General Remarks總說
1General Remarks
六六三十六，數中有術，術中有數。陰陽燮理，機在其空，機不可設，設則不中。
Six times six is thirty-six. Within number (數) there is art (術), and within art there is number. Yin and yang blend and are set in order, so the pivot lies in the empty place. The pivot cannot be forced into being. Force it, and it does not hit the mark.
Interlinear notes 1
解語重數不重理，蓋理，術語自明；而數，則在言外，若徒知術之為術，而不知術中有數，則術多不應，且詭謀權術，原在事理之中，人情之內。徜事出不經，則詭異立見，詫世惑俗，而機謀洩矣。或曰：三十六計中，每六計成一套，第一套為勝戰計，第二套為敵戰計，第三套為攻戰計，第四套為混戰計，第五套為並戰計，第六套為敗戰計。
The words of explanation give weight to number (數) and not to principle. Principle makes itself plain in the language of the art (術), while number lies outside words. If a man knows only that the art is an art, and does not know that within the art there is number, then his art will often fail to answer. Deceit and scheming belong from the first within the reason of things and within human feeling. Should a matter step outside the ordinary, its strangeness shows itself at once, startling the age and bewildering common custom, and the scheme leaks out. Some say: among the thirty-six stratagems, every six make one set. The first set is the stratagems for the winning battle, the second the stratagems for the even battle, the third the stratagems for the attacking battle, the fourth the stratagems for the confused battle, the fifth the stratagems for the joint battle, and the sixth the stratagems for the losing battle.