A person is soft and weak when living,
but hard and stiff when dead.
So it is with all things.
Grass and trees alike
are soft and supple while living,
but dry and withered when dead.
Thus, the hard and stiff are companions of death;
the soft and weak are companions of life.

Therefore, if an army is unyielding, it will not win;
if a tree is too rigid, it will break.
The hard and strong are brought down;
the soft and weak are lifted up.