IV. Tactical Dispositions

孙子曰：昔之善战者，先为不可胜，以待敌之可胜。

Sun Tzu said: The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.

不可胜在己，可胜在敌。

To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

故善战者，能为不可胜，不能使敌之必可胜。

Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.

故曰：胜可知，而不可为。

Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it.

不可胜者，守也；可胜者，攻也。

Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive.

守则不足，攻则有余。

Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.

善守者藏于九地之下，善攻者动于九天之上，故能自保而全胜也。

The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret recesses of the earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven. Thus on the one hand we have ability to protect ourselves; on the other, a victory that is complete.

见胜不过众人之所知，非善之善者也；

To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.

战胜而天下曰善，非善之善者也。

Neither is it the acme of excellence if you fight and conquer and the whole Empire says, “Well done!”

故举秋毫不为多力，见日月不为明目，闻雷霆不为聪耳。

To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength; to see the sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear.

古之所谓善战者，胜于易胜者也。

What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.

故善战者之胜也，无智名，无勇功，

Hence his victories bring him neither reputation for wisdom nor credit for courage.

故其战胜不忒。不忒者，其所措胜，胜已败者也。

He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.

故善战者，立于不败之地，而不失敌之败也。

Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into a position which makes defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating the enemy.

是故胜兵先胜而后求战，败兵先战而后求胜。

Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.

善用兵者，修道而保法，故能为胜败之政。

The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success.

兵法：一曰度，二曰量，三曰数，四曰称，五曰胜。

In respect of military method, we have, firstly, Measurement; secondly, Estimation of quantity; thirdly, Calculation; fourthly, Balancing of chances; fifthly, Victory.

地生度，度生量，量生数，数生称，称生胜。

Measurement owes its existence to Earth; Estimation of quantity to Measurement; Calculation to Estimation of quantity; Balancing of chances to Calculation; and Victory to Balancing of chances.

故胜兵若以镒称铢，败兵若以铢称镒。

A victorious army opposed to a routed one, is as a pound’s weight placed in the scale against a single grain.

称胜者之战民也，若决积水于千仞之溪者，形也。

The onrush of a conquering force is like the bursting of pent-up waters into a chasm a thousand fathoms deep.

There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army:–

(1) 不知军之不可以进而谓之进，不知军之不可以退而谓之退，是谓縻军；

(1) By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army.

(2) 不知三军之事而同三军之政，则军士惑矣；

(2) By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier’s minds.

(3)不知三军之权而同三军之任，则军士疑矣。

(3) By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers.

三军既惑且疑，则诸侯之难至矣。是谓乱军引胜。

But when the army is restless and distrustful, trouble is sure to come from the other feudal princes. This is simply bringing anarchy into the army, and flinging victory away.

故知胜有五：知可以战与不可以战者胜，识众寡之用者胜，上下同欲者胜，以虞待不虞者胜，将能而君不御者胜。此五者，知胜之道也。

Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory: (1) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. (2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. (3) He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. (4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. (5) He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.

故曰：知己知彼，百战不贻；不知彼而知己，一胜一负；不知彼不知己，每战必败。

Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

【注：】①：［车贲］。②：“温”字“氵”旁换“车”旁。

III. Attack by Stratagem

孙子曰：夫用兵之法，全国为上，破国次之；全军为上，破军次之；全旅为上，破旅次之；全卒

为上，破卒次之；全伍为上，破伍次之。

Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.

是故百战百胜，非善之善也；不战而屈人之兵，善之善者也。

Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.

故上兵伐谋，其次伐交，其次伐兵，其下攻城。

Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy’s plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy’s forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy’s army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.

攻城之法，为不得已。修橹□①□②，具器械，三月而后成；距堙，又三月而后已。

The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided. The preparation of mantlets, movable shelters, and various implements of war, will take up three whole months; and the piling up of mounds over against the walls will take three months more.

将不胜其忿而蚁附之，杀士卒三分之一，而城不拔者，此攻之灾也。

The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants, with the result that one-third of his men are slain, while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege.

故善用兵者，屈人之兵而非战也，拔人之城而非攻也，毁人之国而非久也，

Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy’s troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.

必以全争于天下，故兵不顿而利可全，此谋攻之法也。

With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will be complete. This is the method of attacking by stratagem.

故用兵之法，十则围之，五则攻之，倍则分之，

It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy’s one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into two.

敌则能战之，少则能逃之，不若则能避之。

If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him.

故小敌之坚，大敌之擒也。

Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force.

夫将者，国之辅也。辅周则国必强，辅隙则国必弱。

Now the general is the bulwark of the State; if the bulwark is complete at all points; the State will be strong; if the bulwark is defective, the State will be weak.

Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy. Thus the army will have food enough for its needs.

国之贫于师者远输，远输则百姓贫；

Poverty of the State exchequer causes an army to be maintained by contributions from a distance. Contributing to maintain an army at a distance causes the people to be impoverished.

近师者贵卖，贵卖则百姓财竭，

On the other hand, the proximity of an army causes prices to go up; and high prices cause the people’s substance to be drained away.

财竭则急于丘役。

When their substance is drained away, the peasantry will be afflicted by heavy exactions.

力屈中原、内虚于家，百姓之费，十去其七；公家之费，破军罢马，甲胄矢弓，戟盾矛橹，丘牛大车，十去其六。

With this loss of substance and exhaustion of strength, the homes of the people will be stripped bare, and three-tenths of their income will be dissipated; while government expenses for broken chariots, worn-out horses, breast-plates and helmets, bows and arrows, spears and shields, protective mantles, draught-oxen and heavy wagons, will amount to four-tenths of its total revenue.

故智将务食于敌，食敌一钟，当吾二十钟；□①杆一石，当吾二十石。

Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One cartload of the enemy’s provisions is equivalent to twenty of one’s own, and likewise a single picul of his provender is equivalent to twenty from one’s own store.

故杀敌者，怒也；取敌之利者，货也。

Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger; that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards.

车战得车十乘以上，赏其先得者而更其旌旗。车杂而乘之，卒善而养之，是谓胜敌而益强。

Therefore in chariot fighting, when ten or more chariots have been taken, those should be rewarded who took the first. Our own flags should be substituted for those of the enemy, and the chariots mingled and used in conjunction with ours. The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept. This is called, using the conquered foe to augment one’s own strength.

故兵贵胜，不贵久。

In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.

故知兵之将，民之司命。国家安危之主也。

Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people’s fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.

【注：】①：“忌”加“艹”头。

Laying Plans

孙子曰：兵者，国之大事，死生之地，存亡之道，不可不察也。

Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

故经之以五事，校之以计，而索其情：一曰道，二曰天，三曰地，四曰将，五曰法。

The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one’s deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.

These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.

道者，令民于上同意，可与之死，可与之生，而不危也；

The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.

天者，阴阳、寒暑、时制也；

Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.

地者，远近、险易、广狭、死生也；

Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.

将者，智、信、仁、勇、严也；

The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness.

法者，曲制、官道、主用也。

By method and discipline are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.

凡此五者，将莫不闻，知之者胜，不知之者不胜。

These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.

故校之以计，而索其情，曰：主孰有道？

Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise:–

将孰有能？天地孰得？法令孰行？兵众孰强？士卒孰练？赏罚孰明？吾以此知胜负矣。

(1) Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law? (2) Which of the two generals has most ability? (3) With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth? (4) On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced? (5) Which army is stronger? (6) On which side are officers and men more highly trained? (7) In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.

将听吾计，用之必胜，留之；将不听吾计，用之必败，去之。

The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:–let such a one be dismissed!