Art of War 7.15
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Manœuvring 軍爭篇
故兵以詐立以利動
In war, practise dissimulation, and you will succeed.
Move only if there is a real advantage to be gained.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
According to Tu Mu, 立 stands for 立勝. Cf. I. § 18. In the tactics of Turenne, deception of the enemy, especially as to the numerical strength of his troops, took a very prominent position.
This is the interpretation of all the commentators except Wang Hsi, who has the brief note 誘之也 “Entice out the enemy” (by offering him some apparent advantage).
Character glossary
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 兵bīngsoldier; troops, an army; warlike
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 詐zhàto cheat, to defraud; sly, treacherous
- 立lìto stand; to establish, to set up
- 利lìgains, advantage, profit, merit
- 動dòngto move, to happen; movement, action
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.