Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu (孫子 Sūn Zǐ; c. 6th century BC) was a Chinese general, military strategist, and philosopher who lived in the Eastern Zhou period of ancient China. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, a widely influential work of military strategy that has affected both Western and East Asian philosophy and military thinking. He is also known as Sun Wu (孫武; Sūn Wǔ), and Chang Qing (長卿; Cháng Qīng).

Chapter titles from Chow-Hou Wee (2003)

• 兵者，詭道也。故能而示之不能，用而示之不用，近而示之遠，遠而示之近，
  • All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear 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.
  • Variant translations
  • A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.

• 實而備之，強而避之，怒而撓之，卑而驕之，佚而勞之，親而離之，出其不意，攻其不備。
  • If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.
  • Note: "If his forces are united, separate them" is also interpreted: "If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them."

• 亂而取之
  • Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.

• 卑則驕之
  • Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.

• 孫子曰：國之上下，死生之地，存亡之道，不可不察也。
  • 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.

• 夫未戰而廟算勝者，得算多也；未戰而廟算不勝者，得算少也。
  • The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.

• 將聽吾計，用之必勝，留之；將不聽吾計，用之必敗，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!

• 怒而撓之
  • If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him.

• 故兵貴勝，不貴久。
  • What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations.

• 近於師者貴賣，貴賣則百姓財竭
  • Where the army is, prices are high; when prices rise the wealth of the people is exhausted.

• 兵久而國利者，未之有也。
  • There is no instance of a nation benefiting from prolonged warfare.

• 上兵伐謀
  • What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

• 知彼知己，百戰不殆；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；不知彼，不知己，每戰必殆
  • It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
  • Variant translations
  • If you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
  • Know your enemy and know yourself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know yourself but not your enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know not thy enemy nor yourself, wallow in defeat every time.
  • Literal translation: Know [the] other, know [the] self, hundred battles without danger; not knowing [the] other but know [the] self, one win one loss; not knowing [the] other, not knowing [the] self, every battle must [be] lost.

• 故用兵之法，十則圍之，五則攻之，倍則分之， 敵則能戰之，少則能守之，不若則能避之。
  • It is the rule in war, if ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be able to divide them; if equal, engage them; if fewer, defend against them; if weaker, be able to avoid them.

• 是故百戰百勝，非善之善者也；不戰而屈人之兵，善之善者也。
  • For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.
  • Variant translations
  • Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
  • The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities... It is best to win without fighting.

• 古之所善戰者，勝於易勝者也。
  • What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.

• 知可戰與不可戰者勝。
  • He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious.

• 以虞待不虞者勝。
  • He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.

• 凡用兵之法，全國爲上；破國次之；全軍爲上，破軍次之；全旅爲上，破旅次之；全卒爲上，破卒次之；全伍爲上，破伍次之。
  • 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.
  • Variant translations
  • It is best to keep one’s own state intact; to crush the enemy’s state is only second best.

• 是故上攻伐謀
  • Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

• 是故勝兵先勝而後求戰，敗兵先戰而後求勝。
  • Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.
  • Variant: 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.

• 見勝不過衆人之所識，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.

• 守則不足，攻則有餘
  • One defends when his strength is inadequate; he attacks when it is abundant.

• 孫子曰：昔之善戰者，先爲不可勝，以待敵之可勝，不可勝在己，可勝在敵。故善戰者，能爲不可勝，不能使敵必可勝。故曰：勝可知，而不可爲。
  • Sunzi said: The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.
  • Translation by Lionel Giles

• 治眾如治寡，分數是也。
  • Management of many is the same as management of few. It is a matter of organization.

• 積水之激，至於漂石者，勢也。鷙鳥之疾，至於毀折者，節也。
  • When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of its momentum. When the strike of a hawk breaks the body of its prey, it is because of timing.

• 鷙鳥之疾，至於毀折者，節也。
  • The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.

• 故善戰者，求之於勢，不責於人。
  • A skilled commander seeks victory from the situation and does not demand it of his subordinates.
  • Variant: The expert in battle seeks his victory from strategic advantage and does not demand it from his men.

• 微乎微乎，至於無形；神乎神乎，至於無聲；故能為敵之司命。
  • Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.
  • Alternative translation: Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is master of his enemy's fate.'
  • Alternative translation: 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.

• 人皆知我所以勝之形，而莫知吾所以制勝之形。
  • All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.

• 故形兵之極，至於無形，無形，則深間不能窺，上智不能謀。
  • The ultimate in disposing one's troops is to be without ascertainable shape. Then the most penetrating spies cannot pry in nor can the wise lay plans against you.

• 故善戰者，至人而不至於人。
  • And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.

• 故敵逸能勞之，飽能飢之，安能動之。出其所不趨，趨其所不意。
  • When the enemy is at ease, be able to weary him; when well fed, to starve him; when at rest, to make him move. Appear at places to which he must hasten; move swiftly where he does not expect you.

• 不遇敵者，必戰無不勝，但每次交鋒，終必敗北。
  • A man who never faces any enemies shall be invincible in battle, but will ultimately succumb to defeat in every confrontation.

• 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. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain.
  • Lionel Giles translation

• 故其疾如風，其徐如林，侵掠如火，不動如山，難知如陰，動如雷霆。
  • Fūrinkazan: 故に其の疾きこと風の如く、其の徐かなること林の如く、侵掠すること火の如く、動かざること山の如く、知りがたきこと陰の如く、動くこと雷霆の如し。
  • Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your gentleness that of the forest. In raiding and plundering be like fire, be immovable like a mountain. Be as hard to know as the shadow and move as fast as lightning.
  • as swift as wind, as gentle as forest, as fierce as fire, as unshakable as mountain.
  • Be as swift as the wind and as calm as a forest; invade like fire and stand steady like a mountain; be inscrutable as a shadow and move as lightning.
• 圍師必闕
  • To a surrounded enemy, you must leave a way of escape.

• 故用兵之法，無恃其不來，恃吾有以待之；無恃其不攻，恃吾有所不可攻也。
  • The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.
  • Translation by Lionel Giles

• 數賞者，窘也；數罰者，困也；
  • Too frequent rewards indicate that the general is at the end of his resources; too frequent punishments that he is in acute distress.

• In war, numbers alone confer no advantage. Do not advance relying on sheer military power.

• 令素行以敎其民，則民服。令不素行以敎其民，則民不服。令素行者，與民相得也。
  • A leader leads by example not by force.

• 將弱不嚴，敎道不明，將之過也。
  • If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders are clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers.

• 故戰道必勝，主曰無戰，必戰可也；戰道不勝，主曰必戰，無戰可也；
  • If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler's bidding.

• 進不邀功，退不避罪，唯人是保，而利合於主，國之寶也。
  • The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.

• 視卒如愛子，故可與之俱死。
  • Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.

• 吾士無余財，非惡貨也。無余命，非惡壽也。
  • If our soldiers are not overburdened with money, it is not because they have a distaste for riches; if their lives are not unduly long, it is not because they are disinclined to longevity.

• 兵之情主速，乘敵所不及，由不虞之途，攻其所不備也。
  • Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where he has taken no precautions.

• 施無法之賞，懸無政之令。犯三軍之眾，若使一人。
  • Bestow rewards without respect to customary practice; publish orders without respect to precedent. Thus you may employ the entire army as you would one man.

• 非利不動，非得不用，非危不戰。主不可以怒而興師，將不可以慍而致戰；合于利而動，不合于利而止。怒可以復喜，慍可以復悅，亡國不可以復存，死者不可以復生。故明君慎之，良將警之，此安國全軍之道也。
  • Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical. No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique. If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are. Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life. Hence the enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full of caution. This is the way to keep a country at peace and an army intact.
  • Translation by Lionel Giles

• 敵間之來間我者，因而利之，導而捨之，故反間可得而用也；
  • It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give them instructions and care for them. Thus doubled agents are recruited and used.

• 故明君賢將，所以動而勝人，成功出於衆者，先知也。
  • Now the reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge.

• 故三軍之事，莫親於間，賞莫厚於間，事莫密於間
  • Of all those in the army close to the commander none is more intimate than the secret agent; of all rewards none more liberal than those given to secret agents; of all matters none is more confidential than those relating to secret operations.

• 此（譯注：用間）兵之要，三軍之所恃而動也。
  • Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move.

• 吳王曰：「將軍罷休就舍，寡人不願下觀。」孫子曰：「王徒好其言，不能用其實。」於是闔廬知孫子能用兵，卒以為將。西破彊楚，入郢，北威齊晉，顯名諸侯，孫子與有力焉。
  • The King of Wu said，"Enough, general. Retire to your hostel, We do not wish to come down and observe." Sun Tzu said, "The king only loves the words, he cannot make use of the reality." After this, Ho-lu knew that Sun Tzu could command troops and in the end appointed him commander. [Later when Wu] defeated mighty Ch’u to its west and entered its capital Ying awed Ch'i and Chin to its north and spread its fame among the feudal lords, it was due in part to Sun Tzu.
    • translated by Tsai-fa Cheng, Zongli Lu, William H. Nienhauser, Jr., and Robert Reynolds, in The Grand Scribe’s Records, edited by William H. Nienhauser, Jr.
  • Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian, 孫子吳起列傳

• 諸將效首虜，（休）畢賀，因問信曰：「兵法右倍山陵，前左水澤，今者將軍令臣等反背水陳，曰破趙會食，臣等不服。然竟以勝，此何術也？」信曰：「此在兵法，顧諸君不察耳。兵法不曰『陷之死地而後生，置之亡地而後存』？且信非得素拊循士大夫也，此所謂『驅市人而戰之』，其勢非置之死地，使人人自為戰；今予之生地，皆走，寧尚可得而用之乎！」諸將皆服曰：「善。非臣所及也。」
  • After the various commanders presented the heads [of the enemies] and the captives, they all offered their congratulations. They took the advantage to ask [Han] Hsin and said, “The Art of War says ‘keep the hills to your right and your back; keep the waters to the front or at your left.’’ Now you, General, on the contrary ordered your subjects to draw up in array with our backs against the river and said, ‘We will defeat Chao and feast together.’ Your servants were not convinced. However, we won with this in the end. What strategy was this?” [Han] Hsin said, “This is in The Art of War, however, you gentlemen did not notice it. Doesn’t The Art of War say ‘They will survive after being trapped in a fatal situation and will live on after being placed in a hopeless position? Furthermore, I do not have well-trained officers. This is what is called ‘Drive the street rabble and have them fight.’ The circumstances were that I had to put them in a fatal situation and made every person fight for his life. If I had put them in a safe situation, they would have had already run away. How could they have been held and employed?” The various commanders were all convinced and said, “Well put. It is of [a level] that we could not reach.”
    • translation by ‎Wang Jing, in The Grand Scribe’s Records, edited by William H. Nienhauser, Jr.
  • On Battle of Jingxing
  • Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian, 淮陰侯列傳
• Sun Tzu’s success teaches us that a successful general is one who fully calculates his approach and plans to fight in a battle. However, the average reader is not able to identify Sun Tzu’s teachings on a deeper or philosophical level. This is my reason for writing and exegeses on the Art of War.
  • Cao Cao, 《孫子略解》 Concise Explanations of Sun Tzu

• It seems to me that The Art of War codifies the principles of kung fu, the martial arts: to co-operate with the enemy, to prevent all-out war when possible. I remember reading a lot of pages devoted to fighting with fire, and burning down cities. Devotion to tactics rather than ethics. I have a figurine of Gwan Goong, god of war and literature, reading a book. That book is The Art of War.
  • Maxine Hong Kingston Interview

• By contrast, classical China produced many great generals, fought many wars and conquered many peoples but did not elevate military values above civilian. (It helped, perhaps, that the scholars rather than the military wrote the histories.) Fighting was not held up as something admirable but rather as the result of a breakdown in order and propriety. There is no equivalent of the Iliad in Chinese literature and the heroes held up for the young to emulate were the great bureaucrats and wise rulers who maintained the peace. Early on Chinese thinkers such as Confucius and the great strategist Sunzi (also known in the transliteration Sun Tzu) stressed that the state’s authority rested on its virtue as well as on its ability to use force. And for Sunzi, the greatest general was the one who could win a war, through manoeuvre or trickery, without fighting a battle. Prestige in Chinese society came rather from being a scholar, poet or painter; and from the Tang dynasty onwards the examination system to enter the imperial civil service was the favoured path for fame and prestige. Successful generals were sometimes awarded a scholar’s rank and gown as a mark of particular favour where many European societies would have given military decorations to meritorious civilians.
  • Margaret MacMillan, War: How Conflict Shaped Us (2020)
• In the famous Chinese treatise The Art of War, Sunzi laid down precepts which succeeding generations studied carefully, among them the famous ‘Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat’ and ‘He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.’ He also had specific advice, with lists of key factors, situations or types of actions, on the various phases of war, from making the plans to choosing the right terrain to fight. From the Qin Emperor to Mao Zedong, The Art of War has provided leaders throughout China and Asia with guidelines for how to win a war. General Vo Nguyen Giap, the architect of Vietnam’s victories against the French in the 1950s and the Americans a decade later, was an admirer, as are the Western business people who have flocked to buy The Complete Sun Tzu for Business Success: Use the Classic Rules of The Art of War to Win the Battle for Customers and Conquer the Competition or The Art of War for Women: Sun Tzu’s Ancient Strategies and Wisdom for Winning at Work. Perhaps they like his assertion that ‘All warfare is based on deception’ or enjoy his passages on the importance of the strong leader for victory, and it must help that The Art of War itself is short and consists of pithy maxims.
  • Margaret MacMillan, War: How Conflict Shaped Us (2020)
• The one thing missing from The Art of War is love, ... any sense of altruism, any sense of loving your neighbor. It's just a[bout] how to take advantage of your neighbor, how to triumph over your neighbor, how to manipulate your neighbor. I'm sorry... It's a very nasty book. How to use your spies — that chapter thirteen on spies — is chilling. The whole book — of course it's very clever, and of course a lot of it is very true, and of course we can go through life treating people in that way if you want to, but I don't happen to believe that's the best way to go. ... The Lúnyǔ [Analects of Confucius] is a superior book to Sūnzi bīngfǎ [The Art of War] because the Lúnyǔ talks about morality, talks about caring for your fellow human being; after all, the whole idea of ren ... doesn't come in Sūnzi bīngfǎ at all. Sūnzi bīngfǎ is: how to use your friends and neighbors in order to get the better of them. That doesn't make me feel good. I'm an old-fashioned kind of guy, and I believe in being nice to people whenever I can. ... You don't go out of your way like Sun Tzu to manipulate everybody including your friends. For me, Sūnzi bīngfǎ is the dark side of Chinese culture. It's the dark side. And, I know it's there. And there's a dark side to Western culture too. And, therefore, it's important to be aware of it, but not to be corrupted by it. Not to be polluted by it. Because it is a very powerfully-polluting little book. Very nasty little book. Let's not pretend otherwise.
  • John Minford, Lecture on Culture and Translation at Hang Seng Management College (20 February 2016)

Social and political philosophers
Classic	Aristotle • Marcus Aurelius • Chanakya • Cicero • Confucius • Mozi Laozi • Mencius • Mozi • Plato • Plutarch • Polybius • Seneca the Younger • Socrates • Sun Tzu • Thucydides • Xenophon • Xun Zi
Conservative	de Benoist • Bolingbroke • Bonald • Burke • Burnham • Carlyle • Coleridge • Comte • Cortés • Durkheim • Dávila • Evola • Fichte • Filmer • Galton • Gentile • Hegel • Heidegger • Herder • Hobbes • Hoppe • Hume • de Jouvenel • Jünger • Kirk • von Kuehnelt-Leddihn • Land • de Maistre • Mansfield • Mosca • Oakeshott • Ortega • Pareto • Peterson • Santayana • Schmitt • Scruton • Sowell • Spengler • Strauss • Taine • Tocqueville • Vico • Voegelin • Weaver • Yarvin
Liberal	Arendt • Aron • Bastiat • Beccaria • Bentham • Berlin • Boétie • Camus • Condorcet • Constant • Dworkin • Emerson • Erasmus • Franklin • Fukuyama • Hayek • Jefferson • Kant • Locke • Machiavelli • Madison • Maine • Mill • Milton • Mencken • Mises • Montaigne • Montesquieu • Nietzsche • Nozick • Ortega • Popper • Rand • Rawls • Rothbard • Sade • Schiller • Simmel • Smith • Spencer • Spinoza • de Staël • Stirner • Thoreau • Tocqueville • Tucker • Voltaire • Weber • Wollstonecraft
Religious	al-Ghazali • Ambedkar • Augustine of Hippo • Aquinas • Augustine • Aurobindo • Calvin • Chesterton • Dante • Dayananda • Dostoyevsky • Eliade • Gandhi • Girard • Gregory • Guénon • Jesus • John of Salisbury • Jung • Kierkegaard • Kołakowski • Lewis • Luther • Maimonides • Malebranche • Maritain • More • Muhammad • Müntzer • Niebuhr • Ockham • Origen • Philo • Pizan • Qutb • Radhakrishnan • Shariati • Solzhenitsyn • Taylor • Teilhard de Chardin • Tertullian • Tolstoy • Vivekananda • Weil
Socialist	Adorno • Aflaq • Agamben • Badiou • Bakunin • Baudrillard • Bauman • Bernstein • Butler • Chomsky • de Beauvoir • Debord • Deleuze • Dewey • Du Bois • Engels • Fanon • Foucault • Fourier • Fromm • Godwin • Goldman • Gramsci • Habermas • Kropotkin • Lenin • London • Luxemburg • Mao • Marcuse • Marx • Mazzini • Negri • Owen • Paine Rorty • Rousseau • Russell • Saint-Simon • Sartre • Skinner • Sorel • Trotsky • Walzer • Xiaoping • Žižek

• Sun Zi's The Art of War text translated by Lionel Giles
• Translation in Simplified Chinese and English - Chinese Wiki
• Free eBook of The Art of War translated by Lionel Giles (1910) at Project Gutenberg