Art of War 11.25
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Nine Situations 九地篇
是故其兵不修而戒不求而得不約而親不令而信
Thus, without waiting to be marshalled, the soldiers will be constantly on the qui vive ;
without waiting to be asked, they will do your will;
without restrictions, they will be faithful;
without giving orders, they can be trusted.
Lionel Giles's notes
Tu Mu says: 不待修整而自戒懼. Capt. Calthrop wrongly translates 不修 “without warnings.”
Literally, “without asking, you will get.” Chang Yü’s paraphrase is: 不求索而得情意.
Chang Yü says: 不約束而親上.
This last clause is very similar in sense to the one preceding, except that 親 indicates the soldiers’ attachment to their leader, and 信 the leader’s attitude towards them. I rather doubt if 信 can mean “they will have confidence in their leader,” as the commentary seems to indicate. That way, the sense is not nearly so good. On the other hand, it is just possible that here, as in VIII. § 8 and infra, § 55, 信 may = 申: “without orders, they will carry out [their leader’s plans].” The whole of this paragraph, of course, has reference to “desperate ground.”
Character glossary
- 是shìto be; indeed, right, yes; okay
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 兵bīngsoldier; troops, an army; warlike
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 修xiūto study; to repair; to decorate; to cul
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 戒jièto warn, to admonish; to swear off, to a
- 求qiúto seek; to request, to demand; to besee
- 得déto obtain, to get, to acquire; suitable,
- 約yuētreaty, covenant, agreement
- 親qīnrelatives, parents; intimate; the hazeln
- 令lìngcommand, decree, order; magistrate; to a
- 信xìnto trust, to believe; letter, sign
Passages with shared wording
- Analects 13.6
- Zhuangzi Kêng Sang Ch’u
- Art of War 12.7
- The Great Learning Passage 2
- Zhuangzi The Evidence of Virtue Complete
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 20
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.