Art of War 7.1
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Manœuvring 軍爭篇
孫子曰凡用兵之法將受命於君
Sun Tzŭ said: In war, the general receives his commands from the sovereign.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
For 君 there is another reading 天, which Li Ch‘üan explains as 恭行天罰 “being the reverent instrument of Heaven’s chastisement.”
Character glossary
- 孫sūngrandchild, descendent; surname
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 凡fánany, every, all; common, ordinary
- 用yòngto use, to employ, to apply; use
- 兵bīngsoldier; troops, an army; warlike
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 法fǎlaw, rule, statute; method, way; French
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 受shòuto receive, to get, to accept; to bear
- 命mìnglife; destiny, fate, luck; an order, ins
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 君jūnsovereign, ruler, prince, monarch, chief
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 8.1
- Art of War 2.1
- Art of War 3.1
- Mencius 4A.7
- Zhuangzi The Evidence of Virtue Complete
- Zhuangzi Man Among Men
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.