第四十三章 Dao De Jing · Chapter 43
The soft overcomes the hard, and teaching without words is rarely understood.
Text
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天下之至柔，驰骋天下之至坚。
The softest thing in the world runs through the hardest thing in the world.
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无有入无间，
What has no substance enters where there is no gap.
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吾是以知无为之有益。
From this I know the benefit of non-action.
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不言之教，无为之益，
Teaching without words, the benefit of non-action:
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天下希及之。
few in the world attain them.
Words in this chapter
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 天下 | tiān xià | all under heaven, the world |
| 之 | zhī | of, 's (linking particle) |
| 至 | zhì | the most, utmost |
| 柔 | róu | soft, supple |
| 驰骋 | chí chěng | galloping |
| 坚 | jiān | hard, solid |
| 无 | wú | not have, without, no |
| 有 | yǒu | presence, what is |
| 入 | rù | to enter |
| 间 | jiàn | gap, crack |
| 吾 | wú | I |
| 是以 | shì yǐ | therefore, for this reason |
| 知 | zhī | to know |
| 无为 | wú wéi | non-action |
| 之 | zhī | that (clause particle) |
| 有 | yǒu | to have, to possess |
| 益 | yì | to increase, to gain |
| 不 | bù | not |
| 言 | yán | words, to speak |
| 教 | jiào | teaching, to teach |
| 希 | xī | faint, rare; sparing |
| 及 | jí | to reach, up to |
| 之 | zhī | it, them (object) |
Compare: James Legge (1891)
The softest thing in the world dashes against and overcomes the hardest; that which has no (substantial) existence enters where there is no crevice. I know hereby what advantage belongs to doing nothing (with a purpose).
There are few in the world who attain to the teaching without words, and the advantage arising from non-action.
Public domain. Source: Wikisource.
Meaning of chapter 43
Chapter 43 says that the softest thing in the world overcomes the hardest, and that the lessons of non-action and wordless teaching are rarely grasped.
Its first image is of something soft galloping through something hard: the softest thing in the world runs through the hardest. The text does not name it. Wang Bi gives breath (气) and water as examples, and chapter 78 says that nothing is softer than water, yet nothing surpasses it for attacking the hard. The second line goes further: what has no substance (无有) enters where there is no gap. From these observations the speaker draws the benefit of 无为, non-action.
The chapter is short and ends with a reflection: teaching without words and the benefit of non-action are things few in the world attain. Teaching without words comes from chapter 2, where the sage keeps to non-action and practices the teaching without words. The theme of the soft overcoming the hard links the chapter to chapters 36, 76 and 78.