Chapter 11 Weakness beats strong

Lao Tzu gave "Tao" the highest status in his philosophical system. The reason why "Tao" has endless status is because its nature is weak.Applying this point of view to life, it is "the weak overcome the strong". First of all, Laozi advocates weakness and opposes strength.He took the human body as an example, saying that when a person is alive, his physique is weak; when he is dead, his body becomes rigid.Taking the plastid of vegetation as an example, it is said that when the vegetation is thriving, the plastid is soft, but after decay, it becomes rigid.Then a general conclusion is drawn: "strong" things have lost their vitality, while "weak" things are full of vitality.In addition, he believes that only "weak" things can withstand external forces, while strong things are easily broken.For example, tall and strong trees are easy to be felled and broken by strong winds, but weak grass can sway with the wind and never break.Laozi also used water as an example to illustrate the role of weakness.

Therefore, Lao Tzu sighed and said that no one in the world does not know the phenomenon of softness over strong and weakness over strength, but no one can get enlightenment from it, so as to truly understand the meaning of weakness to life.Instead, people are self-expressive, self-righteous, and boastful. "The strong will not die", this is Lao Tzu's warning to teach people to live in the world. Secondly, Lao Tzu advocates "being subordinate" and "not fighting", and opposes "being the first in the world".He used the river and the sea as a metaphor, thinking that the river and the sea are in low-lying places, so they can accommodate the flow of hundreds of rivers, and all the rivers flow into the river and sea.The sage has the character of "being subordinate" and "not fighting", so he can be above the people, and the people do not feel burdened and victimized, and are happy to support him and not tire of him.Because of "do not fight", no one in the world will fight with him, nor will he cause resentment and crime. "Don't dare to be the first in the world, so you can become a leader", that is to say, because you don't dare to be ahead of the people in the world, you can become the leader of all things.In Lao Tzu's view, the life attitude of "being subordinate" and "not fighting" is also called "keeping the female".

Lao Tzu repeatedly emphasizes these propositions in the book, for example, it is said that grievances can be preserved, grievances can be stretched, low-lying areas can be filled, dilapidated areas can be reborn, taking less can lead to more gains, and greed can lead to confusion.It is also said that those who are good at being generals do not show off their valor, those who are good at fighting do not provoke, those who are good at winning do not fight, and those who are good at employing others are humble. In the contradiction between "weakness" and "strongness", being able to see the role of "weakness" is Lao Tzu's uniqueness and his depth.These are the conclusions he draws from the transformation examples of many things by observing nature and society.It also has a certain reference effect on our conduct, methods and strategies today, so we need to critically understand Lao Tzu's thought.