Art of War 11.46
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Nine Situations 九地篇
是故散地吾將一其志輕地吾將使之屬
Therefore, on dispersive ground, I would inspire my men with unity of purpose.
On facile ground, I would see that there is close connection between all parts of my army.
Lionel Giles's notes
This end, according to Tu Mu, is best attained by remaining on the defensive, and avoiding battle. Cf. supra, § 11.
The T‘ung Tien has 其 instead of 之. The present reading is supported by the 遺說 of Chêng Yu-hsien. As Tu Mu says, the object is to guard against two possible contingencies: 一者備其逃逸二者恐 其敵至 “(1) the desertion of our own troops; (2) a sudden attack on the part of the enemy.” Cf. VII. § 17: 其徐如林. Mei Yao-ch‘ên says: 行則隊校相繼止則營壘聯屬 “On the march, the regiments should be in close touch; in an encampment, there should be continuity between the fortifications.” He seems to have forgotten, by the way, what Sun Tzŭ says above: 輕地則無止.
Character glossary
- 是shìto be; indeed, right, yes; okay
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 散sànto scatter, to disperse, to break up
- 地deearth, ground, soil; land, region; struc
- 吾wúI, my, our; to resist, to impede
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 一yīone; a, an; alone
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 志zhìdetermination, will; mark, sign; to reco
- 輕qīnglight, gentle; simple, easy
- 使shǐcause, mission, orders; envoy, messenger
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 屬shǔclass, category, type; family; affiliate
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 11.11
- Zhuangzi Man Among Men
- Art of War 11.1
- Zhuangzi The Universe
- Zhuangzi The Empire
- Zhuangzi Tsê Yang
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.