Daodejing - Chapter 36

道德經  - 第三十六章

將欲歙之，必固張之；

將欲弱之，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。

Daodejing - Chapter Thirty Six

If you want to shrink something, you must first allow it to expand. 

If you want to get rid of something, you must first allow it to flourish.

If you want to take something, you must first allow it to be given. 

This is called the subtle perception of the way things are. 

The soft overcomes the hard.

The slow overcomes the fast. 

Let your workings remain a mystery, just show people the results.

References

1. The English translation is based on the translation by poet, translator, scholar and anthologist, Stephen Mitchell, with some changes.  
2. The Chinese text is based on the Daodejing (James Legge version) in the ctext.org website : https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing.