Art of War 11.53

Referring, I think, to what is contained in §§ 54, 55. Ts‘ao Kung, thinking perhaps of the 五利 in VIII. § 6, takes them to be 九地之 利害 “the advantages and disadvantages attendant on the nine varieties of ground.” The T‘u Shu reads 此五者.

霸王, “one who rules by force,” was a term specially used for those princes who established their hegemony over other feudal states. The famous 五霸 of the 7th century B.C. were (1) 齊桓公 Duke Huan of Ch‘i (2) 晉文公 Duke Wên of Chin, (3) 宋襄公 Duke Hsiang of Sung, (4) 楚莊王 Prince Chuang of Ch‘u, (5) 秦穆公 Duke Mu of Ch‘in. Their reigns covered the period 685–591 B.C.