孙武 

 

Enjoy the Sun Tzu Quotes/Quotations

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

- Sun Tzu, the Art of War

 孙子曰： 兵者，国之大事，死生之地，存亡之道，不可不察也。【始计第一】

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. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.

- Sun Tzu, the Art of War

 兵者，诡道也。故能而示之不能，用而示之不用，近而示之远，远而示之近。利而诱之，乱而取之。【始计第一】

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. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

- Sun Tzu, the Art of War

 实而备之，强而避之，怒而挠之，卑而骄之，佚而劳之，亲而离之，攻其无备，出其不意。【始计第一】

"The art of using troops is this:

......When ten to the enemy's one, surround him;

......When five times his strength, attack him;

......If double his strength, divide him;

......If equally matched you may engage him;

......If weaker numerically, be capable of withdrawing;

......And if in all respects unequal, be capable of eluding him,

..........for a small force is but booty for one more powerful."

- Sun Tzu, the Art Of War

故用兵之法，

十倍于人则围而灭之，

五倍于人则攻之，
一倍于敌则分而灭之，

敌(抵)则能(可)战之，

我兵少则能逃之，

我不若(如)敌则能回避之。

故小于敌之坚不避走，

必被大敌之所擒也。
【谋攻第三】

"Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys.

Look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death!"

- Sun Tzu, the Art of War

 视卒如婴儿，故可以与之赴深溪；视卒如爱子，故可与之俱死。【地形第十】

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 w in or lose.

-Sun Tzu, the Art of War

 夫未战而庙算胜者，得算多也；未战而庙算不胜者，得算少也。多算胜，少算不胜，而况于无算乎！吾以此观看之，胜负可见矣。 【始计第一】

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. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain. Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor dampened, 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... In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.

-Sun Tzu, the Art of War

 

Though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.

-Sun Tzu, the Art of War

 

It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.

-Sun Tzu, the Art of War

 不尽知用兵之害者，则不能尽知用兵之利也。【作战第二】

Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy... use the conquered foe to augment one's own strength.

-Sun Tzu, the Art of War

 

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.

-Sun Tzu, the Art of War

 夫用兵之法，全国为上，破国次之；全军为上，破军次之。【谋攻第三】

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

-Sun Tzu, the Art of War

 不战而能屈服人之兵，善之善者也。 【谋攻第三】

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.

-Sun Tzu, the Art of War

 

There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon 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.

-Sun Tzu, the Art of War

 

He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.

-Sun Tzu, the Art of War

 

- Sun Tzu

 

If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.

- Sun Tzu

 

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.

- Sun Tzu

 

If asked how to cope with a great host of the enemy in orderly array and on the point of marching to the attack, I should say: "Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will." Rapidity is the essence of war: take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness, make your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots.

- Sun Tzu

 

Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve.

- Sun Tzu

 

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.

- Sun Tzu

 

Bestow rewards without regard to rule, issue orders without regard to previous arrangements; and you will be able to handle a whole army as though you had to do with but a single man.

- Sun Tzu

 

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. Hence the saying: The enlightened ruler lays his plans well ahead; the good general cultivates his resources.

- Sun Tzu

 

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. 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.

- Sun Tzu

 

No leader should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no leader should fight a battle simply out of pique. 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 leader is heedful, and the good leader full of caution.

- Sun Tzu quotes

 

Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity; (2) They cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straight forwardness; (3) Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports; (4) Be subtle! be subtle! and use your spies for every kind of warfare; (5) If a secret piece of news is divulged by a spy before the time is ripe, he must be put to death together with the man to whom the secret was told.

- Sun Tzu quotes

 

The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they will become double agents and available for our service. It is through the information brought by the double agent that we are able to acquire and employ local and inward spies. It is owing to his information, again, that we can cause the doomed spy to carry false tidings to the enemy.

- Sun Tzu quotes

 

"To capture the enemy's entire army is better than to destroy it; to take intact a regiment, a company, or a squad is better than to destroy them. For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the supreme of excellence. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence."

- Sun Tzu quotes