓 = bends and springs back) |
| 堅 | jiān | hard, solid, unyielding |
| 強 | qiáng | stiff, rigid, forceful |
| 脆 | cuì | tender, crisp, flexible |
| 枯槁 | kū gǎo | withered and desiccated |
| 徒 | tú | follower, category member |
| 則 | zé | transformation operator (when X → Y) |
| 處 | chù | occupy position |
The Material Observation
| State | Property | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 生 (living) | 柔弱 / 柔脆 | Humans bend, plants flex |
| 死 (dead) | 堅強 / 枯槁 | Rigor mortis, dead wood |
Empirical observation: living tissue is pliable, dead tissue is rigid.
The Classification
堅強者 = 死之徒 (rigid = death's category)
柔弱者 = 生之徒 (yielding = life's category)
徒 = category membership. The property indicates class, not prediction.
The Consequence
| Condition | 則 | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 兵強 (weapons rigid) | → | 滅 (destroyed) |
| 木強 (wood rigid) | → | 折 (breaks) |
則 marks structural consequence: rigidity → breakage.
The Position
強大 (rigid/large) → 處下 (below, foundation)
柔弱 (yielding/pliable) → 處上 (above, functional)
- Tree: rigid trunk below, flexible branches above
- Organization: rigid structure foundation, adaptive response functions
- System: fixed base supports, flexible action operates
The Mistranslation
| Traditional | Structural |
|---|---|
| 強 = “strong” (positive) | 強 = rigid (correlates with death) |
| 弱 = “weak” (negative) | 弱 = yielding (correlates with life) |
The value coding is reversed. What appears “strong” is in the death-category. What appears “weak” is in the life-category.
Connection to Framework
| Chapter | Principle | Ch 76 Shows |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 曲則全 (bend → complete) | 柔弱者生之徒 |
| 40 | 弱者道之用 (yielding is function) | 柔弱處上 |
| 8 | Water yields, persists | Living tissue yields, persists |
What This Is NOT Saying
❌ “Be flexible so you can win” ❌ “Weakness overcomes strength” ❌ Moral prescription about humility
What This IS Saying
✓ Living things are materially yielding ✓ Dead things are materially rigid ✓ Rigidity is classified with death ✓ Rigid things break under stress ✓ This is physics, not advice
Confidence Assessment
弱 has double 弓 (bow) = bends under tension, springs back. Empirical: living tissue is pliable, dead is rigid.
Rigor mortis, dead wood. The chapter explicitly classifies rigidity with death.
徒 = category/follower. Property indicates class membership, not prediction.
則 operator: rigid → destroyed/breaks. Consistent across domains.
Yielding occupies functional position; rigid occupies foundation. Not moral hierarchy.
Version History
Initial translation with RSM v0.988 alignment