The Art of War孫子兵法

1. Reckonings始計第一

The frame for the whole book. War is the great affair of the state and is not to be settled by temper: it must first be reckoned — five matters (the Way, heaven, earth, the general, method) to set the frame, seven comparisons to score it. Only when the reckoning comes out well does one fight. The second half turns to the twelve arts of deception, which are not tricks for after the fighting starts but means of degrading the quality of the enemy's judgement. The last line gathers the chapter: he who reckons much wins, he who reckons little does not. The outcome is largely settled in the ancestral temple, before a blow is struck.

Sunzi said: War is the great affair of the state, the ground of death and life, the road to survival or to ruin. It must not be left unexamined. Therefore set out its frame in five matters, weigh it by seven comparisons, and so search out the true conditions: the first is the Way, the second heaven, the third earth, the fourth the general, the fifth method.

The Way is what makes the people of one mind with their ruler, so that they will die with him and live with him and not fear danger. Heaven is yin and yang, cold and heat, the ordering of the seasons. Earth is high and low, far and near, difficult and easy, wide and narrow, ground of death and ground of life. The general is wisdom, good faith, humanity, courage, sternness. Method is organisation and regulation, the chain of command, the control of supply. There is no general who has not heard of these five; he who understands them wins, he who does not understand them does not win. Therefore weigh the matter by seven comparisons and search out the true conditions. Ask: Which ruler has the Way? Which general has the greater ability? Which side has heaven and earth with it? On which side are law and command carried through? Which army is the stronger? Which officers and men are the better drilled? On which side are reward and punishment the clearer? By these I know victory and defeat.

If a general will listen to my reckoning and is employed, he will surely win — keep him. If a general will not listen to my reckoning and is employed, he will surely lose — dismiss him. Once the advantageous plan has been heard and adopted, go on to make force out of it, to assist what lies outside the plan. Force is the shaping of the handle of power according to advantage. War is the way of deception. Therefore when able, appear unable; when you would use your troops, appear not to; when near, appear far; when far, appear near. Bait him with advantage; take him where he is in disorder; where he is solid, prepare against him; where he is strong, avoid him; if he is quick to anger, provoke him; if he is humble, make him arrogant; if he is at ease, wear him out; if his people are close to one another, drive them apart. Attack where he is unprepared; go out where he does not expect it. These are the victories of the strategist, and they cannot be laid down in advance.

He who reckons in the ancestral temple before the fighting and judges that he will win has counted many advantages; he who reckons and judges that he will not win has counted few. Many counts win, few counts do not win — how much worse, no count at all! By this I look at the matter, and victory and defeat are plain to see.

2. Waging War作戰第二

On the cost of war. An army of a hundred thousand spends a thousand pieces of gold a day, and so Sunzi is against long campaigns — "I have heard of clumsy speed, but have never seen skill in delay." Two remedies: feed on the enemy, where one measure taken from him is worth twenty carried from home; and grow stronger by beating him, re-flagging the captured chariots and taking prisoners into your own ranks. Let the war support itself instead of bleeding the country behind it.

Sunzi said: The rule for using troops is this. A thousand fast chariots, a thousand leather-covered wagons, a hundred thousand mailed soldiers, and grain hauled a thousand li; then the expense at front and rear, the entertaining of envoys, the stuff of glue and lacquer, the upkeep of chariots and armour, come to a thousand pieces of gold a day. Only then can an army of a hundred thousand be raised. In the using of such an army it is victory that one values: if it drags on, the weapons are blunted and the edge is taken off the men; if you assault walled cities, your strength is exhausted; if you keep an army long in the field, the state's resources will not suffice. And when weapons are blunted and the edge gone, strength spent and wealth drained, the other lords will rise upon your exhaustion, and then, though you have wise men, none will be able to make a good end of it. So in war one hears of clumsy speed, but has never seen skill in delay. There has never yet been a case of a country profiting from a long war. Therefore he who does not fully know the harm of using troops cannot fully know the profit of using them.

One who is good at using troops does not enrol conscripts a second time nor load grain a third time. He takes his equipment from home and his food from the enemy; so the army's provisions are sufficient.

What impoverishes a state through its army is distant transport, and distant transport impoverishes the common people. Where an army is near, prices rise; when prices rise, the people's wealth is drained; when their wealth is drained, they are pressed hard for levies. With strength spent and goods gone, the households of the central plain are empty within. Of the people's substance, seven parts in ten are gone; and of the public treasury — broken chariots and worn-out horses, armour and helmets, arrows and crossbows, halberds and shields, pavises and great screens, draught oxen and heavy wagons — six parts in ten.

Therefore the wise general takes care to feed on the enemy. One zhong of the enemy's grain is worth twenty of his own; one dan of the enemy's fodder and straw is worth twenty of his own.

What makes men kill the enemy is anger; what makes them seize the enemy's goods is reward. So in chariot fighting, when ten chariots or more have been taken, reward the man who took the first, and change their flags. Mix the captured chariots in with your own and ride them; treat the captured soldiers well and keep them. This is called beating the enemy and growing stronger by it.

So in war it is victory that is valued, not duration. And the general who understands war is the arbiter of the people's fate and the master of the state's safety or peril.

3. Attack by Stratagem謀攻第三

The source of "subduing the enemy's troops without fighting." Best is to take a thing whole — the enemy's state, army, brigade, company, squad taken intact rather than smashed. Hence the order of preference: attack his plans, then his alliances, then his army, and last his cities, the assault on cities being the last resort. The second half gives the scale of force (ten to surround, five to attack, two to divide), the three ways a ruler harms his own army (hobbling it, confusing it, making it doubt), and the five ways of knowing victory — closing with "know him and know yourself, and in a hundred battles you will not be in danger."

Sunzi said: In the rule of war, to take the enemy's state whole is best, and to smash it is next; to take his army whole is best, and to break it is next; to take his brigade whole is best, and to break it is next; his company whole is best, and to break it is next; his squad whole is best, and to break it is next. Therefore to win a hundred battles out of a hundred is not the finest thing; to subdue the enemy's troops without fighting is the finest thing.

So the best warfare attacks the enemy's plans; the next attacks his alliances; the next attacks his army; and the worst attacks walled cities. Attacking cities is done only when there is no choice: to make the great shields and the covered assault wagons and to get the engines ready takes three months, and to raise the earthworks against the wall takes another three. If the general cannot master his fury and sends his men swarming up like ants, a third of them are killed and the city still not taken — that is the disaster of the assault.

Therefore one skilled in war subdues the enemy's troops without battle, takes his cities without assault, destroys his state without a long campaign. He must contend for all under heaven by keeping things whole, and so his troops are not blunted and the gain is entire. This is the method of attack by stratagem.

The rule for using troops: at ten to one, surround him; at five to one, attack him; at two to one, divide him; if evenly matched, be able to fight him; if fewer, be able to hold; if no match for him, be able to avoid him. For a small force that is stubborn becomes the captive of a large one.

The general is the state's supporting brace. Where the brace fits close, the state is surely strong; where there are gaps in it, the state is surely weak.

There are three ways in which a ruler brings trouble upon his army. Not knowing that the army cannot advance, he orders it to advance; not knowing that it cannot retreat, he orders it to retreat — this is called hobbling the army. Not knowing the business of the three armies, he shares in their administration — then the officers and men are confused. Not knowing where authority lies in the army, he shares in its appointments — then the officers and men doubt. And when the three armies are both confused and doubtful, the troubles of the neighbouring lords arrive. This is called throwing your own army into disorder and handing away the victory.

There are five ways of knowing victory. He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, wins. He who understands the use of many and of few, wins. He whose superiors and inferiors want the same thing, wins. He who is prepared and waits for the unprepared, wins. He whose general is able and whose ruler does not interfere, wins. These five are the way of knowing victory.

So it is said: know him and know yourself, and in a hundred battles you will not be in danger; do not know him but know yourself, and you will win one and lose one; know neither him nor yourself, and in every battle you will be in danger.

4. Dispositions軍形第四

On form, the visible structure of strength. At the heart of it is an asymmetry: not being beaten depends on you, beating the other depends on him. So the good soldier can only "first make himself unbeatable" and then wait for the enemy to open. The true master wins without a story to tell — "no name for wisdom, no credit for courage" — because he only fights men who are already beaten. The last passage runs measurement, quantity, numbers, weighing and victory into a single chain, turning ground and resources into a difference of order of magnitude: a full weight set against a grain.

Sunzi said: The good soldiers of old first made themselves unconquerable, and then waited for the enemy to become conquerable. To be unconquerable lies with oneself; to be conquerable lies with the enemy. So the good soldier can make himself unconquerable, but cannot make the enemy certainly conquerable. Therefore it is said: victory may be known, but it cannot be forced.

Unconquerable is defence; conquerable is attack. One defends when strength is insufficient and attacks when it is more than enough. The good defender hides beneath the ninefold earth; the good attacker moves above the ninefold heaven. So he can preserve himself and take a whole victory.

To see victory no further than the common run of men see it is not the finest thing; to win a battle and have all under heaven say "well done" is not the finest thing. For lifting an autumn hair is no proof of strength, seeing sun and moon no proof of sharp eyes, hearing the thunderclap no proof of a keen ear.

Those whom the ancients called good soldiers won where victory was easy. So the victories of the good soldier bring him no name for wisdom and no credit for courage; and yet his battles are won without a slip. There is no slip because whatever he arranges is set upon certain victory: he conquers an enemy already beaten. So the good soldier takes his stand on ground where he cannot be beaten, and lets slip no chance of beating the enemy. Thus a winning army wins first and seeks battle afterwards; a losing army fights first and looks for victory afterwards. One skilled in war cultivates the Way and keeps the method, and so can govern victory and defeat.

The art of war: first, measurement; second, quantity; third, the reckoning of numbers; fourth, weighing; fifth, victory. Ground gives rise to measurement, measurement to quantity, quantity to numbers, numbers to weighing, weighing to victory. So a winning army is as a full weight against a grain, and a losing army a grain against a full weight. The victor sets his people to battle as one who breaches pent water into a gorge a thousand fathoms deep — this is form.

5. Force兵勢第五

On force, that part of power which is organised out of movement. To handle many as few is a matter of divisions and counts; not to be broken is a matter of the interchange of the straight and the odd; to strike home is a matter of the full against the empty. The straight and the odd generate each other, a ring without end. Three images from this chapter are the most famous in the book: rushing water that rolls stones is force, the falcon's strike that breaks the bone is timing, and a round rock rolled down a mountain a thousand fathoms high is what it means to ride upon force. The conclusion — "seek it in force and do not demand it of men" — is not to require courage of individuals but to build the situation in which ordinary men naturally exert themselves.

Sunzi said: To manage many as one manages few is a matter of divisions and counts. To fight many as one fights few is a matter of signs and signals. That the host of the three armies may meet the enemy head-on and not be broken is a matter of the odd and the straight. That where the troops fall it is as a whetstone thrown at an egg is a matter of the full and the empty.

In all fighting, one engages with the straight and wins with the odd. So he who is good at sending out the odd is endless as heaven and earth, inexhaustible as the rivers and the sea. Ending and beginning again — such are sun and moon. Dying and coming to life again — such are the four seasons. There are no more than five notes, yet their changes cannot all be heard; no more than five colours, yet their changes cannot all be seen; no more than five flavours, yet their changes cannot all be tasted. In battle there are no more than the odd and the straight, yet their changes cannot be exhausted. The odd and the straight give birth to each other like a ring that has no end — who can exhaust them?

That rushing water in its speed will roll stones along is force; that the bird of prey in its speed breaks the body of its quarry is timing. So the good soldier's force is steep and his timing short. Force is like a crossbow drawn; timing is like the release of the trigger.

In the tumult and the confusion the fighting seems disordered, and yet there is no disorder; in the murk and the swirl the formation is round on every side and cannot be beaten. Disorder is born of order, cowardice of courage, weakness of strength. Order and disorder are a matter of divisions and counts; courage and cowardice, of force; strength and weakness, of form.

So he who is good at moving the enemy shows him a form, and the enemy is sure to follow it; gives him something, and the enemy is sure to take it. He moves him with the prospect of gain and waits for him with his troops.

So the good soldier seeks victory in force and does not demand it of his men; hence he can choose his men and let them ride upon force. He who rides upon force sends his men into battle as one rolls logs and stones. It is the nature of logs and stones to be still when level and to move when steep, to halt when square and to roll when round. So the force of one who is good at making men fight is as a round rock rolled down a mountain a thousand fathoms high — that is force.

6. The Full and the Empty虛實第六

The chapter opens with the sentence that governs it: bring the enemy to you and do not be brought to him. All that follows is technique for keeping the initiative — appear where he must run, strike where he does not defend, give him a shape to chase while keeping none of your own. To defend everywhere is to be weak everywhere; so make him divide, and concentrate against a part. It ends on the image of water: as water has no fixed shape but takes it from the ground, so an army has no fixed force and takes its victory from the enemy.

Sunzi said: He who is first on the field of battle and waits for the enemy is at ease; he who comes late and hurries into the fight is weary. So the good soldier brings the enemy to him and is not brought to the enemy.

To get the enemy to come of himself, hold out advantage to him; to keep him from coming, show him harm. So if the enemy is at ease, be able to weary him; if he is well fed, to starve him; if he is settled, to move him. Go out to where he must hurry; hurry to where he does not expect you.

To march a thousand li without weariness is to march where there are no men. To attack and be certain of taking is to attack where he does not defend; to defend and be certain of holding is to hold what he does not attack. So against a good attacker the enemy does not know where to defend, and against a good defender he does not know where to attack. Subtle, subtle, to the point of formlessness! Spirit-like, spirit-like, to the point of soundlessness! So one becomes the arbiter of the enemy's fate.

To advance and not be withstood is to rush upon his empty places; to withdraw and not be pursued is to be too fast to be overtaken. So if I wish to fight, then though the enemy has high ramparts and deep ditches he cannot help fighting me, for I attack what he must rescue; and if I do not wish to fight, then though I merely draw a line on the ground and hold it, the enemy cannot fight me, for I have turned him aside from where he was going.

So if I give the enemy a form and have none myself, then I am concentrated and he is divided. I am concentrated into one and he is divided into ten: it is ten attacking one, and I am many and he is few. Being able to strike few with many, those I must fight are few indeed. The place where I shall fight must not be known; not being known, the places the enemy must guard are many; the places he must guard being many, those who will fight me are few. So if he guards the front, the rear is weak; if he guards the rear, the front is weak; if he guards the left, the right is weak; if he guards the right, the left is weak; and guarding everywhere, he is weak everywhere. The few are those who guard against others; the many are those who make others guard against them.

So if you know the place of battle and the day of battle, you may go a thousand li and give battle. If you know neither the place nor the day, then the left cannot save the right nor the right the left, the van cannot save the rear nor the rear the van — how much more when the far parts are tens of li apart and the near parts several li! As I reckon it, the men of Yue have troops in plenty, but what does that profit them toward victory? So it is said: victory can be had at will. Though the enemy be many, they can be made not to fight.

So probe him and know the reckoning of his gains and losses; stir him and know the pattern of his movement and his rest; show him a form and know his ground of death and of life; touch him and know where he has too much and where too little. The utmost in giving an army form is to arrive at formlessness. Being formless, the deepest spy cannot look into you and the wisest cannot lay plans against you. Out of the enemy's own form one sets victory before the multitude, and the multitude cannot understand it. All men know the form by which I conquer, but none knows the form by which I contrive the victory. So a victory in battle is never repeated, and the response to form is inexhaustible.

The form of an army is like water. Water in its course avoids the high and hurries to the low; an army in its victory avoids the full and strikes the empty. Water shapes its course according to the ground; an army shapes its victory according to the enemy. So an army has no fixed force and no constant form, and he who can change with the enemy and take the victory is called spirit-like. Among the five elements none is always victorious; among the four seasons none keeps a fixed place; the days are short and long, and the moon dies and is born again.

7. The Contest of Armies軍爭第七

On the contest for position, which Sunzi calls the hardest thing in war once the army has been raised and the two camps stand facing. Its difficulty is to make the crooked road the straight one and to turn a liability into a gain: go round, bait him, set out after him and arrive before him. This chapter holds the four famous lines on movement — swift as the wind, quiet as the forest, ravaging as fire, immovable as a mountain — and then turns to what an army can and cannot bear: forced marches that lose two men in three, the need for baggage and grain and stores, the handling of morale through the course of a day, and eight things not to do.

Sunzi said: In the rule of using troops, from the general's receiving his commission from the ruler, through the joining of the army and the gathering of the host, to the pitching of camp with the two sides facing, there is nothing harder than the contest of armies. What makes it hard is to make the crooked road the straight one and to make a liability into a gain. So make his road crooked, bait him with advantage, and though you set out after him arrive before him: this is to understand the reckoning of the crooked and the straight.

The contest of armies is for gain; the contest of armies is also peril. Raise the whole army to contend for gain and you will not arrive in time; leave the army behind to contend for gain and the baggage is lost. Hence if you roll up your armour and hurry, not halting day or night, going at double marches to contend for gain a hundred li away, the commanders of the three armies will be taken: the strong come first and the weary after, and by that rule one man in ten arrives. Contending for gain fifty li away, the commander of the van will fall, and by that rule half arrive. Contending for gain thirty li away, two in three arrive. And so an army without its baggage is lost, without provisions is lost, without stores is lost. He who does not know the designs of the neighbouring lords cannot make alliances beforehand; he who does not know the lie of mountain and forest, defile and marsh, cannot march an army; he who does not use local guides cannot get the advantage of the ground.

So an army is established upon deception, moves for advantage, and changes through dividing and joining. Therefore be swift as the wind, quiet as the forest, ravaging as fire, immovable as a mountain, unfathomable as the dark, and move like the thunderclap. When you plunder the countryside, divide your force; when you take ground, divide the gain. Hang up the balance before you move. He who first understands the reckoning of the crooked and the straight wins: this is the method of the contest of armies.

The Book of Army Administration says: "Because speech cannot be heard, they made gongs and drums; because sight cannot reach, they made banners and flags." Gongs and drums, banners and flags, are the means of making one the ears and eyes of the host. The host being made one, the brave cannot advance alone nor the timid retreat alone: this is the method of handling numbers. So in night fighting use many gongs and drums, and in day fighting many banners and flags — the means of working upon men's ears and eyes.

The three armies may be robbed of their spirit and the commanding general may be robbed of his heart. In the morning the spirit is keen, by day it slackens, by evening it turns homeward. So the good soldier avoids the keen spirit and strikes the slack and the homeward-turning: this is the handling of spirit. With order he awaits disorder, with quiet he awaits clamour: this is the handling of the heart. Near, he awaits the distant; at ease, the weary; well fed, the hungry: this is the handling of strength. He does not intercept banners in perfect array nor strike a formation drawn up in full state: this is the handling of change.

So the rule of using troops: do not face an enemy on high ground; do not oppose him with a hill at his back; do not follow a feigned flight; do not attack crack troops; do not swallow bait; do not block an army going home; leave a gap when you surround an army; do not press a desperate enemy. This is the rule of using troops.

8. The Nine Variations九變第八

On variation, which is the general's freedom to depart from the rule. Five kinds of ground with their handling; then five things one does not do, ending in the line that has cost the commentators much ink: there are commands of the ruler which are not accepted. The middle passage gives the habit of mind behind it — the wise man's deliberations always mix advantage and harm, so that his undertakings can be relied upon and his troubles dissolved. The chapter closes with the five faults of a general, each of them a virtue carried far enough to be used against him.

Sunzi said: In the rule of using troops, the general receives his commission from the ruler, joins the army and gathers the host. On broken ground do not camp; on ground of intersecting highways join hands with your allies; on cut-off ground do not linger; on enclosed ground resort to stratagem; on death ground fight. There are roads not to be taken, armies not to be struck, cities not to be assaulted, ground not to be contested, and commands of the ruler not to be accepted. So the general who understands the advantages of the nine variations knows how to use troops. The general who does not understand the advantages of the nine variations, though he knows the lie of the land, cannot get the advantage of the ground; and one who directs troops without knowing the art of the nine variations, though he knows the advantages of the ground, cannot get the use of his men.

Therefore the deliberations of the wise man always mix advantage and harm. Mixing in advantage, his undertakings can be relied upon; mixing in harm, his troubles can be dissolved. Therefore he bends the neighbouring lords by harm, keeps them busy with affairs, and makes them come running with advantage.

So the rule of using troops: do not count upon the enemy's not coming, but upon your own readiness for him; do not count upon his not attacking, but upon having made yourself unattackable.

So there are five dangers in a general. Bent on death, he can be killed. Bent on living, he can be captured. Quick to anger, he can be insulted into action. Punctilious of honour, he can be shamed. Loving his people, he can be harassed. These five are faults in a general and disasters in the conduct of war. When an army is overthrown and its general killed, it will certainly be by one of the five dangers. They must not be left unexamined.

9. The Army on the March行軍第九

On placing the army and reading the enemy. The first half runs through mountain, river, marsh and level ground, and the places to be got away from quickly — the heaven-made well, cage, net, pit and crevice. The second half is the longest sustained piece of practical observation in the book: more than thirty signs by which an enemy's condition may be read at a distance. Dust rising high and sharp means chariots; birds rising mean an ambush; men leaning on their spears mean hunger; frequent rewards mean the commander is at the end of his resources. The chapter closes on discipline: command them with civility and keep them in order with arms.

Sunzi said: In placing an army and sizing up the enemy — in crossing mountains keep to the valleys, camp on high ground facing the sunlit side, and if he holds the height do not climb to fight him. This is placing an army in the mountains. In crossing a river, afterwards keep well away from it; if the enemy crosses toward you, do not meet him in the water but let half of them cross and then strike, which is the advantage. If you wish to fight, do not meet him close by the water; camp on high ground facing the light, and do not face upstream. This is placing an army by water. In crossing salt marshes, get away from them quickly and do not linger; and if you must fight in a salt marsh, keep to the water and the grass with a stand of trees at your back. This is placing an army in salt marshes. On level ground take the easy footing, with the high ground on your right and behind, dead ground before you and living ground behind. This is placing an army on level ground. The advantage of these four placings is how the Yellow Emperor overcame the four emperors.

All armies prefer high ground to low and the sunlit side to the shaded; nourish life and camp where there is substance, and the army will be free of sickness. On hills and dykes take the sunlit side and keep them on your right and behind. This is the advantage of an army and the help of the ground. When rain has fallen upstream and the froth of the flood comes down, wait until it settles before you ford.

Where the ground has sheer ravines, or where you meet the heaven-made well, the heaven-made cage, the heaven-made net, the heaven-made pit, the heaven-made crevice, get away from them quickly and do not go near. Let me keep far from them and the enemy near them; let me face them and the enemy have them at his back. Where there are defiles and hollows, ponds and wells, reeds and rushes, woods and thick undergrowth beside the army, search them carefully and again and again: these are the places where ambush and spies lie.

If the enemy is close and quiet, he trusts to the strength of his position. If he is far off and offers battle, he wants the other side to advance. If he camps on easy ground, there is some advantage in it. If the trees move, he is coming. If there are many screens set among the grass, he means to mislead. Birds rising are an ambush; beasts startled, a surprise attack. Dust rising high and sharp means chariots coming; low and wide, infantry; scattered in thin threads, men gathering firewood; sparse, with movement to and fro, an army making camp. Words humble and preparations increasing — he will advance. Words strong and a show of driving forward — he will withdraw. Light chariots going out first and taking station on the flanks — he is forming order of battle. Suing for peace without terms — he is plotting. Men running about and drawing up their ranks — he has set the hour. Half advancing and half withdrawing — he is luring you. Men leaning on their spears — hunger. Water-carriers who drink first — thirst. Seeing an advantage and not advancing — weariness. Birds gathering on his camp — it is empty. Calling out in the night — fear. Uproar in the army — the general is not respected. Banners shifting about — disorder. Officers angry — the men are worn out. Killing the horses for meat, no cooking-pots hung up, and the men not returning to their quarters — a desperate enemy. Talking together in low insistent tones, the commander speaking slowly to his men — he has lost his army. Frequent rewards — he is at the end of his resources. Frequent punishments — he is in difficulties. To be violent first and then to come to fear one's own men is the height of want of judgement. Envoys coming with compliments — he wants a respite. Troops that come up in anger and face you, and yet for a long time neither join battle nor withdraw — these must be watched with the greatest care.

So in war it is not mere numbers that give the advantage: only do not advance by brute force, and it is enough to concentrate your strength, size up the enemy and carry your men with you. It is precisely the man who has no forethought and makes light of the enemy who ends as another's prisoner.

To punish soldiers before they are attached to you is to make them disobedient, and being disobedient they are hard to use; to leave punishment undone when they are attached to you is to make them useless. So command them with civility and keep them in order with arms: this is called certain victory. If commands are habitually carried out in the training of the men, the men will obey; if commands are habitually not carried out, they will not obey. Where commands are habitually carried out, commander and host have found each other.

10. Terrain地形第十

Six kinds of ground and six ways an army comes apart. The second list is the sharper one, because none of the six is an act of heaven: all are the general's fault — running, slackness, collapse, ruin, disorder, rout, each traced to a particular failure of command. The chapter then states the general's independence in its strongest form, that he advances without seeking fame and withdraws without shunning blame; and it gives the famous line about treating soldiers as one's own sons, with the warning attached to it that sons who are spoiled are of no use. It closes by adding heaven and earth to the pairing of the third chapter.

Sunzi said: Ground may be open, or entangling, or standoff ground, or narrow, or precipitous, or distant. Where I can go and he can come, the ground is open; on open ground be first to occupy the high and sunlit side and keep your supply road clear, and then to fight is to your advantage. Where you can go but find it hard to return, the ground is entangling; on entangling ground, if the enemy is unprepared you may go out and beat him, but if he is prepared and you go out and do not beat him, return is hard and you are at a disadvantage. Where it does not suit me to go out and does not suit him to go out, the ground is standoff ground; on standoff ground, even if the enemy offers me an advantage I do not go out, but draw off, and when he is half out I strike, which is the advantage. On narrow ground, if I am there first I fill it and wait for him; if he is there first and fills it, do not follow him in, and if he does not fill it, follow. On precipitous ground, if I am there first I hold the high and sunlit side and wait for him; if he is there first, draw off and do not follow. On distant ground, where the two sides are evenly matched, it is hard to provoke a battle and fighting is to your disadvantage. These six are the way of the ground and the general's highest charge. They must not be left unexamined.

So there are armies that run, that go slack, that collapse, that fall in ruin, that fall into disorder, that are routed. These six are no calamity of heaven but the general's own fault. Where the sides are evenly matched but one strikes ten, that is running. Where the men are strong and the officers weak, that is slackness. Where the officers are strong and the men weak, that is collapse. Where senior officers are angry and will not submit, meet the enemy in resentment and fight on their own account, and the general does not know what they can do, that is ruin. Where the general is weak and not stern, his training and guidance unclear, officers and men without fixed duties, and the ranks drawn up anyhow, that is disorder. Where the general cannot size up the enemy, sends few against many, throws the weak against the strong, and has no picked troops for the point, that is rout. These six are the roads to defeat and the general's highest charge. They must not be left unexamined.

The lie of the ground is a help to an army. To size up the enemy and master the victory, to reckon the defiles and the distances, is the way of the superior general. He who fights knowing these will surely win; he who fights not knowing them will surely lose. So where the way of battle gives certain victory, though the ruler says do not fight, one may certainly fight; and where the way of battle does not give victory, though the ruler says you must fight, one may decline to fight. Thus the general who advances without seeking fame and withdraws without shunning blame, whose one care is to protect the people and whose profit accords with his ruler's, is the treasure of the state.

Look on your soldiers as infants, and they will go with you into the deepest ravine; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you unto death. But if you are generous and cannot make use of them, kind and cannot command them, and they fall into disorder and you cannot bring them to order, then they are like spoiled children and will be of no use.

To know that my own men can strike but not to know that the enemy cannot be struck is half a victory. To know that the enemy can be struck but not to know that my own men cannot strike is half a victory. To know that the enemy can be struck and that my own men can strike, but not to know that the lie of the ground makes fighting impossible, is half a victory. So he who understands war moves without going astray and acts without coming to the end of his resources. Hence it is said: know him and know yourself, and victory is not in danger; know heaven and know earth, and victory may be made whole.

11. The Nine Grounds九地第十一

The longest chapter, and the most extreme. Nine kinds of ground are named and handled twice over; and between the two lists comes the psychology that holds the chapter together — that men deep in another's country with no way back become of one mind, need no watching and no orders, and will fight as Zhuan Zhu and Cao Gui fought. Hence the snake of Mount Chang, which answers at the tail when struck at the head; hence the burning of the boats and the breaking of the cooking-pots; hence the general who is still and remote and keeps his own men in the dark. The close is the most quoted pair of lines in the book after those of the third chapter: at first be as a maiden, and the enemy opens his door; afterwards be as a hare broken loose, and he will be too late to shut it.

Sunzi said: In the rule of using troops there is scattering ground, light ground, contested ground, open ground, ground of intersecting highways, heavy ground, broken ground, enclosed ground, death ground. When a lord fights in his own territory, it is scattering ground. When one enters another's territory but not deeply, it is light ground. Ground that profits me to hold and profits him to hold is contested ground. Ground where I can go and he can come is open ground. Ground that borders on three states, so that he who reaches it first gets the host of all under heaven, is ground of intersecting highways. When one has entered deeply into another's territory with many walled towns at one's back, it is heavy ground. Mountain and forest, defile and marsh, and all roads hard to travel, are broken ground. Where the way in is narrow and the way back roundabout, so that a few of his can strike many of mine, it is enclosed ground. Where to fight at once is to survive and not to fight at once is to perish, it is death ground. Therefore on scattering ground do not fight; on light ground do not halt; on contested ground do not attack; on open ground do not let your ranks be cut; on ground of intersecting highways join hands with your allies; on heavy ground plunder; on broken ground keep marching; on enclosed ground use stratagem; on death ground fight.

Those whom men called the good soldiers of old could keep the enemy's van and rear from reaching each other, his many and his few from relying on each other, his high and low from rescuing each other, his superiors and inferiors from gathering each other in; his men scattered and not assembling, his troops joined and not in order. When it accorded with advantage they moved, and when it did not they stopped. If I may ask: the enemy comes on, many and well ordered — how shall I meet him? I say: seize first upon something he holds dear, and he will listen to you. The nature of war is speed above all: to take advantage of what the enemy cannot come up to, to go by the road he does not look for, to attack where he is not on guard.

The way of being the invader is this: when he has gone deep, his men are concentrated and the defender cannot master him. Plunder the fat country, and the three armies have food enough. Take care of the men and do not wear them out; keep their spirit whole and store up their strength; move the troops and lay plans so that none can take your measure. Throw them where there is nowhere to go and they will die rather than be routed; and being ready to die, how should officers and men not give their whole strength? When soldiers are in deep peril they cease to fear; with nowhere to go they stand firm; deep in the country they are bound; and when there is no help for it they fight. So without drilling they are on guard, without asking they give, without agreements they are close, without orders they are to be trusted. Forbid omens and put away doubt, and to the very death they will not turn aside. That my men have no surplus wealth is not that they hate goods, and that they hold their lives cheap is not that they hate long life. On the day the order goes out, those sitting wet their lapels with tears and those lying down have the tears running down their cheeks. But throw them where there is nowhere to go, and they have the courage of Zhuan Zhu and Cao Gui.

So the good soldier may be likened to the shuairan. The shuairan is the snake of Mount Chang: strike its head and the tail comes, strike its tail and the head comes, strike its middle and head and tail both come. If I may ask: can troops be made like the shuairan? I say: they can. The men of Wu and the men of Yue hate each other; yet let them be in the same boat crossing a river and meet a gale, and they will rescue each other like the left hand and the right. Therefore tethering the horses and burying the chariot wheels is not enough to rely upon. To make courage uniform as one is the way of governing; to get the use of both the hard and the soft is the principle of the ground. So the good soldier leads the host by the hand as though it were one man, because there is no help for it.

The business of a general is to be still and thereby remote, upright and thereby orderly. He can blank the ears and eyes of his officers and men so that they know nothing; he changes his undertakings and alters his plans so that no one can make them out; he shifts his camp and takes roundabout roads so that no one can think ahead. When the commander has set the hour with them, it is as if he had climbed the height and kicked away the ladder; when he has taken them deep into the territory of the lords and released the trigger, he burns the boats and breaks the cooking-pots, driving them like a flock of sheep, driven this way and driven that, and none knows where he is going. To gather the host of the three armies and cast it into danger — this is the business of a general. The variations of the nine grounds, the advantage of bending and stretching, the pattern of human feeling: these must not be left unexamined.

The way of being the invader: deep, and they are concentrated; shallow, and they scatter. To leave one's own country and cross the border with an army is cut-off ground. Open on four sides is ground of intersecting highways. Penetrating deep is heavy ground; penetrating a little way is light ground. Strong ground at your back and a defile before you is enclosed ground. With nowhere to go, it is death ground. Therefore on scattering ground I would make their will one; on light ground I would keep them linked together; on contested ground I would hurry up my rear; on open ground I would look to my defences; on ground of intersecting highways I would make my alliances firm; on heavy ground I would keep the food coming; on broken ground I would press on along the road; on enclosed ground I would block the gap; on death ground I would show them that they will not live. For it is the nature of soldiers to resist when surrounded, to fight when there is no help for it, and to follow orders when the peril is past bearing.

Therefore he who does not know the designs of the neighbouring lords cannot make alliances beforehand; he who does not know the lie of mountain and forest, defile and marsh, cannot march an army; he who does not use local guides cannot get the advantage of the ground. He who is ignorant of even one of these several things has not the army of a hegemon or a king. When the army of a hegemon or a king attacks a great state, that state's host cannot assemble; when his awe falls upon the enemy, the enemy's alliances cannot be joined. Therefore he does not contend for the alliances of all under heaven, nor foster the power of all under heaven; he trusts to what is his own and lays his awe upon the enemy, and so the enemy's cities can be taken and his state overthrown. Bestow rewards that are not in the code and publish orders that are not in the regulations, and handle the host of the three armies as though handling one man. Set them to the task, but do not tell them why; set them on the advantage, but do not tell them the danger. Throw them onto ground where they will be lost, and they will survive; sink them into death ground, and they will live. For when the host has fallen into harm, then it can make victory out of defeat. So the business of war lies in seeming to fall in with the enemy's intent, in concentrating upon him in one direction, in killing his general a thousand li away: this is what is called being skilful enough to get things done.

Therefore on the day the policy is set in motion, close the passes and break the tallies, and let his envoys through no longer; deal sternly with the matter in the council chamber and settle the business. When the enemy opens a gap, rush in; be first at what he holds dear; set no visible date with him; follow the ruled line as the enemy gives it, and so decide the war. Therefore at first be as a maiden, and the enemy opens his door; afterwards be as a hare broken loose, and the enemy will be too late to shut it.

12. Attack by Fire火攻第十二

Five kinds of fire attack, the materials and the seasons for them, and the five ways a fire may develop and be answered. Then the chapter turns without warning into the moral close of the book. Water can cut off, says Sunzi, but it cannot take away; fire helps an attack by making things clear, and water by making it strong. And then: a ruler must not raise an army out of anger, nor a general give battle out of spite, for anger can turn again to pleasure and spite to delight, but a ruined state cannot be restored nor the dead brought back to life.

Sunzi said: There are five kinds of attack by fire. The first is burning men; the second, burning stores; the third, burning baggage trains; the fourth, burning arsenals; the fifth, burning the lines of supply. To use fire there must be a cause, and the materials for fire must always be ready to hand. There are proper seasons for setting fires and proper days for raising them. The season is when the weather is dry; the days are when the moon is in the Winnowing Basket, the Wall, the Wings or the Chariot Platform. These four lodges are the days on which winds rise.

In attacking with fire one must answer the five developments of the fire. If fire breaks out within, answer it quickly from without. If fire breaks out and his troops remain quiet, wait and do not attack; let the fire reach its height, and follow it up if you can and hold back if you cannot. If fire can be raised from outside, do not wait for it within, but set it at the right time. If the fire is raised upwind, do not attack from downwind. A wind that has blown long by day drops at night. Every army must know the five developments of fire and guard against them by the reckoning of the days. So fire used to help an attack makes things clear, and water used to help an attack makes it strong; but water can cut off, and cannot take away.

To win battles and take what you attack and yet not to follow up the achievement is calamity; it is called waste and delay. Therefore it is said: the enlightened ruler deliberates upon it and the good general follows it up. If there is no gain, do not move; if there is nothing to be got, do not use troops; if there is no danger, do not fight. A ruler must not raise an army out of anger, nor a general give battle out of spite. If it accords with advantage, move; if it does not, stop. Anger can turn again to pleasure and spite to delight, but a ruined state cannot be restored nor the dead brought back to life. So the enlightened ruler is careful of it and the good general is wary of it. This is the way to keep the state at peace and the army whole.

13. The Use of Spies用間第十三

The last chapter, and the one that turns the whole book around. Sunzi has argued from the start that victory belongs to foreknowledge; here he says where foreknowledge comes from — not from ghosts and spirits, not from analogy with past events, not from calculation of the stars, but only from men who know the enemy's condition. Then he counts the cost of grudging it: a campaign consuming a thousand pieces of gold a day and the labour of seven hundred thousand households, and a commander who will not spend a hundred pieces of gold on knowing his enemy is no general, no minister to his ruler, no master of victory. Five kinds of agent are named; the double agent is the hinge on which the other four turn, and so must be treated most generously of all.

Sunzi said: To raise an army of a hundred thousand and march it a thousand li, the outlay of the people and the expense of the treasury come to a thousand pieces of gold a day. There is commotion at home and abroad, men drop exhausted along the roads, and seven hundred thousand households are kept from their work. The two sides hold out for years to contend for the victory of a single day; and for a man to grudge rank and pay and a hundred pieces of gold, and so not to know the enemy's condition, is the height of inhumanity. Such a one is no general to his men, no minister to his ruler, no master of victory. That the enlightened ruler and the worthy general overcome others whenever they move, and achieve what is beyond the reach of the multitude, is foreknowledge. Foreknowledge cannot be got from ghosts and spirits, nor by analogy with past events, nor by calculation from the measures of the stars. It must be got from men — from men who know the enemy's condition.

So there are five kinds of agent: the local agent, the inside agent, the double agent, the expendable agent, the living agent. When all five are at work together and none can find out the system, it is called the spirit-like web, and it is the ruler's treasure. Local agents are the enemy's countrymen, used by us. Inside agents are his officials, used by us. Double agents are his agents, used by us. Expendable agents are those for whom we fabricate some matter abroad, letting our own agents know it so that they pass it to the enemy's agents. Living agents are those who come back and report.

So in the business of the three armies there is none closer to the general than his agents, none more richly rewarded than his agents, and no business more secret than that of agents. Without sagely wisdom one cannot use agents; without humanity and right one cannot employ agents; without subtlety and delicacy one cannot get the truth from agents. Subtle, subtle! There is nowhere that agents are not used. And if the business of an agent is heard of before he has moved, both the agent and the man he told are put to death.

In every army you would strike, every city you would attack, every man you would kill, you must first know the names of the general in charge, his aides, his ushers, his gatekeepers and his attendants; and your agents must be made to find them out. You must seek out the enemy's agents who have come to spy on you, bribe them with advantage, guide them and let them go — and so the double agent may be got and used. Through him you learn what you need, and so local and inside agents can be employed. Through him you learn what you need, and so the expendable agent can be made to carry a fabrication to the enemy. Through him you learn what you need, and so the living agent can be made to come back to time. The ruler must know the work of all five kinds of agent; and the knowing of it depends always upon the double agent. Therefore the double agent must be treated with the greatest generosity.

Of old, when the Yin rose, Yi Zhi was in Xia; when the Zhou rose, Lü Ya was in Yin. So the enlightened ruler and the worthy general who can use men of the highest intelligence as their agents will certainly achieve great things. This is the essential thing in war, and what the three armies rely upon when they move.

Appendix: Fragments and the Dialogues with the King of Wu附録　孫子佚文及吳王問對

Seventeen pieces gathered from the encyclopaedias and quotation books — the Yuejue shu, the Tongdian, the Taiping yulan, the Beitang shuchao — which quote Sunzi but are not in the thirteen chapters. Most are dialogues in which King Helü of Wu puts a case to Sun Wu and Sun Wu answers; several work the nine grounds of chapter eleven out into practical drill. They are no part of the received text, and scholars have long suspected that some are later work put into Sun Wu's mouth. They are set here for what they are worth. The last two pieces are the collator's own notes on quotations of doubtful attribution.

The King of Wu said to Zixu and Sun Wu: "At first you said that Ying could not be entered. How stands it now?" The two commanders said: "In war one borrows a victory to build up one's awe; it is not a way of winning always." The King of Wu said: "What do you mean?" The two commanders said: "Chu as a military power is the strongest enemy under heaven. When your servants crossed swords with them, ten were lost for one that survived; that Your Majesty entered Ying was the doing of heaven, and your servants dare not count upon it." The King of Wu said: "I wish to strike Chu again. How may it be done with success?" Wu Zixu and Sun Wu said: "Nang Wa is greedy and has wronged many of the lords, and Tang and Cai bear him a grudge. If Your Majesty must attack, get Tang and Cai."

The King of Wu asked Sun Wu: "On scattering ground the soldiers look homeward and cannot be brought to fight, so one must hold fast and not go out. But if the enemy attacks my small towns, plunders my fields, forbids my men to gather firewood, blocks my main roads, and waits until I am hollow and then comes on hard — what then?" Wu said: "When the enemy has come deep into my country with many walled towns behind him, his soldiers take the army for their home; their will is single and they fight lightly. My own troops are in their own land, settled in their ground and fond of life; drawn up they will not hold, and in the fight they will not win. One should gather the men and join the host, store grain and lay up cloth, hold the cities and man the strong places, and send light troops to cut his supply road. He will offer battle and get none, his convoys will not come up, there will be nothing to plunder in the countryside, and his three armies will be starved and worn. Then bait him, and something may be done. If you must fight him in the open, always go by the situation: set an ambush among the defiles; and where there are no defiles, hide in dark weather and mist and fog, come out where he does not expect it and fall upon him while he is slack — then something may be done."

The King of Wu asked Sun Wu: "When I have reached light ground and am just inside the enemy's border, the soldiers think of going back; it is hard to advance and easy to retreat, we have no defile at our back, and the three armies are afraid; the commander would advance and the soldiers would retreat, high and low being of different minds. The enemy holds his walls and ramparts and has his chariots and horse in order, and some face my front while some strike my rear. What then?" Wu said: "When the army has reached light ground and the soldiers are not yet of one mind, make entering your business. Do not make fighting your concern; do not go near his famous cities nor take his main roads; feign uncertainty and give a false impression, showing as if you were about to leave. Then pick out your best horsemen, put the gag between their teeth, and send them in first to carry off his cattle and horses and stock. When the three armies see the gain, their advance will not be fearful. Divide off your good men and hide them secretly; if the enemy comes, strike him without hesitation, and if he does not come, leave off and go."

The King of Wu asked Sun Wu: "On contested ground the enemy is there first, holds the key points and the advantage, picks and drills his men, and now goes out and now stands on the defensive, so as to be ready for my surprises. What then?" Wu said: "The rule of contested ground is that he who yields it gains and he who contends for it loses. If the enemy has got the place, take care not to attack it. Draw off and feign flight, set up your flags and beat your drums and make for what he holds dear; drag brushwood to raise the dust and confuse his ears and eyes. Divide off your good men and hide them secretly, and the enemy will surely come out to the rescue. What men want, give them; what men throw away, take. This is the way to contend for the first place. But if I am there first and the enemy uses this device on me, then pick out my crack troops to hold the place fast, send light troops in pursuit, and place ambushes among the defiles; and when the enemy turns to fight, the ambush rises on his flank. This is the way of a whole victory."

The King of Wu asked Sun Wu: "On open ground I would cut the enemy off so that he cannot come; I must keep my border towns entire, put my defences in order, cut the through roads deep and make my passes fast. But if I do not plan it first and the enemy is ready before me, so that he can come and I cannot go, and we are equal in numbers besides — what then?" Wu said: "Since I cannot go to him and he can come to me, I divide my men and hide them; I keep guard and grow seemingly negligent, showing that I am not able. Then, when the enemy is about to arrive, I set ambushes and hide them in huts and come out where he does not expect it — and something may be done."

The King of Wu asked Sun Wu: "On ground of intersecting highways one must be there first; but my road is long and I set out late, and though I drive the chariots and gallop the horses I cannot arrive first. What then?" Wu said: "The ground borders on three lords and its roads run four ways. I and the enemy stand facing, and there are states on the flank. To be there first means this: send rich gifts by light envoys, make a compact with the neighbouring state, join with it in friendship and bind it with kindness; then, though your troops come later, the state is already attached to you. Pick and drill your men, take up a strong position, keep your own army close in hand, make your stores and provisions full, and let your chariots and horsemen go out and in to keep watch. I shall have the help of numbers and he will have lost his party; the several states will make horns of each other, the drums will thunder and all attack together, and the enemy will be startled and afraid, not knowing what to meet."

The King of Wu asked Sun Wu: "I have taken my troops deep into heavy ground, passing many barriers, and my supply road is cut and blocked. Suppose I wish to go home and the situation will not let me through, and I wish to feed on the enemy and keep my army from loss — what then?" Wu said: "Whenever one is on heavy ground the soldiers are reckless and brave; and if the convoys cannot get through, then plunder to keep up the food. When the lower ranks get grain and cloth, let it all be handed up to the commander, and let those who bring most be rewarded; then the soldiers will have no thought of going back. And if you do wish to get out again, take strict precautions: dig your ditches deep and raise your ramparts high, showing the enemy that you mean to stay long. The enemy will be uncertain about the through roads; then clear away secretly the road at the key point, and send the light chariots out with the gag in the men's teeth, raising dust and a stir, and use the cattle and horses as bait. If the enemy comes out, beat the drums and follow him, hiding your own men and setting the hour with them; and with inside and outside answering each other, his defeat may be reckoned upon."

The King of Wu asked Sun Wu: "I have entered broken ground, with mountain and river and defile and hard roads to follow; we have marched long and the men are worn; the enemy is in front of me and lies in ambush behind me, camps on my left and holds my right, and his good chariots and bold horsemen block my narrow road. What then?" Wu said: "Send the light chariots forward first, ten li ahead of the army, to watch for the enemy. When you come to the defile, let some divide to the left and some to the right; the commander looks all round, chooses the empty place and takes it, and all meet again on the middle road, halting when they are tired."

The King of Wu asked Sun Wu: "I have entered enclosed ground; a strong enemy is before me and difficult country behind; he has cut my supply road and leaves me the appearance of a way to run; he beats his drums and shouts but does not advance, so as to see what I can do. What then?" Wu said: "What suits enclosed ground is to block the gap and show that there is nowhere to go, so that the army [becomes] their home and ten thousand men are of one mind. Let the three armies join their strength and cook several days' food at once, letting no smoke be seen; and deliberately [present] a broken and disordered, a thin and feeble appearance, so that when the enemy sees us his preparations against us will surely be slight. Then charge and encourage the soldiers and make them burn with anger. Set your good men in ambush in formation, with defiles to right and left; beat the drum and go out; and if the enemy meets you, strike hard and press to break through, fighting in front and opening out behind, with right and left making horns of each other."

He asked again: "The enemy is within my encirclement, lying low and deep in stratagem; he shows me an advantage and entangles me with his flags, in such a swirl and confusion that I do not know where he is going. What of that?" Wu said: "Let a thousand men take the banners and divide to block the key roads; send light troops forward to provoke him, drawing up but not closing, engaging but not breaking off. This is the way to defeat a stratagem."

He said again: "When the army has entered the enemy's border and the enemy holds his ramparts and will not fight, and the soldiers think of home so that one would withdraw and withdrawal is hard — this is called light ground. One should pick out bold horsemen to lie in wait on the key road; and when I withdraw the enemy pursues, and as he comes, strike him."

The King of Wu asked Sun Wu: "My army has gone out beyond the border and is camped in the enemy's country; the enemy comes on in force and rings me about several deep. I would break out, but the four ways are blocked; I would hearten and urge on the host so that they throw away their lives and burst the ring. What then?" Wu said: "Dig your ditches deep and raise your ramparts high, showing the host to be on the defensive; be quiet and still and do not move, so as to hide what you can do. Give the order to the three armies, showing them that there is no help for it; kill the oxen and burn the chariots to feast the men; burn up the remaining provisions, fill in the wells and level them, cut off your hair and throw away your caps, that they may cut off all thought of living. The general has no plan in reserve and the men have made up their minds to die. Then whet the armour and sharpen the blades, make the spirit one and the strength single, strike now at two hard-pressed points, thunder the drums and raise a great shout; and the enemy too will be afraid and not know what to meet. Then divide off the crack troops and fall hard upon his rear. This is losing the road and seeking to live. Therefore it is said: he who is in straits and does not plan is at his wits' end, and he who is at his wits' end and does not fight is lost." The King of Wu said: "And if it is I who surround the enemy — what then?" Wu said: "When the mountains are steep and the valleys deep and hard to get over, they are called a desperate enemy. The way to strike them is this: hide your men in ambush in huts, open a road for them to leave by and show them a way to run; and seeking life and escape, they will have no will to fight, and if you strike them then, though they are many they must be broken. The Art of War says further: if the enemy is on death ground and his men are full of courage, the way to strike is to go along with him and not to oppose him, secretly holding the advantage and cutting his supply road; and fearing that he may have surprises hidden and unseen, keep your bows and crossbows all at their posts." Note: He Yanxi, quoting this passage, also says "the Art of War says," from which one may know that the dialogues too were within the eighty-two chapters.

The King of Wu asked Sun Wu: "The enemy is brave and unafraid, arrogant and without care, his troops many and strong. How is he to be dealt with?" Wu said: "Bend before him and wait, falling in with his mood, so that he does not become aware and grows the more careless. Follow his movements, lie hidden and bide your time; and when his van does not look about it and his rear does not look behind, strike him in the middle — then, though he be many, he can be taken. The way to attack the arrogant is never to contend with his edge."

The King of Wu asked Sun Wu: "The enemy holds a strong position in the mountains, keeps the advantage to himself, and has food enough besides; provoked, he will not come out, and when he sees an opening he raids and plunders. What is to be done?" Wu said: "Divide your troops and hold the key points; be careful in your guard and never slack. Probe his condition secretly and watch in secret for his negligence; bait him with advantage, and forbid his men to gather firewood. Getting nothing for a long time, he will of himself change; wait until he has left his stronghold, and take what he holds dear. Though the enemy hold defile and narrows, I can break him."

Sunzi said: "The general is wisdom, humanity, respect, good faith, courage, sternness." So by wisdom he breaks the enemy, by humanity he attaches the host, by respect he draws worthy men, by good faith he makes reward certain, by courage he raises the spirit, by sternness he makes the orders one. Break the enemy, and he can meet change; attach the host, and they will think of fighting hard; gather the worthy and the wise, and secret plans go well; make reward and punishment certain, and the men give their whole strength; raise spirit and courage, and the army's awe and authority are doubled of themselves; make awe and authority one, and all goes as the general directs.

The Prognostications of Sunzi says: "When the three armies are about to march and their banners go calmly forward, this is called heaven's escort: strike at once, and you will take their commander. When the three armies are about to march and their banners hang heavy (墊 is here read diàn) as with rain, this is called heaven's drenching, and their commander will be lost. When the three armies are about to march and the banners are in confusion above, with no fixed quarter east or west or south or north, that army will not return. When the three armies are about to draw up and the rain-master comes, this is called the bathing of the army: do not use it to draw up and fight. When the three armies are about to fight and there is a cloud above them and it is red, do not draw up; of those who draw up and fight first, no trace will be left. When the three armies are on the march and a great wind whirls up before them: if it turns to the right and cuts the army off, their general will die; if it turns to the right in the midst of them, that army will get provisions."

A further note: the Beitang shuchao quotes the Sunzi bingfa: "Honour him and he is not proud; entrust him and he does not act alone; support him and he hides nothing; put him in danger and he is not afraid. So the moved heart of a good general is as a disc of jade, which cannot be stained." The Taiping yulan takes this to come from Zhuge Liang's Essentials of War. It also quotes the Secret Essentials of the Sunzi bingfa: "A good general hungers after plans; that is why he must win when he fights and take what he attacks." Note: there is no such book as the Secret Essentials among Sunzi's works. Cao Cao of Wei had a Gathered Essentials of the Art of War in one scroll, which may also have been called the Gathered Essentials of the Sunzi bingfa, just as the Art of War that Cao Cao wrote was also called the Continued Sunzi bingfa. The Beitang shuchao further quotes a Discourse on the Sunzi bingfa: "Without the civil arts there is no ordering of what is well governed; without the martial arts there is no ordering of what is in disorder. He who is good at using troops has three strategies: the highest attacks intelligence, the middle attacks right, the lowest attacks power." Note: this too does not sound like the words of Sun Wu. Later strategists mostly took Sun Wu for their ancestor, and so a Discourse on the Art of War was written and given the name Discourse on the Sunzi bingfa. It is appended here for reference.