老子 (帛書本)

Laozi, transcribed on silk, excavated from a Western Han dynasty tomb at Ma Wang Dui.

德经第四十一章

人之生也柔弱，其死也恒信坚强。万□□木之生也柔脆，其死也桔槁。故曰：坚强死之徒也，柔弱生之徒也。□以兵强则不朕，木强则兢。故强大居下，柔弱居上。

A person is supple and weak at birth but has firm beliefs and a stiff body by death;

[?] Vegetations are soft and brittle at birth but are dry and withered by their deaths.

Hence firmness and strength pursue death but softness and weakness pursue life.

[?] If an army gets too strong, it perishes; if a tree get too strong, it will grows big and tall, attracting its death - the lumberjack.

Thus, strength injures its pursuer, and yielding benefits its pursuer.

[?] - indicates the location of missing words.

Did I Dream of the Butterfly or am I a Figment of His Dream? - Zhuangzi (4th Century BCE)

On 'Inner Peace' - Folktale (11th Century)