Art of War 7.5
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Manœuvring 軍爭篇
故軍爭爲利衆爭爲危
Manœuvring with an army is advantageous; with an undisciplined multitude, most dangerous.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
I here adopt the reading of the T‘ung Tien, Chêng Yu-hsien and the T‘u Shu, where 衆 appears to supply the exact nuance required in order to make sense. The standard text, on the other hand, in which 軍 is repeated, seems somewhat pointless. The commentators take it to mean that manœuvres may be profitable, or they may be dangerous: it all depends on the ability of the general. Capt. Calthrop translates 衆爭 “the wrangles of a multitude”!
Character glossary
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 軍jūnarmy, military; soldiers, troops
- 爭zhēngto dispute, to fight, to contend, to str
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 利lìgains, advantage, profit, merit
- 衆zhòngmultitude, crowd; the public
- 危wēidangerous, precarious; high
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.