[Male and Female Cities] 1

This chapter is extensively cited — including by those who fail to translate it in their modern Chinese editions — as evidence that the scope and concepts of warfare significantly evolved over the century between Sun-tzu and Sun Pin. Sun-tzu had strongly cautioned against precipitously and wastefully attacking cities in this famous passage: This tactic of attacking fortified cities is adopted only when unavoidable. Sun Pin's dual categorization of "male" and "female" cities is contrasted with Sun-tzu's reluctance to assault fortified cities and is interpreted as reflecting the growth of cities as economic and strategic centers. The presence of mounds appears to be the distinguishing factor in the first male city, for later Sun Pin explicitly states that a city with moderate-sized mounds is a male city. Accordingly, a city lacking them and other natural defenses, even though protected by marshes, falls under the female classification.