Chapter 10 · Terrain · 地形

Passage 10-9

夫勢均, 以一擊十, 曰走. 卒强吏弱, 曰弛. 吏强卒弱, 曰陷.

Equal forces sent one against ten—flight Strong troops with weak officers—insubordination Strong officers with weak troops—deterioration

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These passages from other chapters connect to the themes in Passage 10-9:

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 10-8: There are six types of army failure: flight, insubordination, deterioration, col... 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...