1 Laying Plans - 2 Waging War (The Art of War)

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04Recording by Moira Fogarty.

05The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

06Translated by Lionel Giles.

07Part 1.

08Laying Plans.

09Sun Tzu said, The art of war is of vital importance to the state.

10It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin.

11Hence it is a subject of inquiry, which can on no account be neglected.

12The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.

13These are, 1.

14The Moral Law.

152.

16Heaven.

173.

18Earth.

194.

20The Commander.

215.

22Method and Discipline.

23The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.

24Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.

25Earth comprises distances, great and small, danger and security, open ground and narrow passes, the chances of life and death.

26The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, and strictness.

27By method and discipline are to be understood the marshalling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.

28These five heads should be familiar to every General.

29He who knows them will be victorious.

30He who knows them not will fail.

31Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison in this wise.

321.

33Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral Law?

342.

35Which of the two generals has most ability?

363.

37With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?

384.

39On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?

405.

41Which army is stronger?

426.

43On which side are officers and men more highly trained?

447.

45In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

46By means of these seven considerations, I can forecast victory or defeat.

47The General that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it will conquer.

48Let such a one be retained in command.

49The General that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it will suffer defeat.

50Let such a one be dismissed.

51While heeding the profit of my counsel, avail yourself also of any helpful circumstances over and beyond the ordinary rules.

52According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans.

53All warfare is based on deception.

54Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable.

55When using our forces, we must seem inactive.

56When we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away.

57When far away, we must make him believe we are near.

58Hold out baits to entice the enemy.

59Feign disorder and crush him.

60If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him.

61If he is in superior strength, evade him.

62If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him.

63Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

64If he is taking his ease, give him no rest.

65If his forces are united, separate them.

66Attack him where he is unprepared.

67Appear where you are not expected.

68These military devices leading to victory must not be divulged beforehand.

69Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought.

70The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand.

71Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat.

72How much more, no calculation at all?

73It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.

74End of Part 1 Part 2.

75Waging War Sun Tzu said, In the operations of war, where there are in the field a thousand swift chariots, as many heavy chariots, and a hundred thousand male-clad soldiers, with provisions enough to carry them a thousand li, the expenditure at home and at the front, including entertainment of guests, small items such as glue and paint, and some spent on chariots and armor, will reach the total of a thousand ounces of silver per day.

76Such is the cost of raising an army of a hundred thousand men.

77When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped.

78If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.

79Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the state will not be equal to the strain.

80Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted, and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity.

81Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.

82Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.

83There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.

84It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.

85The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy.

86Neither are his supply wagons loaded more than twice.

87Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy.

88Thus the army will have food enough for its needs.

89Poverty of the state exchequer causes an army to be maintained by contributions from a distance.

90Contributing to maintain an army at a distance causes the people to be impoverished.

91On 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.

92When their substance is drained away, the peasantry will be afflicted by heavy exactions.

93With this loss of substance and exhaustion of strength, the homes of the people will be stripped bare, and three-tenths of their income will be dissipated.

94While government expenses for broken chariots, worn-out horses, breastplates and helmets, bows and arrows, spears and shields, protective mantles, draught oxen and heavy wagons, will amount to four-tenths of its total revenue.

95Hence, a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy.

96One cartload of the enemy's provisions is equivalent to twenty of one's own, and likewise a single piqule of his provender is equivalent to twenty from one's own store.

97Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger.

98But there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards.

99Therefore, in chariot fighting, when ten or more chariots have been taken, those should be rewarded who took the first.

100Our own flags should be substituted for those of the enemy, and their chariots mingled and used in conjunction with ours.

101The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept.

102This is called using the conquered foe to augment one's own strength.

103In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.

104Thus 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.

105End of Part 2 Recorded in Toronto, Ontario by Moira Fogarty, October 2006