Line by Line - Verse 31, Line 4

but in time of war the right hand.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

The man of war prefers the right.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

When deploying the military, value the right
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

(No corresponding line)
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

While yin should be utilized to try to avoid war and conflict, if these become inevitable, then yang comes to the fore. While there certainly can be yin (passive) elements in any battle strategy, the active element (yang) is more prevalent.

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