“Therefore the place of what is firm and strong is below, and that of what is soft and weak is above.”

“There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet for attacking things that are firm and strong there is nothing that can take precedence of it;—for there is nothing (so effectual) for which it can be changed.”

“The soft overcomes the hard; and the weak the strong.”

“Water is fluid, soft & yielding but water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield ... what is soft is strong.”

“Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.”

“Тhe gentle overcomes the rigid.The slow overcomes the fast.The weak overcomes the strong."…"Everyone knows that the yielding overcomes the stiff,and the soft overcomes the hard.Yet no one applies this knowledge.”

“The hard and mighty lie beneath the groundWhile the tender and weak dance on the breeze above.”