Art of War 6.30
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Weak Points And Strong 虛實篇
兵之形避實而擊虛
So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
Like water, taking the line of least resistance.
Character glossary
- 兵bīngsoldier; troops, an army; warlike
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 形xíngform, shape; to appear; to describe; to
- 避bìto avoid, to turn away; to escape, to hi
- 實shíreal, true; honest, sincere
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 擊jīto strike, to hit, to beat; to attack, t
- 虛xūfalse; worthless, hollow, empty; vain
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 9.4
- Art of War 10.7
- Zhuangzi The Evidence of Virtue Complete
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
- Zhuangzi The Universe
- Zhuangzi The Tao of God
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.