Art of War 9.32
The Art of War (孫子兵法), The Army On The March 行軍篇
鳥集者虛也夜呼者恐也
If birds gather on any spot, it is unoccupied.
Clamour by night betokens nervousness.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
A useful fact to bear in mind when, for instance, as Ch‘ên Hao says, the enemy has secretly abandoned his camp.
Owing to false alarms; or, as Tu Mu explains it: 恐懼不安故夜呼以自壯也 “Fear makes men restless; so they fall to shouting at night in order to keep up their courage.” The T‘ung Tien inserts 喧 before 呼.
Character glossary
- 鳥niǎobird
- 集jíto gather, to collect; set, collection
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 虛xūfalse; worthless, hollow, empty; vain
- 也yěalso, too
- 夜yènight, dark; under cover of night
- 呼hūto breathe, to exhale, to sigh; to call,
- 恐kǒngfearful, apprehensive; to fear, to dread
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi On Letting Alone
- Zhuangzi Mountain Trees
- Art of War 6.10
- Zhuangzi Contingencies
- Art of War 5.4
- Zhuangzi Man Among Men
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.