孫子兵法
Sun Tzu · c. 5th century BCE
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
Thirteen chapters on deception, positioning, and winning before the battle begins.
The Art of War is not really about fighting. It is about making fighting unnecessary, or so lopsided that the result is decided before anyone moves. Sun Tzu treats war as a ruinous expense, and strategy as the discipline of spending as little of it as possible: know the terrain, know the enemy, know yourself, and strike only where the outcome is already assured.
Composed during the Warring States era, when seven kingdoms fought for survival and war became a profession rather than an aristocratic ritual. The text attributed to Sun Wu, a general said to have served the state of Wu, was likely shaped by several hands. It survived because every generation of rulers found it useful, and it was carried into Korea, Japan, and eventually Europe in 1772 through a French Jesuit translation.
All warfare is based on it. Appear weak when strong, far when near. Control what the enemy believes.
The potential energy of a situation, like a boulder poised at the top of a slope. Create it, then release it.
The direct and the indirect. Engage with the orthodox force; win with the unexpected one.
Ground decides battles. Narrow passes, rivers, and heights multiply or cancel numbers.
Each passage is cited and credited. Classical lines open character by character: the reading, the sense, and what is hiding inside a single character. Paraphrases are marked where the best translations are still under copyright.
，。，，，。
Hover, focus, or tap a character for its reading and sense.
All warfare is based on deception. 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.
，；，。
Hover, focus, or tap a character for its reading and sense.
Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
，；，；，，。
Hover, focus, or tap a character for its reading and sense.
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.
，。
Hover, focus, or tap a character for its reading and sense.
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.
，，。
Hover, focus, or tap a character for its reading and sense.
In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.
，。，。
Hover, focus, or tap a character for its reading and sense.
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.
，，，。
Hover, focus, or tap a character for its reading and sense.
Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of the forest. In raiding and plundering be like fire, in immovability like a mountain.
，。
Hover, focus, or tap a character for its reading and sense.
Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight.
：，，，，。
Hover, focus, or tap a character for its reading and sense.
There are five ways of attacking with fire. The first is to burn soldiers in their camp; the second is to burn stores; the third is to burn baggage trains; the fourth is to burn arsenals and magazines; the fifth is to hurl dropping fire amongst the enemy.
，。，。
Hover, focus, or tap a character for its reading and sense.
Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays. There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.
A modern translation
Every negotiation, product launch, and match has a terrain, an opponent, and a moment. The Art of War teaches you to stop asking how to win the fight and start asking how to make the fight unnecessary.
Map it onto your own decision孫Sun Tzu“I am outmatched at work. How do I turn weakness into advantage?”
亮Zhuge Liang“My side is smaller and slower. Design me a plan to win anyway.”
舜Yi Sun-sin“I have twelve ships against three hundred. How do I lead?”Reenactment · Naval strategyThe Battle of Red CliffsThree Kingdoms, 208 CEReenactment · The bluffThe Empty Fort StrategyZhuge Liang vs Sima Yi
Reenactment · Terrain and tideThe Strait of MyeongnyangAdmiral Yi Sun-sin, 1597
Reenactment · Total commitmentA River at Your BackHan Xin at Jingxing, 204 BCE