Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is master of his enemy's fate.
Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his battles and succeed in his attacks without cultivating the spirit of enterprise, for the result is waste of time and general stagnation.
A sovereign of high character and intelligence must be able to know the right man, should place the responsibility on him, and expect results.
On dispersive ground, therefore, fight not. On facile ground, halt not. On contentious ground, attack not. On open ground, do not try to block the enemy's way. On the ground of intersecting highways, join hands with your allies. On serious ground, gather in plunder. In difficult ground, keep steadily on the march. On hemmed-in ground, resort to stratagem. On desperate ground, fight.
When the position is such that neither side will gain by making the first move, it is called temporising ground.
The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Now the shuai-jan is a snake that is found in the Ch'ang mountains. Strike at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail; strike at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head; strike at its middle, and you will be attacked by head and tail both.
The best general is the one who never fights.
Those whose upper and lower ranks have the same desire are victorious.
It is the business of a general to be serene and inscrutable, impartial and self-controlled.
Those who excel in war first cultivate their own humanity and and maintain their laws and institutions. By these means they make their governments invincible.
There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.
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.
If quick, I survive. If not quick, I am lost. This is death.
Order or disorder depends on organisation and direction; courage or cowardice on circumstances; strength or weakness on tactical dispositions.
When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal.
There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune on his army: By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army. 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. 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.
Do not press an enemy at bay. Prince Fu Ch'ai said: "Wild beasts, when at bay, fight desperately. How much more is this true of men! If they know there is no alternative, they will fight to the death.
Should the enemy forestall you in occupying a pass, do not go after him if the pass is fully garrisoned, but only if it is weakly garrisoned.
As water shapes its flow in accordance with the ground, so an army manages its victory in accordance with the situation of the enemy.
He who wishes to fight must first count the cost. When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be dampened. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.
The King is only fond of words, and cannot translate them into deeds.
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.
Therefore I say: know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril.
The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.
There is no instance of a nation benefiting from prolonged warfare.
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