“Know the other and know yourself, and in a hundred battles you…” — Sunzi (The Art of War, Planning Offensives)

Source and attribution

The archive attributes this English wording to The Art of War, Planning Offensives and files it under Military Thought. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.

About Sunzi

Sunzi (Sun Wu) is the traditional author of The Art of War, a classic of Chinese strategic thought usually dated to the late Spring and Autumn or early Warring States milieu. Historical details are sparse and partly legendary; the text may be composite.

How to read this passage

Epistemology asks whether knowledge is justified true belief, reliable tracking of the world, or something else; it also asks how perception, testimony, memory, and reason contribute. This passage enters that discussion through knowledge, wisdom.

Concepts in this quote

Knowledge

Knowledge is the philosophical study of what we can justifiably claim to know—and where certainty ends.

Wisdom

Wisdom is practical insight under uncertainty: knowing what matters, what one does not know, and how to act without false certainty.

How to cite this quotation

APA: Sunzi. (n.d.). Know the other and know yourself, and in a hundred battles you will not be in peril. Know yourself but not the other, and you will win one and lose one. Know neither, and you will be in peril in every battle. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0168

MLA: Sunzi. “Know the other and know yourself, and in….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0168.

Chicago: Sunzi. “Know the other and know yourself, and in….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0168.

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