Chapter 76
SEVENTY-SIX
When a baby is born it is tender and fragile; when it grows to be a man and dies, it becomes hard and
stiff. It is the same with everything. Herbs and trees when young and growing are tender and delicate, but when they become old and die, they become rigid and hard.
Therefore, those who are stiff and unyielding belong to the domain of death, while the tender and sympathetic belong to the realm of life. Those who are ruthless in battle do not gain the victory. When a tree becomes hard and rigid, it will soon decay. The large and hard are put at the bottom, the tender and delicate are placed on top.