Art of War 9.13
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Army On The March 行軍篇
邱陵隄防必處其陽而右背之此兵之利地之助也
When you come to a hill or a bank, occupy the sunny side, with the slope on your right rear. Thus you will at once act for the benefit of your soldiers and utilise the natural advantages of the ground.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Character glossary
- 邱qiūmound, hill; grave; surname
- 陵línghill, mound; mausoleum
- 隄dīdike, embankment
- 防fángto protect, to defend, to guard against
- 必bìsurely, certainly; must; will
- 處chùto reside at, to live in; place, locale;
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 陽yángthe male principle; bright, sunny; clear
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 右yòuright; right-wing
- 背bèiback, backside; to betray, to violate
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 此cǐthis, these; in this case, then
- 兵bīngsoldier; troops, an army; warlike
- 利lìgains, advantage, profit, merit
- 地deearth, ground, soil; land, region; struc
- 助zhùto help, to aid, to assist
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
- Art of War 10.21
- Art of War 9.9
- Mencius 2B.1
- Zhuangzi Autumn Floods
- Zhuangzi On Declining Power
- Zhuangzi Robber Chê
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.