Art of War 11.31
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Nine Situations 九地篇
是故方馬埋輪未足恃也
Hence it is not enough to put one’s trust in the tethering of horses,
and the burying of chariot wheels in the ground.
Lionel Giles's notes
方 is said here to be equivalent to 縛.
These quaint devices to prevent one’s army from running away recall the Athenian hero Sôphanes, who carried an anchor with him at the battle of Plataea, by means of which he fastened himself firmly to one spot. [See Herodotus, IX. 74.] It is not enough, says Sun Tzŭ, to render flight impossible by such mechanical means. You will not succeed unless your men have tenacity and unity of purpose, and, above all, a spirit of sympathetic co-operation. This is the lesson which can be learned from the shuai-jan.
Character glossary
- 是shìto be; indeed, right, yes; okay
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 方fāngsquare, rectangle; side; region; flag
- 馬mǎhorse; surname
- 埋máito bury; to conceal; to plant
- 輪lúnwheel; to turn, to revolve; to recur
- 未wèinot yet; 8th terrestrial branch
- 足zúfoot; to attain, to satisfy; enough
- 恃shìto trust, to rely on; to presume
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.