SUN TZU ON THE ART OF WAR
THE OLDEST MILITARY TREATISE IN THE
WORLD
Translated from the Chinese
By LIONEL GILES, M.A. (1910)
This is the basic text of Sun Tzu on
the Art of War. It was extracted from
Mr. Giles' complete work as titled above.
I. LAYING
PLANS
1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance
to the State.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. These are:
(1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth;
(4) The Commander; (5) Method and
discipline.
5,6. 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.
7. Heaven signifies night and day, cold and
heat,
times and seasons.
8. Earth comprises distances, great and small;
danger and security; open ground and narrow
passes;
the chances of life and death.
9. The Commander stands for the virtues of
wisdom,
sincerely, benevolence, courage and
strictness.
10. 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.
11. These
five heads should be familiar to every general:
he who knows them will be victorious; he
who knows them
not will fail.
12.
Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking
to determine the military conditions, let
them be made
the basis of a comparison, in this wise:--
13. (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?
14. By
means of these seven considerations I can
forecast victory or defeat.
15. 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!
16. While
heading the profit of my counsel,
avail yourself also of any helpful
circumstances
over and beyond the ordinary rules.
17.
According as circumstances are favorable,
one should modify one's plans.
18. All
warfare is based on deception.
19. Hence,
when able to attack, we must seem unable;
when using our forces, we must seem
inactive; when we
are near, we must make the enemy believe we
are far away;
when far away, we must make him believe we
are near.
20. Hold
out baits to entice the enemy. Feign
disorder,
and crush him.
21. If he
is secure at all points, be prepared for him.
If he is in superior strength, evade him.
22. If your
opponent is of choleric temper, seek to
irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow
arrogant.
23. If he
is taking his ease, give him no rest.
If his forces are united, separate them.
24. Attack
him where he is unprepared, appear where
you are not expected.
25. These
military devices, leading to victory,
must not be divulged beforehand.
26. Now the
general who wins a battle makes many
calculations in his temple ere the battle
is fought.
The general who loses a battle makes but
few
calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations
lead to victory, and few calculations to
defeat:
how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention
to this point that I can foresee who is
likely to win or lose.
II. WAGING
WAR
1. Sun Tzu said: In the operations of war,
where there are in the field a thousand
swift chariots,
as many heavy chariots, and a hundred
thousand
mail-clad soldiers, with provisions enough
to carry them
a thousand li, the expenditure at home and
at the front,
including entertainment of guests, small
items such as
glue and paint, and sums spent on chariots
and armor,
will reach the total of a thousand ounces
of silver per day.
Such is the cost of raising an army of
100,000 men.
2. When you engage in actual fighting, if
victory
is long in coming, then men's weapons will
grow dull and
their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town,
you will exhaust your strength.
3. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the
resources
of the State will not be equal to the
strain.
4. Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor
damped,
your strength exhausted and your treasure
spent,
other chieftains will spring up to take
advantage
of your extremity. Then no man, however wise,
will be able to avert the consequences that
must ensue.
5. Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste
in war,
cleverness has never been seen associated
with long delays.
6. There is no instance of a country having
benefited
from prolonged warfare.
7. It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted
with the evils of war that can thoroughly
understand
the profitable way of carrying it on.
8. The skillful soldier does not raise a
second levy,
neither are his supply-wagons loaded more
than twice.
9. Bring war material with you from home, but forage
on the enemy. Thus the army will have food enough
for its needs.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. When
their substance is drained away, the peasantry
will be afflicted by heavy exactions.
13,14. 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.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17.
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.
18. This is
called, using the conquered foe to augment
one's own strength.
19. In war,
then, let your great object be victory,
not lengthy campaigns.
20. 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.
III. ATTACK
BY STRATAGEM
1. 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.
2. Hence to fight and conquer in all your
battles
is not supreme excellence; supreme
excellence consists
in breaking the enemy's resistance without
fighting.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. Hence,
though an obstinate fight may be made
by a small force, in the end it must be
captured
by the larger force.
11. 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.
12. There
are three ways in which a ruler can bring
misfortune upon his army:--
13. (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.
14. (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.
15. (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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
IV.
TACTICAL DISPOSITIONS
1. 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.
2. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in
our
own hands, but the opportunity of defeating
the enemy
is provided by the enemy himself.
3. Thus the good fighter is able to secure
himself against defeat,
but cannot make certain of defeating the
enemy.
4. Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer
without being able to do it.
5. Security against defeat implies defensive
tactics;
ability to defeat the enemy means taking
the offensive.
6. Standing on the defensive indicates
insufficient
strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.
7. 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.
8. To see victory only when it is within the
ken
of the common herd is not the acme of
excellence.
9. Neither is it the acme of excellence if you
fight
and conquer and the whole Empire says,
"Well done!"
10. 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.
11. What
the ancients called a clever fighter is
one who not only wins, but excels in
winning with ease.
12. Hence
his victories bring him neither reputation
for wisdom nor credit for courage.
13. 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.
14. Hence
the skillful fighter puts himself into
a position which makes defeat impossible,
and does
not miss the moment for defeating the
enemy.
15. 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.
16. The
consummate leader cultivates the moral law,
and strictly adheres to method and
discipline; thus it is
in his power to control success.
17. In
respect of military method, we have,
firstly, Measurement; secondly, Estimation
of quantity;
thirdly, Calculation; fourthly, Balancing
of chances;
fifthly, Victory.
18.
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.
19. A victorious
army opposed to a routed one, is as
a pound's weight placed in the scale
against a single grain.
20. The
onrush of a conquering force is like the bursting
of pent-up waters into a chasm a thousand
fathoms deep.
V. ENERGY
1. Sun Tzu said: The control of a large force
is the same principle as the control of a
few men:
it is merely a question of dividing up
their numbers.
2. Fighting with a large army under your
command
is nowise different from fighting with a
small one:
it is merely a question of instituting
signs and signals.
3. To ensure that your whole host may
withstand
the brunt of the enemy's attack and remain
unshaken--
this is effected by maneuvers direct and
indirect.
4. That the impact of your army may be like a
grindstone
dashed against an egg--this is effected by
the science
of weak points and strong.
5. In all fighting, the direct method may be
used
for joining battle, but indirect methods
will be needed
in order to secure victory.
6. Indirect tactics, efficiently applied, are
inexhaustible
as Heaven and Earth, unending as the flow
of rivers and streams;
like the sun and moon, they end but to
begin anew;
like the four seasons, they pass away to
return once more.
7. There are not more than five musical notes,
yet the combinations of these five give
rise to more
melodies than can ever be heard.
8. There are not more than five primary colors
(blue, yellow, red, white, and black), yet
in combination
they produce more hues than can ever been
seen.
9. There are not more than five cardinal
tastes
(sour, acrid, salt, sweet, bitter), yet
combinations
of them yield more flavors than can ever be
tasted.
10. In
battle, there are not more than two methods
of attack--the direct and the indirect; yet
these two
in combination give rise to an endless
series of maneuvers.
11. The
direct and the indirect lead on to each other in turn.
It is like moving in a circle--you never
come to an end.
Who can exhaust the possibilities of their
combination?
12. The
onset of troops is like the rush of a torrent
which will even roll stones along in its
course.
13. The
quality of decision is like the well-timed
swoop of a falcon which enables it to
strike and destroy
its victim.
14.
Therefore the good fighter will be terrible
in his onset, and prompt in his decision.
15. Energy
may be likened to the bending of a crossbow;
decision, to the releasing of a trigger.
16. Amid
the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may
be seeming disorder and yet no real
disorder at all;
amid confusion and chaos, your array may be
without head
or tail, yet it will be proof against defeat.
17.
Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline,
simulated fear postulates courage;
simulated weakness
postulates strength.
18. Hiding
order beneath the cloak of disorder is
simply a question of subdivision;
concealing courage under
a show of timidity presupposes a fund of
latent energy;
masking strength with weakness is to be
effected
by tactical dispositions.
19. Thus
one who is skillful at keeping the enemy
on the move maintains deceitful appearances,
according to
which the enemy will act. He sacrifices something,
that the enemy may snatch at it.
20. By
holding out baits, he keeps him on the march;
then with a body of picked men he lies in
wait for him.
21. The
clever combatant looks to the effect of combined
energy, and does not require too much from
individuals.
Hence his ability to pick out the right men
and utilize
combined energy.
22. When he
utilizes combined energy, his fighting
men become as it were like unto rolling
logs or stones.
For it is the nature of a log or stone to
remain
motionless on level ground, and to move
when on a slope;
if four-cornered, to come to a standstill,
but if
round-shaped, to go rolling down.
23. Thus
the energy developed by good fighting men
is as the momentum of a round stone rolled
down a mountain
thousands of feet in height. So much on the subject
of energy.
VI. WEAK
POINTS AND STRONG
1. Sun Tzu said: Whoever is first in the field and
awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight;
whoever is second in the field and has to
hasten to battle
will arrive exhausted.
2. Therefore the clever combatant imposes his
will on
the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will
to be imposed on him.
3. By holding out advantages to him, he can
cause the enemy
to approach of his own accord; or, by
inflicting damage,
he can make it impossible for the enemy to
draw near.
4. If the enemy is taking his ease, he can harass
him;
if well supplied with food, he can starve
him out;
if quietly encamped, he can force him to
move.
5. Appear at points which the enemy must
hasten to defend;
march swiftly to places where you are not
expected.
6. An army may march great distances without
distress,
if it marches through country where the
enemy is not.
7. You can be sure of succeeding in your
attacks
if you only attack places which are
undefended.You can
ensure the safety of your defense if you
only hold
positions that cannot be attacked.
8. Hence that general is skillful in attack
whose
opponent does not know what to defend; and
he is skillful
in defense whose opponent does not know
what to attack.
9. O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you
we learn to be invisible, through you
inaudible;
and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in
our hands.
10. You may
advance and be absolutely irresistible,
if you make for the enemy's weak points;
you may retire
and be safe from pursuit if your movements
are more rapid
than those of the enemy.
11. If we
wish to fight, the enemy can be forced
to an engagement even though he be
sheltered behind a high
rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack
some other place that he will be obliged to
relieve.
12. If we
do not wish to fight, we can prevent
the enemy from engaging us even though the
lines
of our encampment be merely traced out on
the ground.
All we need do is to throw something odd
and unaccountable
in his way.
13. By
discovering the enemy's dispositions and remaining
invisible ourselves, we can keep our forces
concentrated,
while the enemy's must be divided.
14. We can
form a single united body, while the
enemy must split up into fractions. Hence there will
be a whole pitted against separate parts of
a whole,
which means that we shall be many to the
enemy's few.
15. And if
we are able thus to attack an inferior force
with a superior one, our opponents will be
in dire straits.
16. The
spot where we intend to fight must not be
made known; for then the enemy will have to
prepare
against a possible attack at several
different points;
and his forces being thus distributed in
many directions,
the numbers we shall have to face at any
given point will
be proportionately few.
17. For
should the enemy strengthen his van,
he will weaken his rear; should he
strengthen his rear,
he will weaken his van; should he
strengthen his left,
he will weaken his right; should he
strengthen his right,
he will weaken his left. If he sends reinforcements everywhere,
he will everywhere be weak.
18.
Numerical weakness comes from having to prepare
against possible attacks; numerical
strength, from compelling
our adversary to make these preparations
against us.
19. Knowing
the place and the time of the coming battle,
we may concentrate from the greatest
distances in order
to fight.
20. But if neither
time nor place be known,
then the left wing will be impotent to
succor the right,
the right equally impotent to succor the
left, the van
unable to relieve the rear, or the rear to
support the van.
How much more so if the furthest portions
of the army are
anything under a hundred LI apart, and even
the nearest
are separated by several LI!
21. Though
according to my estimate the soldiers
of Yueh exceed our own in number, that
shall advantage
them nothing in the matter of victory. I say then
that victory can be achieved.
22. Though
the enemy be stronger in numbers, we may
prevent him from fighting. Scheme so as to discover
his plans and the likelihood of their
success.
23. Rouse
him, and learn the principle of his
activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself,
so as to find out his vulnerable spots.
24.
Carefully compare the opposing army with your own,
so that you may know where strength is
superabundant
and where it is deficient.
25. In
making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch
you can attain is to conceal them; conceal
your dispositions,
and you will be safe from the prying of the
subtlest spies,
from the machinations of the wisest brains.
26. How victory
may be produced for them out of the enemy's
own tactics--that is what the multitude
cannot comprehend.
27. All men
can see the tactics whereby I conquer,
but what none can see is the strategy out
of which victory
is evolved.
28. Do not
repeat the tactics which have gained
you one victory, but let your methods be
regulated
by the infinite variety of circumstances.
29.
Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its
natural course runs away from high places
and hastens downwards.
30. So in
war, the way is to avoid what is strong
and to strike at what is weak.
31. Water
shapes its course according to the nature
of the ground over which it flows; the
soldier works
out his victory in relation to the foe whom
he is facing.
32.
Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape,
so in warfare there are no constant
conditions.
33. He who
can modify his tactics in relation to his
opponent and thereby succeed in winning,
may be called
a heaven-born captain.
34. The
five elements (water, fire, wood, metal, earth)
are not always equally predominant; the
four seasons make
way for each other in turn. There are short days and long;
the moon has its periods of waning and
waxing.
VII. MANEUVERING
1. Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives his
commands from the sovereign.
2. Having collected an army and concentrated
his forces,
he must blend and harmonize the different
elements thereof
before pitching his camp.
3. After that, comes tactical maneuvering,
than which there is nothing more difficult.
The difficulty of tactical maneuvering
consists
in turning the devious into the direct, and
misfortune into gain.
4. Thus, to take a long and circuitous route,
after enticing the enemy out of the way,
and though starting
after him, to contrive to reach the goal
before him,
shows knowledge of the artifice of
DEVIATION.
5. Maneuvering with an army is advantageous;
with an undisciplined multitude, most
dangerous.
6. If you set a fully equipped army in march
in order
to snatch an advantage, the chances are
that you will be
too late.
On the other hand, to detach a flying column
for the purpose involves the sacrifice of
its baggage
and
stores.
7. Thus, if you order your men to roll up
their
buff-coats, and make forced marches without
halting day
or night, covering double the usual
distance at a stretch,
doing a hundred LI in order to wrest an
advantage,
the leaders of all your three divisions
will fall into
the hands of the enemy.
8. The stronger men will be in front, the
jaded
ones will fall behind, and on this plan
only one-tenth
of your army will reach its destination.
9. If you march fifty LI in order to
outmaneuver
the enemy, you will lose the leader of your
first division,
and only half your force will reach the
goal.
10. If you
march thirty LI with the same object,
two-thirds of your army will arrive.
11. We may
take it then that an army without its
baggage-train is lost; without provisions
it is lost;
without bases of supply it is lost.
12. We
cannot enter into alliances until we are
acquainted with the designs of our
neighbors.
13. We are not
fit to lead an army on the march
unless we are familiar with the face of the
country--its
mountains and forests, its pitfalls and
precipices,
its marshes and swamps.
14. We
shall be unable to turn natural advantage
to account unless we make use of local
guides.
15. In war,
practice dissimulation, and you will succeed.
16. Whether
to concentrate or to divide your troops,
must be decided by circumstances.
17. Let
your rapidity be that of the wind,
your compactness that of the forest.
18. In
raiding and plundering be like fire,
is immovability like a mountain.
19. Let
your plans be dark and impenetrable as night,
and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.
20. When
you plunder a countryside, let the spoil be
divided amongst your men; when you capture
new territory,
cut it up into allotments for the benefit
of the soldiery.
21. Ponder
and deliberate before you make a move.
22. He will
conquer who has learnt the artifice
of deviation. Such is the art of maneuvering.
23. The
Book of Army Management says: On the
field
of battle, the spoken word does not carry
far enough:
hence the institution of gongs and
drums. Nor can ordinary
objects be seen clearly enough: hence the institution
of banners and flags.
24. Gongs
and drums, banners and flags, are means
whereby the ears and eyes of the host may
be focused
on one particular point.
25. The
host thus forming a single united body,
is it impossible either for the brave to
advance alone,
or for the cowardly to retreat alone. This is the art
of handling large masses of men.
26. In
night-fighting, then, make much use of signal-fires
and drums, and in fighting by day, of flags
and banners,
as a means of influencing the ears and eyes
of your army.
27. A whole
army may be robbed of its spirit;
a commander-in-chief may be robbed of his
presence of mind.
28. Now a
soldier's spirit is keenest in the morning;
by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the
evening,
his mind is bent only on returning to camp.
29. A
clever general, therefore, avoids an army when
its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it
is sluggish
and inclined to return. This is the art of studying moods.
30. Disciplined
and calm, to await the appearance
of disorder and hubbub amongst the
enemy:--this is the art
of retaining self-possession.
31. To be
near the goal while the enemy is still
far from it, to wait at ease while the
enemy is
toiling and struggling, to be well-fed
while the enemy
is famished:--this is the art of husbanding
one's strength.
32. To
refrain from intercepting an enemy whose
banners are in perfect order, to refrain
from attacking
an army drawn up in calm and confident
array:--this
is the art of studying circumstances.
33. It is a
military axiom not to advance uphill
against the enemy, nor to oppose him when
he comes downhill.
34. Do not
pursue an enemy who simulates flight;
do not attack soldiers whose temper is
keen.
35. Do not
swallow bait offered by the enemy.
Do not interfere with an army that is
returning home.
36. When
you surround an army, leave an outlet free.
Do not press a desperate foe too hard.
37. Such is
the art of warfare.
VIII.
VARIATION IN TACTICS
1. Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives
his commands from the sovereign, collects
his army
and concentrates his forces