Chapter 6 · Emptiness & Fullness · 虛實

Passage 6-22

故五行無常勝, 四時無常位, 日有短長, 月有死生.

The five elements have no constant victor; the four seasons have no fixed position. Days are long and short; the moon waxes and wanes.

"Water has no constant form; war has no constant conditions." The ultimate principle of adaptability.

What does this passage really mean for modern strategy?

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These passages from other chapters connect to the themes in Passage 6-22:

Orthodox and Unorthodox Passage 5-2 凡戰者, 以正合, 以奇勝. Half-Advances Passage 9-15 汲而先飮者, 渴也. 見利而不進者, 勞也. 鳥集者, 虛也... 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... 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... 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, ... False Peace Offers Passage 9-17 懸缶不返其舍者, 窮寇也. 諄諄翕翕, 徐與人言者, 失衆也...

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 6-16: By strategizing, discern the enemy’s gains and losses. By provoking action, disc... 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...