Sun Tzu Decoded
Chapter 13 · Espionage · 用間

Passage 13-4

故用間有五: 有鄕間, 有內間, 有反間, 有死間, 有生間, 五間俱起, 莫知其道, 是謂神紀, 人君之寶也.

There are five types of spy: local, internal, double, expendable, and living. When all five operate together and none can detect their methods, this is called “divine manipulation”—the ruler’s treasure.

The five types of spies (五間) — local, inside, converted, expendable, and living agents. The original intelligence operations framework.

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These passages from other chapters connect to the themes in Passage 13-4:

The Way of Deception Passage 1-12 兵者, 詭道也. 故能而示之不能, 用而示之不用, 近而視之... Water as the Model Passage 6-17 故形兵之極, 至於無形; 無形, 則深間不能窺, 智者不能謀... Sealing Enemy's Plans Passage 11-36 先其所愛, 微與之期, 賤墨隨敵, 以決戰事. 是故始如處女... Manipulating Appearances Passage 1-13 利而誘之, 亂而取之, 實而備之, 强而避之, 怒而橈之, ... Exploiting Unpreparedness Passage 1-14 攻其無備, 出其不意, 此兵家之勝, 不可先傳也. Appear Where Unexpected Passage 6-5 微乎微乎, 至於無形; 神乎神乎! 至於無聲, 故能爲敵之司...

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 13-3: The reason wise rulers and brilliant generals move and conquer, achieving succes... 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...