Shi — momentum勢篇

部曲爲分，什伍爲數。

The bugok (部曲) is the dividing; the sibo (什伍) is the counting.

善用兵者，將鳴一金，舉一旌，而三軍盡應；號令既定，如寡焉。

When a man handles troops well, the general sounds one gong and raises one flag and the whole three armies answer. Once the commands are fixed, it is like handling few men.

分者，分別也；數者，人數也。言部曲行伍，皆分別其人數多少，各任偏裨長伍，訓練昇降，皆責成之，故我所治者寡也，韓信曰「多多益辦」是也。

Dividing means setting apart; counting means the number of men. For every bugok (the units into which an army is framed) and every rank and file, the number of men is set apart, and to each is given a deputy officer and a squad leader, with the training and the raising and lowering of men all laid upon them; so what I myself must handle grows few. When Han Xin (韓信) said, "The more there are, the better I manage them," this is what he meant.

若聚兵既衆，卽須多爲部伍。部伍之內，各有小吏以主之。故分其人數，使之訓齊決斷；遇敵臨陳，授以方略，則我統之雖衆，治之益寡。

When the troops gathered are many, the ranks must at once be divided into many. Within each rank a minor officer is set to take charge of it. So their numbers are divided, and they are trained to be orderly and to decide, and when the enemy is met and the line is faced a plan is handed down to them; then what I command may be many, yet what I must handle grows fewer still.

分，隊伍也；數，兵之大數也。分數多少，制置先定。

The dividing is the ranks; the counting is the large number of the troops. How much or how little is divided and counted — the framing of it is settled beforehand.

部伍、奇正之分數，各有所統。

In the dividing and counting of the ranks, and of the surprise move and the straight move, each has its own man in command.

分數，謂部曲也。偏裨各有部，分與其人數，若師、旅、卒、兩之屬。

Dividing and counting mean the bugok. Each deputy officer has a unit in his charge, and the number of men is parcelled out to him — such as the sa (師), the yeo (旅), the jol (卒) and the yang (兩).

統衆既多，必先分偏裨之任，定行伍之數，使不相亂，然後可用。故治兵之法：一人曰獨，二人曰比，三人曰參，比參爲伍，五人爲列，二列爲火，五火爲隊，二隊爲官，二官爲曲，二曲爲部，二部爲校，二校爲裨，二裨爲軍。遞相統屬，各加訓練，雖治百萬之衆，如治寡也。

When the host commanded is many, one must first divide what each deputy officer is to hold and fix the number of the ranks, so that they do not fall into confusion with one another; only then can they be used. So the method of handling troops is this. One man is a dok (獨), two men a bi (比), three men a cham (參); a bi and a cham joined make an o (伍). Five men make a yeol (列), two yeol a hwa (火), five hwa a dae (隊), two dae a gwan (官), two gwan a gok (曲), two gok a bu (部), two bu a gyo (校), two gyo a bi (裨), two bi a gun (軍). Let them command one another in order and let each be trained, and then handling a host of a million is like handling few men.

旌旗曰形，金鼓曰名。

The flags are the shape (形); the gong and drum are the name (名).

旌旗、鐘鼓，敵亦有之，我安得獨爲形名？鬬衆如鬬寡也。夫形者，陳形也；名者，旌旗也。戰法曰：「陳間容陳，足曳白刃。」故大陳之中，復有小陳，各占地分，皆有陳形。旗者，各依方色，或認以鳥獸，某將某陳，自有名號。形名已定，志專勢孤，人自爲戰，敗則自敗，勝則自勝，戰百萬之兵，如戰一夫，此之是也。

Flags and gongs and drums the enemy has too, so how should I alone hold the flags and drums and make many men fight as if they were few? The shape is the figure of the line; the name is the flag. The art of war says, "Line enters within line, and foot touches blade." So within a great line there are smaller lines again, each holding its own portion of ground and each complete in the figure of a line. The flags each follow the color of their quarter, and some are marked with a bird or a beast, so that the name of this general and that line is there of itself. Once shape and name are fixed, the will gathers in one place and each formation stands on its own and every man fights for himself: if he loses he loses by himself, if he wins he wins by himself. This is what is meant by saying that fighting with a million men is like fighting with one man.

夫軍士既衆，分布必廣，臨陳對敵，遞不相知，故設旌旗之形，使各認之。進退遲速，又不相聞，故設金鼓以節之。所以令之曰：「聞鼓則進，聞金則止。」曹說是也。

When the troops are many the ground they stand on is wide, so that facing the line and meeting the enemy they cannot make one another out; therefore the figures of the flags are set up so that each may be known. The slow and the quick of advancing and withdrawing cannot be heard from one to another either, so gongs and drums are set to keep the beat. Hence the order, "Hear the drum and go forward; hear the gong and halt." This is what Cao Cao (曹操) said.

形以旌旗，名以采章；指麾應速，無有後先。

The shape is made with the flags, the name with colors and patterns. Men follow the command quickly, and none goes ahead or lags behind.

曹公曰：「旌旗曰形，金鼓曰名。」晳謂：形者，旌旗、金鼓之制度；名者，各有其名號也。

Lord Cao says, "The flags are called the shape and the gongs and drums the name." To my mind the shape is the system of flags and gongs and drums, and the name is the name each one holds.

《軍政》曰：「言不相聞，故爲鼓鐸；視不相見，故爲旌旗。」今用兵旣衆，相去必遠，耳目之力，所不聞見。故令士卒望旌旗之形而前却，聽金鼓之號而行止，則勇者不得獨進，怯者不得獨退，故曰：「此用衆之法也。」

The *Junzheng* (軍政, *Rules of the Army*) says, "Because speech cannot be heard from one to another, drums and bells are used; because sight cannot reach from one to another, flags are used." Now when the troops handled are many, the distance between them is far, and the power of ear and eye cannot hear or see so far. So the men watch the figures of the flags to advance and withdraw, and listen for the signals of gong and drum to go and to halt; then the bold man cannot go forward alone, nor the timid man withdraw alone. Hence it is said, "This is the method of handling many men."

先出合戰爲正，後出爲奇。

To go out first and close with the enemy is the straight (正); to go out after is the surprise (奇).

當敵爲正，傍出爲奇。將三軍，無奇兵，未可與人爭利。漢吳王濞擁兵入大梁，吳將田伯禄說吳王曰：「兵屯聚而西，無他奇道，難以立功。臣願得五萬人，別循江淮而上，收淮南、長沙，入武關，與大王會。此亦一奇也。」不從。遂爲周亞夫所敗。此則有正無奇。

To meet the enemy head on is the straight move; to come out from the side is the surprise move. A man may command the three armies, but without troops for the surprise he cannot contend with others for advantage. When Pi (濞), the King of Wu (吳) under the Han (漢), led his troops into Daliang (大梁), the Wu general Tian Bolu (田伯禄) said to him, "If the troops are gathered in one body and go only westward, with no other road for a surprise, it will be hard to win merit. Give me fifty thousand men and I will go up along the Jiang and the Huai apart from you, take Huainan (淮南) and Changsha (長沙), enter by Wu Pass (武關) and meet Your Majesty there. This too would be one surprise." The king did not follow him, and in the end he was broken by Zhou Yafu (周亞夫). This was having the straight move only and no surprise.

解在下文。

The explanation is in the text below.

當敵以正陳，取勝以奇兵，前後左右俱能相應，則常勝而不敗也。

Meet the enemy with the line of the straight move and take the victory with troops for the surprise; then, if front and rear and left and right all answer one another, you will always win and never be beaten.

動爲奇，靜爲正；靜以待之，動以勝之。

To move is the surprise; to stay still is the straight move. Stay still and wait, move and win.

「必」當作「畢」，字誤也。奇正還相生，故畢受敵而無敗也。

The character pil (必, "surely") should be written pil (畢, "wholly"); the character is in error. The surprise and the straight move give birth to each other in turn, and so the men wholly meet the enemy and are not beaten.

兵體萬變，紛紜混沌，無不是正，無不是奇。若兵以義舉者，正也；臨敵合變者，奇也。我之正，使敵視之爲奇；我之奇，使敵視之爲正。正亦爲奇，奇亦爲正。大抵用兵皆有奇正；無奇正而勝者，幸勝也，浪戰也。如韓信背水而陳，以兵循山，而拔趙幟，以破其國，則背水正也，循山奇也。信又盛兵臨晉，而以木罌從夏陽襲安邑，而虜魏王豹，則臨晉正也，夏陽奇也。由是觀之，受敵無敗者，奇正之謂也。《尉繚子》曰：「今以鏌鎁之利、犀兕之堅，三軍之衆有所奇正，則天下莫當其戰矣。」

The body of an army changes in ten thousand ways, tangled and dim, so that there is nothing which is not the straight move and nothing which is not the surprise. To raise troops in righteousness is the straight move; to meet the enemy and match his changes is the surprise. I make the enemy see my straight move as a surprise and my surprise as a straight move. The straight move becomes the surprise, and the surprise becomes the straight move. In handling troops both the surprise and the straight move are generally present; to win without them is to have won by luck and to have fought at random. Han Xin drew up his line with the river at his back and sent troops along the mountain to pull down the flags of Zhao (趙) and break that state: the river at his back was the straight move, the march along the mountain was the surprise. Han Xin again spread many troops at Linjin (臨晉) while with wooden jars he fell upon Anyi (安邑) from Xiayang (夏陽) and took Bao (豹), the King of Wei (魏), alive: Linjin was the straight move, Xiayang the surprise. By this it is clear that meeting the enemy and not being beaten is spoken of the surprise and the straight move. The *Weiliaozi* (尉繚子) says, "Now with the sharpness of a Moye (鏌鎁) blade and the hardness of rhinoceros hide, if the host of the three armies has the surprise and the straight move, none in the world can withstand its fighting."

三軍雖衆，使人人皆受敵而不敗者，在乎奇正也。奇正之說，諸家不同。《尉繚子》則曰：「正兵貴先，奇兵貴後。」曹公則曰：「先出合戰爲正，後出爲奇。」李衞公則曰：「兵以前向爲正，後却爲奇。」此皆以正爲正，以奇爲奇，曾不說相變循環之義。唯唐太宗曰：「以奇爲正，使敵視以爲正，則吾以奇擊之；以正爲奇，使敵視以爲奇，則吾以正擊之。混爲一法，使敵莫測。」茲最詳矣。

Though the three armies be many, what makes every man meet the enemy and not be beaten lies in the surprise and the straight move. On the surprise and the straight move the several writers do not agree. The *Weiliaozi* says, "Troops of the straight move prize being sent out first; troops of the surprise prize being sent out later." Lord Cao says, "To go out first and close with the enemy is the straight move; to go out later is the surprise." Lord Li of Wei (李衞公) says, "Troops facing forward are the straight move; troops drawing back are the surprise." All of these take the straight move for the straight move only and the surprise for the surprise only, and do not speak of the sense in which the two turn into each other and go round and round. Only Emperor Taizong of the Tang (唐 太宗) said, "I make a surprise into a straight move, and when the enemy sees it as a straight move I strike with a surprise; I make a straight move into a surprise, and when the enemy sees it as a surprise I strike with a straight move. I mix them into one method so that the enemy cannot reckon me." This is the fullest account.

以至實擊至虛。

With what is utterly full one strikes where it is utterly empty.

碬實卵虛，以實擊虛，其勢易也。

The whetstone is full and the egg is empty; strike the empty with the full and the thing comes easily.

碬，石也。兵若訓練至整，部領分明，更能審料敵情，委知虛實，後以兵而加之，實同以碬石投卵也。

Ha (碬) means stone. When the troops have been trained to perfect order and the command over them is clear, and when besides this the enemy's true state has been looked into and weighed so that the empty and the full are known in detail, then to throw in the troops is indeed like throwing a whetstone at an egg.

碬，石也，音遐。以實擊虛，猶以堅破脆也。

Ha means stone, and it is sounded "ha." To strike the empty with the full is like breaking the soft with the hard.

碬，治鐵也。

Ha is the stone on which iron is ground.

用兵識虛實之勢，則無不勝。

If in handling troops one knows the formations of the empty and the full, there is nothing he cannot overcome.

下篇曰「善戰者，致人而不致於人」，此虛實彼我之法也。引致敵來，則彼勢常虛；不往赴彼，則我勢常實。以實擊虛，如舉石投卵，其破之必矣。夫合軍聚衆，先定分數；分數明，然後習形名；形名正，然後分奇正；奇正審，然後虛實可見矣。四事所以次序也。

A chapter below says, "He who fights well draws others to him and is not drawn by others." This is the method of the empty and the full in him and in me. Draw the enemy to you and his formation is always empty; do not go over to him and your own formation is always full. Strike the empty with the full and it is like lifting a stone against an egg: it must break. When troops are gathered, the dividing and counting are settled first; once the dividing and counting are clear, the flags and drums are practised; once the flags and drums are set right, the surprise and the straight move are told apart; once the surprise and the straight move have been looked into, the empty and the full come into view. This is why the four things have an order.

正者當敵，奇兵從傍擊不備也。

The straight move faces the enemy, while the troops making the surprise move strike from the side, where he is unprepared.

戰無其詐，難以勝敵。

Without deception in war it is hard to overcome the enemy.

正者當敵，奇者從傍擊不備。以正道合戰，以奇變取勝也。

The straight move meets the enemy head on; the surprise strikes from the side, where he is unprepared. One closes with him by the straight road and takes the victory by strange changes.

用正合戰，用奇勝敵。

Close with the enemy by the straight move and overcome him by the surprise.

如戰國廉頗爲趙將，秦使間曰：「秦獨畏趙括耳，廉頗易與，且降矣。」會頗軍多亡失，數敗，堅壁不戰。又聞秦反間之言，使括代頗。至，則出軍擊秦。秦軍佯敗而走，張二奇兵以刼之。趙軍逐勝，追造秦壁，壁堅拒不得入。而秦奇兵二萬五千絶趙軍後，又五千騎絶趙壁間。趙兵分爲二，糧道絶，括卒敗。又，隋突厥犯塞，煬帝令唐高祖與馬邑太守王仁恭率衆備邊。會虜宼馬邑，仁恭以衆寡不敵，有懼色。高祖曰：「今主上遐遠，孤城絶援，若不死戰，難以圖全。」於是親選精騎四千，出爲遊軍，居處飲食，隨逐水草，一同於突厥。見虜候騎，但馳騁獵耳，若輕之。及與虜相遇，則掎角置陳，選善射者爲別隊，持滿以待之。虜莫能測，不敢決戰。因縱奇兵擊走之，獲其特勒所乘駿馬，斬首千餘級。又，太宗選精銳千餘騎爲奇兵，皆黑衣玄甲，分爲左右隊，建大旗，令騎將秦叔寶、程䶧金等分統之。每臨宼，太宗躬被玄甲，先鋒率之，候機而進，所向摧殄，常以少擊衆，賊徒氣懾。又，五代漢高祖在晉陽，郭進往依之，漢祖壯其材。會北虜屠安陽城，因遣進攻拔之，戎人遁去，授坊州刺史。虜主道斃，高祖出奇兵井陘，進以間道先入洺北，因定河北。此皆以奇勝之迹也。

In the time of the Warring States, when Lian Po (廉頗) was made general of Zhao, Qin (秦) sent spies to put out the word: "What Qin fears is Zhao Kuo (趙括) alone. Lian Po is easy to face and will soon surrender." At that time Lian Po's troops had lost many men and been beaten several times, so he held his walls fast and would not fight. Zhao, hearing the false word Qin had let fall, replaced Lian Po with Zhao Kuo. When Zhao Kuo arrived he led the troops out and attacked Qin. The Qin troops feigned defeat and fled, having set troops for a surprise in two columns, and fell upon him. The Zhao troops followed up their victory as far as the Qin walls, but the walls held fast and they could not get in. Meanwhile twenty-five thousand Qin troops of the surprise cut off the rear of the Zhao troops, and five thousand horse cut through between the Zhao walls. The Zhao troops were split in two, their grain road was cut, and Zhao Kuo was beaten in the end. Again, in the time of the Sui (隋), when the Turks came over the frontier, Emperor Yang (煬帝) set Gaozu of the Tang (高祖) and Wang Rengong (王仁恭), prefect of Mayi (馬邑), to lead a host and hold the border. When the barbarians struck Mayi, Wang Rengong said his troops were too few to face them, and showed fear. Gaozu said, "Now the sovereign is far off and this lone city is cut off from relief. Unless we fight to the death it will be hard to contrive our safety." So he himself picked four thousand swift horse and sent them out as a roving force, making their halting places and their eating and drinking follow water and grass exactly as the Turks did. When they saw the barbarians' scouting horse they only galloped and hunted, as though they thought little of them. When it came to facing the barbarians, he set his lines hooked together like horns, and picked out the good archers into a body of their own, who drew their bows and waited. The barbarians could not reckon him and so would not fight a decisive battle. In that interval he loosed his troops of the surprise, struck them and put them to flight, took the fine horse their Tele (特勒, a Turkish title) had ridden, and cut off more than a thousand heads. Again, Taizong picked out more than a thousand swift and hardy horsemen as troops of the surprise, clothed them all in black coats and black armor, divided them into two bodies, left and right, raised a great standard, and gave them to the cavalry generals Qin Shubao (秦叔寶) and Cheng Yaojin (程䶧金) and others to lead in parts. Whenever the enemy was met, Taizong himself put on black armor and led them as the vanguard, waiting for the moment to go forward, and wherever they turned they broke and destroyed. Always they struck the many with the few, and the enemy host was broken in spirit. Again, in the time of the Five Dynasties (五代), when Gaozu of the Han was at Jinyang (晉陽), Guo Jin (郭進) went and attached himself to him, and Gaozu thought his talent fine. When the northern barbarians overran the city of Anyang (安陽城), Guo Jin was sent to attack and take it; the barbarians fled, and he was given the post of prefect of Fangzhou (坊州). When the barbarian ruler died on the road, Gaozu sent troops of the surprise out by Jingxing (井陘), while Guo Jin went by a short road and entered first to the north of Mingzhou (洺州), and so settled Hebei (河北). All these are traces of winning by the surprise.

兩軍相臨，先以正兵與之合戰，徐發奇兵或擣其旁、或擊其後以勝之，若鄭伯禦燕師，以三軍軍其前，以潛軍軍其後是也。

When two armies face each other, one first closes and fights with troops of the straight move, and then at leisure sends out troops of the surprise to stab his flank or strike his rear, and so wins. When the Earl of Zheng (鄭伯) held off the troops of Yan (燕), he set his three armies in line before them and hidden troops in line behind them: this is it.

動靜也。

Movement and stillness.

通流不絶。

It flows through and is never cut off.

言應變出奇無窮竭。

This says that sending out the surprise according to the changes never runs out and dries up.

言應變出奇，無有窮竭。

This says that there is no end to sending out the surprise according to the changes.

奇變如日月、四時，虧盈、寒暑不停。

The changes of the surprise are like the sun and moon and the four seasons: the waning and the waxing, the cold and the heat, never halt.

日月運行，入而復出；四時更王，興而復廢。言奇正變化，或若日月之進退，四時之盛衰也。

The sun and moon go round and round, setting and then rising again; the four seasons flourish in turn, arising and then fading again. This says that the changes of the surprise and the straight move are like the advance and retreat of sun and moon and the waxing and waning of the four seasons.

日月運行，入而復出；四時更王，盛而復衰。喻奇正相變，紛紜渾沌，終始無窮也。

The sun and moon go round and round, setting and then rising again; the four seasons flourish in turn, waxing and then waning again. It is a figure for the surprise and the straight move turning into each other, tangled and dim, with end and beginning never exhausted.

宮、商、角、徵、羽也。

They are gung (宮), sang (商), gak (角), chi (徵) and u (羽).

變入八音，奏樂之曲，不可盡聽。

They change and pass into the sounds of the eight kinds of instruments, so that the airs of music cannot all be heard.

青、黃、赤、白、黑也。

They are blue, yellow, red, white and black.

酸、辛、醎、甘、苦也。

They are sour, pungent, salty, sweet and bitter.

自「無窮如天地」已下，皆以喻奇正之無窮也。

From 'endless as Heaven and Earth' down to here, all of it is a figure for how the surprise move and the straight move have no end.

五味之變，庖宰鼎飪也。

The changes of the five tastes are the work of the cooking pot in the kitchen.

自「無窮如天地」已下，皆喻八陳奇正也。

From "endless as Heaven and Earth" downward, all of it is a figure for the surprise and the straight move of the eight lines.

引五聲、五色、五味之變，以喻奇正相生之無窮。

He draws in the changes of the five notes, the five colors and the five tastes as a figure for the surprise and the straight move giving birth to each other without end.

邀截掩襲，萬途之勢，不可窮盡也。

The formations of the ten thousand ways of meeting and cutting off, of falling upon and striking, cannot all be reckoned.

奇正之變，猶五聲、五色、五味之變，無盡也。

The changes of the surprise and the straight move are like the changes of the five notes, the five colors and the five tastes: they have no end.

奇正者，用兵之鈐鍵，制勝之樞機也。臨敵運變，循環不窮，窮則敗也。

The surprise and the straight move are the lock of handling troops and the trigger of gathering victory. Meeting the enemy, one works the changes round and round without end; once they are exhausted, he is beaten.

《六韜》云：「奇正發於無窮之源。」

The *Liutao* (六韜, *Six Secret Teachings*) says, "The surprise and the straight move come out of a spring that never runs dry."

戰陳之勢，止於奇正一事而已；及其變而用之，則萬途千轍，烏可窮盡？

The formation of drawing up a line and fighting comes to no more than the one thing, the surprise and the straight move; but use it with change and it becomes ten thousand roads and a thousand wheel tracks — how could it all be reckoned?

奇正相依而生，如環團圓，不可窮端倪也。

The surprise and the straight move come out leaning upon each other, like a ring joined round, so that beginning and end cannot be found.

變動周旋之不極。

They turn and move and go round and round without end.

敵不能窮我也。

The enemy cannot fully reckon me.

奇正生而轉相爲變，如循歷其環，求首尾之莫窮也。

The surprise and the straight move come out and change into each other by turns, like going round a ring and looking for its head and tail without ever coming to an end.

奇亦爲正，正亦爲奇，變化相生，若循環之無本末，誰能窮詰？

The surprise becomes the straight move and the straight move becomes the surprise, their changes giving birth to each other, as in going round a ring there is no beginning and no end. Who could trace it all out?

勢峻，則巨石雖重，不能止。

When the momentum is steep, a great stone for all its weight cannot stay still.

言水性柔弱，石性剛重，至於漂轉大石，投之洿下，皆由急疾之流，激得其勢。

The nature of water is soft and weak, the nature of stone hard and heavy. That water should still float a great stone along and push it down into the low ground comes wholly from a swift current running steep and getting its momentum.

水性柔弱，險徑要路，激之疾流，則其勢可以轉巨石也。

The nature of water is soft and weak, yet in a steep defile or a narrow way, where it runs steep and swift, its momentum can roll a great stone.

發起擊敵。

It is to rouse oneself and strike the enemy.

柔勢可以轉剛，況於兵者乎？彈射之所以中飛鳥者，善於疾而有節制。

If a soft momentum can roll what is hard, what need is there to speak of troops? That a shot hits a flying bird is because the shooter is able at speed and keeps the snap.

勢者，自高注下，得險疾之勢，故能漂石也。節者，節量遠近則搏之，故能毁折物也。

Momentum is pouring down from the high to the low and so getting a steep and swift force; that is why it can roll stones along. The snap is measuring far and near and then striking; that is why it can break a thing outright.

發起討敵，如鷹鸇之攫撮也，必能挫折禽獸者，皆由伺候之明，邀得屈折之節也。王子曰：「鷹隼一擊，百鳥無以爭其勢；猛虎一奮，萬獸無以爭其威。」

To raise troops and strike the enemy is like a hawk or a sparrowhawk seizing its prey. That it can surely break bird and beast comes wholly from its watching being clear, so that it catches the snap at which to break and bear down. Master Wang (王子) says, "When the hawk and the sparrowhawk strike once, no bird can contend with their momentum; when the tiger rouses itself once, no beast can contend with its awe."

水雖柔，勢迅則漂石；鷙雖微，節勁則折物。

Water is soft, yet when its momentum is swift it rolls stones along; a bird of prey is small, yet when its snap is strong it breaks its quarry.

鷙鳥之疾，亦勢也，由勢然後有搏擊之節。下要云險，故先取漂石以喻也。

The swiftness of a bird of prey is momentum as well. Only where there is momentum is there a snap in the striking. Because he means to speak of steepness below, he first takes the rolling of stones as his figure.

水能動石，高下之勢也；鷙能搏物，能節其遠近也。

That water moves stones is the momentum of high and low; that a bird of prey strikes its quarry is because it can catch the far and near of it in the snap.

鷹鸇之擒鳥雀，必節量遠近，伺候審而後擊，故能折物。《尉繚子》曰：「便吾器用，養吾武勇，發之如鳥擊。」李靖曰：「鷙鳥將擊，卑飛歛翼。」皆言待之而後發也。

When a hawk or a sparrowhawk takes a bird or a sparrow, it always measures far and near and looks to its watching before it strikes, and so it can break its quarry. The *Weiliaozi* says, "Keep my gear fit for use and nurse my swiftness and courage, and send them out as a bird strikes." Li Jing (李靖) says, "When a bird of prey is about to strike, it flies low and draws in its wings." Both mean that one waits and then sends them out.

險，猶疾也。

Steep (險) is as much as to say swift.

險者，言戰爭之勢，發則殺人，故下文喻如彍弩。

Steep means that the momentum of the fight, once loosed, kills men. That is why the text below likens it to a crossbow drawn full.

險者，折以致其疾也，如水得險隘而成勢。

Steep means bending it so that it comes to its swiftness, as water gets a steep and narrow place and so makes its momentum.

短，近也。

Short (短) means near.

言以近節也。如鷙鳥之發，近則搏之，力全志專，則必獲也。

This says that the snap is caught from near at hand. When a bird of prey flies in, it strikes once it is near; with its strength whole and its will gathered in one place, it surely takes its quarry.

短，近也；節，斷也。短近，言能因危取勝，以卒擊近也。

Short means near, and the snap is a cutting off. Short and near means riding the enemy's peril to take the victory, striking with troops at what is close by.

險則迅，短則勁，故戰之勢，當險疾而短近也。

Steep means swift, short means strong. So the momentum of a fight should be steep and swift, short and near.

鷙之能搏者，發必中，來勢遠，而所搏之節至短也。兵之乘機，當如是耳。曹公曰：「短者，近也。」

A bird of prey can strike because, once loosed, it surely hits. The momentum of its coming may be from far off, yet the snap of its striking is utterly short. Troops riding their moment should be just like this. Lord Cao says, "Short means near."

孟氏同杜牧《註》。

Meng Shi's (孟氏) note is the same as Du Mu's (杜牧).

險，疾；短，近也。言善戰者，先度地之遠近，形之廣狹，然後立陳，使部伍行列相去不遠。其進擊，則以五十步爲節，不可過遠，故勢迅則難禦，節近則易勝。

Steep is swift and short is near. This says that one who fights well first measures the far and near of the ground and the wide and narrow of its shape, and then sets up his line, so that rank and file are not far from one another. When he goes forward to strike, he takes fifty paces as his snap, so as not to draw too far off. Hence when the momentum is swift it is hard to block, and when the snap is near it is easy to win.

在度不遠，發則中也。

The distance measured is not far, so when it is loosed it hits.

弩不疾，則不遠；矢不近，則不中。勢尚疾，節務速。

If the crossbow is not swift the bolt does not go far; if the arrow is not near it does not hit. Momentum prizes swiftness, and the snap works at quickness.

彍，張也。如弩已張，發則殺人，故上文云「其勢險」也。機者，固須以近節量之，然後必能中，故上文云「其節短」。短，乃近也。此言戰陳不可遠逐敵人，恐有隊伍離散斷絶，反爲敵所乘也，故《牧野誓》曰「六步、七步，四伐、五伐」，是以近也。

Hwak (彍) means drawing. It is like a crossbow already drawn, which once loosed kills a man; that is why the text above says, "the momentum is steep." The trigger must have its snap measured from near at hand if it is surely to hit; that is why the text above says, "the snap is short." Short is simply near. This says that in drawing up a line and fighting one must not chase the enemy far. The fear is that rank and file will scatter and be cut off, and so give the enemy an opening instead. Hence the *Oath at Muye* says, "Six paces, seven paces; four strokes, five strokes" — which is doing it from near at hand.

弩之發機，近則易中；戰之遇敵，疾則易捷。若趨馳不速，奮擊不近，則不能克敵而全勝。

A crossbow's trigger, when it is near, hits easily; and in a fight, when the enemy is met, swiftness wins easily. If the running in is not quick and the striking out is not near, the enemy cannot be broken and the victory made whole.

戰之勢，如弩之張；兵之勢，如機之發。

The momentum of a fight is like a drawn crossbow; the momentum of troops is like a released trigger.

彍，音霍，彍張也。如弩之張，勢不逡巡；如機之發，節近易中也。

Hwak is sounded "hwak" and means drawing. Like a drawn crossbow, the momentum does not falter; like a released trigger, the snap is near and hits easily.

戰勢如弩之張者，所以有待也；待其有可乘之勢，如發其機。

That the momentum of a fight is like a drawn crossbow is because there is a waiting in it. One waits for a momentum worth riding to arise, and then is as though releasing the trigger.

險，疾也；短，近也。此言擊戰得形便，如張弩發機，勢宜疾速，仍利於便近，不得追擊過差也。故太公曰：「擊如發機者，所以破精微也。」

Steep is swift and short is near. This says that getting the convenience of the ground when one fights and strikes is like drawing a crossbow and releasing the trigger. The momentum should be swift and quick, and it profits besides to be near and convenient, so the pursuit must not be carried too far. Hence Taigong (太公) says, "To strike as one releases a trigger is the way to break even the finest thing."

如弩之張，勢不可緩；如機之發，節不可遠。言趨利尚疾，奮擊貴近也。故太公曰：「擊如發機者，所以破精微也。」

Like a drawn crossbow, the momentum cannot be slackened; like a released trigger, the snap cannot be made far. This says that in pursuing advantage one prizes swiftness, and in striking out one values nearness. Hence Taigong says, "To strike as one releases a trigger is the way to break even the finest thing."

旌旗亂也；示敵若亂，以金鼓齊之。車騎轉而形圓者，出入有道，齊整也。

It is the flags that are in disorder. He looks to be in disorder to the enemy, while he keeps his men in order with gong and drum. That the chariots and horsemen wheel round and the ranks come round in a circle is because there are ways in and out, and so they are in order.

紛紜而鬬，示如可亂；建旌有部，鳴金有節，是以不可亂也。渾沌，合雜也。形圓，無向背也。示敵可敗而不可敗者，號令齊整也。

He fights in a tangle and a swirl and looks as though he could be thrown into disorder; but in the raising of the flags each unit has its charge, and in the sounding of the gong there is a beat, and so he cannot be thrown into disorder. The blur and the mingling are a mixing together. That the ranks come round in a circle means that there is no front and no rear. That he looks to the enemy as though he could be broken and yet cannot be broken is because his commands are in order.

此言陳法也。《風后握奇文》曰：「四爲正，四爲奇，餘奇爲握。奇音機，或總稱之。先出游軍定兩端。」此之是也。奇者，零也。陳數有九，中心有零者，大將握之不動，以制四面八陳，而取準則焉。其人之列，面面相向，背背相承也。《周禮》︰「蒐苗獮狩，車驟徒趨，及表乃止；進退疾徐，疏密之節，一如戰陳。」表，乃旗也。旗者，蓋與民期於下也。《握奇文》曰：「先出游軍定兩端。」蓋游軍執本方旗，先定地界，然後軍士赴之，兵於旗下，乃出奇正，變爲陳也。《周禮》「蒐苗獮狩，車驟徒趨，及表乃止」，此則八陳遺制。《握奇》之文，止此而已；其餘之詞，乃後之作者增加之，以重難其事耳。夫五兵之利，無如弧矢之利，以威天下。五兵同致，天獨有弧矢星。聖人獨言弧矢能威天下，不言他兵，何也？蓋戰法利於弧矢者，非得陳不見其利。故黃帝勝於蚩尤，以中夏車徒制夷虜騎士，此乃弧矢之利也。在於近代，可以驗之者，晉武時，羌陷涼州，司馬督馬隆請募勇士三千平之，募腰引弩三十六鈞，弓四鈞，立標簡試。軍西渡溫水，虜樹機能以衆萬計遏隆。隆依八陳法，且戰且前，弓矢所及，人皆應弦而倒，誅殺萬計，涼州遂平。隋時，突厥入宼，楊素擊之。先是諸將與虜戰，每虞胡騎奔突，皆戎車徒步相參，舁鹿角爲方陳，騎在其內。素至，悉除舊法，令諸軍各爲步騎。突厥聞之，以手加額，仰天曰：「天賜我也。」大率精騎十餘萬而至，素一戰大破之。此乃以徒步制騎士，若非有陳法，知開闔首尾之道，安能致勝也？《曲禮》曰：「行前朱雀而後玄武，左青龍而右白虎，招搖在上，急繕其怒。」鄭司農云：「以四獸爲軍陳，象天也。」孔《疏》曰：「此言軍行象天文而作陳法，但不知作之何如耳。」何徹云：「畫此四獸於旌旗上，以標前後左右之陳也。『急繕其怒』，言其卒之勁利威怒如天之怒也。『招搖』，北斗杓第七星也。舉此，則六星可知也。陳象天文，卽北斗也。」復曰：「進退有度。」鄭司農《註》曰：「度，謂伐與步數也。」孔《疏》曰：「如《牧野誓》云『六步、七步，四伐、五伐』是也。」復曰：「左右有局。」鄭司農《註》曰：「局是步分。」孔《疏》曰：「言軍之左右各有部分，進則就敵，退則就列，不相差濫也。」下文復曰：「父之讎，弗與共戴天；兄弟之讎，不返兵；交遊之讎，不同國。四郊多壘，此卿大夫之辱也。」此言讎辱至於戰爭，期在必勝，固不可不知陳法也。其文故相次而言，乃聖賢之深旨矣。《軍志》曰：「陳間容陳，足曳白刃；隊間容隊，可與敵對。前禦其前，後當其後；左防其左，右防其右。行必魚貫，立必鴈行；長以參短，短以參長。回軍轉陳，以前爲後，以後爲前。進無奔迸，退無違走。四頭八尾，觸處爲首；敵衝其中，兩頭俱救。」此亦與《曲禮》之說同。數起於五，而終於八。今夔州州前，諸葛武侯以石縱橫八行，布爲方陳，奇正之出，皆生於此。奇亦爲正之正，正亦爲奇之奇，彼此相用，循環無窮也。諸葛出斜谷，以兵少，但能正用六數。今盩厔司竹園乃有舊壘。司馬懿以十萬步騎不敢決戰，蓋知其能也。

This speaks of the method of drawing up a line. The *Fenghou woqi wen* (風后握奇文) says, "Four become the straight move and four become the surprise move, and the one that remains becomes what is held in hand. Here 奇 is sounded like gi (機), and some call the two together by one name. First send out a roving force and fix the two ends." This is that. The remainder is that one left over. The lines number nine, and in the middle is the one left over; the commander holds it and does not move, and from it governs the eight lines on the four sides, making it their standard. The files of the men are drawn face to face and back to back. The *Zhouli* (周禮, *Rites of Zhou*) says, "In the hunts of the four seasons the chariots gallop and the foot soldiers run, and they halt on reaching the marker (表). The quick and the slow of advance and withdrawal, and the beat of loose and close order, are just as in a battle line." The marker is the flag. A flag is that beneath which one makes his covenant with the men. The *Woqi wen* says, "First send out a roving force and fix the two ends." The roving force raises the flag of its own quarter and first marks out the lines on the ground; then the troops go there and gather beneath the flags, and so the surprise and the straight move are sent out and turn into a line. The *Zhouli*'s "in the hunts of the four seasons the chariots gallop and the foot soldiers run, and they halt on reaching the marker" is just what remains of the system of the eight lines. The text of the *Woqi* goes no further than this; the rest of its words were added by later men to make the matter look difficult. Among the advantages of the five weapons none equals the advantage of bow and arrow, which makes the world afraid. All five weapons are used together, yet in the heavens there is the Bow and Arrow star (弧矢星) alone. Why is it that the sages said of bow and arrow alone that they make the world afraid, and said nothing of the other weapons? Because in the art of war the advantage of bow and arrow does not show itself unless a line is got. So when the Yellow Emperor (黃帝) overcame Chiyou (蚩尤), it was with the chariots and foot of the central plain bearing down on the horsemen of the barbarians: this is the advantage of bow and arrow. For a proof of this in recent times, in the time of Emperor Wu of the Jin (晉 武帝), when the Qiang (羌) took Liangzhou (涼州), Ma Long (馬隆), a samadok (司馬督, a staff commandant), asked leave to gather three thousand swift troops and put it down, and he gathered men who could draw a waist-drawn crossbow of thirty-six gyun (鈞) and a bow of four gyun, setting up a marker to test and choose them. When his troops crossed the Wen (溫水) westward, the barbarian Shu Jineng (樹機能) blocked Ma Long with a host numbered in the ten thousands. Ma Long fought by the method of the eight lines as he advanced, and wherever bow and arrow reached, men fell at the sound of the bowstring; the dead were numbered in the ten thousands, and Liangzhou was at last put in order. In the time of the Sui, when the Turks came raiding, Yang Su (楊素) struck them. Before that, whenever the generals fought the barbarians they always feared the charge of the barbarian horse, and so they mixed war chariots and foot together, carried up deer-horn barriers (鹿角, fences of branched timber), made a square line, and put their own horse inside it. When Yang Su came, he did away with the old method altogether and had each body of troops form its own foot and horse. The Turks heard of it, laid their hands on their brows and looked to heaven, saying, "Heaven has given them to us," and came with a great host of more than a hundred thousand swift horse; but Yang Su broke them utterly in a single battle. This was foot bearing down on horse. Had there been no method of the line, and had he not known the way of opening and closing and of using head and tail, how could he have come to the victory? The *Quli* (曲禮) says, "In marching, the front is the Vermilion Bird (朱雀), the rear the Dark Warrior (玄武), the left the Blue Dragon (青龍), the right the White Tiger (白虎), with Zhaoyao (招搖) set above, and thus their wrath is sharply governed." Zheng Sinong (鄭司農) says, "Making the four beasts the army's line was modelled on heaven." Kong's subcommentary says, "This means that the army's marching modelled the patterns of heaven to make the method of the line; but how it was made cannot be known." He Che (何徹) says, "These four beasts were drawn upon the flags to mark the lines of front and rear and left and right. 'Their wrath is sharply governed' means that the stern, keen awe and wrath of those troops are like the wrath of heaven. 'Zhaoyao' is the seventh star in the handle of the Northern Dipper; having named this one, the other six are known as well. That the line modelled the patterns of heaven means the Northern Dipper." It says again, "In advance and withdrawal there is measure." Zheng Sinong's note says, "Measure means the number of strokes and the number of paces," and Kong's subcommentary says, "The *Oath at Muye*'s 'six paces, seven paces; four strokes, five strokes' is this." It says again, "Left and right have their appointed places." Zheng Sinong's note says, "The guk (局) is the division of the paces," and Kong's subcommentary says, "This means that the left and the right of an army each have their appointed share, so that going forward they close on the enemy and drawing back they return to their file, without crossing or overrunning one another." The text below says again, "With a father's enemy one does not live under the same heaven; against a brother's enemy one does not go back to fetch a weapon; with a friend's enemy one does not live in the same state. That there are many forts in the four suburbs is the shame of the ministers and great officers." This says that when enmity and shame come to a fight, victory must be looked for, and so one cannot be ignorant of the method of the line; and that the text speaks of these things one after another is the deep intent of the sages. The *Junzhi* (軍志) says, "Line enters within line and foot touches blade; company enters within company, and so the enemy can be faced. The front blocks his front and the rear meets his rear; the left guards his left and the right guards his right. In marching they must go in file as meat is strung on a skewer; in halting they must spread out like wild geese. The long are mixed with the short and the short with the long. When the troops are turned and the line changed, the front is made the rear and the rear the front. In advancing there is no scattering and running, and in withdrawing no breaking away and fleeing. There are four heads and eight tails, and wherever the enemy comes becomes the head; if he stabs at the middle, two heads come to the rescue together." This too is like the words of the *Quli*. The number arises at five and ends at eight. Even now, before the town of Kuizhou (夔州), Zhuge, Marquis Wu (諸葛武侯), laid out eight rows of stones across and down and set forth a square line, and all the coming out of the surprise and the straight move arises from this. The surprise becomes the straight move of the straight move, and the straight move becomes the surprise of the surprise, so that the one side and the other are used by turns, going round and round without end. When Zhuge went out by Xiegu (斜谷), his troops were few and he could use only six of the numbers directly. Even now there is an old fort at the Sizhuyuan (司竹園) in Zhouzhi (盩厔). That Sima Yi (司馬懿), with a hundred thousand foot and horse, would not fight a decisive battle was because he knew Zhuge's ability.

旌旗亂也；示敵若亂，以金鼓齊之。紛紛，旌旗像；紜紜，士卒貌。言旌旗翻轉，一合一離。士卒進退，或往或來。視之若散，擾之若亂。然其法令素定，度職分明，各有分數，擾而不亂者也。車騎齊轉，形圓者，出入有道，齊整也。渾渾，車輪轉行；沌沌，步驟奔馳。視其行陳縱橫，圓而不方，然而指趨各有所應。故王子曰：「將欲內明而外暗，內治而外混，所以示敵之輕己者也。」

It is the flags that are in disorder. He looks to be in disorder to the enemy, while he keeps his men in order with gong and drum. Bunbun (紛紛) is the look of the flags, unun (紜紜) the look of the troops. It says that the flags turn as though overturning, now gathering and now parting, and that the troops advance and withdraw, some going and some coming. To look at them they seem scattered; to shake them they seem in disorder. But their laws and orders have been fixed from the first and each charge is clear, so that every part has its dividing and counting; shake them and they are not in disorder. That the chariots and horsemen wheel round in order and the ranks come round in a circle is because there are ways in and out, and so they are in order. Honhon (渾渾) is the turning of the chariot wheels, dondon (沌沌) the running out of the marching men. One sees their march and their line rounded across and down and not squared, yet each has something it follows according to what is pointed out. Hence Master Wang says, "A general would be clear within and dark without, ordered within and seemingly mixed without. It is the way of making the enemy think lightly of him."

分數已定，形名已立，離合散聚，似亂而不能亂。形無首尾，應無前後，陽旋陰轉，欲敗而不能敗。

The dividing and counting are already fixed and the flags and drums already set up, so that parting and gathering, scattering and massing, look like disorder and yet cannot be thrown into disorder. The ranks have no head and no tail, and in following there is no front and no rear; the sunlit side wheels and the shaded side wheels, so that one would break them and cannot.

曹公曰：「施旗亂也；示敵若亂，以金鼓齊之矣。」晳謂紛紜，鬬亂之貌也；不可亂者，節制嚴明耳。又，曹公曰：「車騎轉而形圓者，出入有道，齊整也。」晳謂渾沌，形圓不測之貌也；不可敗者，無所隙缺，又不測故也。

Lord Cao says, "The spreading out of the flags is what is in disorder. He looks to be in disorder to the enemy, while he keeps his men in order with gong and drum." To my mind bunun (紛紜) is the look of fighting in a tangle, and that he cannot be thrown into disorder is only because his discipline is strict and clear. Lord Cao says again, "That the chariots and horsemen wheel round and the ranks come round in a circle is because there are ways in and out, and so they are in order." To my mind the blur and the mingling are the look of ranks come round in a circle so that they cannot be reckoned, and that he cannot be broken is because there is no gap in him and he cannot be reckoned besides.

此言鬬勢也。善將兵者，進退紛紛，似亂；然士馬素習，旌旗有節，非亂也。渾沌，形勢乍離乍合，人以爲敗；而號令素明，離合有勢，非可敗也。形圓，無行列也。

This speaks of the momentum of fighting. With one who commands troops well, the advancing and withdrawing is tangled and looks like disorder; but the men and horses have been trained from the first and the flags keep a beat, so it is not disorder. The blur and the mingling are the momentum now parting and now gathering, so that men think he has been broken; but his commands are clear from the first and there is momentum in the parting and the gathering, so he is not one who can be broken. That the ranks come round in a circle means that there is no separate file.

此八陳法也。昔黃帝始立丘井之法，因以制兵。故井分四道，八家處之。「井」字之形，開方九焉，五爲陳法，四爲閑地，所謂「數起於五」也。虛其中，大將居之，環其四面，諸部連繞，所謂「終於八」也。及乎變化制敵，則紛紜聚散，鬬雖亂而法不亂；渾沌交錯，形雖圓而勢不散。所謂分而成八，復而爲一也。後世武侯之方陳，李靖之六花，唐太宗之破陳樂舞，皆其遺制也。

This is the method of the eight lines. In old times the Yellow Emperor first set up the method of the gujeong (丘井, the land held by well-field) and framed his troops upon it. So a jeong (井) is parted by four roads and eight households dwell in it. The shape of the character 井 opens into nine squares, of which five become the method of the line and four become empty ground: this is what is meant by "the number arises at five." Its middle is left empty for the commander to dwell in, and the four sides are ringed about by the several units enfolding one another: this is what is meant by "it ends at eight." When it comes to changing and bearing down on the enemy, they gather and scatter in a tangle, and though the fighting is tangled the method is not; they mingle in a blur, and though the ranks come round in a circle the momentum does not scatter. This is what is meant by dividing to make eight and returning to be one. In later ages the square line of Marquis Wu, the Six Flowers (六花) of Li Jing, and the Dance of Breaking the Ranks (破陳樂舞) of Taizong of the Tang are all what remains of that system.

皆毁形匿情也。

In all of these one breaks down the outward shape and hides what is within.

恃治之整，不撫其下而多怨，其亂必生。秦并天下，銷兵焚書，以列國爲郡縣，而秦自稱始皇，都關中，以爲至萬代有之。至胡亥矜驕，陳勝、吳廣乘弊而起，所謂「亂生於冶」也。以勇陵人，爲敵所敗。秦王苻堅鼓行伐晉，勇也；及其敗，聞風聲鶴唳，以爲晉軍，是其怯也，所謂「怯生於勇」也。吳王夫差兵無敵於天下，陵齊於黃池，陵越於會稽，是其彊也；爲越所敗，城門不守，兵圍王宮，殺夫差而并其國，所謂「弱生於彊」也。

If a man trusts only in the order of his rule and does not care for those below him, so that there is much resentment, disorder will surely arise. Qin swallowed up the world, melted down the weapons and burned the books, made the several states into commanderies and districts, called itself the First Emperor (始皇), set its capital in Guanzhong (關中), and thought to hold it for ten thousand generations. When it came to Huhai (胡亥) and he grew arrogant, Chen Sheng (陳勝) and Wu Guang (吳廣) rose up on its exhaustion: this is what is meant by "disorder is born of order." If a man slights others out of courage, he is beaten by the enemy. That Fu Jian (苻堅), King of Qin, beat his drums and struck the Jin was courage; but after his defeat he took the sound of the wind and the cry of the cranes for Jin troops, and this was his cowardice: this is what is meant by "cowardice is born of courage." Fuchai (夫差), King of Wu, had troops whom none in the world could face, and he bore down on Qi (齊) at Huangchi (黃池) and on Yue (越) at Kuaiji (會稽): this was his strength. Yet he was beaten by Yue and could not hold his city gates; their troops ringed his palace, killed Fuchai and swallowed up his state: this is what is meant by "weakness is born of strength."

言欲僞爲亂形以誘敵人，先須至治，然後能爲僞亂也。欲僞爲怯形以伺敵人，先須至勇，然後能爲僞怯也。欲僞爲弱形以驕敵人，先須至彊，然後能爲僞弱也。

This says that to make a false show of disorder and so lure the enemy, one must first be in perfect order, and only then can the false disorder be made; that to make a false show of cowardice and so spy out the enemy, one must first be perfectly brave, and only then can the false cowardice be made; and that to make a false show of weakness and so make the enemy arrogant, one must first be perfectly strong, and only then can the false weakness be made.

恃治則亂生，恃勇彊則怯弱生。

Trust only in order and disorder arises; trust only in courage and strength and cowardice and weakness arise.

治則能僞爲亂，勇則能僞爲怯，彊則能僞爲弱。

If you are in order you can feign disorder; if you are brave you can feign cowardice; if you are strong you can feign weakness.

王晳同梅堯臣《註》。

Wang Xi's (王晳) note is the same as Mei Yaochen's (梅堯臣) *Note*.

言戰時爲奇正形勢以破敵也，我兵素治矣，我士素勇矣，我勢素彊矣，若不匿治、勇、彊之勢，何以致敵？須張似亂、似怯、似弱之形，以誘敵人，彼惑我誘之之狀，破之必矣。

This speaks of making the momentum of the surprise and the straight move in a fight and so breaking the enemy. Our troops are in order from the first, our troops are brave from the first, our momentum is strong from the first; but if the momentum of that order and courage and strength is not hidden, with what shall we draw the enemy out? We must spread out the shape of seeming disorder, seeming cowardice and seeming weakness, and so lure him; and once he is deceived by the shape with which we lure him, the breaking of him is certain.

能示敵以紛亂，必己之治也；能示敵以懦怯，必己之勇也；能示敵以羸弱，必己之強也。皆匿形以誤敵人。

That one can show disorder to the enemy is because he is surely in order himself; that one can show softness and cowardice to the enemy is because he is surely brave himself; that one can show leanness and weakness to the enemy is because he is surely strong himself. In all of these the shape is hidden so as to mislead the enemy.

以部分名數爲之，故不可亂也。

He handles them by dividing, naming, and counting, and so they cannot be thrown into disorder.

歷數也。百六之災，陰陽之數，不由人興，時所會也。

This is the reckoning of the calendar (曆數). The calamity of the hundred-and-six (百六, the turn of the years at which a run of disaster falls due) is a number of yin and yang; it does not arise through men, but is what the times have gathered.

言行伍各有分畫，部曲皆有名數，故能爲治，然後能爲僞亂也。夫爲僞亂者，出入不時，樵採縱橫，刁斗不嚴是也。

This says that the ranks and files (行伍) each have their divisions and the bugok all have their names and numbers, so that they can be kept in order, and only then can a feigned disorder be put on. Feigning disorder is this: comings and goings that do not keep to their hours, the gathering of firewood and the cutting of grass scattered about in confusion, and the camp clapper (刁斗, the implement used in cooking and in striking the night watches) not kept strict.

治亂之分，各有度數。

In the division between order and disorder there is in each case a fixed number.

以治爲亂，存之乎分數。

To dress disorder out of order rests on dividing and counting.

治亂者，數之變。數，謂法制。

Order and disorder are the changes of counting. By counting is meant the regulations of law (法制).

實治而僞示以亂，明其部曲行伍之數也，上文所謂「治衆如治寡，分數是也」。

To be in fact in order and yet show a feigned disorder is to have made plain the numbers of one's bugok and of one's ranks and files. It is what the passage above called handling many men as if they were few, which is done by dividing and counting.

夫兵，得其勢則怯者勇，失其勢則勇者怯。兵法無定，惟因勢而成也。

In general, when troops gain their formation even the timid turn brave, and when they lose their formation even the brave turn timid. The art of war has nothing fixed in it; it is made only by following the formation.

言以勇爲怯者也。見有利之勢而不動，敵人以我爲實怯也。

This speaks of dressing cowardice out of courage. If one sees a profitable formation and still does not move, the enemy takes it that we are truly afraid of him.

勇者，奮速也；怯者，淹緩也。敵人見我欲進不進，卽以我爲怯也，必有輕易之心。我因其懈惰，假勢以攻之。龍且輕韓信，鄭人誘我師是也。

Courage is to rouse oneself and be quick; cowardice is to be slow and sluggish. When the enemy sees that we would advance and do not advance, he takes us for cowards and is sure to grow light-minded toward us. We then take advantage of his slackness, borrow the formation, and strike. Such were Long Qie's (龍且) making light of Han Xin, and the men of Zheng luring our troops.

孟氏《註》同陳皥。

Meng Shi's note is the same as Chen Hao's (陳皥).

以勇爲怯，示之以不取。

To dress cowardice out of courage is to show the look of not taking what is offered.

勇怯者，勢之變。

Courage and cowardice are the changes of momentum.

實勇而僞示以怯，因其勢也。魏將龐涓攻韓，齊將田忌救之。孫臏謂忌曰：「彼三晉之兵，素悍勇而輕齊，齊號爲怯。善戰者，因其勢而利導之，使齊軍入魏地，日減其竈。」涓聞之大喜，曰：「吾素知齊怯。」乃倍日并行逐之，遂敗於馬陵。

To be in fact brave and yet show a feigned cowardice is to follow one's formation. When Pang Juan (龐涓), the general of Wei, attacked Han, Tian Ji (田忌), the general of Qi, went to its relief. Sun Bin (孫臏) said to Tian Ji, "The troops of the Three Jin (三晉) are stiff and brave by nature and make light of Qi, and Qi is called cowardly. One who fights well follows his formation and draws it toward his profit; send the troops of Qi into the land of Wei and each day reduce the number of their cooking stoves." Pang Juan heard of it and was greatly pleased. "I knew all along that Qi was cowardly," he said, and he pursued at a run, covering two days' road in one — and was beaten at last at Maling (馬陵).

形勢所宜。

It is what suits the shape and the momentum.

以彊爲弱，須示其形。匈奴冒頓示婁敬以羸老是也。

To dress weakness out of strength, one must show the look of it. Such was Modu (冒頓) of the Xiongnu (匈奴) showing Lou Jing (婁敬) only what was lean and old.

楚王毁中軍以張隨人，用爲後圖，此類也。

Of this kind was the king of Chu's (楚) breaking up his own center army (中軍) to swell the momentum of the men of Sui (隨) and so lay his plans for what came after.

以彊爲弱，形之以羸懦。

To dress weakness out of strength is to show the look of being lean and soft.

彊弱者，形之變。

Strength and weakness are the changes of shape.

形勢暫變，以誘敵戰，非怯非弱也。示亂不亂，隊伍本整也。

It is to change the formation for a while and so lure the enemy into fighting; one is not truly afraid or truly weak. Though disorder is shown there is no disorder, for the ranks are orderly from the first.

實彊而僞示以弱，見其形也。漢高祖欲擊匈奴，遣使覘之。匈奴匿其壯士肥馬，見其弱兵羸畜。使者十輩，皆言可擊。惟婁敬曰：「兩國相攻，宜矜誇所長；今徒見老弱，必有奇兵，不可擊也。」帝不從，果有白登之圍。

To be in fact strong and yet show a feigned weakness is to put one's shape on display. When Gaozu of Han meant to attack the Xiongnu, he sent envoys to spy them out. The Xiongnu hid their sturdy troops and fat horses and showed only weak troops and lean beasts. Ten parties of envoys all said that they could be attacked; only Lou Jing said, "When two states strike at each other, each should boast of what it does well. Now they show only the old and the weak; there must surely be troops in hiding, and they must not be attacked." The emperor did not follow him, and the encirclement at Baideng (白登) duly came.

見羸形也。

It is to show a gaunt shape.

善誘敵者，軍或彊，能進退其敵也。晉人伐齊，斥山澤之險，雖所不至，必旆而疏陳之，輿曳柴從之。齊人登山而望晉師，見旌旗揚塵，謂其衆而夜遁。則晉弱齊爲彊也。齊伐魏，將田忌用孫臏謀，減竈而趨大粱。魏將龐涓逐之，曰：「齊虜何其怯也！入吾境，亡者半矣。」及馬陵，爲齊人所敗，殺龐涓，虜魏太子而旋。形以弱，而敵從之也。

One who lures the enemy well can make that enemy advance or withdraw even when his troops are at times the stronger. When the men of Jin attacked Qi, they looked over the broken ground of the hills and marshes and set up flags even where they would not go, spreading their lines out thinly, and had carts drag brushwood along behind. The men of Qi climbed a hill and looked out at the troops of Jin, and seeing the flags and the flying dust they took their numbers for many and fled by night. Here Jin was weak and yet showed itself strong to Qi. When Qi attacked Wei, the general Tian Ji used Sun Bin's plan, reducing the cooking stoves as he hurried toward Daliang. Pang Juan, the general of Wei, pursued, saying, "How cowardly these Qi barbarians are! Half of them have run off since entering my land." At Maling he was beaten by the men of Qi; Qi killed Pang Juan, took the heir of Wei captive, and went home. Here a shape was made out of weakness, and the enemy followed it.

非止於羸弱也。言我彊敵弱，則示以羸形，動之使來；我弱敵彊，則示之以彊形，動之使去。敵之動作，皆須從我。孫臏曰：「齊國號怯，三晉輕之。令入魏境爲十萬竈，明日爲五萬竈。」魏龐涓逐之，曰：「齊虜何怯也！入吾境土，亡者太半。」因急追之。至馬陵，道狹，臏乃斫木書之曰：「龐涓死此樹下。」伏弩於側，令曰：「見火始發。」涓至，鑽燧讀之；萬弩齊發，龐涓死。此乃示以羸形，能動龐涓，遂來從我而殺之也。隋煬帝於鴈門爲突厥始畢可汗所圍，太宗應募救援，隸將軍雲定興營。將行，謂定興曰：「必多齎旗鼓，以設疑兵。且始畢可汗敢圍天子，必以我倉卒無援；我張吾軍容，令數十里，晝則旌旗相續，夜則鉦鼓相應，虜必以爲救兵雲集，覩塵而遁。不然，彼衆我寡，不能久矣。」定興從之。師次崞縣，始畢遁去。此乃我弱敵彊，示之以彊，動之令去。故敵之來去，一皆從我之形也。

It does not stop at the look of leanness and weakness. This says that when I am strong and the enemy weak, I show a lean shape to move him toward me; and when I am weak and the enemy strong, I show a strong shape to move him away. The enemy's movements all come to follow me. Sun Bin said, "Qi is called cowardly, and the Three Jin make light of it. Once you have entered the land of Wei, set your cooking stoves at a hundred thousand, and the next day at fifty thousand." Pang Juan of Wei pursued, saying, "How cowardly these Qi barbarians are! More than half of them have run off since entering my land," and he pressed the pursuit hard. He came to Maling, where the road was narrow. Sun Bin pared a tree and wrote on it, "Pang Juan dies beneath this tree," and hid crossbows beside it with the order, "Shoot when you see fire." Pang Juan arrived, struck a flint and read the writing, and ten thousand crossbows shot at once, and Pang Juan died. This is just what it is to show a lean shape and so move Pang Juan, until in the end he followed me and was killed. When Emperor Yang of Sui was surrounded at Yanmen (鴈門) by Shibi Khan (始畢可汗) of the Türk (突厥), Taizong answered the call for men and went to the relief, and was placed under the command of general Yun Dingxing (雲定興). As they were about to set out he said to Yun Dingxing, "We must take many flags and drums and spread out a deceiving force (疑兵, false troops drawn up to mislead the enemy). And Shibi Khan has dared to surround the Son of Heaven only because he takes it that we were caught suddenly and have no relief. If we spread the movements of our troops over tens of li, with flags following one another by day and gongs and drums answering one another by night, the barbarians will surely take it that relief has gathered like clouds, and will flee at the sight of our dust. Otherwise they are many and we are few, and we cannot hold out long." Yun Dingxing followed his words. When the troops halted at Guo county (崞縣), Shibi fled. Here I was weak and the enemy strong, and a strong shape was shown to move him away. So the enemy's coming and going all alike follow my shape.

形亂弱而必從。

Make a shape of disorder and weakness and he is sure to follow it.

誘敵使必從。

He lures the enemy so that he is sure to follow.

移形變勢，誘動敵人；敵昧於戰，必落我計中而來，力足制之。

He shifts the shape and changes the formation to lure the enemy into moving. If the enemy is dull in war he is sure to fall into my design and come, and my strength is then ample to hold him down.

形之以羸弱，敵必來從。晉楚相攻，苗賁皇謂晉侯曰：「若欒、范易行以誘之，中行、二郤必克二穆。」果敗楚師。又楚伐隨，羸師以張之。季良曰：「楚之羸，誘我也。」皆此二義也。

Make a shape of leanness and weakness and the enemy is sure to follow it. When Jin and Chu were striking at each other, Miao Benhuang (苗賁皇) said to the marquis of Jin, "Shift the files of the Luan (欒) and the Fan (范) to lure the enemy, and the Zhonghang (中行) and the two Xi (郤) houses will surely overcome the two Mu (穆) houses." And he did indeed bring the troops of Chu to defeat. Again, when Chu attacked Sui, it drew up its troops to show a lean shape, and Ji Liang (季良) said, "Chu's lean shape is a lure for us." Both are of these two meanings.

以利誘敵，敵遠離其壘，而以便勢擊其空虛孤特也。

He lures the enemy with profit so that he leaves his own ramparts far behind, and then with an easy momentum strikes where he has grown empty and alone.

曹公與袁紹相持官渡，曹公循河而西，紹於是渡河追公。公營南阪，下馬解鞍。時白馬輜重就道，諸將以爲敵騎多，不如還營。荀攸曰：「此所以餌敵也，安可去之？」紹將文醜與劉備將五六千騎，前後繼至，或分趨輜重。公曰：「可矣。」乃皆上馬。時騎不滿六百人，遂大破之，斬文醜。

When Lord Cao faced Yuan Shao (袁紹) at Guandu (官渡), he went west along the Yellow River, and Yuan Shao then crossed the river and pursued him. Lord Cao drew up his line on the southern bank, dismounted, and took the saddles off. Just then the baggage train (輜重, the carts that carry the army's stores) from Baima (白馬) came up on the road, and the several generals said that, as the enemy's horsemen were many, it would be better to go back to the line. Xun You (荀攸) said, "This is the bait that lures the enemy — how should we throw it away?" Yuan Shao's generals Wen Chou (文醜) and Liu Bei (劉備) came up one behind the other with five or six thousand horse, and some of them broke off and made for the baggage. Lord Cao said, "Now," and all mounted. He had then fewer than six hundred horse, yet in the end he broke them utterly and cut down Wen Chou.

示畏怯而必取。

Show the look of fear and cowardice and the enemy is sure to try to take it.

餌敵使必取。「予」、「與」同。

He throws the enemy a bait so that he is sure to take it. The character 予 and the character 與 are the same.

誘之以小利，敵必來取。吳以囚徒誘越，楚以樵者誘絞是也。

Lure him with a small profit and the enemy is sure to come and take it. Such were Wu's luring Yue with convicts, and Chu's luring Jiao (絞) with woodcutters.

以利動敵也。

It is to move the enemy with profit.

後漢大司馬鄧禹之攻赤眉也，赤眉佯北，棄輜重而遁，車皆載土，覆之以豆。禹軍乏食，競趨之，不爲行列。赤眉伏兵奄至，擊之，禹大敗。則其義也。

When Deng Yu (鄧禹), grand marshal of the Later Han (後漢), attacked the Red Eyebrows (赤眉), the Red Eyebrows feigned a defeat and fled, abandoning their baggage train; and the carts were all loaded with earth with beans spread over the top. Deng Yu's troops were short of food and raced for them in such haste that they could not hold their files. The hidden troops of the Red Eyebrows came up suddenly and struck, and Deng Yu was heavily beaten. This is just that meaning.

以利動敵，敵旣從我，則嚴兵以待之。上文所解是也。

Move the enemy with profit, and once he has come to follow me, keep the troops strict and wait for him. It is what was explained in the passage above.

以上數事，動誘敵而從我，則以精卒待之。

Move the enemy by the several things above and lure him into following me, and then wait for him with nimble troops.

或使之從，或使之取，必先嚴兵以待之也。

Some he makes follow and some he makes take; but he must first keep his troops strict and wait.

敵貪我利，則失行列；利旣能動，則以所待之卒擊之，無不勝也。如曹公西征馬超，與超夾關爲軍。公急持之，而潛遣徐晃、朱靈等夜渡蒲坂津，據河西爲營。公自潼關北渡，未濟。超赴船急戰，公放牛馬以餌賊。賊亂取牛馬，公得渡，循河爲甬道而南。賊退距渭口。公乃多設疑兵，潛以舟載兵入渭，爲浮橋，夜分兵結營於渭南。賊夜攻營，伏兵奮擊，破之。十六國南涼禿髮傉檀守姑臧，後秦姚興遣將姚弼等至於城下，傉檀驅牛羊於野，弼衆採掠；傉檀分兵擊，大破之。後魏末，大將廣陽王元深伐北狄，使于謹單騎入賊中，示以恩信。於是西部鐵勒酋長乜列河等三萬餘戶並款附，相率南遷。廣陽欲與謹至折敷嶺迎接之，謹曰：「破六汗拔陵兵衆不少，聞乜列河等歸附，必來邀擊。彼若先據險要，則難與爭鋒。今以乜列河等餌之，當競來抄掠，然後設伏而待，必指掌破之。」廣陽然其計。拔陵果來邀擊，破乜列河於嶺上，部衆皆没。謹伏兵發，賊遂大敗，悉收得乜列河之衆。

If the enemy covets my profit he loses his files. Once he can be moved with profit, strike him with the troops that lay in wait, and there is nothing one cannot overcome. When Lord Cao went west to attack Ma Chao (馬超), Ma Chao set his troops with him on either side of the pass. Lord Cao held him fast in haste while secretly sending Xu Huang (徐晃), Zhu Ling (朱靈) and others to cross the ford at Puban (蒲坂津) by night and draw up their line west of the Yellow River. Lord Cao meant to cross northward at Tongguan (潼關) and had not yet crossed when Ma Chao came racing up by boat and pressed the fight; so Lord Cao loosed oxen and horses to be a bait for the enemy. While the enemy scrambled in disorder to take the oxen and horses, Lord Cao was able to cross, and he made a walled road (甬道, a road enclosed by walls on either side) along the river and went south. The enemy drew back and halted at Weikou (渭口). Lord Cao then spread out a great deceiving force, secretly put troops aboard boats and brought them into the Wei River (渭水), made a floating bridge (浮橋), and in the night divided his troops and drew up a line south of the Wei. When the enemy drew up their line by night, the troops in hiding rose, struck, and broke them. In the time of the Sixteen Kingdoms (十六國), when Tufa Rutan (禿髮傉檀) of the Southern Liang (南涼) was holding Guzang (姑臧), Yao Xing (姚興) of the Later Qin (後秦) sent the general Yao Bi (姚弼) and others up to the foot of the city. Rutan drove oxen and sheep out into the fields; Yao Bi's men gathered them up and carried them off, and Rutan divided his troops, struck, and broke them utterly. At the end of the Later Wei (後魏), when the great general Yuan Shen (元深), prince of Guangyang (廣陽王), was attacking the barbarians of the north, he sent Yu Jin (于謹) alone on horseback into the midst of the enemy to show them kindness and good faith. At this more than thirty thousand households of the western Tiele (鐵勒), under the chieftain Mielihe (乜列河) and others, all came over and led one another south. The prince of Guangyang was about to go with Yu Jin as far as Zhefu Ridge (折敷嶺) to receive them, when Yu Jin said, "Poliuhan Baling's (破六汗拔陵) troops are not few, and when he hears that Mielihe and the rest have come over he will surely come to block and strike them. If they take the broken and vital ground first, it will be hard to contend with them for the day. Now, if we make Mielihe and the rest our bait, they will surely vie with one another to come and plunder; and if we then set troops in hiding and wait, we shall break them as surely as pointing at one's own palm." The prince of Guangyang held his plan to be right. Baling did come to block and strike, and broke Mielihe at the crest of the ridge, so that his following was wholly lost. Then Yu Jin's hidden troops rose, and the enemy was heavily beaten at last, and the whole of Mielihe's people was gathered back in.

形之旣從，予之又取，是能以利動之而來也，則以勁卒待之。李靖以「卒」爲「本」，「以本待之」者，謂正兵節制之師。

Make a shape and he already follows; give him something and he takes it too — this is moving him with profit so that he comes. Then one waits for him with hardened troops. Li Jing read 卒 as 本, and "waiting with the root" means the ordered army of the straight troops (正兵, the troops that fight the enemy face to face).

言勝負之道，自圖於中，不求之下，責怒師衆，彊使力進也，若秦穆悔過，不替孟明也。

This says that the road of victory and defeat is to be weighed within oneself, and is not to be sought from those below by scolding and raging at the troops and forcing them on by main strength. It is like Duke Mu (穆公) of Qin repenting of his fault and not replacing Mengming (孟明).

一作「故能擇人而任之」。諸家作「任勢」者多矣。

One text has 故能擇人而任之. Many of the commentators write 任勢.

求之於勢者，專任權也；不責於人者，權變明也。

To seek it in momentum is to leave it wholly to the weighing; not to blame his men is to be clear in weighing and in shifting.

得勢而戰，人怯者能勇，故能擇其所能任之。夫勇者可戰，謹慎者可守，智者可說，無棄物也。

If one gains the formation and fights, even a timid man can turn brave; and so one can pick out what each does well and give it to him. In general the brave may be set to fight, the careful to hold a post, and the wise to persuade: there is no man to be thrown away.

言善戰者，先料兵勢，然後量人之材，隨短長以任之，不責成於不材者也。曹公征張魯於漢中，張遼、李典、樂進將七千餘人守合淝，教與護軍薛悌，署函邊曰：「賊至乃發。」俄而吳孫權十萬人衆圍合淝，乃共發教曰：「若孫權至者，張、李將軍出戰，樂將軍守，護軍勿得與戰。」諸將皆疑。遼曰：「公征在外，比救至，彼破我必矣。是以教及其未合逆擊之，折其威勢，以安衆心，然後可守。成敗之機，在此一舉。」典與遼同出，果大破孫權，吳人奪氣。還修守備，衆心乃安。權攻城，十日不拔，乃退。孫盛論曰：「夫兵，詭道也。至於合淝之守，懸弱無援，專任勇者，則好戰生患；專任怯者，則懼心難保。且彼衆我寡，衆者必懷貪惰；我以致命之師，擊貪惰之卒，其勢必勝。勝而後守，則必固矣。是以魏武雜選武力，參以異同，爲之密教，節宣其用，事至而應，若合符契也。」

This says that one who fights well first weighs the formation of his troops and then measures the talents of his men, giving each a charge according to what he lacks and what he is better at, and does not press a man without talent for results. When Lord Cao attacked Zhang Lu (張魯) in Hanzhong (漢中), Zhang Liao (張遼), Li Dian (李典) and Yue Jin (樂進) held Hefei (合淝) with some seven thousand men. Lord Cao gave his order to the army protector (護軍) Xue Ti (薛悌), and wrote on the side of the box, "Open when the enemy comes." Presently Sun Quan (孫權) of Wu surrounded Hefei with a host of a hundred thousand, and they opened the order together: "When Sun Quan comes, the two generals Zhang and Li are to go out and fight, general Yue is to hold the place, and the army protector is not to fight." The generals all doubted it. Zhang Liao said, "Lord Cao is campaigning abroad, and by the time relief arrives they will certainly have broken us. The order therefore means that we are to meet and strike them before they have gathered, break their awe and quiet the minds of the host, and only then can the place be held. Whether this succeeds or fails turns on this one stroke." Li Dian went out with Zhang Liao, and they did indeed break Sun Quan utterly, and the spirit of the men of Wu was broken. They came back and made ready to hold the place, and the minds of the host were quieted at this. Sun Quan attacked the city and could not take it in ten days, and withdrew. Sun Sheng (孫盛) discussed it thus: "War is in general a road of deception. As for the holding of Hefei, it stood alone and weak with no relief; had it been left to the brave alone, they would have loved fighting and brought trouble on it, and had it been left to the timid alone, their fearful hearts could hardly have held it. Moreover they were many and we few, and the greater side is sure to harbor a covetous and slack heart. If we strike a covetous and slack army with troops who stake their lives, the formation must give us the victory; and if we hold the place after a victory, it must stand firm. Therefore Wu of Wei (魏武) blended and chose among his forces, took the measure of their differences and likenesses, made a sealed order, and had its use tightened and then unfolded; so that when the matter came, the answering of it was like matching the halves of a tally (符契, the paired tokens that are matched against each other)."

讀爲「擇人而任勢」，言示以必勝之勢，使人從之，豈更外責於人，求其勝敗？擇勇怯之人，任進退之勢。

He reads it as "he picks his men and leaves it to the formation." This says that he shows a formation that must win and so makes men follow it; why should he then press men from without and seek victory and defeat in them? He picks out the brave man and the timid man and leaves them to the formation of advancing and withdrawing.

善戰者專求於勢，見利速進，不爲敵先，專任機權，不責成於人。苟不獲已而用人，卽須擇而任之。

One who fights well seeks it only in the formation: seeing a profit he advances quickly and does not yield the lead to the enemy, and he leaves it wholly to the moment and the weighing and does not press men for results. If he must use men because there is no help for it, then he should pick them out before giving them their charges.

權變之明，能簡置於人，任己之形勢也。

If one is clear in weighing and in change, he can pick his men and set them in their places, leaving it to his own formation.

用人以勢則易，責人以力則難；能者，當在擇人而任勢。

Use men by the formation and it is easy; press men by main strength and it is hard. What the able man does lies in picking his men and leaving it to the formation.

得勢自勝，不專責人以力也。

Gain the formation and the victory comes of itself; one does not press men by main strength alone.

謂將能擇人任勢以戰，則自然勝矣。人者，謂偏裨與？

This says that if a general can pick his men and leave it to the formation in fighting, he wins of himself. By "men" is it the deputy generals (偏裨, the generals next in rank) that is meant?

任人之法，使貪、使愚、使智、使勇，各任自然之勢，不責人之所不能，故隨材大小，擇而任之。《尉繚子》曰：「因其所長而用之。」言三軍之中，有長於步者，有長於騎者，因能而用，則人盡其材。又，晉侯類能而使之是也。

The way of giving men their charges is to use the covetous, to use the dull, to use the wise, and to use the brave, leaving each to the formation that is so of itself and not pressing men for what they cannot do. Therefore he picks them and gives them their charges according as their talents are great or small. The *Weiliaozi* says, "Use a man according to what he does well." Among the three armies there are those who are better on foot and those who are better on horseback; this says that if each is used according to what he does well, a man gives out his full talent. Again, such was the marquis of Jin's handling of men by picking out what they did well.

任自然勢也。

It is to leave it to the momentum that is so of itself.

任勢御衆，當如此也。

Leading a host by leaving it to the formation should be just like this.

言投之安地則安，投之危地則危，不知有所回避也。任勢，自然也。方圓之形，猶兵勝負之形。

This says that thrown onto safe ground they are safe, and thrown onto dangerous ground they are endangered and know no way to turn aside. Leaving it to the formation is what is so of itself. The squared and the round shapes are like the shapes of victory and defeat in war.

木石，重物也，易以勢動，難以力移；三軍，至衆也，可以勢戰，不可以力使，自然之道也。

Logs and stones are heavy things: by formation they are easily moved, by main strength they are hard to shift. The three armies are a host beyond all number: by formation they can be set to fight, by main strength they cannot be handled. It is the way that is so of itself.

何氏同梅堯臣《註》。

Mr. He's (何氏) note is the same as Mei Yaochen's *Note*.

木石之性，置之安地則靜，置之危地則動，方正則止，圓斜則行，自然之勢也。三軍之衆，甚陷則不懼，無所往則固，不得已則鬬，亦自然之道。

It is the nature of logs and stones that set on safe ground they are still and set on dangerous ground they move, and that squared and upright they stop while round and tilted they roll: this is the formation that is so of itself. So too with the host of the three armies: sunk deep in it they are not afraid, with nowhere to go they stand firm, and with no help for it they contend — this too is the way that is so of itself.

蒯通以爲坂上走丸，言其易也。

Kuai Tong (蒯通) called it rolling a pearl down from the top of a hill, speaking of how easy it is.

轉石於千仞之山，不可止遏者，在山不在石也；戰人有百勝之勇，彊弱一貫者，在勢不在人也。杜公元凱曰：「昔樂毅藉濟西一戰，能并彊齊，今兵威已成，如破竹數節之後，迎刃自解，無復著手，此勢也。勢不可失。」乃東下建鄴，終滅吳。此篇大抵言兵貴任勢，以險迅疾速爲本，故能用力少而得功多也。

That a stone rolled down a mountain a thousand fathoms high cannot be stopped rests on the mountain and not on the stone. That men set to fight should have the courage of a hundred victories, and that strength and weakness should be all of one piece, rests on the formation and not on the men. Lord Du, Yuankai (杜公 元凱), said: "Of old Yue Yi (樂毅) leaned on a single battle west of the Ji and brought the strong state of Qi under him. Now the awe of our arms is already made; it is like splitting bamboo — after the first few joints it parts of itself at the meeting of the blade and there is nothing more to lay hands on. This is formation, and formation must not be let slip." So he went down eastward to Jianye (建鄴) and in the end destroyed Wu. This chapter says in general that war prizes leaving things to the formation and takes the broken ground and speed for its ground, so that one can use little strength and gain much merit.

圓石在山，屹然其勢；一人推之，千人莫制也。

When a round stone is on a mountain its formation towers over all; one man pushes it and a thousand cannot block it.

石不能自轉，因山之勢而不可遏也；戰不能妄勝，因兵之勢而不可支也。

A stone cannot roll of itself, but it follows the formation of the mountain and so cannot be blocked; a battle cannot be won of itself, but it follows the formation of the troops and so cannot be withstood.

石轉於山而不可止遏者，由勢使之也；兵在於險而不可制禦者，亦勢使之也。李靖曰：「兵有三勢：將輕敵，士樂戰，志勵青雲，氣等飄風，謂之氣勢；關山狹路，羊腸狗門，一夫守之，千人不過，謂之地勢；因敵怠慢，勞役飢渴，前營未舍，後軍半濟，謂之因勢。故用兵任勢，如峻坂走丸，用力至微，而成功甚博也。」

That a stone rolling down a mountain cannot be stopped is because the formation makes it so; and that troops on broken ground cannot be pressed down or blocked is likewise because the formation makes it so. Li Jing said: "There are three formations in war. When the general makes light of the enemy and the troops delight in fighting, when their will is roused like a blue cloud and their spirit is like a whirlwind, it is called the formation of spirit (氣勢). When at a barrier or a narrow mountain road, a way bent like a sheep's gut or a gate that only a dog could pass, one man holds it and a thousand cannot get by, it is called the formation of ground (地勢). When the enemy is slack and loose, worn out with service, hungry and thirsty, his front line not yet settled and his rear troops only half across, and one follows that, it is called the formation of circumstance (因勢). Therefore if in using troops one leaves it to the formation, it is like rolling a pearl down a broken slope: the strength spent is very little and the merit achieved very wide."