31. Weapons and Mourning
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
夫佳兵者,不祥之器,物或恶之,故有道者不处。
English translation
Even the finest weapons are instruments of ill omen; living beings commonly recoil from them. Therefore, one who follows the Way does not make a place for them.
However skillfully weapons are made, their purpose remains tied to harm. A person guided by the Way does not admire them for their power or treat their use as glorious.
Original Chinese text
君子居则贵左,用兵则贵右。
English translation
In ordinary life, a cultivated person gives precedence to the left; when arms are used, precedence is given to the right.
In ancient ritual, the left was honored on auspicious occasions, while the right was associated with military and mournful affairs. The reversal marks war as a grim necessity, not a celebration.
Original Chinese text
兵者不祥之器,非君子之器,不得已而用之,恬淡为上。
English translation
Weapons are instruments of ill omen, not the instruments of a principled person. They are used only when there is no alternative, and calm restraint is best.
Even when force cannot be avoided, it should not become a source of excitement or pride. Restraint keeps one alert to the harm being done.
Original Chinese text
胜而不美,而美之者,是乐杀人。
English translation
Even in victory, do not treat it as something glorious. Whoever glorifies it takes pleasure in killing people.
Victory in war comes with the loss of life and should not become an object of celebration. The warning is against turning killing into glory.
Original Chinese text
夫乐杀人者,则不可以得志于天下矣。
English translation
Those who delight in killing people cannot fulfill their aims in the world.
Brutality may bring a temporary advantage, but it cannot win lasting trust or willing support. It therefore cannot establish anything enduring.
Original Chinese text
吉事尚左,凶事尚右。
English translation
In auspicious affairs, the left is honored; in affairs of misfortune, the right is honored.
Drawing on the ritual order of the time, this line places warfare among occasions of calamity and mourning, preparing for the military ranking described next.
Original Chinese text
偏将军居左,上将军居右,言以丧礼处之。
English translation
The deputy commander stands on the left, and the chief commander on the right. This means that war is to be treated according to mourning rites.
Placing the chief commander on the side honored in funerary ritual marks war as no celebration. Greater command brings greater responsibility for the deaths involved.
Original Chinese text
杀人之众,以哀悲泣之,战胜以丧礼处之。
English translation
When many people have been killed, mourn them with grief and tears. Even after winning a battle, observe the occasion as one of mourning.
Victory does not erase the cost in human lives. Mourning refuses to turn the deaths of others into one's own celebration.