Art of War 10.18
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Terrain 地形篇
將弱不嚴教道不明吏卒無常陳兵縱橫曰亂
When the general is weak and without authority; when his orders are not clear and distinct;
when there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men,
and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard manner, the result is utter disorganisation.
Lionel Giles's notes
Wei Liao Tzŭ (ch. 4) says: 上無疑令、則衆不二聽、動無疑事、則衆不二志 “If the commander gives his orders with decision, the soldiers will not wait to hear them twice; if his moves are made without vacillation, the soldiers will not be in two minds about doing their duty.” General Baden-Powell says, italicising the words: “The secret of getting successful work out of your trained men lies in one nutshell — in the clearness of the instructions they receive.”Assuming that clear instructions beget confidence, this is very much what Wei Liao Tzŭ (loc. cit.) goes on to say: 未有不信其心而能得其力者也. Cf. also Wu Tzŭ ch. 3: 用兵之害猶豫最大三軍之災生於狐疑 “the most fatal defect in a military leader is diffidence; the worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation.”
吏卒皆不拘常度 “Neither officers nor men have any regular routine” [Tu Mu].
Character glossary
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 弱ruòweak, fragile, delicate
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 嚴yánstrict, rigorous, rigid; stern
- 教jiàoschool, education
- 道dàomethod, way; path, road
- 明míngbright, clear; to explain, to understand
- 吏lìgovernment official, magistrate
- 卒zúsoldier; servant; at last, finally
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 常chángcommon, general, normal; always, frequen
- 陳chénto display, to exhibit; to plead; surnam
- 兵bīngsoldier; troops, an army; warlike
- 縱zòngto indulge in, to give free reign to
- 橫hénghorizontal, across; unreasonable, harsh
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 亂luànanarchy, chaos; revolt
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi On Letting Alone
- Art of War 9.27
- Zhuangzi Knowledge travels North
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 1
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 49
- Art of War 6.32
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.