A glass bowl of water shifting from red to calm blue sits beside a shattered miniature porcelain tower, on a slate background.

Original artwork, not a still

The Art of War

Sun Tzu

Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

Feelings can recover, this says: anger fades into gladness and irritation into contentment. Destruction is different. A kingdom once destroyed doesn't return, and the dead don't come back. The contrast argues that irreversible losses deserve more caution than passing moods.

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