When their substance is drained away, the peasantry will be afflicted
by heavy exactions.
Cf. Mencius VII. 2. xiv. 2, where 丘民 has the same meaning as
丘役. 丘 was an ancient measure of land. The full table, as given
by 司馬法, may not be out of place here: 6 尺 = 1 步; 100 步 = 1 畝;
100 畝 = 1 夫; 3 夫 = 1 屋; 3 屋 = 1 井; 4 井 = 1 邑; 4 邑 = 1 丘; 4
丘 = 1 甸. According to the _Chou Li_, there were nine husbandmen
to a 井, which would assign to each man the goodly allowance of
100 畝 (of which 6.6 now go to an acre). What the values of these
measures were in Sun Tzŭ’s time is not known with any certainty.
The lineal 尺, however, is supposed to have been about 20 cm. 急
may include levies of men, as well as other exactions.