Five Matters Before a Campaign

Five matters around one decision

The method begins with 故经之以五事，校之以计，而索其情. Sun Tzu asks the reader to examine a campaign through five matters, compare them, and seek the actual conditions. They broaden the judgment beyond any single sign of readiness.

The chapter names them together: 一曰道，二曰天，三曰地，四曰将，五曰法. These are parallel lenses, not steps in a hierarchy or scores to add up. A capable commander cannot remove a bad season; sound organization cannot settle a divided purpose. One decision may depend on all five at once.

道 — purpose and alignment

Sun Tzu explains 道 through 令民与上同意: the people sharing the ruler's intent, so that they can face danger together. The line directly concerns alignment between people and governing authority. Reading it through public sentiment, governing principles, and the state's broader direction is a useful extension, but those phrases are interpretation rather than a list given in the source.

天 — cycles, weather, and timing

天 includes 阴阳、寒暑、时制: yin and yang, heat and cold, and seasonal timing. It draws attention to day-and-night rhythms, weather, and natural cycles: conditions a commander does not control, but must account for when judging when and at what cost to act.

地 — the real conditions on the ground

地 draws attention to 远近、险易、广狭、死生: distance, difficulty, open or constrained ground, and exposure to danger. The point is the actual theatre of action—its landforms, routes, bottlenecks, and the circumstances in which troops and nearby people must move and live. Terrain changes what can be done, not just how a map looks.

将 — the qualities of command

The passage groups five qualities under 将: 智、信、仁、勇、严: wisdom, trustworthiness, humanity, courage, and discipline. Together they ask how a commander judges, earns confidence, treats people, acts under danger, and enforces standards. Courage matters, but it sits alongside the other four qualities.

法 — organization and provision

法 concerns 曲制、官道、主用: military organization, the structure and duties of officers, and the management of resources. Clear roles, accountability, rewards, and consistent execution are useful practical questions for examining that system today; they extend the source's compact list rather than translate it word for word.

Knowing the conditions is the work

The passage closes this section with 凡此五者，将莫不闻，知之者胜，不知者不胜. We read it as a demand for grounded knowledge before action. The chapter supplies neither numerical weights nor a procedure that mechanically guarantees victory; its value lies in seeing what a decision depends on.