[sic]:
If you want to do it, you will fix it; He who wants to be weak will be strong; If you want to abolish it, you will rejuvenate it; If you want to take it, you will fix it. It's a twilight. Weakness is better than strength. The fish must not be separated from the abyss, and the sharp weapon of the country cannot be shown.
Translation].If you want to make it converge, you might as well let it be publicized for the time being; If you want to weaken it, you might as well make it stronger for now; If you want to destroy it, you might as well lift it up for the time being; If you want to deprive it, you might as well give it for now. This is called subtle, clear truth. The weak is better than the strong. If the fish wants to survive, they can't leave the pond, and the country's advantages can't be easily shown to others.
This chapter mainly describes Laozi's dialectical thought, which involves the duality of things and the dialectical relationship of contradiction transformation.
By metaphorizing the laws of movement and change in the natural world, such as "the extremes of things must be opposed" and "the extremes of prosperity and decline", Lao Tzu aroused people's vigilance to social phenomena.
In the development of things, when a certain limit is reached, it is bound to change in the opposite direction. The first eight sentences of this chapter provide a detailed analysis of the development of the situation, reflecting Lao Tzu's idea that "the extreme of things must be opposed".
In describing the contradictory unity of opposites, Lao Tzu focuses on the weak side. Through the content of this chapter, Lao Tzu tries to draw people's attention to the development of things.
Through in-depth observation and research of people and things, he found that weak things contain introverted power, often have strong resilience and vitality, and have great potential for development.
On the contrary, things that are outwardly strong often lose the possibility of lasting development because of their outward boasting. In the contrast between weakness and strength, Lao Tzu firmly believes that the display of weakness is better than the appearance of strength.