Art of War 11.40
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Nine Situations 九地篇
聚三軍之衆投之於險此謂將軍之事也
To muster his host and bring it into danger: — this may be termed the business of the general.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
Sun Tzŭ means that after mobilisation there should be no delay in aiming a blow at the enemy’s heart. With 投之於險 cf. supra, § 23: 投之無所往. Note how he returns again and again to this point. Among the warring states of ancient China, desertion was no doubt a much more present fear and serious evil than it is in the armies of to-day.
Character glossary
- 聚jùto assemble, to collect, to meet
- 三sānthree
- 軍jūnarmy, military; soldiers, troops
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 衆zhòngmultitude, crowd; the public
- 投tóuto pitch, to throw; to bid, to invest
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 險xiǎnnarrow pass, strategic point
- 此cǐthis, these; in this case, then
- 謂wèito call, to say, to tell; name, title; m
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 事shìaffair, matter, business; to serve; acci
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi The Old Fisherman
- Art of War 5.3
- Art of War 11.56
- Art of War 11.23
- Art of War 11.28
- Art of War 11.58
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.
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