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Who really said it

The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom

Written by Sun Tzu trad. c. 544 – c. 496 BC · Chinese general & military strategist
Verified Free to reuse

A genuine line from ‘The Art of War’, Chapter X (Terrain), §24. This exact English wording — including the memorable “jewel of the kingdom” — is Lionel Giles’s 1910 translation ↗, the standard English version for half a century.

Last verified 10 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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“The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom” Sun Tzu, The Art of War, Ch. X (Terrain) §24, trans. Lionel Giles (1910)

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In context

Evoking the world of Sun Tzu — Chinese general, strategist & author of The Art of War. Theme: "The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

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Provenance

The source

Work
The Art of War (Sunzi Bingfa)
Location
Chapter X — Terrain (§24)
Translation
Lionel Giles, 1910 (Luzac & Co., London)
Original
進不求名，退不避罪，唯民是保，而利合於主，國之寶也

The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.

Giles’s translation, Chapter X §24. The Chinese literally runs closer to “advances without seeking fame, retreats without shunning blame, whose sole care is to protect the people to the sovereign’s benefit — he is the treasure of the state.”

The Art of War (Giles) — Chapter X, Terrain, on Wikisource

How we verified this

Public domain

The underlying Chinese text is ancient and long in the public domain. The exact English wording shown is Lionel Giles’s translation, first published in 1910 — well before 1931 — so this translation is also in the public domain in the United States. Later translations (e.g. Griffith 1963, Cleary 1988) remain in copyright, but their wording differs from this one.

This reflects the original work, which is public domain. If your exact English wording comes from a specific modern translation, that translation may itself still be under copyright — check the edition you quote.

Fact-check

Is it really Sun Tzu?

Sun Tzu is one of the internet’s biggest magnets for fabricated “wise” quotes, so skepticism is warranted — but this one is the real thing. The only nuance is about the wording, not the source.

Sun Tzu — correct genuine

Unlike most feel-good lines pinned on Sun Tzu, this passage really is in The Art of War. It is Chapter X (Terrain) §24, present in the classical text and in every faithful translation ↗.

Lionel Giles (translator, 1910) translation

The vivid English — “coveting fame,” “fearing disgrace,” “jewel of the kingdom” — is Giles’s 1910 phrasing ↗. The Chinese speaks of protecting the people and being the “treasure of the state”; “his country” and “jewel of the kingdom” are Giles’s literary choices, so quoting this exact form is really quoting Sun Tzu via Giles.

Verdict: genuinely Sun Tzu — The Art of War, Chapter X §24 ↗ — with the celebrated wording supplied by Lionel Giles’s 1910 English translation.

Context

Why it resonates

The passage sits at the moral heart of Chapter X. Having spent the chapter cataloguing kinds of terrain and the general’s duty to read them, Sun Tzu turns to character: the ideal commander acts for the state, not for reputation. He will attack when advantageous and withdraw when necessary, indifferent to whether either move brings him personal glory or blame — because his loyalty is to the people and the sovereign, not his own name.

That ethic of egoless duty is why the line is quoted far beyond military circles — in leadership, business and politics — as a portrait of principled service over self-promotion.

Advances without coveting fame, retreats without fearing disgrace.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Leadership Humility Character

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

The Art of War (Giles) — Terrainen.wikisource.org

Full Chapter X in Giles's translation; the quote is section 24.
Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910 full text)gutenberg.org

Project Gutenberg edition of Giles's complete 1910 translation.
The Art of War 10.24suntzusaid.com

Section 24 with Giles's notes and classical Chinese commentary.
Sun Tzu — Wikiquoteen.wikiquote.org

Lists the line in the sourced Art of War section, Chapter X.
JRAS review of Giles, Luzac & Co. 1910cambridge.org

Catalogue record confirming the translation's 1910 first publication.
Sun Tzu — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

Background on Sun Tzu, authorship debate and The Art of War.

The author

About Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu

trad. c. 544 – c. 496 BC · Chinese general, strategist & author of The Art of War

Sun Tzu (Sun Wu) is the traditionally named author of The Art of War (‘Sunzi Bingfa’), the foundational Chinese treatise on strategy. Ancient tradition places him as a general in the state of Wu in the late Spring and Autumn period, though modern scholars debate his historicity and often date the text to the Warring States era (5th–4th century BC). Whoever compiled it, the work has shaped military and strategic thinking worldwide for over two millennia.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

Sun Tzu. Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War. Translated by Lionel Giles. London: Luzac & Co., 1910. Chapter X (Terrain), §24.

MLA (9th ed.)

Sun Tzu. Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War. Translated by Lionel Giles, Luzac & Co., 1910.

APA (7th ed.)

Sun Tzu. (1910). Sun Tzŭ on the art of war (L. Giles, Trans.). Luzac & Co.

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Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom’?” Last verified 10 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/the-general-who-advances-without-coveting-fame-and-retreats

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