Subtle Clarity
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將欲噏之，必固張之；將使弱之，必固強之；將欲廢之，必固興之；將欲奪之，必固與之。是謂微明。柔弱勝剛強。魚不可脫於淵，國之利器不可以示人。
When you want to draw it in, you must first stretch it out; when you would make it weak, you must first make it strong; when you want to cast it down, you must first raise it up; when you want to take it away, you must first give it. This is called subtle clarity. The soft and weak overcome the hard and strong. A fish may not leave the deep; a state’s sharp tools may not be shown to others.
Four paired observations about how things reverse themselves, ending in a warning: keep real power out of sight.
The four paired sayings describe how things turn over, and seeing that pattern is what Laozi calls 微明, “subtle clarity”.
The four lines should match, and in Wang Bi’s text and the Mawangdui silk they do: each begins 將欲, “about to”. The Song print’s second line has 將使, “about to make”, a small break in the pattern.
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