Art of War 6.18
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Weak Points And Strong 虛實篇
寡者備人者也衆者使人備己者也
Numerical weakness comes from having to prepare against possible attacks; numerical strength, from compelling our adversary to make these preparations against us.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
The highest generalship, in Col. Henderson’s words, is “to compel the enemy to disperse his army, and then to concentrate superior force against each fraction in turn.”
Character glossary
- 寡guǎwidowed; friendless, alone
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 備bèito prepare; to get ready, to equip; read
- 人rénman, person; people
- 也yěalso, too
- 衆zhòngmultitude, crowd; the public
- 使shǐcause, mission, orders; envoy, messenger
- 己jǐself, oneself; personal, private; 6th he
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.
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