Art of War 9.29
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Army On The March 行軍篇
倚仗而立者飢也
When the soldiers stand leaning on their spears, they are faint from want of food.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
仗 is here probably not a synonym for 倚, but = 兵 “a weapon.” The original text has 杖而立者, which has been corrected from the T‘ung Tien and Yü Lan.
Character glossary
- 倚yǐto rely on, to depend on
- 仗zhàng1to rely upon; protector; to fight; war,
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 立lìto stand; to establish, to set up
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 飢jīhungry, starving; hunger, famine
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.