Sun Tzu Decoded
Chapter 6 · Emptiness & Fullness · 虛實

Passage 6-16

故策之而知得失之計, 作之而知動靜之理, 形之而知死生之地, 角之而知有余不足之處.

By strategizing, discern the enemy’s gains and losses. By provoking action, discern his patterns of movement and rest. By making him take form, discern his grounds of life and death. By probing, discern where he has excess and where he is deficient.

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These passages from other chapters connect to the themes in Passage 6-16:

Managing the Many Passage 5-1 孫子曰: 凡治衆如治寡, 分數是也. 鬪衆如鬪寡, 形名是也... Win First, Then Fight Passage 4-9 故善戰者, 立於不敗之地, 而不失敵之敗也. 是故勝兵先勝,... 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... Turning the Indirect into Direct Passage 7-2 軍爭之難者, 以迂爲直, 以患爲利. 故迂其途, 而誘之以利... Provocation as Weakness Passage 9-14 奔走而陳兵車者, 期也. 半進半退者, 誘也. 仗而立者, ... Signs of Concealment Passage 9-10 敵近而靜者, 恃其險也. 遠而挑戰者, 欲人之進也. 其所居...

More from Chapter 6: Emptiness & Fullness (虛實)

Passage 6-1: Sun Tzu said: Generally, he who occupies the battlefield first and awaits the en... Passage 6-2: Draw the enemy by presenting advantages; keep him away by presenting obstacles. ... Passage 6-3: Appear where they cannot rush to; strike where they do not expect. March a thous... Passage 6-4: Make your defense impregnable by defending where the enemy cannot attack. The sk... Passage 6-5: Subtle! Subtle!—approaching formlessness. Divine! Divine!—approaching soundlessn... Passage 6-6: Advance irresistibly by striking emptiness. Retreat without pursuit by moving wi... Passage 6-7: When I wish to engage, the enemy cannot avoid battle even behind high walls and ... Passage 6-8: When I wish to avoid battle, I can hold my ground with merely a line drawn on th... Passage 6-9: Make the enemy take shape while I remain formless—then I am concentrated while t... Passage 6-10: When I am many and the enemy is few, and I can strike with many against few, the... Passage 6-11: If the enemy cannot know where I will fight, he must defend everywhere. Defendin... Passage 6-12: If he defends the front, the rear is weak. If he defends the rear, the front is ... Passage 6-13: Being few means preparing against others. Being many means making others prepare... Passage 6-14: Know the ground and the day of battle, and you can march a thousand li to engage... Passage 6-15: By my calculations, though the army of Yue is numerous, what advantage will that... Passage 6-17: The ultimate in deployment is to be formless. Formless, even deep spies cannot d... Passage 6-18: By adapting to the enemy’s form, I achieve victories the masses cannot comprehen... Passage 6-19: Each victory is not repeated—the response to each form is infinitely adaptable.... Passage 6-20: The form of military operations resembles water. Water’s form avoids heights and... Passage 6-21: Warfare has no constant configuration, just as water has no constant form. One w... Passage 6-22: The five elements have no constant victor; the four seasons have no fixed positi...