The Art of War
孫子兵法
Headnote
The Art of War (Sunzi Bingfa, 孫子兵法) is the oldest surviving treatise on war and the most quoted: thirteen chapters of verdicts, delivered by a professional to professionals, on the one undertaking a state cannot afford to get wrong. Tradition assigns it to Sun Wu, "Master Sun," a commander said to have served King Helü of Wu in the late sixth century BC; the historian Sima Qian gives him a biography, but the earliest sources are silent, and modern scholarship reads the text as a product of the Warring States period, set down in the fifth century BC and shaped by a school rather than a single hand. The book it most resembles is the one it created: every later Chinese military classic argues with it, and its terms — the orthodox and the extraordinary, emptiness and fullness, the nine kinds of ground — became the permanent vocabulary of strategic thought in East Asia, and eventually far beyond it.
What the treatise teaches is not battle but the avoidance of waste. Its famous severities — war is the great matter of the state; all warfare rests on deception; the best of the best is to bend the enemy without fighting — belong to a single sustained argument: that victory is a matter of calculation before it is a matter of courage, that the costs of war compound daily, and that the general who knows the enemy, himself, heaven, and ground has settled the outcome before the armies meet. The reasoning moves by matched pairs and numbered lists; the parallelism is not decoration but the argument itself, and this translation keeps the rungs of every ladder the text climbs.
The received text translated here is the thirteen-chapter recension that has circulated since Cao Cao’s edition of the third century AD; the bamboo strips unearthed at Yinqueshan in 1972 confirmed how stable that text has remained across two thousand years. The source transcription (Project Gutenberg \#23864) carries a handful of well-known copyist’s variants — 貽 for 殆 in the "know the other and know yourself" maxim, 泛 for 圮 in the names of the nine grounds, a doubled clause in the ladder of chapter 11 — and this translation renders the standard received readings throughout, with each crux recorded in the translator’s notes. This edition’s aim is completeness with the Classical Chinese on facing text, stable chapter-and-section citations, and fidelity to the source — a from-source reading edition, free to read; it does not include the classical commentaries.
Master Sun said: War is the great matter of the state — the ground of death and life, the way of survival and ruin. It cannot go unexamined.
孫子曰：兵者，國之大事，死生之地，存亡之道，不可不察也。
So take its measure by five factors; weigh it by calculation, and seek out its true condition. The first is moral influence; the second, heaven; the third, ground; the fourth, the general; the fifth, method.
故經之以五事，校之以計，而索其情：一曰道，二曰天，三曰地，四曰將，五曰法。
Moral influence is what brings the people into accord with their ruler, so that they will die with him, live with him, and not fear danger. Heaven is dark and light, cold and heat, the ordering of the seasons. Ground is far and near, steep and easy, broad and narrow, death and life. The general is wisdom, good faith, humanity, courage, strictness. Method is the army’s divisions and grades, the way of its officers, the control of its supply. Every general has heard of these five. He who knows them wins; he who does not know them does not win.
道者，令民與上同意，可與之死，可與之生，而不畏危也；天者，陰陽、寒暑、時制也；地者，遠近、險易、廣狹、死生也；將者，智、信、仁、勇、嚴也；法者，曲制、官道、主用也。凡此五者，將莫不聞，知之者勝，不知者不勝。
So weigh it by calculation, and seek out the true condition. Ask: Which ruler has moral influence? Which general has ability? Who holds heaven and ground? Whose laws and orders are carried out? Whose troops are the stronger? Whose officers and men are the better trained? Whose rewards and punishments are the clearer? By these I know who wins and who loses.
故校之以計，而索其情，曰：主孰有道？將孰有能？天地孰得？法令孰行？兵眾孰強？士卒孰練？賞罰孰明？吾以此知勝負矣。
The general who heeds my calculation will, if employed, surely win: keep him. The general who does not heed my calculation will, if employed, surely lose: dismiss him.
將聽吾計，用之必勝，留之；將不聽吾計，用之必敗，去之。
When the reckoning of advantage has been heard, make of it strategic advantage, to aid the army in the field. Strategic advantage means governing the expedient by the gain in hand.
計利以聽，乃為之勢，以佐其外。勢者，因利而制權也。
All warfare rests on deception. So when able, show him inability; when employed, show him idleness; when near, show him you are far; when far, show him you are near. Bait him with gain and take him in disorder. Where he is full, prepare against him; where he is strong, avoid him. Anger him and harry him; play the inferior and feed his arrogance. Where he rests, wear him; where his bonds are close, divide him. Attack where he is unprepared; come out where he does not expect you. This is how the masters of war win, and it cannot be handed over in advance.
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。利而誘之，亂而取之，實而備之，強而避之，怒而撓之，卑而驕之，佚而勞之，親而離之，攻其無備，出其不意。此兵家之勝，不可先傳也。
He who wins the temple reckoning before battle is the one whose counting-tallies are many; he who loses the temple reckoning before battle is the one whose tallies are few. Many tallies win; few tallies lose — how much more so none at all! Watching it from here, I see who will win and who will lose.
夫未戰而廟算勝者，得算多也；未戰而廟算不勝者，得算少也。多算勝，少算不勝，而況無算乎！吾以此觀之，勝負見矣。
Master Sun said: The rule in employing arms: a thousand teams of racing chariots, a thousand leather-armored wagons, a hundred thousand armored troops, and grain hauled a thousand li. Then the spending within and without, the entertainment of envoys, the materials of glue and lacquer, the upkeep of chariots and armor, come to a thousand gold pieces a day — and only then can an army of a hundred thousand be raised.
孫子曰：凡用兵之法，馳車千駟，革車千乘，帶甲十萬，千里饋糧。則內外之費，賓客之用，膠漆之材，車甲之奉，日費千金，然後十萬之師舉矣。
In waging war, prize victory. Drag on, and the weapons dull and the edge breaks; assault cities, and strength buckles; keep the army long in the field, and the state’s means fall short. And when the weapons are dulled, the edge broken, strength spent and wealth drained, the princes will rise upon your exhaustion — and then no man, however wise, can manage what comes after. So one hears of clumsy speed in war; one has never seen skill in dragging it out. No state has ever profited from a long war. So he who does not wholly know the harm of employing arms cannot wholly know the gain of employing arms.
其用戰也，貴勝，久則鈍兵挫銳，攻城則力屈，久暴師則國用不足。夫鈍兵挫銳，屈力殫貨，則諸侯乘其弊而起，雖有智者，不能善其後矣。故兵聞拙速，未睹巧之久也。夫兵久而國利者，未之有也。故不盡知用兵之害者，則不能盡知用兵之利也。
He who uses arms well does not conscript a second time nor cart grain a third. He takes his equipment from his own state and his grain from the enemy; so the army’s food can suffice. What impoverishes a state through its army is hauling supplies far: haul far, and the hundred clans are impoverished. Near the army, prices soar; prices soar, and the people’s wealth runs dry; wealth run dry, they are pressed hard for the village levies. Strength buckled, wealth bled out, the homes of the central plain emptied: of the people’s substance, seven-tenths gone; of the public household’s — chariots broken and horses worn, armor and helmets, arrows and crossbows, halberds and shields, spears and mantlets, draft oxen and great wagons — six-tenths gone.
善用兵者，役不再籍，糧不三載，取用於國，因糧於敵，故軍食可足也。國之貧於師者遠輸，遠輸則百姓貧；近於師者貴賣，貴賣則百姓竭，財竭則急於丘役。力屈財殫，中原內虛於家，百姓之費，十去其七；公家之費，破軍罷馬，甲胄矢弩，戟楯矛櫓，丘牛大車，十去其六。
So the wise general makes it his business to feed on the enemy. One measure of the enemy’s grain counts as twenty of ours; one picul of his fodder-stalks as twenty of ours. So: what kills the enemy is anger; what takes the enemy’s goods is reward. So in chariot fighting, when ten chariots or more are taken, reward the man who took the first; and change their flags and standards, mix the chariots with our own and mount them, treat the captured soldiers well and keep them. This is called defeating the enemy and growing the stronger for it.
故智將務食於敵，食敵一鍾，當吾二十鍾；萁稈一石，當吾二十石。故殺敵者，怒也；取敵之利者，貨也。故車戰，得車十乘以上，賞其先得者，而更其旌旗。車雜而乘之，卒善而養之，是謂勝敵而益強。
So in war prize victory; do not prize duration. So the general who knows war is the arbiter of the people’s fate, the master of the state’s safety and peril.
故兵貴勝，不貴久。故知兵之將，民之司命。國家安危之主也。
Master Sun said: The rule in employing arms: to take the enemy’s state whole is best; to break it is second. To take his army whole is best; to break it is second. To take a regiment whole is best; to break it is second. To take a company whole is best; to break it is second. To take a squad of five whole is best; to break it is second. And so to fight a hundred battles and win a hundred victories is not the best of the best; to bend the enemy’s troops without battle is the best of the best.
孫子曰：凡用兵之法，全國為上，破國次之；全軍為上，破軍次之；全旅為上，破旅次之；全卒為上，破卒次之；全伍為上，破伍次之。是故百戰百勝，非善之善者也；不戰而屈人之兵，善之善者也。
So the highest war is to attack his plans; the next, to attack his alliances; the next, to attack his troops; the lowest, to attack his cities. Attack cities only when there is nothing else left. To ready the mantlets and the armored cars, to furnish the engines and equipment, takes three months and more; to pile the siege-ramps takes three months again. The general who cannot master his fury and sends his men swarming up the wall like ants kills a third of his soldiers, and the city does not fall. Such is the calamity of assault.
故上兵伐謀，其次伐交，其次伐兵，其下攻城。攻城之法，為不得已。修櫓轒轀，具器械，三月而後成；距闉，又三月而後已。將不勝其忿，而蟻附之，殺士三分之一，而城不拔者，此攻之災也。
So he who uses arms well bends the enemy’s troops, and not by battle; takes the enemy’s cities, and not by assault; breaks the enemy’s state, and not by long war. He must contend for all-under-heaven with everything whole; so the weapons do not dull, and the gain can be entire. This is the method of attack by stratagem.
故善用兵者，屈人之兵，而非戰也，拔人之城而非攻也，毀人之國而非久也，必以全爭於天下，故兵不頓而利可全，此謀攻之法也。
So the rule for employing troops: with ten to his one, surround him; with five, attack him; with double, divide him; matched, be able to fight him; fewer, be able to withdraw from him; outweighed, be able to avoid him. For a small force that stands fast is a great force’s catch.
故用兵之法，十則圍之，五則攻之，倍則分之，敵則能戰之，少則能逃之，不若則能避之。故小敵之堅，大敵之擒也。
The general is the brace of the state. Where the brace fits close, the state must be strong; where the brace gapes, the state must be weak. So there are three ways a ruler brings grief upon his army. Not to know that the army cannot advance, and to order it forward; not to know that the army cannot retire, and to order it back — this is called hobbling the army. Not to know the business of the three armies, and to share in their administration — then the soldiers are bewildered. Not to know the contingencies of the three armies, and to share in their commands — then the soldiers doubt. And when the three armies are bewildered and doubting both, the troubles of the princes arrive. This is called disordering an army and handing away the victory.
夫將者，國之輔也。輔周則國必強，輔隙則國必弱。故君之所以患於軍者三：不知軍之不可以進而謂之進，不知軍之不可以退而謂之退，是謂縻軍；不知三軍之事，而同三軍之政，則軍士惑矣；不知三軍之權，而同三軍之任，則軍士疑矣。三軍既惑且疑，則諸侯之難至矣。是謂亂軍引勝。
So there are five ways of knowing victory. He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, wins. He who recognizes the uses of many and few, wins. He whose high and low want the same thing, wins. He who, prepared, awaits the unprepared, wins. He whose general is able and whose ruler does not steer him, wins. These five are the way of knowing victory.
故知勝有五：知可以戰與不可以戰者，勝。識眾寡之用者，勝。上下同欲者，勝。以虞待不虞者，勝。將能而君不御者，勝。此五者，知勝之道也。
So it is said: know the other and know yourself, and in a hundred battles you are never in peril. Know yourself and not the other, and you win one and lose one. Know neither the other nor yourself, and every battle is certain defeat.
故曰：知己知彼，百戰不貽；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；不知彼不知己，每戰必敗。
Master Sun said: The good warriors of old made themselves unbeatable first, and then waited for the enemy to be beatable. Being unbeatable lies with yourself; being beatable lies with the enemy. So the good warrior can make himself unbeatable; he cannot make the enemy certain to be beaten. So it is said: victory can be known; it cannot be made.
孫子曰：昔之善戰者，先為不可勝，以待敵之可勝。不可勝在己，可勝在敵。故善戰者，能為不可勝，不能使敵必可勝。故曰：勝可知，而不可為。
Unbeatable is defense; beatable is attack. Defend, and it is because you have less than enough; attack, and it is because you have more than enough. He who defends well hides beneath the nine grounds; he who attacks well moves above the nine heavens. So he can preserve himself and keep the victory whole.
不可勝者，守也；可勝者，攻也。守則不足，攻則有餘。善守者，藏於九地之下，善攻者，動於九天之上，故能自保而全勝也。
To see victory no further than the crowd sees it is not the best of the best; to win in battle with all-under-heaven saying "well done" is not the best of the best. Lifting a wisp of autumn down does not count as great strength; seeing the sun and moon does not count as sharp eyes; hearing the thunderclap does not count as keen ears. Those the ancients called good warriors won where winning was easy. So the victories of the good warrior carry no name for wisdom and no merit for valor — for his victories in battle are without miscalculation. Without miscalculation, whatever he undertakes is certain to win, for he is defeating the already defeated. So the good warrior takes his stand on ground where he cannot be defeated, and does not let slip the enemy’s defeat. And so a victorious army wins first and then seeks battle; a defeated army fights first and then seeks victory. He who uses arms well cultivates the way and keeps the method intact; so he holds in his hands the deciding of victory and defeat.
見勝不過眾人之所知，非善之善者也；戰勝而天下曰善，非善之善者也。故舉秋毫不為多力，見日月不為明目，聞雷霆不為聰耳。古之善戰者，勝於易勝者也。故善戰者之勝也，無智名，無勇功，故其戰勝不忒。不忒者，其所措必勝，勝已敗者也。故善戰者，先立於不敗之地，而不失敵之敗也。是故勝兵先勝，而後求戰，敗兵先戰而後求勝。善用兵者，修道而保法，故能為勝敗之政。
The method of war: first, measurement; second, quantity; third, count; fourth, weighing; fifth, victory. Ground gives birth to measurement, measurement to quantity, quantity to count, count to weighing, weighing to victory. So a victorious army is a hundredweight set against a grain; a defeated army is a grain set against a hundredweight. The victor sends his people into battle like pent-up water bursting into a gorge a thousand fathoms deep. That is disposition.
兵法：一曰度，二曰量，三曰數，四曰稱，五曰勝。地生度，度生量，量生數，數生稱，稱生勝。故勝兵若以鎰稱銖，敗兵若以銖稱鎰。勝者之戰，若決積水於千仞之谿者，形也。
Master Sun said: Controlling many is like controlling few: it is division and number. Fighting many is like fighting few: it is forms and signals. That the host of the three armies can be made to take the enemy’s whole onset and not be defeated — that is the orthodox and the extraordinary. That wherever the army strikes, it is a whetstone hurled at an egg — that is emptiness and fullness.
孫子曰：凡治眾如治寡，分數是也；鬥眾如鬥寡，形名是也；三軍之眾，可使必受敵而無敗者，奇正是也；兵之所加，如以碫投卵者，虛實是也。
In all fighting, engage with the orthodox; win by the extraordinary. So he who is good at bringing out the extraordinary is inexhaustible as heaven and earth, unending as the Yangtze and the sea. To end and begin again — such are the sun and moon. To die and be born again — such are the four seasons. The notes are no more than five, but the changes of the five notes can never all be heard; the colors are no more than five, but the changes of the five colors can never all be seen; the tastes are no more than five, but the changes of the five tastes can never all be tasted. The conditions of battle are no more than the orthodox and the extraordinary, but the changes of orthodox and extraordinary can never be run to their end. Orthodox and extraordinary give birth to each other, a ring turning without an end — who could exhaust them?
凡戰者，以正合，以奇勝。故善出奇者，無窮如天地，不竭如江海。終而複始，日月是也。死而復生，四時是也。聲不過五，五聲之變，不可勝聽也；色不過五，五色之變，不可勝觀也；味不過五，五味之變，不可勝嘗也；戰勢，不過奇正，奇正之變，不可勝窮也。奇正相生，如循環之無端，熟能窮之哉？
That rushing water, in its swiftness, carries boulders along — that is momentum. That the hawk, in its swiftness, breaks the body of its prey — that is timing. So the good warrior’s momentum is steep and his timing is short. Momentum like the drawn crossbow; timing like the trigger released.
激水之疾，至於漂石者，勢也；鷙鳥之疾，至於毀折者，節也。是故善戰者，其勢險，其節短。勢如張弩，節如發機。
Tumult and turmoil: the fight is disordered, and they cannot be disordered. Churn and murk: the formation is rounded, and it cannot be defeated. Disorder is born of order, cowardice of courage, weakness of strength. Order and disorder are a matter of the count; courage and cowardice, of momentum; strength and weakness, of disposition. So he who is good at moving the enemy shows a shape, and the enemy must follow it; offers something, and the enemy must take it. With gain he sets him moving; with the troops he lies in wait for him.
紛紛紜紜，鬥亂而不可亂也；渾渾沌沌，形圓而不可敗也。亂生於治，怯生於勇，弱生於強。治亂，數也；勇怯，勢也；強弱，形也。故善動敵者，形之，敵必從之；予之，敵必取之。以利動之，以卒待之。
So the good warrior seeks it in strategic advantage and does not demand it of men; so he can choose his men and entrust the rest to advantage. He who entrusts it to advantage sends men into battle the way one rolls logs and stones. It is the nature of logs and stones to be still on level ground and to move on steep; square, they stop; round, they go. So the momentum of one who sends men well into battle is like rolling round stones down a mountain a thousand fathoms high. That is strategic advantage.
故善戰者，求之於勢，不責於人；故能擇人而任勢。任勢者，其戰人也，如轉木石。木石之性，安則靜，危則動，方則止，圓則行。故善戰人之勢，如轉圓石於千仞之山者，勢也。
Master Sun said: Whoever is first on the field of battle and awaits the enemy is fresh; whoever comes late to the field and hurries into battle is worn.
孫子曰：凡先處戰地而待敵者佚，後處戰地而趨戰者勞。
So the good warrior moves others and is not moved by them. What makes the enemy arrive of himself is the gain he sees in it; what keeps the enemy from arriving is the harm he sees in it. So when the enemy is fresh, be able to wear him; when he is fed, to starve him; when he is settled, to move him. Come out where he must hasten; hasten where he does not expect. To march a thousand li and not be worn, march through land where no one is. To attack and be certain of taking, attack what he does not defend. To defend and be certain of holding, defend what he does not attack.
故善戰者，致人而不致於人。能使敵人自至者，利之也；能使敵人不得至者，害之也。故敵佚能勞之，飽能饑之，安能動之。出其所必趨，趨其所不意。行千里而不勞者，行於無人之地也；攻而必取者，攻其所不守也。守而必固者，守其所不攻也。
So against the good attacker, the enemy does not know where to defend; against the good defender, the enemy does not know where to attack. Subtle, subtle — to the point of formlessness. Spirit-like, spirit-like — to the point of soundlessness. So he can be the arbiter of the enemy’s fate. To advance and be irresistible, strike into his emptiness; to retire and be unpursuable, be too swift to be caught. So when I want battle, the enemy cannot help but fight me, though his ramparts be high and his moats deep — for I am attacking what he must rescue. When I do not want battle, the enemy cannot bring me to battle, though I have done no more than draw a line on the ground and hold it — for I have turned him from where he meant to go.
故善攻者，敵不知其所守；善守者，敵不知其所攻。微乎微乎，至於無形；神乎神乎，至於無聲，故能為敵之司命。進而不可禦者，沖其虛也；退而不可追者，速而不可及也。故我欲戰，敵雖高壘深溝，不得不與我戰者，攻其所必救也；我不欲戰，雖畫地而守之，敵不得與我戰者，乖其所之也。
So shape the other and be shapeless yourself, and I am concentrated while the enemy is divided. Concentrated as one against an enemy divided in ten, I am ten striking at his one: I am many and the enemy few, and he who can strike the few with the many — those I do battle with are easily handled. The ground where I will give battle cannot be known. Unknowable, the enemy prepares in many places; the enemy preparing in many places, those I do battle with are few. So prepare the front, and the rear is thin; prepare the rear, and the front is thin; prepare the left, and the right is thin; prepare the right, and the left is thin; prepare everywhere, and everywhere is thin. The few are those who prepare against others; the many are those who make others prepare against them.
故形人而我無形，則我專而敵分。我專為一，敵分為十，是以十攻其一也。則我眾敵寡，能以眾擊寡者，則吾之所與戰者約矣。吾所與戰之地不可知，不可知則敵所備者多，敵所備者多，則吾所與戰者寡矣。故備前則後寡，備後則前寡，備左則右寡，備右則左寡，無所不備，則無所不寡。寡者，備人者也；眾者，使人備己者也。
So know the place of battle and know the day of battle, and you may march a thousand li and join battle. But if you know neither the place of battle nor the day, then the left cannot rescue the right nor the right the left, the front cannot rescue the rear nor the rear the front — how much less at some tens of li, or even a few! By my reckoning, the troops of Yue may be many, but what does that profit them toward victory? So it is said: victory can be made. The enemy may be many; he can be kept from fighting. So probe him, and know the calculations of gain and loss; stir him, and know the pattern of his movement and rest; show a shape, and know the ground of his death and life; skirmish, and know where he has more than enough and where he falls short.
故知戰之地，知戰之日，則可千里而會戰；不知戰之地，不知戰日，則左不能救右，右不能救左，前不能救後，後不能救前，而況遠者數十裏，近者數裏乎！以吾度之，越人之兵雖多，亦奚益於勝哉！故曰：勝可為也。敵雖眾，可使無鬥。故策之而知得失之計，候之而知動靜之理，形之而知死生之地，角之而知有餘不足之處。
So the utmost in disposing an army is to reach formlessness. Formless, the deepest-planted spy cannot peer in, and the wisest cannot lay plans against you. By means of forms I set victory before the multitude, and the multitude cannot understand it. Every man knows the form by which I win; no man knows the form by which I governed the winning. So a victory in battle does not repeat itself: it answers form, without end. The army’s form is like water. Water in its movement shuns the high and hurries to the low; the army in its form shuns the full and strikes the empty. Water governs its flow by the ground; the army governs its victory by the enemy. So the army has no constant strategic advantage, as water has no constant form. He who can change with the enemy and take the victory is called divine.
故形兵之極，至於無形。無形則深間不能窺，智者不能謀。因形而措勝於眾，眾不能知。人皆知我所以勝之形，而莫知吾所以制勝之形。故其戰勝不復，而應形於無窮。夫兵形象水，水之行避高而趨下，兵之形避實而擊虛；水因地而制流，兵因敵而制勝。故兵無常勢，水無常形。能因敵變化而取勝者，謂之神。
So of the five elements, none conquers always; of the four seasons, none holds its place; the days are short and long; the moon dies and is born again.
故五行無常勝，四時無常位，日有短長，月有死生。
Master Sun said: The rule in employing arms: the general receives his orders from the ruler, assembles the army and masses the host, and camps facing the enemy — and nothing is harder than the contest of armies. What is hard in the contest of armies is to make the crooked road the straight one and to turn trouble to gain. So make your route crooked and bait him with gain: set out after him and arrive before him. This is to know the calculation of the crooked and the straight. The contest of armies is for gain, and the contest of armies is danger. Contend for gain with the whole army, and you do not arrive in time; throw off the army to contend for gain, and the baggage is forfeit. So when you roll up the armor and hurry, never halting day or night, doubling the stages and marching twice the road, contending for gain at a hundred li, all three commanders are taken: the strong go ahead and the spent fall behind, and by this method one in ten arrives. Contend for gain at fifty li, and the commander of the van goes down: by this method half arrive. Contend for gain at thirty li, and two in three arrive.
孫子曰：凡用兵之法，將受命於君，合軍聚眾，交和而舍，莫難於軍爭。軍爭之難者，以迂為直，以患為利。故迂其途，而誘之以利，後人發，先人至，此知迂直之計者也。軍爭為利，軍爭為危。舉軍而爭利則不及，委軍而爭利則輜重捐。是故捲甲而趨，日夜不處，倍道兼行，百裡而爭利，則擒三將軍，勁者先，疲者後，其法十一而至；五十裏而爭利，則蹶上將軍，其法半至；三十裏而爭利，則三分之二至。
And so an army without its baggage is lost; without grain, lost; without laid-up stores, lost. So he who does not know the plans of the princes cannot bind alliances in advance; he who does not know the shape of the mountains and forests, the defiles and gorges, the marshes and fens, cannot march an army; he who does not use local guides cannot take the advantages of the ground. So war stands on deception, moves for gain, and transforms itself by dividing and joining. So: swift as the wind; slow as the forest; he raids and devours as fire; he is unmoving as the mountain; unknowable as the dark; he moves as the thunderbolt. When he plunders the countryside, he divides the men; when he widens his territory, he divides the gains. He weighs the matter in the balance, and then he moves. He who first knows the calculation of the crooked and the straight wins. This is the rule for the contest of armies.
是故軍無輜重則亡，無糧食則亡，無委積則亡。故不知諸侯之謀者，不能豫交；不知山林、險阻、沮澤之形者，不能行軍；不用鄉導者，不能得地利。故兵以詐立，以利動，以分和為變者也。故其疾如風，其徐如林，侵掠如火，不動如山，難知如陰，動如雷震。掠鄉分眾，廓地分利，懸權而動。先知迂直之計者勝，此軍爭之法也。
The Book of Army Administration says: "Words do not carry to each other, so there are gongs and drums; eyes do not see each other, so there are banners and flags." Gongs and drums, banners and flags, are how the ears and eyes of the host are made one. The host once made one, the brave cannot advance alone, the cowardly cannot retire alone: this is the rule of employing the many. So in night fighting make much of gongs and drums, and in day fighting make much of banners and flags, to answer the changing ears and eyes of men. The three armies can be robbed of their spirit; the commanding general can be robbed of his heart. So the spirit of the morning is keen; the spirit of midday slackens; the spirit of evening turns home.
《軍政》曰：“言不相聞，故為之金鼓；視不相見，故為之旌旗。”夫金鼓旌旗者，所以一民之耳目也。民既專一，則勇者不得獨進，怯者不得獨退，此用眾之法也。故夜戰多金鼓，晝戰多旌旗，所以變人之耳目也。三軍可奪氣，將軍可奪心。是故朝氣銳，晝氣惰，暮氣歸。
He who uses arms well shuns the keen spirit and strikes the slack and the homing: this is to govern spirit. With order he awaits the disordered; with stillness he awaits the clamorous: this is to govern heart. With nearness he awaits the far-come; with freshness he awaits the worn; with fullness he awaits the starving: this is to govern strength. He does not intercept banners in perfect order; he does not strike a formation drawn up in its majesty: this is to govern change. So the rule of employing arms: do not face him up a high hill; do not oppose him when his back is to a slope; do not follow a feigned flight; do not attack keen troops; do not swallow bait troops; do not block an army on its way home; when you surround an army, leave a gap; do not press a foe at bay. This is the rule of employing arms.
善用兵者，避其銳氣，擊其惰歸，此治氣者也。以治待亂，以靜待嘩，此治心者也。以近待遠，以佚待勞，以飽待饑，此治力者也。無邀正正之旗，無擊堂堂之陳，此治變者也。故用兵之法，高陵勿向，背丘勿逆，佯北勿從，銳卒勿攻，餌兵勿食，歸師勿遏，圍師遺闕，窮寇勿迫，此用兵之法也。
Master Sun said: The rule in employing arms: the general receives his orders from the ruler, assembles the army and masses the host. On broken ground, do not camp; on crossroads ground, join hands with your allies; on cut-off ground, do not linger; on hemmed-in ground, scheme; on deadly ground, fight. There are roads not to take; there are armies not to strike; there are cities not to attack; there is ground not to contest; there are orders of the ruler not to accept. So the general who is thorough in the gains of the nine variations knows how to employ arms. The general who is not thorough in the gains of the nine variations, though he knows the shape of the ground, cannot take the gain of the ground. He who commands troops and does not know the arts of the nine variations, though he knows the five gains, cannot get the full use of his men.
孫子曰：凡用兵之法，將受命於君，合軍聚合。泛地無舍，衢地合交，絕地無留，圍地則謀，死地則戰，途有所不由，軍有所不擊，城有所不攻，地有所不爭，君命有所不受。故將通於九變之利者，知用兵矣；將不通九變之利，雖知地形，不能得地之利矣；治兵不知九變之術，雖知五利，不能得人之用矣。
And so the deliberations of the wise are always mixed of gain and harm. Mixed with gain, the task can be trusted through; mixed with harm, the trouble can be undone. And so bend the princes with harm, work the princes with undertakings, and set the princes running with gain. So the rule of employing arms: do not trust that he will not come; trust that you have the means to await him. Do not trust that he will not attack; trust that you have what cannot be attacked. So the general has five dangers. Resolved to die, he can be killed. Resolved to live, he can be taken. Quick to anger, he can be goaded. Scrupulous of honor, he can be shamed. Loving the people, he can be worn down with alarms. These five are the general’s excesses, the calamity of employing arms. The army’s overthrow and the general’s death come always from these five dangers. They cannot go unexamined.
是故智者之慮，必雜於利害，雜於利而務可信也，雜於害而患可解也。是故屈諸侯者以害，役諸侯者以業，趨諸侯者以利。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。故將有五危，必死可殺，必生可虜，忿速可侮，廉潔可辱，愛民可煩。凡此五者，將之過也，用兵之災也。覆軍殺將，必以五危，不可不察也。
Master Sun said: On positioning the army and reading the enemy: crossing mountains, keep to the valleys; camp on high ground, facing the open and the light; when he holds the heights, do not climb to attack. So much for positioning an army in the mountains. Having crossed a river, you must put distance between yourself and the water. When the invader crosses a river toward you, do not meet him in the stream; let half come over, and then strike — that is the gain. When you mean to fight, do not meet the invader hard by the water; take ground high and facing the light, and do not stand facing the current. So much for positioning an army at the water. Cross salt marshes at speed: go, and do not linger. If the armies meet in the middle of a salt marsh, keep hold of the water-grass and put the massed trees at your back. So much for positioning an army in salt marshes. On the level, take open footing, with the high ground at your right and rear, the dying ground in front and the living ground behind. So much for positioning an army on the plain.
孫子曰：凡處軍相敵，絕山依穀，視生處高，戰隆無登，此處山之軍也。絕水必遠水，客絕水而來，勿迎之於水內，令半渡而擊之利，欲戰者，無附於水而迎客，視生處高，無迎水流，此處水上之軍也。絕斥澤，唯亟去無留，若交軍於斥澤之中，必依水草而背眾樹，此處斥澤之軍也。平陸處易，右背高，前死後生，此處平陸之軍也。
These four advantages of the army are how the Yellow Emperor conquered the four emperors. An army loves the heights and hates the low; it prizes the light and despises the dark; it feeds life and camps on the solid; and an army free of the hundred sicknesses is called certain to win. At mounds and hills, dikes and embankments, stand on the sunlit side, with the slope at your right and rear. This is the army’s gain, the help the ground gives. When rain upstream sends the current down in flood and you would ford, wait for it to settle. Wherever the ground has sheer-cut ravines, heaven’s wells, heaven’s prisons, heaven’s nets, heaven’s pits, heaven’s clefts — leave them at speed; do not go near. I keep far from these; the enemy is kept near them. I face them; the enemy has them at his back. When the army’s flank passes defiles, standing pools, reed-beds and rushes, low woods and tangled cover, search them with care and search them again — these are where ambush and treachery lie.
凡此四軍之利，黃帝之所以勝四帝也。凡軍好高而惡下，貴陽而賤陰，養生而處實，軍無百疾，是謂必勝。丘陵堤防，必處其陽而右背之，此兵之利，地之助也。上雨水流至，欲涉者，待其定也。凡地有絕澗、天井、天牢、天羅、天陷、天隙，必亟去之，勿近也。吾遠之，敵近之；吾迎之，敵背之。軍旁有險阻、潢井、蒹葭、小林、蘙薈者，必謹覆索之，此伏姦之所處也。
When the enemy is near and stays still, he is trusting his strong position. When he is far off and offers battle, he wants you to advance. When he camps on easy ground, there is gain in it for him. When the massed trees stir, he is coming. When the thick grass is full of screens, he means to make you wonder. When the birds rise, there is an ambush; when the beasts startle, an attack is upon you. When the dust climbs high and sharp, chariots are coming; low and wide, infantry is coming; scattered in threads, they are gathering firewood; thin, and coming and going, they are making camp. When his words are humble and his preparations grow, he will advance. When his words are strong and he drives forward, he will retire. When the light chariots come out first and take the flanks, he is forming his line. When, nothing being settled, he asks for peace, he is plotting. When there is running about and the soldiers fall into rank, the hour has been fixed. When half advance and half retire, he is luring you. When they lean on their weapons to stand, they are starving. When the water-bearers draw and drink first, they are thirsty. When gain is in sight and no one advances, they are worn out. Where the birds gather, the place is empty. When there is calling out in the night, they are afraid. When the camp is unruly, the general carries no weight. When the banners and flags shift about, there is disorder. When the officers rage, the men are weary. When they kill their horses and eat the meat, the army is out of grain; when they hang up their cooking-jars and do not return to their shelters, they are a foe at bay. When the general speaks to his men softly, slowly, winningly, he has lost the host. Reward upon reward means he is cornered; punishment upon punishment means he is in distress. To be brutal first and afterward fear one’s own men is the very height of ineptitude. When envoys come with soft words, he wants a breathing-space.
敵近而靜者，恃其險也；遠而挑戰者，欲人之進也；其所居易者，利也；眾樹動者，來也；眾草多障者，疑也；鳥起者，伏也；獸駭者，覆也；塵高而銳者，車來也；卑而廣者，徒來也；散而條達者，樵採也；少而往來者，營軍也；辭卑而備者，進也；辭強而進驅者，退也；輕車先出居其側者，陳也；無約而請和者，謀也；奔走而陳兵者，期也；半進半退者，誘也；杖而立者，饑也；汲而先飲者，渴也；見利而不進者，勞也；鳥集者，虛也；夜呼者，恐也；軍擾者，將不重也；旌旗動者，亂也；吏怒者，倦也；殺馬肉食者，軍無糧也；懸甀不返其舍者，窮寇也；諄諄翕翕，徐與人言者，失眾也；數賞者，窘也；數罰者，困也；先暴而後畏其眾者，不精之至也；來委謝者，欲休息也。
When his troops come out in anger and face yours, yet neither join battle nor draw off, you must watch him with the greatest care. In war it is not numbers that are the asset. Simply do not advance on brute boldness; it is enough to concentrate your strength, take the enemy’s measure, and take the man — that is all. Only he who, without forethought, makes light of his enemy is certain to be taken by him. Punish troops before they have attached themselves to you, and they will not submit; unsubmitting, they are hard to use. But when troops have attached themselves and punishments are not carried out, they cannot be used at all. So bind them together by the civil and align them by the martial: this is called certain to take. When orders are consistently carried out in the training of the people, the people submit; when orders are never carried out in their training, the people do not submit. He whose orders are consistently carried out has the trust of the host, and the host has his.
兵怒而相迎，久而不合，又不相去，必謹察之。兵非貴益多也，惟無武進，足以並力料敵取人而已。夫惟無慮而易敵者，必擒於人。卒未親而罰之，則不服，不服則難用。卒已親附而罰不行，則不可用。故合之以文，齊之以武，是謂必取。令素行以教其民，則民服；令素不行以教其民，則民不服。令素行者，與眾相得也。
Master Sun said: The shapes of ground: there is the open, the entangling, the deadlocked, the narrow, the steep, the distant. Ground that I can cross and he can come over is called open. On open shapes, be first to the high and sunlit side, and keep your grain-road; then battle is to your gain. Ground that can be entered and is hard to return through is called entangling. On entangling shapes, if the enemy is unprepared, go out and defeat him; if the enemy is prepared and your going out does not win, return is hard, and the ground is against you. Ground where my going out loses and his going out loses is called deadlocked. On deadlocked shapes, though the enemy hangs out a gain before me, I do not go out: I draw off and lead him, and when half his men are out I strike — that is the gain. On narrow shapes, if I hold them first, I must fill them and await the enemy. If he holds them first and has filled them, do not follow him in; if he has not filled them, follow. On steep shapes, if I hold them first, I must hold the high and sunlit side and await the enemy; if he holds them first, I draw off and leave — I do not follow. On distant shapes, when the weight of the two sides is even, it is hard to provoke battle, and forcing battle brings no gain.
孫子曰：地形有通者、有掛者、有支者、有隘者、有險者、有遠者。我可以往，彼可以來，曰通。通形者，先居高陽，利糧道，以戰則利。可以往，難以返，曰掛。掛形者，敵無備，出而勝之，敵若有備，出而不勝，難以返，不利。我出而不利，彼出而不利，曰支。支形者，敵雖利我，我無出也，引而去之，令敵半出而擊之利。隘形者，我先居之，必盈之以待敵。若敵先居之，盈而勿從，不盈而從之。險形者，我先居之，必居高陽以待敵；若敵先居之，引而去之，勿從也。遠形者，勢均難以挑戰，戰而不利。
These six are the way of the ground. They are the general’s utmost charge; they cannot go unexamined. So too an army knows flight; knows slackening; knows sinking; knows collapse; knows disorder; knows rout. These six come from no calamity of heaven and ground; they are the general’s error. When the weight of the two sides is even and one is sent to strike ten, the result is flight. When the troops are strong and the officers weak, slackening. When the officers are strong and the troops weak, sinking. When the higher officers are angry and will not obey — meeting the enemy, they fight their own grudge out, and the general does not know their quality — the result is collapse. When the general is weak and not strict, his training and direction unclear, officers and men without constancy, and the ranks drawn up every way at once, disorder. When the general cannot take the enemy’s measure, joins many with few, strikes the strong with the weak, and the army has no picked vanguard, rout.
凡此六者，地之道也，將之至任，不可不察也。凡兵有走者、有馳者、有陷者、有崩者、有亂者、有北者。凡此六者，非天地之災，將之過也。夫勢均，以一擊十，曰走；卒強吏弱，曰馳；吏強卒弱，曰陷；大吏怒而不服，遇敵懟而自戰，將不知其能，曰崩；將弱不嚴，教道不明，吏卒無常，陳兵縱橫，曰亂；將不能料敵，以少合眾，以弱擊強，兵無選鋒，曰北。
These six are the way of defeat. They are the general’s utmost charge; they cannot go unexamined. The shape of the ground is the army’s ally. To take the enemy’s measure and govern the victory, to calculate the steep and the narrow, the far and the near — this is the way of the superior general. He who knows this and uses it in battle is certain to win; he who does not know it and gives battle is certain to lose. So when the way of battle says certain victory, fight — though the ruler says do not. When the way of battle says no victory, do not fight — though the ruler says you must. So the general who advances without seeking fame and retires without dodging blame, whose only thought is to keep the people whole and to profit his ruler — he is the treasure of the state. Look on the troops as your infants, and they can be taken down into the deepest ravine; look on the troops as your beloved sons, and they can go with you even to death. But be generous and unable to command them, loving and unable to order them, disordered and unable to govern them — then they are spoiled children, and they are useless.
凡此六者，敗之道也，將之至任，不可不察也。夫地形者，兵之助也。料敵制勝，計險隘遠近，上將之道也。知此而用戰者必勝，不知此而用戰者必敗。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。故進不求名，退不避罪，唯民是保，而利於主，國之寶也。視卒如嬰兒，故可以與之赴深溪；視卒如愛子，故可與之俱死。厚而不能使，愛而不能令，亂而不能治，譬若驕子，不可用也。
To know my troops can strike, and not know the enemy cannot be struck, is half a victory. To know the enemy can be struck, and not know my troops cannot strike, is half a victory. To know the enemy can be struck and know my troops can strike, and not know that the shape of the ground forbids the fight, is half a victory. So he who knows war moves and is not lost, rises and is not at a loss. So it is said: know the other and know yourself, and the victory is not in peril; know heaven and know ground, and the victory can be whole.
知吾卒之可以擊，而不知敵之不可擊，勝之半也；知敵之可擊，而不知吾卒之不可以擊，勝之半也；知敵之可擊，知吾卒之可以擊，而不知地形之不可以戰，勝之半也。故知兵者，動而不迷，舉而不窮。故曰：知彼知己，勝乃不殆；知天知地，勝乃可全。
Master Sun said: By the rule of employing arms there is dispersive ground, light ground, contested ground, open ground, crossroads ground, heavy ground, broken ground, hemmed-in ground, deadly ground. Where the princes fight on their own soil, that is dispersive ground. Where one enters another’s land, but not deep, that is light ground. Where my taking it is gain and his taking it is gain, that is contested ground. Where I can cross and he can come, that is open ground. Where the lands of three princes meet, and the first to arrive wins the host of all-under-heaven, that is crossroads ground. Where one enters deep into another’s land, with many of his walled towns at one’s back, that is heavy ground. Mountain forest, defile and gorge, marsh and fen — every road that is hard going — that is broken ground. Where the way in is narrow and the way back is winding, and his few can strike my many, that is hemmed-in ground. Where fighting at once survives and not fighting at once perishes, that is deadly ground.
孫子曰：用兵之法，有散地，有輕地，有爭地，有交地，有衢地，有重地，有泛地，有圍地，有死地。諸侯自戰其地者，為散地；入人之地不深者，為輕地；我得亦利，彼得亦利者，為爭地；我可以往，彼可以來者，為交地；諸侯之地三屬，先至而得天下眾者，為衢地；入人之地深，背城邑多者，為重地；山林、險阻、沮澤，凡難行之道者，為泛地；所由入者隘，所從歸者迂，彼寡可以擊吾之眾者，為圍地；疾戰則存，不疾戰則亡者，為死地。
And so: on dispersive ground, do not fight; on light ground, do not halt; on contested ground, do not attack; on open ground, do not be cut apart; on crossroads ground, join hands with the princes; on heavy ground, plunder; on broken ground, march; on hemmed-in ground, scheme; on deadly ground, fight. Those of old called good at employing arms could keep the enemy’s van and rear from reaching each other, his many and few from leaning on each other, his noble and base from rescuing each other, his higher and lower from taking each other in; could keep his troops, once scattered, from collecting, and his army, once assembled, from aligning. They moved when it met their gain; they stopped when it did not. Ask: an enemy host, many and in good order, is about to come — how do I await it? Say: seize first the thing he loves, and he will listen.
是故散地則無戰，輕地則無止，爭地則無攻，交地則無絕，衢地則合交，重地則掠，泛地則行，圍地則謀，死地則戰。古之善用兵者，能使敵人前後不相及，眾寡不相恃，貴賤不相救，上下不相收，卒離而不集，兵合而不齊。合於利而動，不合於利而止。敢問敵眾而整將來，待之若何曰：先奪其所愛則聽矣。
The nature of war is to set speed above all: ride the other’s lag; go by roads he has not reckoned; strike where he has taken no care. The way of the invader: enter deep, and you hold together, and the defenders cannot overcome you. Plunder the rich countryside, and the three armies have food enough. Feed them with care and do not wear them; knit their spirit close and lay up their strength; move the troops by calculation and stratagem, and be past fathoming. Throw them where there is nowhere to go, and they will die before they run. Since they are ready to die, what can they not do? — officers and men give their whole strength. Soldiers sunk deep in peril lose their fear; with nowhere to go, they stand firm; deep in, they hold together; with no choice left, they fight. So such troops keep watch without being drilled, do what is needed without being asked, are devoted without compacts, are trustworthy without orders. Forbid omens and cast out doubt, and they will go to death itself without turning aside. My men have no goods to spare — not because they hate wealth; no life to spare — not because they hate long years. On the day the order goes out, the soldiers who are sitting weep into their collars, and those lying down weep across their chins. But throw them where there is nowhere to go, and theirs is the courage of Zhuan Zhu and Cao Gui.
兵之情主速，乘人之不及。由不虞之道，攻其所不戒也。凡為客之道，深入則專。主人不克，掠於饒野，三軍足食。謹養而勿勞，並氣積力，運兵計謀，為不可測。投之無所往，死且不北。死焉不得，士人盡力。兵士甚陷則不懼，無所往則固，深入則拘，不得已則鬥。是故其兵不修而戒，不求而得，不約而親，不令而信，禁祥去疑，至死無所之。吾士無餘財，非惡貨也；無餘命，非惡壽也。令發之日，士卒坐者涕沾襟，偃臥者涕交頤，投之無所往，諸、劌之勇也。
So he who uses arms well is like the shuairan. The shuairan is the snake of Mount Heng: strike its head and the tail arrives; strike its tail and the head arrives; strike its middle and head and tail arrive together. Ask: can an army be made like the shuairan? Say: it can. The men of Wu and the men of Yue hate each other; but crossing in the same boat, caught by the storm, they go to each other’s rescue like the right hand and the left. And so tethering the horses and burying the wheels is not yet anything to trust. To level all courage into one — that is the way of command. To get the full measure of the hard and the soft alike — that is the pattern of the ground. So he who uses arms well leads the army by the hand as if he led one man — because it has no choice left.
故善用兵者，譬如率然。率然者，常山之蛇也。擊其首則尾至，擊其尾則首至，擊其中則首尾俱至。敢問兵可使如率然乎？曰可。夫吳人與越人相惡也，當其同舟而濟而遇風，其相救也如左右手。是故方馬埋輪，未足恃也；齊勇如一，政之道也；剛柔皆得，地之理也。故善用兵者，攜手若使一人，不得已也。
It is the business of the general to be still, and deep past seeing; to be upright, and so to govern. He can keep the ears and eyes of his officers and men in the dark, so that they know nothing. He changes his arrangements and alters his plans, so that no one recognizes them; he shifts his camp and goes the long way round, so that no one can think the matter out. The commander sets the rendezvous like a man who climbs high and kicks the ladder away. The commander goes deep into the land of the princes and releases the trigger. Like a man driving a flock of sheep — driven out, driven back, and none knows where it is going. To gather the host of the three armies and throw it into peril: this is the business called the general’s. The variations of the nine grounds, the gain in bending and in stretching, the patterns of men’s nature — these cannot go unexamined.
將軍之事，靜以幽，正以治，能愚士卒之耳目，使之無知；易其事，革其謀，使人無識；易其居，迂其途，使民不得慮。帥與之期，如登高而去其梯；帥與之深入諸侯之地，而發其機。若驅群羊，驅而往，驅而來，莫知所之。聚三軍之眾，投之於險，此謂將軍之事也。九地之變，屈伸之力，人情之理，不可不察也。
The way of the invader: deep, and they hold together; shallow, and they scatter. To leave your state, cross the border, and take your army out — that is cut-off ground. Open on all four sides — that is crossroads ground. Deep in — heavy ground. Shallow in — light ground. Strongholds at the back and defiles before — hemmed-in ground. Nowhere to go — deadly ground. And so on dispersive ground I will make their will one; on light ground I will keep them linked; on contested ground I will hurry up my rear; on open ground I will look carefully to my defense; on crossroads ground I will make my bindings fast; on heavy ground I will keep the food coming; on broken ground I will press on along the road; on hemmed-in ground I will close the gap myself; on deadly ground I will show them there is no living.
凡為客之道，深則專，淺則散。去國越境而師者，絕地也；四徹者，衢地也；入深者，重地也；入淺者，輕地也；背固前隘者，圍地也；無所往者，死地也。是故散地吾將一其志，輕地吾將使之屬，爭地吾將趨其後，交地吾將謹其守，交地吾將固其結，衢地吾將謹其恃，重地吾將繼其食，泛地吾將進其途，圍地吾將塞其闕，死地吾將示之以不活。
So the nature of troops: surrounded, they hold off the foe; given no choice, they fight; in extremity, they obey. And so: he who does not know the plans of the princes cannot bind alliances in advance; he who does not know the shape of the mountains and forests, the defiles and gorges, the marshes and fens, cannot march an army; he who does not use local guides cannot take the gains of the ground. To be ignorant of even one of these is not to have the army of a hegemon king. When the army of a hegemon king attacks a great state, the great state’s host cannot gather; when his weight falls on the enemy, the enemy’s alliances cannot close. And so he does not contend for the alliances of all-under-heaven; he does not feed the powers of all-under-heaven; he trusts what is privately his own, and his weight falls upon the enemy — so the enemy’s cities can be taken and the enemy’s state pulled down. Give rewards beyond the law; hang up orders beyond the rules of governance — and you handle the host of the three armies as if you handled one man. Set them to the task itself; do not speak of it. Set them against the danger; do not speak of the gain. Throw them into ground of ruin, and then they survive; sink them into deadly ground, and then they live.
故兵之情：圍則禦，不得已則鬥，過則從。是故不知諸侯之謀者，不能預交；不知山林、險阻、沮澤之形者，不能行軍；不用鄉導，不能得地利。四五者，一不知，非霸王之兵也。夫霸王之兵，伐大國，則其眾不得聚；威加於敵，則其交不得合。是故不爭天下之交，不養天下之權，信己之私，威加於敵，則其城可拔，其國可隳。施無法之賞，懸無政之令。犯三軍之眾，若使一人。犯之以事，勿告以言；犯之以害，勿告以利。投之亡地然後存，陷之死地然後生。
For only when the host has been sunk into harm can it turn the loss into the victory. So the business of war lies in feigning compliance with the enemy’s intent: concentrate against him on a single front, and you kill his general a thousand li away. This is what is called bringing the thing off by skill. So on the day the campaign is decreed, close the passes and break the tallies, and let his envoys through no more; brace yourself hard in the temple council, holding the matter to account. The moment the enemy opens a door, you must rush in. Take first the thing he loves, and quietly fix your hour by his; walk the inked line, following the enemy, until the matter of battle is decided. So: at first, like a maiden, until the enemy opens the door; after, like the loosed hare, too swift for the enemy to resist.
夫眾陷於害，然後能為勝敗。故為兵之事，在順詳敵之意，並敵一向，千里殺將，是謂巧能成事。是故政舉之日，夷關折符，無通其使，厲於廊廟之上，以誅其事。敵人開闔，必亟入之，先其所愛，微與之期，踐墨隨敵，以決戰事。是故始如處女，敵人開戶；後如脫兔，敵不及拒。
Master Sun said: The attacks by fire are five. The first burns men; the second burns stores; the third burns baggage trains; the fourth burns arsenals; the fifth burns his columns. To use fire there must be means, and the means must be ready beforehand. There is a season for setting fires and there are days for raising them. The season is when heaven is dry. The days are when the moon stands in the Winnowing Basket, the Wall, the Wings, or the Chariot-Board; these four lodges are the days the wind rises. In every attack by fire, answer the five changes of fire. When fire breaks out inside, respond at once from outside. When fire breaks out and his troops stay quiet, wait — do not attack; let the blaze come to its height, and follow it if you can follow, and hold if you cannot. When the fire can be set from outside, do not wait for a hand inside: set it when the hour serves. When fire is set upwind, do not attack from downwind. A wind that blows all day dies at night.
孫子曰：凡火攻有五：一曰火人，二曰火積，三曰火輜，四曰火庫，五曰火隊。行火必有因，因必素具。發火有時，起火有日。時者，天之燥也。日者，月在箕、壁、翼、軫也。凡此四宿者，風起之日也。凡火攻，必因五火之變而應之：火發於內，則早應之於外；火發而其兵靜者，待而勿攻，極其火力，可從而從之，不可從則上。火可發於外，無待於內，以時發之，火發上風，無攻下風，晝風久，夜風止。
Every army must know the five changes of fire and keep watch for them by the count of the days. So he who aids the attack with fire is clear-sighted; he who aids the attack with water is strong. Water can cut off; it cannot take. To win the battles and seize the spoil, and then fail to consolidate the achievement, is calamity; its name is "lingering expense." So it is said: the enlightened ruler weighs it; the good general tends it. Where there is no gain, do not move; where there is nothing to take, do not use the army; where there is no peril, do not fight. A ruler must not raise an army out of wrath; a general must not join battle out of rancor. Move when it meets your gain; stop when it does not. Wrath can turn back to gladness, and rancor turn back to cheer; but a state overthrown cannot be brought back to being, nor the dead back to life.
凡軍必知五火之變，以數守之。故以火佐攻者明，以水佐攻者強。水可以絕，不可以奪。夫戰勝攻取而不惰其功者凶，命曰“費留”。故曰：明主慮之，良將惰之，非利不動，非得不用，非危不戰。主不可以怒而興師，將不可以慍而攻戰。合於利而動，不合於利而上。怒可以複喜，慍可以複說，亡國不可以複存，死者不可以複生。
So the enlightened ruler is careful of it, and the good general is on guard against it. This is the way that keeps the state at peace and the army whole.
故明主慎之，良將警之。此安國全軍之道也。
Master Sun said: Raising a host of a hundred thousand and marching it a thousand li, the outlay of the hundred clans and the spending of the public house run to a thousand gold pieces a day; there is commotion within and without; men drop spent along the roads; and seven hundred thousand households cannot take up their work. The two sides hold each other for years, contending for the victory of a single day. To grudge, then, rank, salary, and a hundred pieces of gold, and so stay ignorant of the enemy’s condition — that is inhumanity at its uttermost. Such a man is no general to the people, no help to his ruler, no master of victory. So what lets the enlightened ruler and the worthy general move and conquer, and bring off what the crowd cannot, is foreknowledge. And foreknowledge cannot be taken from ghosts and spirits, cannot be read off the surface of events, cannot be proven by measure: it must be taken from men — from those who know the enemy’s condition.
孫子曰：凡興師十萬，出征千里，百姓之費，公家之奉，日費千金，內外騷動，怠於道路，不得操事者，七十萬家。相守數年，以爭一日之勝，而愛爵祿百金，不知敵之情者，不仁之至也，非民之將也，非主之佐也，非勝之主也。故明君賢將所以動而勝人，成功出於眾者，先知也。先知者，不可取於鬼神，不可象於事，不可驗於度，必取於人，知敵之情者也。
So the uses of spies are five: there is the local spy, the inner spy, the turned spy, the dead spy, the living spy. When the five spies are at work together and no one knows their ways, that is called the divine skein, and it is the ruler’s treasure. The local spy is one of the enemy’s countrymen, used; the inner spy, one of his officials, used; the turned spy, one of the enemy’s own spies, used. The dead spy is the one for whom we stage a false business abroad, let our own spies learn of it, and have it carried to the enemy’s spies. The living spy is the one who comes back to report. So in the business of the three armies, no bond is closer than the spy’s; no reward is richer than the spy’s; no matter is more secret than the spy’s. Without sagacity, you cannot use spies; without humanity and right, you cannot send them; without subtlety and fineness, you cannot get from spies the truth of things. Subtle, subtle! There is nowhere that spies are not used. When a spy’s business is heard of before it has begun, the spy, and the man he told, both die.
故用間有五：有因間，有內間，有反間，有死間，有生間。五間俱起，莫知其道，是謂神紀，人君之寶也。鄉間者，因其鄉人而用之；內間者，因其官人而用之；反間者，因其敵間而用之；死間者，為誑事於外，令吾聞知之而傳於敵間也；生間者，反報也。故三軍之事，莫親於間，賞莫厚於間，事莫密於間，非聖賢不能用間，非仁義不能使間，非微妙不能得間之實。微哉微哉！無所不用間也。間事未發而先聞者，間與所告者兼死。
Whatever army you would strike, whatever city you would attack, whatever man you would kill, you must first know the names of the defending general, of the attendants at his right and left, of his ushers, his gatekeepers, his stewards; our spies must be set to seek them out and know them. The enemy’s spies who come to spy on us must be found, baited with gain, led aside and lodged: thus the turned spy is taken and can be used. By what he knows, the local spy and the inner spy can be got and sent; by what he knows, the dead spy stages his false business and can carry it to the enemy; by what he knows, the living spy can be used to his hour. The business of the five spies the ruler must know, and the knowing rests always upon the turned spy: so the turned spy cannot be treated too richly. Of old, the rise of Yin was by Yi Zhi, who had served in Xia; the rise of Zhou was by Lü Ya, who had served in Yin.
凡軍之所欲擊，城之所欲攻，人之所欲殺，必先知其守將、左右、謁者、門者、舍人之姓名，令吾間必索知之。敵間之來間我者，因而利之，導而舍之，故反間可得而用也；因是而知之，故鄉間、內間可得而使也；因是而知之，故死間為誑事，可使告敵；因是而知之，故生間可使如期。五間之事，主必知之，知之必在於反間，故反間不可不厚也。昔殷之興也，伊摯在夏；周之興也，呂牙在殷。
And so only the enlightened ruler and the worthy general, who can take the highest intelligence and make spies of it, are certain of great achievement. This is the essential thing in war: it is what the three armies lean upon at every move.
故明君賢將，能以上智為間者，必成大功。此兵之要，三軍之所恃而動也。