Art of War 1.15
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Laying Plans 計篇
將聽吾計用之必勝留之將不聽吾計用之必敗去之
The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: — let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat: — let such a one be dismissed!
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
The form of this paragraph reminds us that Sun Tzŭ’s treatise was composed expressly for the benefit of his patron 闔閭 Ho Lü, king of the Wu State. It is not necessary, however, to understand 我 before 留之 (as some commentators do), or to take 將 as “generals under my command.”
Character glossary
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 聽tīngto hear, to listen; to understand; to ob
- 吾wúI, my, our; to resist, to impede
- 計jìto calculate, to count; to plan, to reck
- 用yòngto use, to employ, to apply; use
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 必bìsurely, certainly; must; will
- 勝shèngvictory; to excel, to truimph
- 留liúto stay, to remain; to preserve, to keep
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 敗bàifailure; to decline, to fail, to suffer
- 去qùto go away, to leave, to depart
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 10.22
- Zhuangzi Mountain Trees
- Zhuangzi The Universe
- Mencius 2B.1
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
- Zhuangzi How to Govern
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.