Art of War 11.2
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Nine Situations 九地篇
諸侯自戰其地者爲散地
When a chieftain is fighting in his own territory, it is dispersive ground.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
So called because the soldiers, being near to their homes and anxious to see their wives and children, are likely to seize the opportunity afforded by a battle and scatter in every direction. “In their advance,” observes Tu Mu, “they will lack the valour of desperation, and when they retreat, they will find harbours of refuge.” The 者, which appears in the T‘u Shu, seems to have been accidentally omitted in my edition of the standard text.
Character glossary
- 諸zhūall, many, various; surname
- 侯hóumarquis, lord; target in archery
- 自zìself; private, personal; from
- 戰zhànwar, fighting, battle
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 地deearth, ground, soil; land, region; struc
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 散sànto scatter, to disperse, to break up
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.