Art of War 11.59
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Nine Situations 九地篇
夫衆陷於害然後能爲勝敗
For it is precisely when a force has fallen into harm’s way that it is capable of striking a blow for victory.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
Danger has a bracing effect.
Character glossary
- 夫fūman, husband; worker; those
- 衆zhòngmultitude, crowd; the public
- 陷xiànto sink, to plunge; trap, pitfall
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 害hàito injure, to harm; to destroy, to kill
- 然ráncertainly; naturally; suddenly
- 後hòuafter; behind, rear; descendants
- 能néngcan, may; capable, full of energy
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 勝shèngvictory; to excel, to truimph
- 敗bàifailure; to decline, to fail, to suffer
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.