Art of War 4.10
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Tactical Dispositions 形篇
故舉秋毫不爲多力見日月不爲明目聞雷霆不爲聰耳
To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength;
to see sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear.
Lionel Giles's notes
秋毫 is explained as the fur of a hare, which is finest in autumn, when it begins to grow afresh. The phrase is a very common one in Chinese writers. Cf. Mencius, I. 1. vii. 10, and Chuang Tzŭ, 知北遊, et al.
Ho Shih gives as real instances of strength, sharp sight and quick hearing: 烏𫉬 Wu Huo, who could lift a tripod weighing 250 stone; 離朱 Li Chu, who at a distance of a hundred paces could see objects no bigger than a mustard seed; and 師曠 Shih K‘uang, a blind musician who could hear the footsteps of a mosquito.
Character glossary
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 舉jǔto raise; to recommend; to praise
- 秋qiūautumn, fall; year
- 毫háofine hair; measure of length; one-thousa
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 多duōmuch, many, multi-; more than, over
- 力lìstrength, power; capability, influence
- 見jiànto see, to observe, to meet, to appear
- 日rìsun; day; daytime
- 月yuèmoon; month
- 明míngbright, clear; to explain, to understand
- 目mùeye; to look, to see; division, topic
- 聞wénnews; to hear, to smell; to make known
- 雷léithunder; surname
- 霆tínga sudden peal of thunder
- 聰cōngsharp (of sight and hearing); intelligen
- 耳ěrear; to hear, to hear of; handle
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi Contingencies
- Zhuangzi The Secret of Life
- Zhuangzi On Letting Alone
- Analects 15.2
- Mencius 1A.7
- Zhuangzi Robber Chê
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.