Sun Tzu Tips

The general who is skilled in defence hides in the most secret recesses of the earth;

To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy’s numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence.

The general who does not understand these, may be well acquainted with the configuration of the country, yet he will not be able to turn his knowledge to practical account.

But if neither time nor place be known, then the left wing will be impotent to succour the right, the right equally impotent to succour the left, the van unable to relieve the rear, or the rear to support the van. How much more so if the furthest portions of the army are anything under a hundred li apart, and even the nearest are separated by several li!

Sun Tzŭ said: We come now to the question of encamping the army, and observing signs of the enemy. Pass quickly over mountains, and keep in the neighbourhood of valleys.

The rising of birds in their flight is the sign of an ambuscade.

To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.

At the critical moment, the leader of an army acts like one who has climbed up a height and then kicks away the ladder behind him. He carries his men deep into hostile territory before he shows his hand.

By persistently hanging on the enemy’s flank,

Moor your craft higher up than the enemy, and facing the sun.

The onset of troops is like the rush of a torrent which will even roll stones along in its course.

O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible;

Having local spies means employing the services of the inhabitants of a district.

If the enemy is taking his ease, he can harass him;

By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.

Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.

Sun Tzŭ said: Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle, will arrive exhausted.

If birds gather on any spot, it is unoccupied.

To be near the goal while the enemy is still far from it, to wait at ease while the enemy is toiling and struggling, to be well-fed while the enemy is famished:—this is the art of husbanding one’s strength.

On the other hand, the proximity of an army causes prices to go up; and high prices cause the people’s substance to be drained away.

We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbours.

Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the victory which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain in ignorance of the enemy’s condition simply because one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honours and emoluments,

Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought.

It is a military axiom not to advance uphill against the enemy, nor to oppose him when he comes downhill.

Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports.

The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy, and does not require too much from individuals.

Sun Tzŭ said: In war, the general receives his commands from the sovereign.

When the light chariots come out first and take up a position on the wings, it is a sign that the enemy is forming for battle.

He burns his boats and breaks his cooking-pots; like a shepherd driving a flock of sheep, he drives his men this way and that, and none knows whither he is going.

A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return. This is the art of studying moods.

Ground on which each side has liberty of movement is open ground.

He wins his battles by making no mistakes.

If it is possible to make an assault with fire from without, do not wait for it to break out within, but deliver your attack at a favourable moment.

Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.

When some are seen advancing and some retreating, it is a lure.

There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.

A whole army may be robbed of its spirit;

Therefore the skilful leader subdues the enemy’s troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.

We may take it then that an army without its baggage-train is lost; without provisions it is lost; without bases of supply it is lost.

When a chieftain is fighting in his own territory, it is dispersive ground.

We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country—its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps.

By altering his arrangements and changing his plans,

Surviving spies, finally, are those who bring back news from the enemy’s camp.

Hence the use of spies, of whom there are five classes: (1) Local spies; (2) inward spies; (3) converted spies; (4) doomed spies; (5) surviving spies.

If you are careful of your men,

When he utilises combined energy, his fighting men become as it were like unto rolling logs or stones. For it is the nature of a log or stone to remain motionless on level ground, and to move when on a slope; if four-cornered, to come to a standstill, but if round-shaped, to go rolling down.

If our expectation of advantage be tempered in this way, we may succeed in accomplishing the essential part of our schemes.

Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise:—

So, the student of war who is unversed in the art of war of varying his plans, even though he be acquainted with the Five Advantages, will fail to make the best use of his men.

On hemmed-in ground, I would block any way of retreat.

These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.

If our troops are no more in number than the enemy, that is amply sufficient; it only means that no direct attack can be made.

Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.

Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people’s fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.

Should the enemy forestall you in occupying a pass, do not go after him if the pass is fully garrisoned, but only if it is weakly garrisoned.

Whether the object be to crush an army, to storm a city, or to assassinate an individual, it is always necessary to begin by finding out the names of the attendants, the aides-de- camp,

When the soldiers stand leaning on their spears, they are faint from want of food.

Those who were called skilful leaders of old knew how to drive a wedge between the enemy’s front and rear;

Knowing the place and the time of the coming battle, we may concentrate from the greatest distances in order to fight.

The following are the principles to be observed by an invading force: The further you penetrate into a country, the greater will be the solidarity of your troops, and thus the defenders will not prevail against you.