Chinese Text Project Dictionary

School of the Military -> The Art of War -> Energy -> 5

故善戰者，	The clever combatant
求之于勢，	looks to the effect of combined energy,
不責于人，	and does not require too much from individuals.
故能擇人任勢；	Hence his ability to pick out the right men and utilize combined energy.
任勢者，	When he utilizes combined energy,
其戰人也，	his fighting men
如轉木石，	become as it were like unto rolling logs or stones.
木石之性，	For it is the nature of a log or stone
安則靜，	to remain motionless on level ground,
危則動，	and to move when on a slope;
方則止，	if four-cornered, to come to a standstill,
圓則行。	but if round-shaped, to go rolling down.
故善戰人之勢，	Thus the energy developed by good fighting men
如轉圓石于千仞之山者，	is as the momentum of a round stone rolled down a mountain thousands of feet in height.
勢也。	So much on the subject of energy.

Character	Composition	Variants	Reading	Meaning	Hanyu	Kangxi	Cihai
故	攴+5		gù ㄍㄨˋ	Cause. / State of affairs. / Event, incident. / Plot. / Old. / Past, original. / Death. / On purpose. / Originally. / Hence, thus.	v2,p1453#05	p.469#25	p.601r5c01
善	口+9	譱𦎍𠾄𧮟	shàn ㄕㄢˋ	Good. / Take to be good, like. / Good person. / Strong point, merit. / Perfect. / Gentle, kind. / Friendly. / Good at doing. / Improve, make good. / Control, regulate. / Food.	v1,p0660#02	p.197#18	p.282r3c04
戰	戈+12	戦战	zhàn ㄓㄢˋ	war, fighting, battle	v2,p1412#12	p.414#11	p.553r5c01
者	老+4		zhě ㄓㄜˇ	Pronoun used after verbs, adjectives, etc. in place of a person or thing. / Pronoun used after numbers in place of a thing. / Pronoun used after time or negation to express "when" or "if". / Expressive particle used in a declarative sentence after the subject. / Expressive particle used in a sentence after the subject to express cause or explanation.	v4,p2780#05	p.961#01	p.1080r1c01
			zhuó ㄓㄨㄛˊ	In, located in.
求	水+2	裘	qiú ㄑㄧㄡˊ	seek; demand, request; beseech	v3,p1547#08	p.604#04	p.763r3c02
之	丿+3	㞢	zhī ㄓ	Towards; go to. / Demonstrative pronoun: this, these. / Third person pronoun: him, her, it. / Auxiliary word: of. / Auxiliary word: used between subject and predicate, cancels independence of a clause. / Auxiliary word: used in a sentence for aesthetic purpose only, no meaning.	v1,p0043#01	p.82#04	p.47r2c02
于	二+1	扵於	yú ㄩˊ	Go to, go towards. / Take. / Rim of the mouth of a bell. / A type of plant. / [Onomatopoeia] / Same as 「於(3.1)」 yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: in. / Same as 「於(3.2)」 yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: from or to. / Same as 「於(3.3)」 yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: compared to. / Same as 「於(3.4)」 yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: to, for, towards. / Same as 「於(3.5)」 yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: by (indicating passive tense). / Same as 「於(3.6)」 yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: with, using. / Same as 「於(3.7)」 yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: due to, because of. / Same as 「於(3.8)」 yú ㄩˊ: Preposition: by, according to. / Preposition: for, in place of. / Connective: and. / Auxiliary word: used in a sentence for aesthetic purpose only, no meaning. / Auxiliary word: used in at the end of a sentence to express questioning.	v1,p0004#05	p.86#06	p.63r3c02
勢	力+11	势	shì ㄕˋ	power, force; tendency	v1,p0377#03	p.149#04	p.199r2c03
不	一+3	不𠀚𠙐	bù ㄅㄨˋ	Not have. / To not be. / Negational adverb, used before verbs, adjectives, etc. to indicate negation. / Negational adverb expressing prohibition: do not. / Negational adverb expressing rhetorical question: is not...?	v1,p0011#06	p.76#15	p.30r1c01
			fǒu ㄈㄡˇ	Same as 「否(1.2)」 fǒu ㄈㄡˇ: Adverb used together with an affirmative word, expressing its negative or opposite. / Same as 「否(1.3)」 fǒu ㄈㄡˇ: Adverb used at the end of a question to form a yes-no question.
			fū ㄈㄨ	Sepal of a flower.
			pī ㄆㄧ	Same as 「丕(1)」 pī ㄆㄧ: Large.
			bǐ ㄅㄧˇ	Show disdain for.
責	貝+4	𧵩拆责	zé zhài ㄗㄜˊ ㄓㄞˋ	one's responsibility, duty	v6,p3626#02	p.1205#19	p.1271r3c01
人	人+0	𠔽亻	rén ㄖㄣˊ	Man, person. / Others, other people. / The people, ordinary men. / Talent, material. / [A man's] character. / Affairs of men, world of man. / Benevolence.	v1,p0101#10	p.91#01	p.80r2c01
能	肉+6		néng ㄋㄥˊ	A type of bear. / Ability, talent. / Man of ability, man of talent. / Able to, competent. / Comply with, be friendly towards. / Encompass, obtain. / To, arrive at. / Then, thus. / Same as 「而(4.3)」 ér ㄦˊ: Connective: if, supposing. / Only, merely. / Even if. / Thus, in this way. / Three-legged turtle.	v3,p2074#01	p.981#16	p.1095r5c02
			nài ㄋㄞˋ	Withstand, endure.
			tái ㄊㄞˊ	Same as 「台(1.1)」 tái ㄊㄞˊ: Name of a celestial body.
			tài ㄊㄞˋ	State, form.
擇	手+13	択择	zé zhái ㄗㄜˊ ㄓㄞˊ	select, choose, pick out	v3,p1969#04	p.458#05	p.595r1c06
任	人+4	仼	rèn rén ㄖㄣˋ ㄖㄣˊ	trust to, rely on, appoint; to bear, duty, office; allow	v1,p0122#06	p.94#24	p.88r6c05
其	八+6	丌亓	qí ㄑㄧˊ	Third-person possessive pronoun: his, her, its, their. / Demonstrative pronoun: that, those. / Adverb expressing estimation or guess. / Adverb expressing imperative. / Adverb expressing rhetorical question. / Adverb expressing future tense. / Connective expressing hypothesis: if, supposing. / Connective expressing choice: or. / Connective expressing concession: even if. / Particle used after an adjective. / Particle: of. / Particle used for emphasis after single-character adjectives or onomatopoeia. / Particle used in the middle of a sentence to alter the tempo.	v1,p0245#01	p.127#18	p.162r5c01
			jì ㄐㄧˋ	Particle used after bi and he.
			jī ㄐㄧ	Modal particle expressing interrogative tone. / A year.
也	乙+2	𠃟匜	yě ㄧㄝˇ	Modal particle used at the end of a sentence, expressing assertion and affirmation. / Modal particle used at the end of a question for emphasis. / Modal particle used at the end of a cause-effect sentence to express explanation. / Modal particle used in the middle of a sentence to express a pause.	v1,p0050#05	p.84#04	p.55r1c01
如	女+3		rú ㄖㄨˊ	Go to. / According to, in accordance with. / Like, similar to. / As good as, comparable to. / Should. / Or, alternatively. / If, should it be the case. / As for, as regards. / Adjectival suffix.	v2,p1025#09	p.255#21	p.378r5c02
轉	車+11	転转	zhuǎn zhuàn ㄓㄨㄢˇ ㄓㄨㄢˋ	shift, move, turn	v5,p3552#04	p.1248#17	p.1306r5c01
木	木+0		mù ㄇㄨˋ	tree; wood, lumber; wooden	v2,p1149#06	p.509#01	p.662r5c05
石	石+0	𥐘	shí dàn ㄕˊ ㄉㄢˋ	stone, rock, mineral; rad. 112	v4,p2416#01	p.827#01	p.957r5c03
性	心+5		xìng ㄒㄧㄥˋ	nature, character, sex	v4,p2286#04	p.381#24	p.527r1c01
安	宀+3		ān ㄢ	Stable, steady. / Peaceful, tranquil. / Safe. / Accustomed to do, habitually do. / Not worry about, be relaxed about. / Comfort, ease. / Stop, cease. / Unhurried. / Place, put. / Interrogative pronoun: how. / Interrogative pronoun: where. / Interrogative pronoun: what. / Interrogative pronoun: who. / Connective: so, thereupon.	v2,p0913#09	p.282#08	p.406r2c01
則	刀+7	𠟻𠟭𠞋𠟔则	zé ㄗㄜˊ	Method, rule. / Mimic, emulate. / Level, grade. / Adverb used to emphasize an assertion. / Adverb used to express scope: only. / Connective expressing continuation: then, and then. / Connective emphasizing comparison. / Connective expressing contrast. / Connective expressing allowance: yet, even so. / Connective expressing unexpected turn of events. / Connective expressing suppostion: if.	v1,p0340#06	p.139#31	p.183r5c05
靜	靑+8	㣏静	jìng ㄐㄧㄥˋ	quiet, still, motionless; gentle	v6,p4049#01	p.1382#03	p.1463r3c02
危	卩+4	𡵁	wēi wéi ㄨㄟㄨㄟˊ	dangerous, precarious; high	v1,p0312#03	p.159#12	p.226r2c01
動	力+9	㣫𨔝动	dòng ㄉㄨㄥˋ	move, happen; movement, action	v1,p0375#06	p.148#14	p.196r4c02
方	方+0	𤙗	fāng ㄈㄤ	Two boats in line. / Two boats travelling together. / Together, in a row. / Same, equivalent. / Comparison, metaphor. / Square. / Upright, honest. / Land, earth. / Vicinity, area around. / Place, area. / One side, one area. / Wooden board used for writing in ancient times. / (Medical) prescription. / Direction. / Convention. / Standard, rule. / The proper way. / Method, way. / Specialized techniques. / Occupy. / Disobey. / Preposition: just then. / Adverb: while. / Adverb: about to. / Adverb: just. / Criticism.	v3,p2172#01	p.481#03	p.619r4c01
			páng ㄆㄤˊ	Wide, universal.
止	止+0	只	zhǐ ㄓˇ	stop, halt, desist; detain	v2,p1435#03	p.573#24	p.732r3c02
圓	囗+10	圎圆	yuán ㄩㄢˊ	circle; round, circular; complete	v1,p0724#07	p.220#09	p.307r2c01
行	行+0	行	xíng ㄒㄧㄥˊ	Walk, move (on foot). / Advance, move forward. / Leave, exit. / Patrol, go on inspection. / Inspection of the realm by the Son of Heaven. / Be married off. / Flow, circulate. / Channel, guide. / Revolution, circular motion. / Experience. / Luggage, belongings taken on a journey. / Do, carry out. / Actions. / Accomplishments. / Use, utilize. / Take over (an official duty). / Offer, present. / Moral conduct, behaviour. / A type of classical poem. / A piece of music. / Semi-cursive script. / Adverb: will, about to. / Adverb: again, once more. / Adverb: by chance, luckily. / Ambassador (official title). / Measure word for number of pourings of drinks.	v2,p0811#06	p.1108#31	p.1203r5c05
			háng ㄏㄤˊ	Road. / Track, pattern. / Row, line. / Row of soldiers in battle. / Unit of 25 soldiers. / Shaft of a feather (and by extension, wings). / Measure word for things which form rows. / Rank, position.
千	十+1	仟	qiān ㄑㄧㄢ	thousand; many, numerous; very; (Cant.) a cheater, swindler	v1,p0059#01	p.155#19	p.212r5c01
仞	人+3	仭	rèn ㄖㄣˋ	ancient unit of measure (8 feet); 'fathom'	v1,p0115#07	p.93#04	p.86r1c04
山	山+0		shān ㄕㄢ	mountain, hill, peak	v1,p0759#11	p.307#01	p.452r2c03

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