Art of War 12.21
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Attack By Fire 火攻篇
亡國不可以復存死者不可以復生
But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being;
nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
The Wu State was destined to be a melancholy example of this saying. See p. 50.
Character glossary
- 亡wángdeath, destruction; to lose; to perish
- 國guócountry, nation, state; national
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 復fùagain, repeatedly; copy, duplicate; to r
- 存cúnto exist; to survive, to maintain; to ke
- 死sǐdead; death; impassable, inflexible
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 生shēnglife, lifetime; birth; growth
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Perfect Happiness
- Art of War 5.6
- Zhuangzi The Evidence of Virtue Complete
- Art of War 12.20
- Mencius 4A.19
- Mencius 4A.8
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.