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Chapter 36

将欲歙之

将jiāng欲yù歙xī之zhī，
必bì固gù张zhāng之zhī；
将jiāng欲yù弱ruò之zhī，
必bì固gù强qiáng之zhī；
将jiāng欲yù废fèi之zhī，
必bì固gù兴xīng之zhī；
将jiāng欲yù取qǔ之zhī，
必bì固gù与yǔ之zhī。
是shì谓wèi微wēi明míng
柔róu胜shèng刚gāng，
弱ruò胜shèng强qiáng。
鱼yú不bù可kě脱tuō于yú渊yuān，
国guó之zhī利lì器qì，
不bù可kě以yǐ示shì人rén。

a> To shrink it you must stretch it; to weaken it you must strengthen it; to discard it you must raise it up; to seize it you must bestow it – this is called subtle discernment.

b> The weak and supple overcomes the strong and hard.

c> Fish must not emerge from the deeps; the vital tools of a state must not be revealed.

A modern classroom translation, with labeled subsections for study.

© 2010, 2016, 2019 Robert Eno. Freely available for personal use and not-for-profit educational settings. For other purposes, apart from fair use, copyright is not waived.