Art of War 12.13
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Attack By Fire 火攻篇
故以火佐攻者明以水佐攻者强
Hence those who use fire as an aid to the attack show intelligence;
those who use water as an aid to the attack gain an accession of strength.
Lionel Giles's notes
I have not the least hesitation in rejecting the commentators’ explanation of 明 as = 明白. Thus Chang Yü says: 灼然可以取勝 “... will clearly [i.e. obviously] be able to gain the victory.” This is not only clumsy in itself, but does not balance 强 in the next clause. For 明 “intelligent,” cf. infra, § 16, and Lun Yü XII. 6.
Capt. Calthrop gives an extraordinary rendering of the paragraph: “... if the attack is to be assisted, the fire must be unquenchable. If water is to assist the attack, the flood must be overwhelming.”
Character glossary
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 火huǒfire, flame; to burn; anger, rage
- 佐zuǒto assist, to aid; subordinate, second
- 攻gōngto accuse; to assault; to criticize
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 明míngbright, clear; to explain, to understand
- 水shuǐwater, liquid, lotion, juice
- 强qiángstrong, powerful, energetic
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Man Among Men
- Mencius 1A.7
- Zhuangzi The Identity of Contraries
- Zhuangzi Mountain Trees
- Art of War 4.7
- Art of War 6.8
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.
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