One Who Holds Thick Virtue Is Like a Child
The Text
含德之厚，比于赤子。毒虫不螫，猛兽不据，攫鸟不搏。骨弱筋柔而握固。未知牝牡之合而朘作，精之至也。终日号而不嗄，和之至也。知和曰常，知常曰明。益生曰祥。心使气曰强。物壮则老，谓之不道，不道早已。
One who holds thick virtue is like a newborn: stinging insects do not sting it, beasts do not seize it, birds of prey do not strike it. Its bones are weak, sinews soft, yet its grip is firm. It does not know the union of male and female, yet its organ stirs — essence at its height. It cries all day without going hoarse — harmony at its height. Knowing harmony is called the constant; knowing the constant is called clear. Chasing after life is called ill-omen; the mind directing breath is called forcing. Things age past their prime — that is called not the way, and what is not the way ends early.
Reading it
The infant is not sentimental here — it is an engineering marvel: total expenditure, zero waste, no hoarse crying because nothing is forced. Forcing and over-living are named as the aging mechanisms. The grip is the detail to keep: soft body, firm hold.
婴儿在这里不煽情——它是一件工程奇迹：全额支出、零浪费，终日号哭而不嘶哑，因为没有任何一处用力过度。强迫与过养被点名为衰老的机制。要保留的是那个细节：身体柔软，握得很紧。
Find where you are forcing — speech, schedule, effort. Loosen it and measure whether the result changes.
找出你正在用力过猛的地方——言语、日程、力气。松开，看结果是否真的变了。