Art of War 7.24
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Manœuvring 軍爭篇
夫金鼓旌旗者所以一民之耳目也
Gongs and drums, banners and flags, are means whereby the ears and eyes of the host
may be focussed on one particular point.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
The original text, followed by the T‘u Shu, has 人 for 民 here and in the next two paragraphs. But, as we have seen, 人 is generally used in Sun Tzŭ for the enemy.
Note the use of 一 as a verb. Chang Yü says: 視聽均齊則雖百萬之衆進退如一矣 “If sight and hearing converge simultaneously on the same object, the evolutions of as many as a million soldiers will be like those of a single man”!
Character glossary
- 夫fūman, husband; worker; those
- 金jīngold, metal; money
- 鼓gǔdrum; to beat, to strike; to rouse
- 旌jīngto signal; a flag adorned with feathers
- 旗qíbanner, flag, streamer
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 所suǒplace, location; "that which", a particl
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 一yīone; a, an; alone
- 民míncitizens, subjects; a nation's people
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 耳ěrear; to hear, to hear of; handle
- 目mùeye; to look, to see; division, topic
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 7.26
- Art of War 7.23
- Zhuangzi The Circling Sky
- Mencius 2A.1
- Zhuangzi Hsü Wu Kuei
- Zhuangzi The Great Supreme
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.