Art of War 9.10
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Army On The March 行軍篇
凡此四軍之利黃帝之所以勝四帝也
These are the four useful branches of military knowledge
which enabled the Yellow Emperor to vanquish four several sovereigns.
Lionel Giles's notes
Those, namely, concerned with (1) mountains, (2) rivers, (3) marshes, and (4) plains. Compare Napoleon’s “Military Maxims,” no. 1.
Mei Yao-ch‘ên asks, with some plausibility, whether 帝 is not a mistake for 軍 “armies,” as nothing is known of Huang Ti having conquered four other Emperors. The Shih Chi (ch. I ad init.) speaks only of his victories over 炎帝 Yen Ti and 蚩尤 Ch‘ih Yu. In the 六韜 it is mentioned that he “fought seventy battles and pacified the Empire.” Ts‘ao Kung’s explanation is, that the Yellow Emperor was the first to institute the feudal system of vassal princes, each of whom (to the number of four) originally bore the title of Emperor. Li Ch‘üan tells us that the art of war originated under Huang Ti, who received it from his Minister 風后 Fêng Hou.
Character glossary
- 凡fánany, every, all; common, ordinary
- 此cǐthis, these; in this case, then
- 四sìfour
- 軍jūnarmy, military; soldiers, troops
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 利lìgains, advantage, profit, merit
- 黃huángyellow; surname
- 帝dìsupreme ruler, emperor; god
- 所suǒplace, location; "that which", a particl
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 勝shèngvictory; to excel, to truimph
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 6.34
- The Doctrine of the Mean Passage 19
- Zhuangzi The Empire
- Art of War 12.4
- Zhuangzi Robber Chê
- Analects 13.11
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.