Tao Te Ching · Ch. 78

天下莫柔弱於水,而攻堅強者莫之能勝,以其無以易之。弱之勝強,柔之勝剛,天下莫不知,莫能行。是以聖人云:受國之垢,是謂社稷主;受國不祥,是為天下王。正言若反。

Tiān xià mò róu ruò yú shuǐ, ér gōng jiān qiáng zhě mò zhī néng shèng, yǐ qí wú yǐ yì zhī. Ruò zhī shèng qiáng, róu zhī shèng gāng, tiān xià mò bù zhī, mò néng xíng. Shì yǐ shèng rén yún: Shòu guó zhī gòu, shì wèi shè jì zhǔ; Shòu guó bù xiáng, shì wéi tiān xià wáng. Zhèng yán ruò fǎn.

Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing surpasses it. The soft overcomes the hard; the yielding overcomes the rigid — everyone in the world knows this, yet no one is able to practise it. Therefore the sage declares: one who bears the nation's disgrace is called the master of the altars; one who bears the nation's misfortunes is called the king of the world. True words seem paradoxical.

— Tao Te Ching 78

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