Tao Te Ching · Ch. 76

人之生也柔弱,其死也堅強。草木之生也柔脆,其死也枯槁。故堅強者死之徒,柔弱者生之徒。是以兵強則滅,木強則折。強大處下,柔弱處上。

Rén zhī shēng yě róu ruò, qí sǐ yě jiān qiáng. Cǎo mù zhī shēng yě róu cuì, qí sǐ yě kū gǎo. Gù jiān qiáng zhě sǐ zhī tú, róu ruò zhě shēng zhī tú. Shì yǐ bīng qiáng zé miè, mù qiáng zé zhé. Qiáng dà chǔ xià, róu ruò chǔ shàng.

A person in life is soft and supple; in death, stiff and hard. All plants and trees in life are tender and pliant; in death, withered and rigid. Therefore the stiff and hard belong to death; the soft and yielding belong to life. An army that is rigid will not conquer; a tree that is rigid will break. The strong and great occupy the lower place; the soft and yielding occupy the higher.

— Tao Te Ching 76

Source: Wang Bi edition (Chinese) + Hanyu Pinyin transliteration