Chapter 10 · Terrain · 地形

Passage 10-8

故兵有走者, 有弛者, 有陷者, 有崩者, 有亂者, 有北者; 凡此六者, 非天之災, 將之過也.

There are six types of army failure: flight, insubordination, deterioration, collapse, chaos, and rout. These six are not natural disasters—they are the general’s fault.

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These passages from other chapters connect to the themes in Passage 10-8:

Five Dangerous Traits Passage 8-8 故用兵之法, 無恃其不來, 恃吾有以待也; 無恃其不攻, 恃... Not Every Path to Follow Passage 8-3 塗有所不由. 軍有所不擊. 城有所不攻. 地有所不爭. 君命... Sovereign and General Passage 3-11 故君之所以患於軍者三: 不知軍之不可以進, 而謂之進; 不知... Assessing Advantage Passage 1-9 故校之以七計, 而塞其情. 曰: 主孰有道, 將孰有能, 天... Do Not Press a Cornered Enemy Passage 7-15 故用兵之法, 高陵勿向, 背丘勿逆, 佯北勿從, 銳卒勿攻,... The General Receives His Mandate Passage 8-1 孫子曰: 凡用兵之法, 將受命於君, 合軍聚衆.

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 10-5: 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 10-9: 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...