Sun Tzu's Quotes & Sayings

If an enemy has alliances, the problem is grave and the enemy's position strong; if he has no alliances, the problem is minor and the enemy's position weak. — Sun Tzu

Therefore the skillful 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. — Sun Tzu

Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy ... use the conquered foe to augment one's own strength. — Sun Tzu

Invincibility depends on one's self; the enemy's vulnerability on him. — Sun Tzu

It is a doctrine of war not to assume the enemy will not come, but rather to rely on one's readiness to meet him; not to presume that he will not attack, but rather to make one's self invincible. — Sun Tzu

If our soldiers are not overburdened with money, it is not because they have a distaste for riches; if their lives are not unduly long, it is not because they are disinclined to longevity. — Sun Tzu

The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points; — Sun Tzu

One hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful, subduing the other's military without battle is the most skillful. — Sun Tzu

Do not engage an enemy more powerful than you. And if it is unavoidable and you do have to engage, then make sure you engage it on your terms, not on your enemy's terms. — Sun Tzu

Leadership is a matter of intelligence, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage, and sternness. — Sun Tzu

There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune on his army: By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army. By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier's minds. By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers. — Sun Tzu

[ ... ]you don't have to be Sun freakin Tzu to know that real fighting isn't about killing or even hurting the other guy, it's about scaring him enough to call it a day. — Max Brooks

Therefore the master of war causes the enemy's forces to yield, but without fighting ; he captures his fortress, but without besieging it ; and without lengthy fighting takes the enemy's kingdom. Without tarnishing his weapons he gains the complete advantage. This is the assault by stratagem. — Sun Tzu

Now a soldier's spirit is keenest in the morning; by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the evening, his mind is only on returning to camp. — Sun Tzu

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

The art of using troops is this:
... When ten to the enemy's one, surround him;
... When five times his strength, attack him;
... If double his strength, divide him;
... If equally matched you may engage him;
... If weaker numerically, be capable of withdrawing;
... And if in all respects unequal, be capable of eluding him,
... for a small force is but booty for one more powerful. — Sun Tzu

These are the six ways of courting defeat - neglect to estimate the enemy's strength; want of authority; defective training; unjustifiable anger; nonobservance of discipline; failure to use picked men ... — Sun Tzu

Unless you enter the tiger's lair, you cannot get hold of the tiger's cub's. — Sun Tzu

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 honors and emoluments, is the height of inhumanity. — Sun Tzu

Spies are a most important element in water, because on them depends an army's ability to move. — Sun Tzu

Accordingly, he had the two leaders beheaded, and straightway installed the pair next in order as leaders in their place. When this had been done, the drum was sounded for the drill once more; and the girls went through all the evolutions, turning to the right or to the left, marching ahead or wheeling back, kneeling or standing, with perfect accuracy and precision, not venturing to utter a sound. Then Sun Tzu sent a messenger to the King saying: Your soldiers, Sire, are now properly drilled and disciplined, and ready for your majesty's inspection. They can be put to any use that their sovereign may desire; bid them go through fire and water, and they will not disobey. — Sun Tzu

[The chief lesson of this chapter, in Tu Mu's opinion, is the paramount importance in war of rapid evolutions and sudden rushes. "Great results," he adds, "can thus be achieved with small forces."] — Sun Tzu

Ask ten different scientists about the environment, population control, genetics and you'll get ten different answers, but there's one thing every scientist on the planet agrees on. Whether it happens in a hundred years or a thousand years or a million years, eventually our Sun will grow cold and go out. When that happens, it won't just take us. It'll take Marilyn Monroe and Lao-Tzu, Einstein, Morobuto, Buddy Holly, Aristophanes .. and all of this .. all of this was for nothing unless we go to the stars. — J. Michael Straczynski

If asked how to cope with a great host of the enemy in orderly array and on the point of marching to the attack, I should say: "Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will." Rapidity is the essence of war: take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness, make your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots. — Sun Tzu

Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him. — Sun Tzu

[Once war is declared, he will not waste precious time in waiting for reinforcements, nor will he return his army back for fresh supplies, but crosses the enemy's frontier without delay. — Sun Tzu

The ultimate in disposing one's troops is to be without ascertainable shape. Then the most penetrating spies cannot pry in nor can the wise lay plans against you. — Sun Tzu

Hence a commander who advances without any thought of winning personal fame and withdraws in spite of certain punishment, whose only concern is to protect his people and promote the interests of his ruler, is the nation's treasure. Because he fusses over his men as if they were infants, they will accompany him into the deepest valleys; because he fusses over his men as if they were his own beloved sons, they will die by his side. If he is generous with them and yet they do not do as he tells them, if he loves them and yet they do not obey his commands, if he is so undisciplined with them that he cannot bring them into proper order, they will be like spoiled children who can be put to no good use at all. — Sun Tzu

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. — Sun Tzu

The 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. — Sun Tzu

Rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him — Sun Tzu

Malone kept listening, a saying from Sun Tzu's ART OF WAR spinning through his mind. When your enemy is in the process of destroying himself, stay out of the way. — Steve Berry

Leaders can change the tenor of the workplace and create harmony in motion toward a favorable result. So every time you say to your team, "Let's rock and roll," make sure you have already set up the stage to where they can actually perform like rock stars. — Thomas Huynh

Asked if an army can be made to imitate the SHUAI-JAN, I should answer, Yes. For the men of Wu and the men of Yueh are enemies; yet if they are crossing a river in the same boat and are caught by a storm, they will come to each other's assistance just as the left hand helps the right. — Sun Tzu

O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible, and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands. — Sun Tzu

When the enemy's envoy's speak in humble terms, but continues his preparations, he will advance. When their language is deceptive but the enemy pretentiously advances, he will retreat. When the envoys speak in apologetic terms, he wishes a respite. When without a previous understanding the enemy asks for a truce, he is plotting. When the enemy sees an advantage but does not advance to seize it, he is fatigued. — Sun Tzu

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

If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is weak. — Sun Tzu

On dispersive ground, therefore, fight not. On facile ground, halt not. On contentious ground, attack not. On open ground, do not try to block the enemy's way. On the ground of intersecting highways, join hands with your allies. On serious ground, gather in plunder. In difficult ground, keep steadily on the march. On hemmed-in ground, resort to stratagem. On desperate ground, fight. — Sun Tzu

To plan secretly, to move surreptitiously, to foil the enemy's intentions and balk his schemes, so that at last the day may be won without shedding a drop of blood. — Sun Tzu

Surely you know the Thirty-Six Stratagems." I shook my head. "The ancient Chinese art of deception." "Oh, right. Sun Tzu. Jay Stoddard's favorite." "Forget Sun Tzu's Art of War. That's so commonplace." He held up a gnarled, age-spotted finger. "Far more interesting than Sun Tzu is Chu-ko Liang. Perhaps the most brilliant military strategist ever. One of his stratagems was to defeat your enemy from within. Infiltrate the enemy's camp in the guise of cooperation or surrender. Then, once you've discovered the source of his weakness, you strike." Somehow the setting - the visitors' room of the Altamont Correctional Facility - made my father's advice a little less authoritative. As I walked out of the visitors' room, I savored a feeling of relief. Because at that moment I knew that my brother was alive. — Joseph Finder

The general must be the first in the toils and fatigues of the army. In the heat of summer he does not spread his parasol nor in the cold of winter don thick clothing. In dangerous places he must dismount and walk. He waits until the army's wells have been dug and only then drinks; until the army's food is cooked before he eats; until the army's fortifications have been completed, to shelter himself. — Sun Tzu

Attack the enemy's strategy. — Sun Tzu

Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans, the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces, the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field, and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities. — Sun Tzu

When a general, unable to estimate the enemy's strength, allows an inferior force to engage a larger one, or hurls a weak detachment against a powerful one, and neglects to place picked soldiers in the front rank, the result must be rout. — Sun Tzu

It is the rule in war, if ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be able to divide them; if equal, engage them; if fewer, be able to evade them; if weaker, be able to avoid them. — Sun Tzu

Conform to the enemy's tactics until a favorable opportunity offers; then come forth and engage in a battle that shall prove decisive. — Sun Tzu

The PEOPLE being regarded as the essential part of the State, and FOOD as the people's heaven, is it not right that those in authority should value and be careful of both?] — Sun Tzu

Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men. — Sun Tzu

The height of strategy, is to attack your opponent's strategy. — Sun Tzu

From the ancient Chinese commentators found in the Giles edition. Of these four, Giles' 1910 edition is the most scholarly and presents the reader an incredible amount of information concerning Sun Tzu's text, much more than any other translation. The Giles' edition of the ART OF WAR, as stated above, was a scholarly work. Dr. Giles was a leading sinologue at the time and an assistant in the Department — Sun Tzu

Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is master of his enemy's fate. — Sun Tzu

It is best to keep one's own state intact; to crush the enemy's state is only second best. — Sun Tzu

He who wishes to fight must first count the cost. When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be dampened. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength. — Sun Tzu

Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting. — Sun Tzu

Key to Sun Tzu's thinking is his realization that all plans are temporary. He knew that a plan can become obsolete as soon as it's crafted. For him, the decision to position one's forces in competition depends on two major factors: (1) objective conditions in the physical environment and (2) the subjective beliefs of competitors in that environment. — Anonymous

When you start a fire, be to windward of it. Do not attack from the leeward. — Sun Tzu

The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable. — Sun Tzu

The wise leader's plans, considerations of advantage and of disadvantage will be blended together. — Sun Tzu

The skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting. — Sun Tzu

If fighting is sure to result in victory, than you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler's bidding. — Sun Tzu

The general who does not advance to seek glory, or does not withdraw to avoid punishment, but cares for only the people's security and promotes the people's interests, is the nation's treasure. — Sun Tzu

Those who were called skillful leaders of old knew how to drive a wedge between the enemy's front and rear; [More literally, "cause the front and rear to lose touch with each other."] to prevent co-operation between his large and small divisions; to hinder the good troops from rescuing the bad, the officers from rallying their men. 16. When the enemy's men were united, they managed to keep them in disorder. — Sun Tzu

If I am able to determine the enemy's dispositions while at the same time I conceal my own, then I can concentrate and he must divide. — Sun Tzu

Subjugating the enemy's army without fighting is the true pinnacle of excellence. — Sun Tzu

If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are. — Sun Tzu

Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust. — Sun Tzu

If you follow the enemy's shifts and changes, you can always find a way to win. — Sun Tzu

If I determine the enemy's disposition of forces while I have no perceptible form, I can concentrate my forces while the enemy is fragmented. The pinnacle of military deployment approaches the formless: if it is formless, then even the deepest spy cannot discern it nor the wise make plans against it. — Sun Tzu

So it is that good warriors take their stance on ground where they cannot lose, and do not overlook conditions that make an opponent prone to defeat. — Sun Tzu

Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle, but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting. — Sun Tzu

To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill — Sun Tzu

It is the business of a general to be serene and inscrutable, impartial and self-controlled. — Sun Tzu

Being unconquerable lies with yourself; being conquerable lies with your enemy. — Sun Tzu

Weapons are inauspicious instruments, not the tools of the enlightened. When there is no choice but to use them, it is best to be calm and free from greed, and not celebrate victory. Those who celebrate victory are bloodthirsty, and the bloodthirsty cannot have their way with the world. — Sun Tzu

Therefore a victorious army first wins and then seeks battle; a defeated army first battles and then seeks victory. — Sun Tzu

Set the troops to their tasks without imparting your designs. — Sun Tzu

And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him. — Sun Tzu

15. Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One cartload of the enemy's provisions is equivalent to twenty of one's own, and likewise a single picul of his provender is equivalent to twenty from one's own store. — Sun Tzu

About Sun Tzu himself this is all that Ssu-ma Ch'ien has to tell us in this chapter. But he proceeds to give a biography of his descendant, Sun Pin, born about a hundred years after his famous ancestor's death, and also the outstanding military genius of his time. — Sun Tzu

He who is not sage and wise, humane and just, cannot use secret agent.s. And he who is not delicate and subtle cannot get the truth out of them. — Sun Tzu

3. Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans; [Perhaps the word "balk" falls short of expressing the full force of the Chinese word, which implies not an attitude of defense, whereby one might be content to foil the enemy's stratagems one after another, but an active policy of counter-attack. Ho Shih puts this very clearly in his note: "When the enemy has made a plan of attack against us, we must anticipate him by delivering our own attack first."] the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces; [Isolating him from his allies. We must not forget that Sun Tzu, in speaking of hostilities, always has in mind the numerous states or principalities into which the China of his day was split up.] the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field; [When he is already at full strength.] and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities. 4. The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided. — Sun Tzu

Whether in an advantageous position or a disadvantageous one, the opposite state should be always present to your mind. — Sun Tzu

It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one,
to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous,
to divide our army into two. — Sun Tzu

The natural formation of the country is the soldier's best ally — Sun Tzu

Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose. — Sun Tzu

When Lionel Giles began his translation of Sun Tzu's ART OF WAR, the work was virtually unknown in Europe. Its introduction to Europe began in 1782 when a French Jesuit Father living in China, Joseph Amiot, acquired a copy of it, and translated — Sun Tzu

On open ground, do not try to block the enemy's way. On the ground of intersecting highways, join hands with your allies. — Sun Tzu

One need not destroy one's enemy. One need only destroy his willingness to engage. — Sun Tzu

The proximity of an army causes prices to go up; and high prices cause people's substance to be drained away. When their substance is drained away, they will be afflicted by heavy exactions. With this loss of substance and exhaustion of strength, the homes of the people will be stripped bare, and their incomes dissipated. — Sun Tzu

To prevent the enemy from fathoming one's intentions is of the first importance. — Sun Tzu

and were closely pursued by Pan Ch'ao. Over 5000 heads were brought back as trophies, besides immense spoils in the shape of horses and cattle and valuables of every description. Yarkand then capitulating, Kutcha and the other kingdoms drew off their respective forces. From that time forward, Pan Ch'ao's prestige completely overawed the countries of the west." In this case, we see that the Chinese general not only kept his own officers in ignorance of his real plans, but actually took the bold step of dividing his army in order to deceive the — Sun Tzu

Supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy. — Sun Tzu

In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them. — Sun Tzu

Balk the enemy's power; force him to reveal himself. — Sun Tzu

Every battle is won before it's ever fought. — Sun Tzu

Thus those skilled in war subdue the enemy's army without battle ... They conquer by strategy. — Sun Tzu

To capture the enemy's entire army is better than to destroy it; to take intact a regiment, a company, or a squad is better than to destroy them. For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the supreme of excellence. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence. — Sun Tzu

First learn to become invincible, then wait for your enemy's moment of vulnerability. — Sun Tzu

The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they will become double agents and available for our service. It is through the information brought by the double agent that we are able to acquire and employ local and inward spies. It is owing to his information, again, that we can cause the doomed spy to carry false tidings to the enemy. — Sun Tzu