The character rou柔 appears 11 times in 7 Chapters of Daodejing (Tao Te Ching): 10, 36, 43, 52, 55, 76, and 78. These chapters provided some very interesting questions and observations which are relevant to Internal Martial Arts and Daoyin (guided stretching dated back to 300 BC).
The character rou柔 is composed of the characters of mao矛 and mu木. The character mao means lance, pick, shaft, or spear; and mu means wood. Rou can be interpreted as flexible like the type of pliable wood that is use for making spear. Flexibility denoted a range of conditions from very soft to very stiff; and the translations of relaxed, softness, and gentleness that denoted a certain condition are not correct.
I am working through the above chapters of Daodejing, any comment or example of rou in the context of internal martial arts is very much appreciated.