"The rigid cause themselves to be broken; the pliable cause themselves to be bound"
About this Quote
Then he turns and makes pliability look suspect. To bend is to survive, sure, but it can also be the first step into quiet captivity. The pliable “cause themselves to be bound”: flexibility becomes compliance, a willingness to be shaped by whatever power is in the room. Xun Kuang’s subtext is bluntly political: in a world ruled by courts, ministers, and shifting alliances, personality is policy. Your stance toward authority and conflict writes your destiny.
Context matters. Writing in the late Warring States period, Xun Kuang lived in an age where states rose and fell on discipline, law, and the management of human impulses. He’s often read as a realist about human nature and a hard-nosed advocate of cultivation through ritual and institutions. This aphorism fits that temperament: it’s not a sentimental plea for “balance,” but a diagnosis of two common failures in governance and self-governance. Be unyielding and you invite the hammer. Be endlessly adaptable and you become useful furniture.
The brilliance is how it refuses to hand you an easy virtue. It forces a third option: flexibility with boundaries, strength without theatrics - strategy as ethics.
Quote Details
| Topic | Chinese Proverbs |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Kuang, Xun. (n.d.). The rigid cause themselves to be broken; the pliable cause themselves to be bound. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-rigid-cause-themselves-to-be-broken-the-16572/
Chicago Style
Kuang, Xun. "The rigid cause themselves to be broken; the pliable cause themselves to be bound." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-rigid-cause-themselves-to-be-broken-the-16572/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The rigid cause themselves to be broken; the pliable cause themselves to be bound." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-rigid-cause-themselves-to-be-broken-the-16572/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
