The Art of War - 孙子兵法 - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: 行军篇 (Xíng Jūn Piān) - Marching the Army

孙子曰：凡处军相敌，绝山依谷。Sūn Zǐ yuē: Fán chǔ jūn xiāng dí, jué shān yī gǔ.

Sun Tzu said: When positioning an army against the enemy, cut off access to the mountains and rely on valleys.

视生处高，无迎水流，此处军胜也。Shì shēng chǔ gāo, wú yíng shuǐ liú, cǐ chǔ jūn shèng yě.

Observe the terrain: occupy high ground and avoid facing water flow. This ensures the army's advantage.

军无辎重则亡，无粮食则亡，无委积则亡。Jūn wú zī zhòng zé wáng, wú liáng shí zé wáng, wú wěi jī zé wáng.

An army without supplies, food, or reserves will perish.

故知兵者，避其锐气，击其惰归，此为军争之法也。Gù zhī bīng zhě, bì qí ruì qì, jī qí duò guī, cǐ wéi jūn zhēng zhī fǎ yě.

Thus, those skilled in war avoid an enemy’s strong points and attack their weakness. This is the method of military engagement.

Vocabulary List for Chapter 9

Chinese	Pinyin	English Meaning
行军	xíng jūn	marching the army
处军	chǔ jūn	positioning the army
相敌	xiāng dí	against the enemy
绝山	jué shān	cut off access to mountains
依谷	yī gǔ	rely on valleys
视生	shì shēng	observe the terrain
处高	chǔ gāo	occupy high ground
辎重	zī zhòng	supplies
粮食	liáng shí	food
委积	wěi jī	reserves
锐气	ruì qì	strong points, vigor
惰归	duò guī	weakness, sluggish return
军争	jūn zhēng	military engagement
避	bì	avoid
击	jī	attack