Art of War 11.16

The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Nine Situations 九地篇

卒離而不集兵合而不齊

When the enemy’s men were scattered, they prevented them from concentrating;

even when their forces were united, they managed to keep them in disorder.

Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.

Lionel Giles's notes

Capt. Calthrop translates 卒離 “they scattered the enemy,” which cannot be right.

Mei Yao-ch‘ên’s note makes the sense plain: 或已離而不能合或雖合而不能齊. All these clauses, of course, down to 不齊, are dependent on 使 in § 15.

Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.