Art of War 8.13
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Variation Of Tactics 九變篇
凡此五者將之過也用兵之災也
These are the five besetting sins of a general, ruinous to the conduct of war.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Character glossary
- 凡fánany, every, all; common, ordinary
- 此cǐthis, these; in this case, then
- 五wǔfive; surname
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 將jiāngthe future, what will be; ready, prepare
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 過guòpass; to go across, to pass through
- 也yěalso, too
- 用yòngto use, to employ, to apply; use
- 兵bīngsoldier; troops, an army; warlike
- 災zāidisaster, catastrophe, calamity
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 1.11
- Art of War 10.14
- Mencius 5B.3
- Zhuangzi The Identity of Contraries
- Mencius 4A.1
- Zhuangzi Mountain Trees
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.