The Art of War (Sun)/Section I

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I. 計篇.

  1. 孫子曰兵者國之大事
  2. 死生之地存亡之道不可不察也
  3. 故經之以五校之以計而索其情

I. Laying Plans.

This is the only possible meaning of , which M. Amiot and Capt. Calthrop wrongly translate “Fondements de l'art militaire” and “First principles” respectively. Ts’ao Kung says it refers to the deliberations in the temple selected by the general for his temporary use, or as we should say, in his tent. See § 26.

1. Sun Tzŭ said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State.



The old text of the T’ung Tien has 故經之以五校之計, etc. Later editors have inserted after , and before . The former correction is perhaps superfluous, but the latter seems necessary in order to make sense, and is supported by the accepted reading in § 12, where the same words recur. I am inclined to think, however, that the whole sentence from to is an interpolation and has no business here at all. If it be retained, Wang Hsi must be right in saying that denotes the "seven considerations" in § 13. are the circumstances or conditions likely to bring about victory or defeat. The antecedent of the first is 兵者; of the second, . contains the idea of “comparison with the enemy,” which cannot well be brought out here, but will appear in § 12. Altogether, difficult though it is, the passage is not so hopelessly corrupt as to justify Capt. Calthrop in burking it entirely.

  1. 一曰道二曰天三曰地四曰將五曰法
  2. 道者令民與上同意也
  3. 故可與之死可與之生而民不畏危
  4. 天者陰陽寒暑時制也
  5. 地者遠近險易廣狹死生也

It appears from what follows that Sun Tzŭ means by a principle of harmony, not unlike the Tao of Lao Tzŭ in its moral aspect. One might be tempted to render it by “morale,” were it not considered as an attribute of the ruler in § 13.


The original text omits 令民, inserts an after each , and omits after . Capt. Calthrop translates: “If the ruling authority be upright, the people are united” — a very pretty sentiment, but wholly out of place in what purports to be a translation of Sun Tzŭ.


The commentators, I think, make an unnecessary mystery of 陰陽. Thus Mêng Shih defines the words as 剛柔盈縮 “the hard and the soft, waxing and waning,” which does not help us much. Wang Hsi, however, may be right in saying that what is meant is 總天道 “the general economy of Heaven,” including the five elements, the four seasons, wind and clouds, and other phenomena.


死生 (omitted by Capt. Calthrop) may have been included here because the safety of an army depends largely on its quickness to turn these geographical features to account.

  1. 將者智信仁勇嚴也
  2. 法者曲制官道主用也
  3. 凡此五者將莫不聞知之者勝不知者不勝
  4. 故校之以計而索其情

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

The five cardinal virtues of the Chinese are

  1. humanity or benevolence;
  2. uprightness of mind;
  3. self-respect, self-control, or “proper feeling;”
  4. wisdom;
  5. sincerity or good faith.

Here and are put before , and the two military virtues of “courage” and “strictness” substituted for and .


The Chinese of this sentence is so concise as to be practically unintelligible without commentary. I have followed the interpretation of Ts‘ao Kung, who joins 曲制 and again 主用. Others take each of the six predicates separately. has the somewhat uncommon sense of “cohort”” or division of an army. Capt. Calthrop translates: “Partition and ordering of troops,” which only covers 曲制.



The Yü Lan has an interpolated before . It is obvious, however, that the 五者 just enumerated cannot be described as . Capt. Calthrop, forced to give some rendering of the words which he had omitted in § 3, shows himself decidedly hazy: “Further, with regard to these and the following seven matters, the condition of the enemy must be compared with our own.” He does not appear to see that the seven queries or considerations which follow arise directly out of the Five heads, instead of being supplementary to them.

  1. 曰主孰有道將孰有能天地孰得法令孰行兵衆孰强士卒孰練賞罰孰明
  2. 吾以此知勝負矣


    I. e., “is in harmony with his subjects.” Cf. § 5.
  2. Which of the two generals has most ability?
    See §§ 7, 8.
  4. On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?
    Tu Mu alludes to the remarkable story of Ts‘ao Ts‘ao (A.D. 155—220),who was such a strict disciplinarian that once, in accordance with hisown severe regulations against injury to standing crops, he condemnedhimself to death for having allowed his horse to shy into a field of corn!However, in lieu of losing his head, he was persuaded to satisfy his senseof justice by cutting off his hair. Ts‘ao Ts‘ao’s own comment on thepresent passage is characteristically curt: 設而不犯犯而必誅“when you lay down a law, see that it is not disobeyed; if it is disobeyed,the offender must be put to death.”
  5. Which army is stronger?
    Morally as well as physically. As Mei Yao-ch‘ên puts it, 內和外附, which might be freely rendered “esprit de corps and ‘big battalions.’”
    , literally “clear;” that is, on which side is there the most absolute certainty that merit will be properly rewarded and misdeeds summarily punished?

  1. 將聽吾計用之必勝留之將不聽吾計用之必敗去之
  2. 計利以聽乃為之勢以佐其外
  3. 勢者因利而制權也


The form of this paragraph reminds us that Sun Tzŭ’s treatise was composed expressly for the benefit of his patron 闔閭 Ho Lü, king of the Wu State. It is not necessary, however, to understand before 留之 (as some commentators do), or to take as “generals under my command.”


Capt. Calthrop blunders amazingly over this sentence: “Wherefore, with regard to the foregoing, considering that with us lies the advantage, and the generals agreeing, we create a situation which promises victory.” Mere logic should have kept him from penning such frothy balderdash.


Sun Tzŭ, a practical soldier, will have none of the “bookish theoric.” He cautions us here not to pin our faith to abstract principles; “for,” as Chang Yu puts it, “while the main laws of strategy can be stated clearly enough for the benefit of all and sundry, you must be guided by the actions of the enemy in attempting to secure a favourable position in actual warfare.” On the eve of the battle of Waterloo, Lord Uxbridge, Commanding the cavalry, went to the Duke of Wellington in order to learn what his plans and calculations were for the morrow, because, as he explained, he might suddenly find himself Commander-in—chief and would be unable to frame new plans in a critical moment. The Duke listened quietly and then said: “Who will attack the first to-morrow — I or Bonaparte?” “Bonaparte,” replied Lord Uxbridge. “Well,” continued the Duke, “Bonaparte has not given me any idea of his projects, and as my plans will depend upon his, how can you expect me to tell you what mine are?”[1]

  1. 兵者詭道也
  2. 故能而示之不能用而示之不用近而示之遠遠而示之近
  3. 利而誘之亂而取之
  4. 實而備之强而避之
  5. 怒而撓之卑而驕之

18. All warfare is based on deception.

The truth of the pithy and profound saying will be admitted by every soldier. Col. Henderson tells us that Wellington, great in so many military qualities, was especially distinguished be "the extraordinary skill with which he concealed his movements and deceived both friend and foe."




  1. 佚而勞之親而離之
  2. 攻其無備出其不意
  3. 此兵家之勝不可先傳也
  4. 夫未戰而廟算勝者得算多也未戰而廟算不勝者得算少也多算勝少算不勝而況於無算乎吾以此觀之勝負見矣





Chang Yü tells us that in ancient times it was customary for a temple to be set apart for the use of a general who was about to take the field in order that he might there elaborate his plan of campaign. Capt. Calthrop misunderstands it as "the shrine of the ancestors," and gives a loose and inaccurate rendering of the whole passage.
  1. Words on Wellington,” by Sir W. Fraser.