Art of War 1.20
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Laying Plans 計篇
利而誘之亂而取之
Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
取, as often in Sun Tzŭ, is used in the sense of 擊. It is rather remarkable that all the commentators, with the exception of Chang Yü, refer 亂 to the enemy: “when he is in disorder, crush him.” It is more natural to suppose that Sun Tzŭ is still illustrating the uses of deception in war.
Character glossary
- 利lìgains, advantage, profit, merit
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 誘yòuto tempt, to persuade, to entice; guide
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 亂luànanarchy, chaos; revolt
- 取qǔto take, to receive, to obtain; to selec
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 7.4
- Zhuangzi The Universe
- Zhuangzi On Declining Power
- Zhuangzi The Secret of Life
- Mencius 1B.14
- Mencius 2A.2
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.