Sun Tzu Decoded
Chapter 13 · Espionage · 用間

Passage 13-3

故明君賢將, 所以動而勝人, 成功出於衆者, 先知也. 先知者, 不可取於鬼神, 不可象於事, 不可驗於度. 必取於人, 知敵之情者也.

The reason wise rulers and brilliant generals move and conquer, achieving success beyond the ordinary, is foreknowledge. Foreknowledge cannot be obtained from spirits, inferred from events, or verified by calculation. It must be obtained from people—those who know the enemy’s situation.

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These passages from other chapters connect to the themes in Passage 13-3:

Temple Calculation Passage 1-15 夫未戰而廟算勝者, 得算多也; 未戰而廟算不勝者, 得算少也... Anger Is Not Strategy Passage 12-9 怒可以復喜, 慍可以復悅, 亡國不可以復存, 死者不可以復生... The Five Fundamental Factors Passage 1-2 故經之以五事, 校之以計, 而索其情. 一曰道, 二曰天, ... No Profit, No Move Passage 12-7 夫戰勝攻取, 而不修其功者凶, 命曰費留. 故曰: 明主慮之...

More from Chapter 13: Espionage (用間)

Passage 13-1: Sun Tzu said: Raising an army of one hundred thousand and campaigning a thousand... Passage 13-2: To stand in confrontation for years, striving for victory in a single day, yet b... Passage 13-4: There are five types of spy: local, internal, double, expendable, and living. Wh... Passage 13-5: Local spies: recruited from the enemy’s population Internal spies: recruited fro... Passage 13-6: In military affairs, no one is closer than spies, no rewards greater, no busines... Passage 13-7: To attack an army, besiege a city, or assassinate an individual—first learn the ... Passage 13-8: Identify enemy spies sent against us. Win them over with benefits, guide and acc... Passage 13-9: Through double agents, gain intelligence that allows expendable spies to deliver... Passage 13-10: The ruler must understand all five types of spies. The key lies with double agen... Passage 13-11: In ancient times, the rise of Yin was aided by Yi Zhi, who was in Xia. The rise ... Passage 13-12: Only wise rulers and brilliant generals who employ the highly intelligent as spi...