Art of War 12.20
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Attack By Fire 火攻篇
怒可以復喜愠可以復悅
Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
According to Chang Yü, 喜 denotes joy outwardly manifested in the countenance, 悅 the inward sensation of happiness.
Character glossary
- 怒nùanger, passion, rage
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 復fùagain, repeatedly; copy, duplicate; to r
- 喜xǐto love; to enjoy, to be happy; joyful,
- 愠yùnangry, indignant; resentful, sulking
- 悅yuècontented, gratified, pleased
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.