Art of War 12.6
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Attack By Fire 火攻篇
火發於內則早應之於外
(1) When fire breaks out inside the enemy’s camp, respond at once
with an attack from without.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
The Yü Lan incorrectly reads 軍 for 早.
Character glossary
- 火huǒfire, flame; to burn; anger, rage
- 發fāto issue, to dispatch, to send out; hair
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 內nèiinside
- 則zérule, law, regulation; grades
- 早zǎoearly; soon; morning
- 應yīngshould, must; to respond, to handle; to
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 外wàiout, outside, external; foreign; in addi
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 12.9
- Zhuangzi On Declining Power
- Mencius 2B.2
- Zhuangzi Robber Chê
- Art of War 12.7
- Art of War 12.10
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.