Art of War 7.11
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Manœuvring 軍爭篇
是故軍無輜重則亡無糧食則亡無委積則亡
We may take it then that an army without its baggage-train is lost; without provisions it is lost; without bases of supply it is lost.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
委積 is explained by Tu Yu as 芻草之屬 “fodder and the like;” by Tu Mu and Chang Yü as 財貨 “goods in general;” and by Wang Hsi as 薪鹽蔬材之屬 “fuel, salt, foodstuffs, etc.” But I think what Sun Tzŭ meant was “stores accumulated in dépôts,” as distinguished from 輜重 and 糧食, the various impedimenta accompanying an army on its march. Cf. Chou Li, ch. xvi. fol. 10: 委人…斂薪芻凡疏材木材凡畜聚之物.
Character glossary
- 是shìto be; indeed, right, yes; okay
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 軍jūnarmy, military; soldiers, troops
- 無wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 輜zīa supply cart, covered wagon, dray
- 重zhòngheavy, weighty; to double, to repeat
- 則zérule, law, regulation; grades
- 亡wángdeath, destruction; to lose; to perish
- 糧liángfood, grain, provisions
- 食shífood; to eat
- 委wěito appoint, to commission, to send
- 積jīto store up, to amass, to accumulate
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.