Chapter 10 · Terrain · 地形

Passage 10-3

可以往, 難以返, 曰; 掛; 掛形者, 敵無備, 出而勝之, 敵若有備, 出而不勝, 難以返, 不利.

Ground easy to enter but difficult to exit is called entrapping. On such terrain, if the enemy is unprepared, strike and win. If prepared and you fail, retreat is difficult—this is disadvantageous.

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These passages from other chapters connect to the themes in Passage 10-3:

Crossing Mountains Passage 9-1 孫子曰: 凡處軍相敵: 絶山依谷, 視生處高, 戰隆無登, ... High Ground Passage 9-5 平陸處易, 而右背高, 前死後生, 此處平陸之軍也. 凡此四... Earth (地) Passage 1-5 地者, 遠近, 險易, 廣狹, 死生也. Key Ground Passage 11-3 入人之地而不深者, 爲輕地. Difficult Ground Passage 11-7 入人之地深, 背城邑多者, 爲重地. Death Ground Passage 11-9 所由入者隘, 所從歸者迂, 彼寡可以擊吾之衆者, 爲圍地.

More from Chapter 10: Terrain (地形)

Passage 10-1: Sun Tzu said: Terrain types include: accessible, entrapping, stalemating, narrow... Passage 10-2: Ground both sides can traverse freely is called accessible. On accessible terrai... Passage 10-4: Ground where neither side benefits from advancing is called stalemating. Here, e... Passage 10-5: On narrow terrain, occupy it first and fully man it to await the enemy. If the e... Passage 10-6: On precipitous terrain, occupy high, sunny ground first to await the enemy. If t... Passage 10-7: On distant terrain with balanced forces, initiating battle is difficult and disa... Passage 10-8: There are six types of army failure: flight, insubordination, deterioration, col... Passage 10-9: Equal forces sent one against ten—flight Strong troops with weak officers—insubo... Passage 10-10: Senior officers angry and insubordinate, engaging the enemy on impulse without t... Passage 10-11: A weak general lacking strictness, unclear instruction, no consistent standards ... Passage 10-12: A general who cannot assess the enemy, engages many with few, attacks the strong... Passage 10-13: Terrain assists military operations. Assessing the enemy to achieve victory, cal... Passage 10-14: If the Way of battle ensures victory, fight even if the ruler forbids it. If it ... Passage 10-15: Treat troops like infants—they will follow you into deep valleys. Treat them lik... Passage 10-16: Knowing your troops can strike but not that the enemy cannot be struck—half vict... Passage 10-17: Therefore, one who knows warfare moves without confusion, acts without exhaustio...