Art of War 9.22
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Army On The March 行軍篇
鳥起者伏也獸駭者覆也
The rising of birds in their flight is the sign of an ambuscade.
Startled beasts indicate that a sudden attack is coming.
Lionel Giles's notes
Chang Yü’s explanation is doubtless right: “When birds that are flying along in a straight line suddenly shoot upwards, it means that soldiers are in ambush at the spot beneath.”
An example of 覆 fou4 in the meaning of “ambuscade” may be found in the Tso Chuan, 隱 9th year: 君爲三覆以待之. In the present passage, however, it is to be distinguished from 伏 just above, in that it implies onward motion on the part of the attacking force. Thus, Li Ch‘üan defines it as 不意而至, and Tu Mu as 來襲我也.
Character glossary
- 鳥niǎobird
- 起qǐto begin, to initiate; to rise, to stand
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 伏fúto crouch, to crawl, to lie hidden, to c
- 也yěalso, too
- 獸shòubeast, animal; bestial
- 駭hàito terrify, to shock, to frighten
- 覆fùto cover; to overturn; to repeat; to rep
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.