Chapter 10 · Terrain · 地形

Passage 10-5

隘形者, 我先居之, 必盈之以待敵; 若敵先居之, 盈而勿從, 不盈而從之.

On narrow terrain, occupy it first and fully man it to await the enemy. If the enemy occupies it first and fully mans it, do not follow. If not fully manned, pursue.

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These passages from other chapters connect to the themes in Passage 10-5:

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, ... Salt Marsh Terrain Passage 9-3 欲戰者, 無附於水而迎客, 視生處高, 無迎水流, 此處水上... 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. Crossing Rivers Passage 9-2 絶水必遠水, 客絶水而來, 勿迎之於水內, 令半濟而擊之利. Key Ground Passage 11-3 入人之地而不深者, 爲輕地.

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 10-3: Ground easy to enter but difficult to exit is called entrapping. On such terrain... Passage 10-4: Ground where neither side benefits from advancing is called stalemating. Here, 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...