Xing — the shape that shows形篇

所謂「知己」者也。

This is what is called knowing oneself.

藏形內治，伺其虛懈。

He hides his shape and puts his own house in order, watching for the opening when the enemy grows empty and slack.

所謂「知彼」者也。

This is what is called knowing the other.

守固備也。自修理，以待敵之虛懈也。

It is to hold fast and keep ready. One sets oneself in order and waits for the enemy to grow empty and slack.

夫善用兵者，守則深壁，多具軍食，善其教練；攻其城，則尚橦棚、雲梯、土山、地道；陳，則左山川、右丘陵，背孤向虛，從疑擊間；善戰者，掎角勢連，首尾相應者，爲不可勝也。夫善戰者，能爲不可勝，不能使敵之必可勝，故曰︰「勝可知而不可爲，不可勝者守也，可勝者攻也。」此數者，以爲可勝也。

Whoever uses troops well, when he holds, deepens his ramparts, lays in ample grain, and is good at teaching and drilling. When he attacks a walled city, he raises battering carts and screens (橦棚), long scaling ladders (雲梯), earthen mounds, and tunnels. When he sets his camp, he puts mountains and rivers on his left and hills on his right, turns his back on the out-of-the-way ground and faces the empty ground, and follows what the enemy doubts in order to strike at the gap. One who fights well has front and rear hold to each other so that the formation is joined and head and tail answer one another: this is what makes him impossible to beat. Now one who fights well can make himself impossible to beat, but he cannot make the enemy sure to be open to defeat. So it is said: victory can be known but not made; what cannot be beaten is holding, and what can be beaten is striking. By these several things is openness to defeat determined.

自整軍事，長有待敵之備；閉跡藏形，使敵人不能測度，因伺敵人有可乘之便，然後出而攻之。

He puts his own military affairs in order and always keeps ready to meet the enemy; he closes off his traces and hides his shape so that the enemy cannot reckon him. Then, having watched and seen that the enemy has a gap worth riding, he goes forward and strikes.

先咨之廟堂，慮其危難，然後高壘深溝，使兵士練習，以此守備之固，待敵之闕，則可勝之。言守備之固，制敵在外。守備之固自修理，以俟敵之虛懈；已見敵有闕漏之形，然後可勝。

First he takes counsel in the ancestral hall and reckons the dangers and hardships; then he raises his ramparts, deepens his moats, and drills his troops. Once his holding is firm in this way, he can wait for the enemy's carelessness and win. Firm holding means pressing the enemy from outside. The firmness of holding lies in setting oneself in order and waiting for the enemy to grow empty and slack; only once gaps and leaks show in him can one win.

不可勝者，修道保法也；可勝者，有所隙耳。

Being impossible to beat is to keep the way and hold to the law; being open to defeat is nothing but having a gap.

守之故在己，攻之故在彼。

The reason for holding rests with me; the reason for striking rests with the other.

不可勝者，上文註解所謂修整軍事、閉形藏跡是也。此事在己，故曰「能爲」。

Being impossible to beat is just what the note above called putting military affairs in order, closing off one's shape, and hiding one's traces. This rests with me, and so it says that he can make it.

藏形晦跡，居常嚴備，則己能焉。

Hide the shape, wipe out the traces, and keep always strictly ready: this I can do of myself.

敵若無形可窺，無虛懈可乘，則我雖操可勝之具，亦安能取勝敵乎？

If the enemy shows no shape to spy out and no emptiness or slackness to ride, then though I hold in hand the means of victory, how could I beat him?

敵有智謀，深爲己備，不能強令不己備。

If the enemy has wisdom and plans and makes his preparations deep, one cannot force him to be unprepared.

若敵曉練兵事，策與道合，深爲己備者，亦不可強勝之。

If the enemy is clear and practiced in military affairs, his plans accord with the way, and his preparations are deep, then neither can one force a victory over him.

在己故能爲，在敵故無必。

What rests with me can be made; what rests with the enemy has no certainty.

在敵不在我也。

It rests with the enemy, not with me.

若敵強弱之形不顯於外，則我豈能必勝於彼？

If the enemy's shape, strong or weak, does not show outwardly, how can I be sure of beating him?

見成形也。

It is to see the shape once it has already formed.

知者，但能知己之力，可以勝敵也。

Knowing means only this: I can know that by my own strength the enemy can be beaten.

取勝於形，勝可知也。

Victory is got from shape, and so victory can be known.

敵有備故也。

Because the enemy is prepared.

言我不能使敵人虛懈，爲我可勝之資。

It means that I cannot make the enemy empty and slack and so make that the stock of my victory.

敵若隱而無形，不可強爲勝敗。

If the enemy keeps hidden and shows no shape, one cannot force a win or a loss.

敵有備也。已料敵，見敵形者，則勝負可知；若敵密而無形，亦不可強使爲敗。故范蠡曰︰「時不至，不可強生；事不究，不可強成。」

The enemy is prepared. One who has already reckoned the enemy and seen his shape can know victory and defeat. If the enemy is without a crack and shows no shape, neither can one force him into defeat. So Fan Li (范蠡) said: when the time has not come, you cannot force it to be born; when a matter is not finished, you cannot force it to be accomplished.

敵有闕，則可知；敵無闕，則不可爲。

If the enemy has a gap, it can be known; if the enemy has no gap, it cannot be made.

可知之勝在我，我有備也；不可爲之勝在敵，敵無形也。

The victory that can be known rests with me, because I am prepared; the victory that cannot be made rests with the enemy, because he shows no shape.

己有備，則勝可知；敵有備，則不可爲。

If I am prepared, victory can be known; if the enemy is prepared, it cannot be made.

藏形也。

It is to hide one's shape.

言未見敵人有可勝之形，己則藏形，爲不可勝之備，以自守也。

It means that while no beatable shape yet shows in the enemy, I hide my shape, make the preparations by which I cannot be beaten, and so hold myself.

藏形也。若未見其形，彼衆我寡，則自守也。

It is to hide one's shape. While his shape does not yet show, and he is many and I am few, one holds oneself.

且有待也。

Here too there is waiting.

未見敵人形勢虛實有可勝之理，則宜固守。

If in the enemy's disposition and his emptiness or fullness no ground for victory shows, one ought to hold fast.

知己未可以勝，則守其氣而待之。

Knowing that I cannot yet win, he guards his spirit and waits.

敵攻己，乃可勝。

The enemy strikes at me; only then can victory be had.

夫善用兵者︰守，則高壘堅壁也；攻其城，則橦棚、雲梯、土山、地道；陳，左川澤，右丘陵，背孤向虛，從疑擊間，識辨五令以節衆，犄角勢連、首尾相應者，爲不可勝也。無此數者，以爲可勝也。

Whoever uses troops well, when he holds, raises his ramparts and makes his walls firm. When he attacks a walled city, he uses battering carts and screens, long scaling ladders, earthen mounds, and tunnels. When he sets his camp, he puts streams and ponds on his left and hills on his right, turns his back on the out-of-the-way ground and faces the empty ground, follows what the enemy doubts in order to strike at the gap, and knows the five kinds of command signal apart so as to keep his host in hand. When front and rear hold to each other so that the formation is joined and head and tail answer one another, he becomes impossible to beat. When these several things are lacking, that makes one open to defeat.

敵人有可勝之形，則當出而攻之。

When the enemy shows a beatable shape, one ought to go forward and strike.

敵攻己，乃可勝也。已見其形，彼寡我衆，則可攻。

When the enemy strikes at me, then victory can be had. Once his shape shows, and he is few and I am many, one can strike.

見其闕也。

He has seen the gap.

守者，以於勝不足；攻者，以於勝有餘。

He holds because what it takes to win falls short; he strikes because what it takes to win is more than enough.

知彼有可勝之理，則攻其心而取之。

Knowing that there is ground for beating him, he strikes at his heart and takes it.

吾所以守者，力不足也；所以攻者，力有餘也。

That I hold is because my strength falls short; that I strike is because my strength is more than enough.

力不足者，可以守；力有餘者，可以攻也。

One whose strength falls short can hold; one whose strength is more than enough can strike.

守則知力不足，攻則知力有餘。

If he holds, one can know that his strength falls short; if he strikes, one can know that his strength is more than enough.

吾所以守者，謂取勝之道有所不足，故且待之；吾所以攻者，謂勝敵之事已有其餘，故出擊之。言非百勝不戰，非萬全不鬬也。後人謂「不足」爲「弱」，「有餘」爲「強」者，非也。

I hold because something still falls short of the way to win, and so I wait further; I strike because what it takes to beat the enemy is already more than enough, and so I go forward and strike. It means that unless he would win a hundred times he does not fight, and unless there is not one miss in ten thousand he does not contend. Later men took falling short for weakness and having more than enough for strength; this is wrong.

因山川、丘陵之固者，藏於九地之下；因天時之變者，動於九天之上。

To lean on the firmness of mountains, rivers, and hills is to hide beneath the ninefold earth; to lean on the turning of Heaven's seasons is to move above the ninefold sky.

《天一遁甲經》云︰「九天之上可以陳兵，九地之下可以伏藏。」常以直符加時干，後一所臨宮爲九天，後二所臨宮爲九地。地者，靜而利藏；天者，運而利動。故魏武不明二遁，以九地爲山川，九天爲天時也。夫以天一、太一之遁幽微，知而用之，故全也。《經》云︰「知三避五，魁然獨處；能知三五，橫行天下。」以此法出，不拘諸咎，則其義也。

The Tianyi Dunjia Classic says: above the ninefold sky one can draw up troops, and beneath the ninefold earth one can lie hidden. One always sets the zhifu (直符) on the heavenly stem of the hour, takes the palace reached first after it as the Nine Heavens (九天), and the palace reached second as the Nine Earths (九地). Earth is still and so good for hiding; Heaven turns and so good for moving. Thus Emperor Wu of Wei (魏武帝), not being clear about the two dunjia methods, took the Nine Earths for mountains and rivers and the Nine Heavens for Heaven's seasons. Now the dunjia of Tianyi (天一) and Taiyi (太一) are dark and fine; because he knows them and uses them, he comes through whole. The Classic says: know the three and avoid the five, and you will stand alone and towering; be able to know the three and the five, and you will go through all under Heaven unhindered. Go forward by this method and you will not be caught by any fault — that is its meaning.

守者，韜聲滅跡，幽比鬼神，在於地下，不可得而見之；攻者，勢迅聲烈，疾若雷電，如來天上，不可得而備也。九者，高深，數之極。

One who holds hides his sound and wipes out his traces, so dark that he may be likened to a spirit; being beneath the earth, he cannot be seen. One who strikes is swift in his movement and fierce in his sound, like thunder and lightning, seeming to come from above the sky; against him there is no preparing. Nine means that height and depth have reached the end of number.

春三月，寅功曹爲九天之上，申傳送爲九地之下；夏三月，午勝先爲九天之上，子神后爲九地之下；秋三月，申傳送爲九天之上，寅功曹爲九地之下；冬三月，子神后爲九天之上，午勝先爲九地之下也。

In the three months of spring, Gongcao (功曹) of yin (寅) is the height of the Nine Heavens, and Chuansong (傳送) of shen (申) is the depth of the Nine Earths. In the three months of summer, Shengxian (勝先) of wu (午) is the height of the Nine Heavens, and Shenhou (神后) of zi (子) is the depth of the Nine Earths. In the three months of autumn, Chuansong of shen is the height of the Nine Heavens, and Gongcao of yin is the depth of the Nine Earths. In the three months of winter, Shenhou of zi is the height of the Nine Heavens, and Shengxian of wu is the depth of the Nine Earths.

善守備者，務因其山川之阻，丘陵之固，使不知所攻，言其深密，藏於九地之下；善攻者，務因天時、地利，爲水火之變，使敵不知所備，言其雷震發動，若動於九天之上也。

One who holds well works at following the barriers of mountains and rivers and the firmness of hills, so that the enemy does not know where to strike; it is for this depth and secrecy that he is said to hide beneath the ninefold earth. One who strikes well works at following Heaven's seasons and the ground's advantages, making the changes of water and fire so that the enemy does not know what to prepare against; it is for this rousing like thunder that he is said to move as if above the ninefold sky.

九地，言深不可知；九天，言高不可測。蓋守備密，而攻取迅也。

The Nine Earths speak of a depth that cannot be known; the Nine Heavens, of a height that cannot be reckoned. In short, holding is secret and striking is swift.

守者，爲未見可攻之利，當潛藏其形，沉靜幽默，不使敵人窺測之也；攻者，爲見可攻之利，當高遠神速，乘其不意，懼敵人覺我而爲之備也。九者，極言之耳。

Holding is for when no advantage in striking yet shows: one ought then to hide one's shape deep, to sink down still and silent, so that the enemy cannot spy one out and reckon. Striking is for when the advantage in striking does show: one ought then to be high and far and spirit-swift, riding the moment he does not expect — for the fear is that the enemy will notice me and make ready. Nine says no more than utmost.

九地、九天，言其深微。《尉繚子》曰︰「治兵者，若祕於地，若邃於天。」言其祕密邃遠之甚也。後漢，涼州賊王國圍陳倉，左將軍皇甫嵩督前軍董卓救之。卓欲速進赴陳倉，嵩不聽。卓曰︰「智者不後時，勇者不留決。速救則城全，不救則城滅。全、滅之勢，在於此也。」嵩曰︰「不然。百戰百勝，不如不戰而屈人之兵。是以先爲不可勝，以待敵之可勝。不可勝在我，可勝在彼。彼守不足，我攻有餘。有餘者，動於九天之上；不足者，陷於九地之下。今陳倉雖小，城守固備，非九地之陷也。王國雖強，而攻我之所不救，非九天之勢也。夫勢非九天，攻者受害；陷非九地，守者不拔。國今已陷受害之地，而陳倉保不拔之城，我可不煩兵動衆，而取全勝之功，將何救焉？」遂不聽。王國圍陳倉，自冬迄春，八十餘日，城堅守固，竟不能拔。賊衆疲弊，果自解去。

The Nine Earths and the Nine Heavens speak of depth and darkness. The Weiliaozi says: one who governs troops seems hidden in the earth and seems as far off as the sky — meaning that his secrecy and remoteness are utmost. In Later Han times, when Wang Guo (王國), a bandit of Liangzhou (涼州), surrounded Chencang (陳倉), the General of the Left Huangfu Song (皇甫嵩) led the front troops and went with Dong Zhuo (董卓) to relieve it. Dong Zhuo wanted to push on quickly and reach Chencang, but Huangfu Song would not have it. Dong Zhuo said: the wise do not let the moment slip and the bold do not put off decision; relieve it quickly and the city is whole, do not relieve it and the city falls, and whether it stands whole or falls hangs on this. Huangfu Song said: not so. To fight a hundred times and win a hundred times is not as good as bending another's troops without fighting. So one first makes oneself impossible to beat and waits for the enemy to become open to defeat. Being impossible to beat rests with me; being open to defeat rests with him. He falls short in holding, and I have more than enough for striking. One who has more than enough moves above the ninefold sky; one who falls short sinks beneath the ninefold earth. Now Chencang, small though it is, is firm in its walls and prepared in its holding, so it has not sunk beneath the ninefold earth. Wang Guo, strong though he is, is striking at a place we do not relieve, so his is not the posture of the ninefold sky. Where the posture is not that of the ninefold sky, the striker takes harm; where what has sunk is not the ninefold earth, the holder is not pulled up. Wang Guo has already sunk into the place where harm is taken, and Chencang holds a wall that will not be pulled up; we shall have the merit of a whole victory without troubling our soldiers or moving our host, so what is there to relieve? And in the end he would not have it. Wang Guo surrounded Chencang and struck at it from winter into spring, more than eighty days, but the walls were firm and the holding solid, and in the end he could not pull it up. The bandit host grew worn and weary, and sure enough it broke off of itself and withdrew.

藏於九地之下，喻幽而不可知也；動於九天之上，喻來而不可備也。《尉繚子》曰「若祕於地，若邃於天」是也。守則固，是自保也；攻則取，是全勝也。

Hiding beneath the ninefold earth is a likening for being so dark as not to be known; moving above the ninefold sky is a likening for coming so that no preparing can be made. This is what the Weiliaozi means by seeming hidden in the earth and seeming as far off as the sky. Hold and you are firm — that is keeping yourself safe; strike and you take — that is winning whole.

當見未萌。

One ought to see what has not yet sprouted.

知不出衆知，非善也。韓信破趙，未餐而出井陘，曰︰「破趙會食。」時諸將嘸然，佯應曰︰「諾。」乃背水陳。趙乘壁望見，皆大笑，言漢將不便兵也。乃破趙，食，斬成安君。此則衆所不知也。

If one's knowing goes no further than the crowd's knowing, it is not good. When Han Xin (韓信) broke Zhao (趙), he set out from Jingxing (井陘) without even eating, saying: let us break Zhao and then gather and eat. At that his several generals were blank and answered yes only for form. Then he drew up his lines with the water at his back. The men of Zhao climbed their ramparts and looked on, and all laughed aloud, saying that the Han general did not know how to use troops. Yet in the end he broke Zhao and ate, and beheaded the Lord of Cheng'an (成安君). This is just what the crowd does not know.

衆人之所見，破軍殺將，然後知勝；我之所見，廟堂之上，罇俎之間，已知勝負者矣。

What the crowd sees is to know victory only after the troops are broken and the general beheaded; what I see is to know victory and defeat already, in the ancestral hall among the wine cups and the chopping block.

守必固，攻必克，能自保全，而常不失勝；見未然之勝，善知將然之敗，謂實微妙通玄，非衆人之所見也。

He holds and is sure to be firm; he strikes and is sure to win; he keeps himself whole and never loses a victory. He sees the victory that has not yet come to be and knows well the defeat that is about to be: truly subtle, reaching into the dark, and not what the crowd sees.

當見未萌。言兩軍已交，雖料見勝負，策不能過絶於人，但見近形非遠。太公曰︰「智與衆同，非國師也。」

One ought to see before anything sprouts. Once the two armies have closed, one may reckon victory and defeat, but such a plan does not rise above other men's: it means seeing only the near shape and not the far. Taigong (太公) said: if your wisdom is the same as the crowd's, you are no teacher of the state.

人所見而見，故非善。

He sees what others see, and so it is not good.

衆常之人，見所以勝，而不知制勝之形。

The common crowd sees why a victory was won but does not know the shape that makes victory.

衆人所知，已成已著也；我之所見，未形未萌也。

What the crowd knows is what is already done and already shown; what I see is what has not yet taken shape and not yet sprouted.

爭鋒也。

It is a contest of blade points.

爭鋒力戰，天下易見，故非善也。

Contending with blade points and fighting by strength is easy for all under Heaven to see, and so it is not good.

天下，猶上文言衆也。言天下人皆稱戰勝者，故破軍殺將者也；我之善者，陰謀潛運，攻必伐謀，勝敵之日，曾不血刃。

All under Heaven here is the same as the crowd spoken of above. What the men of all under Heaven call a victory in battle is the breaking of troops and the beheading of generals; the good that I speak of is to move one's plans in secret and strike, striking always at the enemy's plans, so that on the day the enemy is beaten no blood has ever stained the blade.

潛運其智，專伐其謀，未戰而屈人之兵，乃是善之善者也。

He moves his wisdom in secret, strikes only at their plans, and bends another's troops without fighting: this is the best of the best.

見不過衆，戰雖勝，天下稱之，猶不曰善。

If his seeing does not go beyond the crowd's, then though he fight and win and all under Heaven praise him, it is still not called good.

以謀屈人，則善矣。

To bend another by plans is good.

戰而後能勝，衆人稱之曰善，是有智名、勇功也，故云「非善」；若見微察隱，取勝於無形，則真善者也。

When one can win only after fighting, and the crowd calls it good, there is a name for wisdom and a merit for courage; and so it says this is not good. But if he sees the slight and looks into the hidden and gets his victory where there is no shape, that is truly good.

易見聞也。

These are things easy to see and hear.

易見聞也。以爲攻戰勝，而天下不曰善也。夫智能之將，人所莫測，爲之深謀，故孫武曰「難知如陰」也。

These are things easy to see and hear. He takes it that even striking and fighting and winning is not called good by all under Heaven. A wise and able general cannot be reckoned by others, because he makes his plans deep. So Sun Wu (孫武) said: as hard to know as shadow.

衆人之所知，不爲智；力戰而勝人，不爲善。

What the crowd knows does not amount to wisdom, and beating another by fighting with strength does not amount to good.

此言衆人之所見所聞，不足爲異也。昔烏獲舉千鈞之鼎爲力，離朱百步覩繊芥之物爲明，師曠聽蚊行螘步爲聰也。兵之成形而見之，誰不能也？故勝於未形，乃爲知兵矣。

This says that what the crowd sees and hears is nothing out of the ordinary. In the old days, Wu Huo (烏獲) lifting a cauldron of a thousand jun was called strength; Li Zhu (離朱) seeing a fine mote a hundred paces off was called clear sight; Shi Kuang (師曠) hearing the flight of a mosquito and the walk of an ant was called keen hearing. As for seeing troops once they have taken shape, who could not do that? So it is only winning before anything takes shape that is called knowing war.

人皆能也。引此以喻衆人之見勝也。秋毫，謂兔毛至秋而勁細，言至輕也。

These are things any man can do. He draws on them to liken the crowd's seeing of victory. Autumn down (秋毫) means that a hare's hair, when autumn comes, grows stiff and fine; it speaks of what is utterly light.

原微易勝，攻其可勝，不攻其不可勝也。

He looks into where victory comes easily while things are still slight, strikes where he can win, and does not strike where he cannot.

敵人之謀，初有萌兆，我則潛運以能攻之，用力旣少，制勝旣微，故曰「易勝」也。

When there is but a sign of the enemy's plans beginning to sprout, I can move in secret and strike; the strength spent is little and the making of victory goes unnoticed, and so it says the winning is easy.

力舉秋毫，明見日月，聰聞雷霆，不出衆人之所能也。故見於著則勝於艱，見於微則勝於易。

To lift autumn down with one's strength, to see sun and moon with one's eyes, to hear thunder with one's ears: none of this goes beyond what the crowd can do. So to see in the manifest is to win where it is hard; to see in the slight is to win where it is easy.

言敵人之謀，初有萌兆，我則潛運己能攻之，用力旣少，制敵甚微，故曰「易勝」也。

When there is but a sign of the enemy's plans beginning to sprout, I can move my own strength in secret and strike; the strength spent is little and the pressing down of the enemy goes quite unnoticed, and so it says the winning is easy.

交鋒接刃，而後能制敵者，是其勝難也；見微察隱，而破於未形者，是其勝易也。故善戰者，常攻其易勝，而不攻其難勝也。

To press the enemy down only after blade points have met and edges crossed: that victory is hard. To see the slight and look into the hidden and break him before anything takes shape: that victory is easy. So one who fights well always strikes where winning is easy and does not strike where winning is hard.

敵兵形未成，勝之無赫赫之功也。

He won before the enemy's troops had taken shape, so there is no dazzling feat to speak of.

勝敵而天下不知，何智名之有？

He beats the enemy and all under Heaven does not know it, so what name for wisdom could there be?

勝於未萌，天下不知，故無智名；曾不血刃，敵國已服，故無勇功也。

He wins before anything sprouts and all under Heaven does not know it, so there is no name for wisdom; no blood has ever stained his blade, yet the enemy state is already bent, so there is no merit for courage.

大智不彰，大功不揚，見微勝易，何勇何智？

Great wisdom does not show; great merit is not noised abroad. He sees the slight and wins easily: what courage is there in it, and what wisdom?

患銷未形，人誰稱智？不戰而服，人誰言勇？漢之子房、唐之裴度能之。

He melts away trouble before it takes shape, so who would call him wise? He bends them without fighting, so who would speak of his courage? Zifang (子房) of Han (漢) and Pei Du (裴度) of Tang (唐) did this.

陰謀潛運，取勝於無形，天下不聞料敵制勝之智，不見搴旗斬將之功，若留侯未嘗有戰鬬功是也。

He moves his plans in secret and gets his victory where there is no shape; so all under Heaven never hears of the wisdom by which he reckoned the enemy and made the victory, and never sees the merit of standards pulled down and generals beheaded. It is like the Marquis of Liu (留侯), who never had merit won in battle.

百戰百勝，有何疑貳也？此筌以「忒」字爲「貳」也。

He fights a hundred times and wins a hundred times, so what doubt or divided mind could there be? Here Li Quan (李筌) read the character te (忒) as er (貳).

籌不虛運，策不徒發。

He does not turn his reckonings in vain, nor put out plans to no purpose.

力戰而求勝，雖善者亦有敗時；旣見於未形，察於未成，則百戰百勝，而無一差忒矣。

If one seeks victory by fighting with strength, even a good man has times when he loses. But if he sees before anything takes shape and looks in before anything is done, he fights a hundred times and wins a hundred times, without one miss.

察敵必可敗，不差忒也。

He has looked and seen that the enemy cannot but lose, so he does not go wrong.

置勝於已敗之師，何忒焉？師老卒惰，法令不一，謂「已敗」也。

He sets his victory upon troops already beaten, so what miss could there be? When an army has grown old, its soldiers idle, and its laws and orders not of one piece, that is called already beaten.

措，猶置也。忒，差忒也。我能置勝不忒者何也？蓋先見敵人已敗之形，然後攻之，故能致必勝之功，不差忒也。

Cuo (措) means to set, and te (忒) means to go astray. How is it that I can set my victory and not go astray? Because I first see that the enemy already has the shape of defeat and only then strike, and so accomplish the merit of a sure victory without going astray.

讀「措」爲「錯」，錯雜也。取敵之勝，理非一途，故雜而料之也。常於勝未形，已見敵之敗。

He reads cuo (措) as cuo (錯), which means to mix. There is not one single way of reasoning by which victory is got from an enemy, and so one mixes them in reckoning. His victory always sees the enemy's defeat already, before anything takes shape.

睹其可敗，勝則不差。

He sees that they can be beaten and then wins, and so does not go astray.

善料也。

It is being good at reckoning.

所以能勝而不差者，蓋察知敵人有必可敗之形，然後措兵以勝之云耳。

It means that he can win without going astray because he looks and knows that the enemy has the shape of one sure to be beaten, and only then sets his troops and wins.

兵得地者昌，失地者亡。地者，要害之地。秦軍敗趙，先據北山者勝；宋師伐燕，過大峴而勝，皆得其地也。

An army that gets the ground flourishes; one that loses the ground perishes. The ground means the key and difficult places. When the troops of Qin (秦) broke Zhao, it was the side that took Beishan (北山) first that won; when the troops of Song (宋) attacked Yan (燕), they won once they had crossed Daxian (大峴). In both, they got the ground.

不敗之地者，爲不可勝之計，使敵人必不能敗我也。不失敵人之敗者，言窺伺敵人可敗之形，不失毫髮也。

Ground where he cannot lose means laying plans so that he cannot be beaten and the enemy surely cannot break me. Not letting the enemy's moment of defeat slip by means watching for the shape in which he can be broken and not missing it by a hair.

陳皥《註》同李筌。

Chen Hao (陳皥)'s note is the same as Li Quan's.

杜佑《註》同杜牧。

Du You (杜佑)'s note is the same as Du Mu (杜牧)'s.

善候敵隙，我則常勝。

Wait well for the enemy's gap, and I always win.

常爲不可勝，待敵可勝，不失其機。

He always keeps the ground where he cannot be beaten, waits for the enemy to become open to defeat, and does not let that moment slip.

自恃有備，則無患；常伺敵隙，則勝之不失也。立於不敗之地利也，言我常爲勝所。

Trust in being prepared and there is no worry; always watch for the enemy's gap and no victory is missed. Standing on ground where he cannot lose is the advantage of ground: it means that I always hold the place from which I will win.

審吾法令，明吾賞罰，便吾器用，養吾武勇，是立於不敗之地也。我有節制，則彼將自衂，是不失敵之敗也。

To look to my laws and orders, to make my rewards and punishments clear, to keep my gear fit for use, and to foster my swiftness and valor: that is standing on ground where I cannot lose. If I have measure and restraint, the other side breaks of itself; and that is not letting the enemy's moment of defeat slip by.

有謀與無慮也。

It is having a plan, as against having no reckoning.

計與不計也。是以薛公知黥布之必敗，田豐知魏武之必勝，是其義也。

It is the difference between having planned and not having planned. So the Lord of Xue (薛公) knew that Qing Bu (黥布) was sure to lose, and Tian Feng (田豐) knew that Wei Wu (魏武) was sure to win: this is its meaning.

《管子》曰︰「天時、地利，其數多少，其要必出於計數。故凡攻伐之道，計必先定於內，然後兵出乎境。不明敵人之政，不能加也；不明敵人之積，不能約也；不明敵人之將，不見先軍；不明敵人之士，不見先陳。故以衆擊寡，以治擊亂，以富擊貧，以能擊不能，以教士練卒擊毆衆白徒，故能百戰百勝。」此則先勝而後求戰之義也。衞公李靖曰︰「夫將之上務，在於明察而衆和，謀深而慮遠，審於天時，稽乎人理。若不料其能，不達權變，及臨機對敵，方始趑趄，左顧右盼，計無所出，信任過說，一彼一此，進退狐疑，部伍狼藉，何異趣蒼生而赴湯火，驅牛羊而啗狼虎者乎？」此則先戰而後求勝之義也。

The Guanzi says: Heaven's seasons and the ground's advantages, and whether the numbers are many or few, the heart of these must come out of reckoning. So the way of attack is that the plan must first be settled within, and only then are troops sent beyond the border. If you are not clear about the enemy's government, you do not attack; if you are not clear about what the enemy has stored up, you do not bind him; if you are not clear about the enemy's generals, you do not send troops out first; if you are not clear about the enemy's soldiers, you do not draw up your lines first. So you strike the few with the many, the disordered army with the ordered, the straitened with the ample, what cannot be done with what can, and a huddle of bare able-bodied men with taught troops and practiced soldiers: and so you fight a hundred times and win a hundred times. This is the meaning of winning first and then seeking the fight. The Lord of Wei (衞公), Li Jing (李靖), said: the first business of a general lies in seeing clearly so as to bring his host into accord, in making his plans deep and thinking far ahead, in looking to Heaven's seasons and reckoning the ways of men. If he cannot reckon his own strength and is not clear about shifting with circumstance, then when the moment comes and he faces the enemy he will only then hesitate, look left and right, and have no plan come to him; he will trust extravagant talk, lean now this way and now that, doubt whether to go forward or fall back, and let his ranks fall apart. And how does that differ from driving the people to rush into boiling water and fire, or driving oxen and sheep to feed wolves and tigers? This is the meaning of fighting first and then seeking the win.

不知彼我之情，陳兵輕進，意雖求勝，而終自敗也。

If one draws up troops and goes forward lightly, not knowing the true state of the other side or of one's own, the intent is to seek victory but in the end one loses of oneself.

可勝而戰，戰則勝矣；未見可勝，勝可得乎？

Fight because they can be beaten, and the fight is won. Can victory be got when it has not been seen that they can be beaten?

凡用兵，先定必勝之計，而後出軍。若不先謀，唯欲恃強，勝未必也。

In handling troops, one settles the plan for a sure victory first and only then sends the troops out. If one does not plan first and would trust only in being strong, victory cannot be counted on.

計謀先勝，然後興師，故以戰則克。《尉繚子》曰︰「兵不必勝，不可以言戰；攻不必拔，不可以言攻。」謂危事不可輕舉也。又曰︰「兵貴先勝於此，則勝彼矣；弗勝於此，則弗勝彼矣。」此之謂也。若趙充國常先計而後戰，亦是也。不謀而進，欲幸其成功，故以戰則敗。

He wins first by planning and then raises his troops, and so he fights and wins. The Weiliaozi says: if the troops are not sure to win, you cannot speak of fighting; if an attack is not sure to take, you cannot speak of attacking. This means that a dangerous business cannot be lightly begun. It also says: troops prize winning here first; win here and you win there too, and fail to win here and you will not win there either. This is what is meant. Zhao Chongguo (趙充國) always planning first and then fighting is this too. To go forward without planning and hope to make merit by luck: that is why one fights and loses.

善用兵者，先自修治，爲不可勝之道，保法度，不失敵之敗亂也。

One who handles troops well first sets himself in order and makes the way by which he cannot be beaten; he keeps to law and measure and does not miss the moment when the enemy falls into defeat and disorder.

以順討逆，不伐無罪之國；軍至，無虜掠，不伐樹木、污井竈；所過山川、城社、陵祠，必滌而除之，不習亡國之事，謂之道法也。軍嚴肅，有死無犯，賞罰信義，立將若此者，能勝敵之敗政也。

He strikes the wayward with the upright and does not attack a state that is without guilt. Though his troops arrive, they do not seize and plunder; they do not fell trees or foul wells and hearths. The shrines of the mountains and rivers he passes, and the shrines of the city and of the tombs, he always has washed and cleaned; and he does not practice what ruins a state. This is called the way and the law. Set up a general such that his army is strict, so that even on pain of death nothing is violated, and that rewards and punishments keep faith and right: then the enemy's mistaken government can be beaten.

道者，仁義也；法者，法制也。善用兵者，先修治仁義，保守法制，自爲不可勝之政；伺敵有可敗之隙，則攻能勝之。

The way is benevolence and right; the law is statute and institution. One who handles troops well first cultivates benevolence and right and keeps to statute and institution, and so makes a government by which he cannot be beaten; then, watching and seeing that the enemy has a gap through which he may be broken, he strikes and can win.

常修用兵之勝道，保賞罰之法度，如此則常爲勝，不能則敗，故曰「勝敗之政」也。

Always cultivate the way of winning in the handling of troops and keep to the measure of rewards and punishments, and one always wins; fail in this, and one loses. That is why it says the governing of victory and defeat.

攻守自修，法令自保，在我而已。

He cultivates striking and holding himself and keeps the laws and orders himself: it rests with me and nowhere else.

法者，下之五事也。

The law is the five things below.

修治爲戰之道，保守制敵之法，故能必勝。或曰︰先修飾道義，以和其衆；後保守法令，以戢其下，使民愛而畏之，然後能爲勝敗。

He cultivates the way of fighting and keeps the law for pressing down an enemy, and so he can be sure of victory. Some say: first cultivate right conduct so as to bring his host into accord, then keep the laws and orders so as to gather in those below, and when the people both love him and fear him, he can hold victory and defeat in his own hand.

度土地也。

It is measuring the ground.

丈尺也。

It is measuring by the fathom and the foot.

量人力多少，倉廩虛實。

It is estimating whether men's strength is much or little and whether the storehouses are empty or full.

㪷斛也。

It is gauging by the peck and the bushel.

算數也，以數推之，則衆寡可知、虛實可見。

It is counting. Reckon by number and one can know whether they are many or few and see whether they are empty or full.

百千也。

It is telling the number: a hundred, a thousand.

旣知衆寡，兼知彼我之德業輕重、才能之長短。

Having known whether they are many or few, it is going on to know the weight or lightness of their virtue and achievement and of mine, and the length or shortness of our talents.

權衡也。

It is weighing on the balance.

勝敗之政，用兵之法，當以此五事稱量，知敵之情。

To hold victory and defeat in one's own hand — that is, the way of handling troops — is to measure and reckon by these five things and so know the enemy's true state.

此言安營布陳之法也。李衞公曰︰「教士猶布碁於盤，若無畫路，碁安用之？」

This speaks of the method of choosing a camp site and drawing up the lines. Li, Lord of Wei (李衞公), said: teaching troops is like setting stones on a board; if there were no lines ruled on it, what use would the stones be?

因地形勢而度之。

He measures according to the lie of the ground.

旣度有情，則量敵而禦之。

Once he has measured and knows the true state of things, he estimates the enemy and wards him off.

度者，計也。言度我國土大小，人戶多少，征賦所入，兵車所籍，山河險易，道里迂直，自度此事與敵人如何，然後起兵。夫小不能謀大，弱不能擊強，近不能襲遠，夷不能攻險，此皆生於地，故先度也。

Measuring is reckoning. It means that one measures the size of one's own land, whether the households are many or few, what comes in as tax, the number entered for the war chariots, whether mountains and rivers are difficult or easy, and whether the roads wind or run straight; and that one gauges for oneself how all this stands against the enemy's before raising troops. The small cannot plan against the great, the weak cannot strike the strong, the near cannot strike the far, and troops of the level country cannot attack difficult ground. All of this arises from the ground, and so one measures first.

因地以度軍勢。

He measures the force of his troops according to the ground.

地，人所履也。舉兵攻戰，先本於地，由地故生度。度，所以度長短，知遠近也。凡行軍臨敵，先須知遠近之計。

The ground is what men tread on. Raising troops and giving battle rests first on the ground, and so from the ground arises measuring. Measuring is to measure long and short and so know far and near. Whenever one moves an army and faces an enemy, one must first know the reckoning of far and near.

地者，遠近、險易也。度，計也。未出軍，先計敵國之險易，道路迂直，兵甲孰多，勇怯孰是，計度可伐，然後興師動衆，可以成功。

The ground means far and near, difficult and easy. Measuring is reckoning. Before sending out an army one first reckons whether the enemy's country is difficult or easy, whether its roads wind or run straight, which side has the more troops and armor, and which is the bolder and which the more fearful; and when one has gauged that he may be struck, then one raises troops and moves the host, and so can accomplish something.

量者，酌量也。言度地已熟，然後能酌量彼我之強弱也。

Estimating is to gauge and judge. It means that only when the measuring of the ground is well in hand can one gauge the strength and weakness of the other side and of one's own.

因度地以量敵情。

From his measuring of the ground he estimates the enemy's true state.

謂量有大小。言旣知遠近之計，則須更量其敵之大小也。

It means that estimating has to do with great and small. It says that once one knows the reckoning of far and near, one must go on to estimate whether the enemy is great or small.

量酌彼己之形勢。

He gauges and estimates the force of the other side and of his own.

知其遠近、廣狹，知其人數也。

Knowing far and near, broad and narrow, he knows the number of their men.

量敵遠近、強弱，須備士卒、軍資之數而勝也。

He estimates the enemy's distance and his strength or weakness, and only when he has provided the right number of soldiers and of supplies does he win.

數者，機數也。言強弱已定，然後能用機變數也。

Counting is the stratagem that takes the moment. It means that only when strength and weakness have been settled can one use the stratagems that change with the moment.

量地遠近、廣狹，則知敵人人數多少也。

Estimate the ground's far and near, broad and narrow, and one knows whether the enemy's men are many or few.

因量以得衆寡之數。

From his estimating he gets the number of the many or the few.

數，所以紀多少。言旣知敵之大小，則更計其精劣、多少之數。曹公曰︰「知其人數。」

Counting is to set down how many or how few. It says that once one knows whether the enemy is great or small, one goes on to count the number of his keen troops and his dull ones, of his many and his few. Lord Cao (曹公) said: one knows the number of his men.

數，機變也。先酌量彼我強弱、利害，然後爲機數。

Counting is what changes with the moment. One first gauges the strength and weakness, the gain and the harm, of the other side and of one's own, and then uses the stratagem that takes the moment.

地有遠近、廣狹之形，必先度知之，然後量其容人多少之數也。

The ground has its shape of far and near, broad and narrow. One must first measure and know it, and then estimate the number of men it can hold.

稱量己與敵孰愈也。

He measures and reckons which is the better, mine or the enemy's.

分數旣定，賢智之多少，得賢者重，失賢者輕，如韓信之論楚漢也，須知輕重、別賢愚而稱之，錙銖則強。

Once the divisions and the counting are settled, one looks at whether the worthy and the wise are many or few. The side that has won worthy men is heavy, and the side that has lost them is light, as Han Xin weighed Chu (楚) against Han. One must know heavy from light and weigh them, telling the worthy from the foolish; and weighing them down to the last grain, one grows strong.

稱，校也。機權之數已行，然後可以稱校彼我之勝負也。

Weighing is to set side by side and compare. Only when the stratagem of the moment has already been carried out can one weigh and compare the victory and the defeat of the other side and of one's own.

因數以權輕重。

From his counting he weighs the heavy and the light.

稱所以知重輕，喻強弱之形勢也。能盡知遠近之計，大小之舉，多少之數，以與敵相形，則知重輕所在。

Weighing is to know heavy from light; it is a figure for the force of strength and weakness. When one knows fully the reckoning of far and near, the movements of great and small, and the number of many and few, and sets them against the enemy's, one knows where the heavy and the light lie.

何氏同杜牧《註》。

Master He's (何氏) note is the same as Du Mu's.

稱量之，故知其勝負所在。

Because he measures and reckons, he knows where victory and defeat lie.

稱知輕重，勝敗之數可知也。

Weigh them and know heavy from light, and the measure of victory and defeat can be known.

稱校旣熟，我勝敵敗，分明見也。

When the weighing and the comparing is well in hand, one sees plainly that I win and the enemy loses.

因輕重以知勝負。

From the heavy and the light he knows victory and defeat.

重勝輕也。

The heavy beats the light.

陳皥、杜佑同杜牧上「五事」《註》。

Chen Hao's and Du You's notes are the same as Du Mu's note on the five things above.

上五事，未戰先計必勝之法，故孫子引古法，以疏勝敗之要也。

The five things above are the reckoning, before any fighting, of the method by which victory is certain. So Sunzi (孫子) drew on the old method to set out the heart of victory and defeat.

稱，宜也。地形與人數相稱，則踈密得宜，故可勝也。《尉繚子》曰︰「無過在於度數。」度謂尺寸，數謂什伍。度以量地，數以量兵；地與兵相稱則勝。五者皆因地形而得，故自地而生之也。李靖「五陳」，隨地形而變是也。

Weighing is fitness. When the shape of the ground and the number of men fit each other, thin ranks and thick come out as they should, and so one can win. The Weiliaozi says: to be without fault lies in measuring and counting. Measuring means the foot and the inch; counting means the files of ten and of five. By measuring one gauges the ground, by counting one gauges the troops; and when ground and troops fit each other, one wins. All five are got according to the shape of the ground, and so they arise from the ground. Li Jing's five formations, which change with the shape of the ground, are this.

力易舉也。

Its strength lifts the other easily.

輕不能舉重也。

The light cannot lift the heavy.

二十兩爲鎰。銖之於鎰，輕重異位，勝敗之數，亦復如之。

Twenty taels make one yi. The zhu and the yi stand in different places of heavy and light, and the measure of victory and defeat is just so.

力難制也。

By its strength it can hardly hold the other down.

言銖鎰者，以明輕重之至也。

Speaking of the zhu and the yi makes clear the utmost of heavy and light.

二十兩爲鎰，二十四銖爲兩。此言有制之兵對無制之兵，輕重不侔也。

Twenty taels make one yi, and twenty-four zhu make one tael. This says that when troops under discipline face troops without discipline, the heavy and the light are beyond comparing.

八尺曰仞。決水千仞，其勢疾也。

Eight feet is called a ren (仞). When water is loosed from a thousand ren, its force is fierce.

八尺曰仞，言其勢也。杜預伐吳，言兵如破竹，數節之後，皆迎刃自解，則其義也。

Eight feet is called a ren, and this speaks of that force. When Du Yu (杜預) struck Wu (吳), he likened his troops to the splitting of bamboo: once a few joints are split, the rest all meet the blade and part of themselves. That is the sense of it.

夫積水在千仞之谿，不可測量，如我之守不見形也。及決水下，湍𣵡奔注，如我之攻，不可禦也。

Water pent up in a gorge a thousand ren deep cannot be fathomed, like my holding, in which no shape shows. Loose the water and send it down, and it pours and rushes along, like my attacking, which cannot be warded off.

水決千仞之谿，莫測其迅；兵動九天之上，莫見其跡，此軍之形也。

Loose water in a gorge a thousand ren deep and its swiftness cannot be measured; move troops high in the far reaches of the sky and their traces cannot be seen. This is the shape of an army.

千仞之谿，至陗絶也。喻不可勝對可勝之形，乘機攻之，決水是也。

A gorge a thousand ren deep is a place utterly sheer and cut off. It is a figure for one who cannot be beaten facing a shape that may be beaten and striking it on the moment, and the loosing of the water is this.

水之性避高而趨下，決之赴深谿，固湍浚而莫之禦也。兵之形象水，乘敵之不備，掩敵之不意，避實而擊虛，亦莫之制也。或曰︰千仞之谿，謂不測之淵，人莫能量其淺深。及決而下之，則其勢莫之能禦。如善守者匿形晦跡，藏於九地之下，敵莫能測其強弱；及乘虛而出，則其鋒莫之能當也。

The nature of water is to avoid the high and run down to the low; loose it down into a deep gorge and it is fierce and deep and cannot be warded off. The shape of an army is like water: it takes the moment when the enemy is unprepared and falls on the place he does not expect, avoiding what is full and striking what is empty, and so it too cannot be held down. Some say: a gorge a thousand ren deep means a pool beyond fathoming, whose depth no man can measure, and when it is loosed and sent down its force cannot be warded off. It is like one who holds well, who hides his shape and wipes out his traces and lies deep within the earth, so that the enemy cannot fathom his strength or weakness; and when he comes out upon an empty place, his keen edge cannot be withstood.