Art of War 6.8
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Weak Points And Strong 虛實篇
故善攻者敵不知其所守善守者敵不知其所攻
Hence that general is skilful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skilful in defence whose opponent does not know what to attack.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
An aphorism which puts the whole art of war into a nutshell.
Character glossary
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 善shàngood, virtuous, charitable, kind
- 攻gōngto accuse; to assault; to criticize
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 敵díenemy, foe, rival; to match; to resist
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 所suǒplace, location; "that which", a particl
- 守shǒuto defend, to guard, to protect; to cons
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.