Art of War 13.16
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Use Of Spies 用間篇
非仁義不能使間
They cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
Chang Yü says that 仁 means “not grudging them honours and pay;” 義, “showing no distrust of their honesty.” “When you have attracted them by substantial offers, you must treat them with absolute sincerity; then they will work for you with all their might.”
Character glossary
- 非fēinot, negative, non-; to oppose
- 仁rénbenevolent, humane, kind
- 義yìright conduct, propriety; justice
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 能néngcan, may; capable, full of energy
- 使shǐcause, mission, orders; envoy, messenger
- 間jiānbetween, among; midpoint; space, place,
Passages with shared wording
- Analects 2.24
- Analects 7.3
- Mencius 7B.31
- Zhuangzi Kêng Sang Ch’u
- Mencius 7A.33
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.