Art of War 6.32
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Weak Points And Strong 虛實篇
故兵無常勢水無常形
Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Character glossary
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 兵bīngsoldier; troops, an army; warlike
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 常chángcommon, general, normal; always, frequen
- 勢shìpower, force; tendency, attitude
- 水shuǐwater, liquid, lotion, juice
- 形xíngform, shape; to appear; to describe; to
Passages with shared wording
- Mencius 6A.2
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 50
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 80
- Art of War 10.19
- Tao Te Ching Chapter 49
- Art of War 6.34
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.