| | 谋攻: |
孙子曰：凡用兵之法，全国为上，破国次之；全旅为上，破旅次之；全卒为上，破卒次之；全伍为上，破伍次之。是故百战百胜，非善之善者也；不战而屈人之兵，善之善者也。 |
| Attack by Stratagem: |
Sunzi said: 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. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting. |
| | 谋攻: |
故上兵伐谋，其次伐交，其次伐兵，其下攻城。攻城之法，为不得已；修橹轒轀，具器械，三月而后成；距闉，又三月而后已；将不胜其忿，而蚁附之，杀士卒三分之一，而城不拔者，此攻之灾也。 |
| Attack by Stratagem: |
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. The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided. The preparation of mantlets, movable shelters, and various implements of war, will take up three whole months; and the piling up of mounds over against the walls will take three months more. The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants, with the result that one-third of his men are slain, while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege. |
| | 谋攻: |
故善用兵者，屈人之兵，而非战也；拔人之城，而非攻也；毁人之国，而非久也。必以全争于天下，故兵不顿，利可全，此谋攻之法也。故用兵之法，十则围之，五则攻之，倍则分之，敌则能战之，少则能守之，不若则能避之。故小敌之坚，大敌之擒也。 |
| Attack by Stratagem: |
Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field. With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will be complete. This is the method of attacking by stratagem. It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into two. If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him. Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force. |
| | 谋攻: |
夫将者，国之辅也，辅周则国必强，辅隙则国必弱。故军之所以患于君者三：不知三军之不可以进，而谓之进；不知三军之不可以退，而谓之退；是谓縻军。不知三军之事，而同三军之政，则军士惑矣。不知三军之权，而同三军之任，则军士疑矣。三军既惑且疑，则诸侯之难至矣，是谓乱军引胜。 |
| Attack by Stratagem: |
Now the general is the bulwark of the State; if the bulwark is complete at all points; the State will be strong; if the bulwark is defective, the State will be weak. There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army: (1) By commanding the army to advance, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot advance; or commanding the army to to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot retreat. This is called hobbling the army. (2) 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. (3) 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. But when the army is restless and distrustful, trouble is sure to come from the other feudal princes. This is simply bringing anarchy into the army, and flinging victory away. |
| | 谋攻: |
故知胜者有五：知可以战与不可以战者胜，识众寡之用者胜，上下同欲者胜，以虞待不虞者胜，将能而君不御者胜；此五者，知胜之道也。 |
| Attack by Stratagem: |
Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory: (1) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. (2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. (3) He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. (4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. (5) He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign. These five are the way by which we know which side will win. |
| | 谋攻: |
故曰：知彼知己，百战不殆；不知彼而知己，一胜一负；不知彼，不知己，每战必败。 |
| Attack by Stratagem: |
Hence the saying: 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. |
