Art of War 9.3
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Army On The March 行軍篇
絶水必遠水
After crossing a river, you should get far away from it.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
“In order to tempt the enemy to cross after you,” according to Ts‘ao Kung, and also, says Chang Yü, “in order not to be impeded in your evolutions.” The T‘ung Tien reads 敵若絶水 “If the enemy crosses a river,” etc. But in view of the next sentence, this is almost certainly an interpolation.
Character glossary
- 絶juécut
- 水shuǐwater, liquid, lotion, juice
- 必bìsurely, certainly; must; will
- 遠yuǎndistant, remote, far; profound
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.