Know the Male, Keep to the Female
Know the Male, Keep to the Female (Chapter 28 of Dao De Jing)
- Literal Meaning:
- Know the Male (知雄): Understand strength, assertiveness, or active qualities (symbolized by “male” in Daoist duality).
- Keep to the Female (守雌): Embrace receptivity, softness, and humility (symbolized by “female”).
- Philosophical Core:
- A principle of balance and wu-wei (non-forcing action).
- While recognizing power (male), one chooses to remain gentle (female) to align with the Dao (自然, natural harmony).
- Practical Implication:
- Leadership: Guide without domination (e.g., a ruler who governs subtly).
- Conduct: Be confident yet humble; act without contention.
- Metaphorical Layer:
- Reflects the interplay of yin (feminine/passive) and yang (masculine/active), where yielding ultimately overcomes rigidity (per Dao De Jing‘s paradoxes).
Key Message: True wisdom lies in balancing opposites by choosing softness as a conscious strategy, not weakness.
Example: Water (a Daoist symbol) is strong yet always seeks the low place—it “knows the male but keeps to the female.”
The author: Lives in the cultural province of Henan, a few hundred miles from Laozi’s hometown near Luoyang, the Zhou capital.