To yield is to be preserved whole.
To be bent is to become straight.
To be empty is to be full.
To be worn out is to be renewed.
To have little is to possess.
To have plenty is to be perplexed.
To be bent is to become straight.
To be empty is to be full.
To be worn out is to be renewed.
To have little is to possess.
To have plenty is to be perplexed.
About This Quote
These lines are a well-known translation of a passage from the Daoist classic the Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching), traditionally attributed to Laozi (Lao Tzu) and generally dated to the late Zhou/Warring States period (often placed around the 4th–3rd century BCE, though authorship and dating are debated). The sayings occur in a chapter that uses paradox to describe how the Dao works: softness overcomes hardness, humility brings wholeness, and apparent loss can be a kind of preservation. The passage is commonly read as guidance for rulers and individuals alike, urging non-contention, simplicity, and alignment with natural processes rather than forceful self-assertion.
Interpretation
The quote strings together Daoist paradoxes to overturn ordinary assumptions about strength and success. “Yielding” and “bending” suggest flexibility, humility, and nonresistance (wu wei): by not rigidly opposing circumstances, one avoids breaking and can return to integrity (“preserved whole,” “become straight”). “Empty” and “worn out” point to receptivity and renewal—making space for what is needed and allowing cycles of depletion and replenishment. The final contrasts (“little” vs. “plenty”) critique acquisitiveness: simplicity can bring clarity and sufficiency, while abundance can multiply desires and confusion. Overall, it frames virtue as adaptive, modest, and unforced.
Variations
1) “Yield and overcome; / Bend and be straight; / Empty and be full; / Wear out and be new; / Have little and gain; / Have much and be confused.”
2) “The yielding will be preserved whole. The bent will become straight. The empty will be filled. The worn out will become new. He who has little will receive. He who has much will be embarrassed.”
3) “To yield is to be whole; to be crooked is to be straight; to be empty is to be full; to be worn is to be renewed; to have little is to gain; to have much is to be perplexed.”
Source
Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching), Chapter 22 (traditional chapter numbering).
