3. Attack by Stratagem

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English translation

Original Chinese text

English translation

In warfare, preserving your own state is best, then defeating the enemy state comes second. Preserving your own army is best, then destroying the enemy force comes second; the same hierarchy continues down to divisions and squads.

Winning every battle is not the ultimate art. The highest achievement is to make the enemy submit without fighting, saving people, resources, and future options.

Original Chinese text

English translation

The highest approach is to strike at enemy plans, then alliances, then armies; siege comes only as a last choice. Preparing siege works and full equipment takes months.

If the commander cannot control temper and pushes a prolonged assault, casualties can reach a third of the force while the fortress still stands. Sun Tzu treats siege as a costly last resort.

Original Chinese text

English translation

A skillful commander makes the opponent’s force yield without full battle, captures strongholds without wasting time on fruitless assault, and defeats a state without entering prolonged destruction.

The aim is complete success at the level of the wider order. Keeping the army from stagnating and preserving gains is the essence of strategic attack here.

Original Chinese text

English translation

In using force, if your strength is tenfold, encircle; if fivefold, attack; if only double, split and isolate the enemy; if the enemy can fight, contest; if you are weaker, defend; if you cannot safely fight, avoid.

This is force-matching logic. The final clause warns that rigid resistance by a small enemy can be difficult to crack, while a stronger opponent, if mishandled, can be constrained and captured.

Original Chinese text

English translation

A commander is the state’s central support in war and governance. When command support is complete and well organized, the state gains real strength; when it is weak or flawed, the state weakens.

Sunzi starts from leadership quality: military capability is a structural condition of state strength, not just battlefield skill.

Original Chinese text

English translation

The ruler can cause three major troubles in the army. First, he orders an advance when the army cannot advance, and orders a retreat when it cannot retreat, which traps the army in wrong movement. Second, he does not know each branch of arms yet applies one policy to all, so soldiers are confused. Third, he does not understand their distinct authorities yet assigns all the same tasks, so soldiers doubt. When soldiers are confused and doubtful, external powers can exploit this and press in on the army. That is guiding victory through disorder.

Sunzi identifies internal command failure as a precursor to external defeat. The remedy is clear timing, clear authority, and clear role division.

Original Chinese text

English translation

Sunzi identifies five grounds of victory: know when fighting is possible and when it is not; know how to use strengths and weaknesses in numbers; keep commander and troops aligned in purpose; be prepared so the unexpected can be met; and allow a capable general to act without the ruler blocking him. These five make victory knowable.

It is a governance formula for strategy, emphasizing timing, force allocation, shared intent, contingency planning, and clear command authority.

Original Chinese text

English translation

If you know the enemy and yourself, then in a hundred battles you will not be in grave danger. If you know yourself but not the enemy, you will alternate between one victory and one defeat. If you know neither, every battle is likely to bring danger.

This is the basic intelligence rule of the text: sustained success rests on complete comparison, not partial knowledge.

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