Five Skills And Four Desires of Generalship

Tags: Chinese, generalship, war

There are five skills and four desires involved in generalship. The five skills are:

1. skill in knowing the disposition and power of enemies,
2. skill in knowing the ways to advance and withdraw,
3. skill in knowing how empty or how full countries are,
4. skill in knowing nature’s timing and human affairs, and
5. skill in knowing the features of terrain.

The four desires are:

1. desire for the extraordinary and unexpected in strategy,
2. desire for thoroughness in security,
3. desire for calm among the masses, and
4. desire for unity of hearts and minds.

— Thomas Cleary (translator and editor), Mastering the Art of War, p. 42