Art of War 2.15
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Waging War 作戰篇
故智將務食於敵食敵一鍾當吾二十鍾𦮼秆一石當吾二十石
Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One cartload of the enemy’s provisions is equivalent to twenty of one’s own, and likewise a single picul of his provender is equivalent to twenty from one’s own store.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
Because twenty cartloads will be consumed in the process of transporting one cartload to the front. According to Ts‘ao Kung, a 鍾 = 6 斛 4 㪷, or 64 㪷, but according to Mêng Shih, 10 斛 make a 鍾. The 石 picul consisted of 70 斤 catties (Tu Mu and others say 120). 𦮼秆, literally, “beanstalks and straw.”
Character glossary
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 智zhìwisdom, knowledge, intelligence
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 務wùaffairs, business; should; must
- 食shífood; to eat
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 敵díenemy, foe, rival; to match; to resist
- 一yīone; a, an; alone
- 鍾zhōngcup, glass, goblet; surname
- 當dāngappropriate, timely; to act, to serve; t
- 吾wúI, my, our; to resist, to impede
- 二èrtwo; twice
- 十shíten, tenth; complete; perfect
- 𦮼jì
- 秆gǎnstraw, hay
- 石shístone, rock, mineral
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.