Art of War 10.30
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Terrain 地形篇
故知兵者動而不迷舉而不窮
Hence the experienced soldier, once in motion, is never bewildered; once he has broken camp, he is never at a loss.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
The reason being, according to Tu Mu, that he has taken his measures so thoroughly as to ensure victory beforehand. “He does not move recklessly,” says Chang Yü, “so that when he does move, he makes no mistakes.” Another reading substitutes 困 for 迷 and 頓 for 窮. The latter variant only is adopted by the T‘ung Tien and Yü Lan. Note that 窮 here means “at the end of his mental resources."
Character glossary
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 兵bīngsoldier; troops, an army; warlike
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 動dòngto move, to happen; movement, action
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 迷míto bewitch, to charm; a fan of; infatuat
- 舉jǔto raise; to recommend; to praise
- 窮qióngpoor, destitute; to exhaust
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 2.20
- Zhuangzi Tien Tzŭ Fang
- Analects 6.21
- Art of War 4.7
- Zhuangzi Lieh Tzŭ
- Zhuangzi Hsü Wu Kuei
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.
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