Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Seventy Six 

“A man is born gentle and weak. 
At his death he is hard and stiff. 
Green plants are tender and filled with sap. 
At their death they are withered and dry. 

Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death. 
The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life. 

Thus an army without flexibility never wins a battle. 
A tree that is unbending is easily broken. 

The hard and strong will fall. 
The soft and weak will overcome.”

This is about the power of softness and yielding and how it overcomes the hard and unyielding. It gives the examples of how it works. Those of us that practice Tai Chi utilise this power both physically and strategically all the time and are well aware of how powerful it is.