Original Text
Sun Tzu said: The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. To make the enemy's entire nation surrender intact is the highest excellence; to crush it by force is inferior. To make the enemy's entire army surrender intact is the highest excellence; to defeat it by battle is inferior. To make the enemy's entire battalion surrender intact is the highest excellence; to defeat it by battle is inferior. To make the enemy's entire company surrender intact is the highest excellence; to defeat it by battle is inferior. To make the enemy's entire squad surrender intact is the highest excellence; to defeat it by battle is inferior. Thus, winning every battle is not the supreme skill; subduing the enemy without fighting is the supreme skill.
Therefore, the highest strategy in warfare is to subdue the enemy without fighting; the next best is to defeat them through diplomatic means; the next is to defeat them by force; and the worst strategy is to attack fortified cities. Attacking a city is a last resort, an option taken only when there is no other choice. To prepare for a siege, constructing shields, wheeled vehicles, and various siege equipment takes at least three months; building earthen mounds for assault requires another three months to complete. If a commander cannot control their impatience and orders soldiers to swarm the city walls like ants, climbing scaling ladders, the result may be that one-third of the soldiers are killed or wounded, yet the city remains unconquered. Such is the calamity of siege warfare.
Thus, those skilled in warfare can subdue the enemy's army without battle, capture their cities without assault, and overthrow their state without prolonged campaigns. They strive for total victory through strategy, preserving their own strength while achieving complete triumph. This is the essence of overcoming the enemy by cunning.
Therefore, the tactical methods in actual combat are: when our forces outnumber the enemy ten to one, we surround and annihilate them; when our forces outnumber the enemy five to one, we launch a fierce attack; when our forces outnumber the enemy two to one, we split the enemy and defeat them separately; when our forces are equal to the enemy, we can engage them in battle; when our forces are fewer than the enemy, we find ways to disengage; when our strength is inferior to the enemy, we avoid battle whenever possible. For if the weaker side stubbornly fights to the death, it will inevitably be crushed by the stronger opponent.
The general is the sovereign's aide; thorough and meticulous support ensures the state's strength, while flawed support leads to its decline.
A ruler brings three kinds of harm upon his army: ordering an advance when it should not advance, or ordering a retreat when it should not retreat—this is called hobbling the army; interfering with military administration without understanding its affairs, leaving officers and soldiers confused and directionless; meddling in command decisions without grasping the tactical realities of war, sowing doubt among the troops. When the army is both confused and doubtful, rival states will seize the opportunity to strike. This is called throwing one's own army into chaos and courting defeat. Thus, victory can be foreseen in five situations: one who knows when to fight and when not to fight will win; one who adapts tactics to the size of the opposing force will win; one whose generals and soldiers share a united spirit and common purpose will win; one who is well-prepared against a careless enemy will win; one whose commander is competent and whose ruler does not interfere will win. These five are the essential conditions for victory in war.
Therefore: Know the enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated; know yourself but not the enemy, and your chances of winning are equal; know neither the enemy nor yourself, and you will lose every battle.
Commentary
This chapter is entirely about strategy, covering the following main points:
First, the strategy of attacking the enemy. Sun Tzu believed that "the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." The best way to achieve victory is through strategy—using wisdom and cunning, backed by force, to overcome the opponent.
Second, it explains that the highest pursuit in planning an attack is to "subdue the enemy without fighting." Forcing the enemy to surrender without losing a single soldier is the most ideal battle plan. Even if the most ideal outcome cannot be achieved, one should strive to obtain the greatest victory at the smallest cost.
Third, it discusses the methods and pros and cons of planning an attack, presenting the scientific truth that "know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without peril."
Example Interpretation
Battle of Shouchun
In this chapter, Sun Tzu's concept of subduing the enemy through strategy stands as a profound wisdom in military strategy. To subdue the enemy without fighting relies on the aura of a true king, rooted in the way of heaven and the will of the people. To subdue through battle, however, relies on the brute force of killing and plundering.
Sima Zhao inherited the central court authority from his father and elder brother, successively eliminating the rebellions of Wang Ling and Guanqiu Jian in his attempt to usurp the Wei throne and establish his own rule. Zhuge Dan, the General of the Eastern Expedition loyal to the Cao family, stationed troops in Huainan to resist Sima Zhao. In the fifth month of the second year of the Ganlu era, Sima Zhao followed the advice of his strategist Jia Chong, promoting Zhuge Dan to the position of Minister of Works and summoning him to the capital. Zhuge Dan refused the decree, attacked Yangzhou Inspector Yue Lin, and raised an army against Sima Zhao. Zhuge Dan adopted a strategy of allying with Eastern Wu, waiting at ease for the exhausted enemy, and holding Yangzhou (governing Shouchun, present-day Shou County, Anhui). Eastern Wu sent surrendered Wei general Wen Qin and generals Quan Yi, Quan Duan, Tang Zi, Wang Zuo, among others, with 30,000 reinforcements, and dispatched additional troops for support. Zhuge Dan also mobilized the Huainan garrison troops, bringing the total defending force in Yangzhou to over 100,000. In the sixth month, Sima Zhao, escorting the Wei emperor on an eastern campaign, led 260,000 troops to Qiutou (present-day southeast of Shenqiu, Zhoukou, Henan). He dispatched the General of the Southern Pacification Wang Ji and the General of the Eastern Pacification Chen Qian to besiege Shouchun. Wen Qin and his forces took advantage of the incomplete encirclement to break into the city and assist in its defense. Many of Sima Zhao's generals favored a direct assault. However, Sima Zhao argued, "The city is fortified and the defenders numerous; attacking would exhaust our strength. If external enemies arrive, we would be caught between two fronts—this is a dangerous path" (Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Wei). He thus adopted a strategy of besieging without attacking, letting the enemy exhaust themselves and fail. He ordered Wang Ji to build fortifications around the city and guard them to trap the defenders, and sent Inspector Shi Bao and Yanzhou Inspector Zhou Tai to lead elite troops to guard against Wu reinforcements. Wen Qin and others repeatedly attempted to break the siege by attacking the fortifications but were repelled by Wei forces. Wu general Zhu Yi led reinforcements to Yangyuan (northeast of present-day Huoqiu, Anhui) but was defeated by Shi Bao. In the seventh month, Wu Grand General Sun Lin stationed troops in Huoli (northwest of present-day Chao County, Anhui) and sent Zhu Yi with 50,000 troops to reinforce Shouchun. Shi Bao and others defeated Zhu Yi again, using surprise troops to burn all of Wu's grain supplies. Sun Lin executed Zhu Yi to shift blame and withdrew his forces back to Wu. In the first month of the following year, Zhuge Dan's army constructed siege equipment and attacked the southern fortifications continuously for five days and nights in an attempt to break out. Wang Ji's forces held the fortifications, using stone-throwing carts and fire arrows from a height to destroy the siege equipment. Zhuge Dan's army suffered heavy casualties and retreated into the city. Food supplies within the city dwindled, and tens of thousands surrendered. Wen Qin advised Zhuge Dan to let the northerners leave the city to conserve food, while he and the Wu forces held the city. Zhuge Dan refused, and due to longstanding grievances, he killed Wen Qin. Wen Qin's sons, Wen Yang and Wen Hu, defected to Wei by scaling the city walls. Sima Zhao pardoned them and ordered them to patrol the city with several hundred cavalry. When the defending soldiers learned of this, they lost all will to fight. Sima Zhao personally oversaw the assault on all four sides of the city. Most defenders offered no resistance, and Shouchun fell. Zhuge Dan was killed while attempting to break out, and Tang Zi and Wang Zuo surrendered to Wei. Of the 30,000 Wu troops defending Shouchun, half died and half surrendered.
In this campaign, Sima Zhao first adopted a strategy of besieging without attacking, letting the enemy exhaust and collapse on their own. He also skillfully employed a counter-intelligence scheme, spreading false information to lure Zhuge Dan into a trap. When the defenders inside the city attempted to flee, he used the exemplary treatment of prisoners to demoralize the remaining troops. Only after the defenders had completely lost their will to fight did he order the assault, annihilating in one stroke the last force loyal to the Cao Wei regime.
Sun Wu also believed that a commander who knows only his own situation but not the enemy's cannot consistently win battles. If a commander is ignorant of both sides, stumbling in the dark, he is bound to suffer repeated defeats. Only by thoroughly understanding both sides—troop strength, firepower, terrain, weather, logistics, advantages and weaknesses, and even the enemy commander's personality, temperament, and preferences—can one win every battle, achieving total victory. This principle is also widely applied in modern diplomacy and business. Only by discerning the other party's intentions and ultimate goals can one seize the initiative and gain the upper hand.
"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated" is a key thread running through *The Art of War* and the essence of its wisdom. This universal principle has not only profoundly inspired countless military strategists but has also been revered as a timeless maxim by politicians, entrepreneurs, master artists, and people from all walks of life.