Art of War 10.20
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Terrain 地形篇
凡此六者敗之道也將之至任不可不察也
These are six ways of courting defeat,
which must be carefully noted by the general who has attained a responsible post.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
Ch‘ên Hao makes them out to be: (1) 不量寡衆 “neglect to estimate the enemy’s strength;” (2) 本乏刑德 “want of authority;” (3) 失於訓練 “defective training;” (4) 非理興怒 “unjustifiable anger;” (5) 法令不行 “non-observance of discipline;” (6) 不擇驍果 “failure to use picked men.”
See supra, § 13.
Character glossary
- 凡fánany, every, all; common, ordinary
- 此cǐthis, these; in this case, then
- 六liùsix
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 敗bàifailure; to decline, to fail, to suffer
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 道dàomethod, way; path, road
- 也yěalso, too
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 至zhìreach, arrive; very, extremely
- 任rènto trust, to rely on; to appoint; to bea
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 察cháto examine, to investigate, to observe
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 10.13
- Zhuangzi Robber Chê
- Art of War 10.14
- Zhuangzi Kêng Sang Ch’u
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 29
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 64
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.