80 Sun Tzu Quotes

Sun Tzu quotes

1. For 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.

2. The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities... It is best to win without fighting.

3. What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.

4. The more you read and learn, the less your adversary will know.

5. What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations.

6. Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.

7. A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.

8. Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

9. All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.

10. All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

11. If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

12. Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.

13. He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious.

14. He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.

15. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.

16. 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.

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

18. Management of many is the same as management of few. It is a matter of organization.

19. When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of its momentum. When the strike of a hawk breaks the body of its prey, it is because of timing.

20. 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.

21. It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give them instructions and care for them. Thus doubled agents are recruited and used.

22. Now the reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge.

23. 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.

24. Of all those in the army close to the commander none is more intimate than the secret agent; of all rewards none more liberal than those given to secret agents; of all matters none is more confidential than those relating to secret operations.

25. Opportunities multiply as they are seized.

26. Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.

27. Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move.

28. Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

29. The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

30. The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.

31. The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.

32. The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.

33. The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.

34. 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.

35. There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.

36. Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.

37. Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

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

39. When the enemy is at ease, be able to weary him; when well fed, to starve him; when at rest, to make him move. Appear at places to which he must hasten; move swiftly where he does not expect you.

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

41. To a surrounded enemy, you must leave a way of escape.

42. Too frequent rewards indicate that the general is at the end of his resources; too frequent punishments that he is in acute distress.

43. Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where he has taken no precautions.

44. Bestow rewards without respect to customary practice; publish orders without respect to precedent. Thus you may employ the entire army as you would one man.

45. To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.

46. The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat: - let such a one be dismissed!

47. If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders are clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers.

48. A leader leads by example not by force.

49. A skilled commander seeks victory from the situation and does not demand it of his subordinates.

50. If your opponent is of choleric temperment, seek to irritate him.

51. Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.

52. One defends when his strength is inadaquate, he attacks when it is abundant.

53. Being unconquerable lies with yourself; being conquerable lies with your enemy.

54. You cannot stop innovation.

55. The expert in battle seeks his victory from strategic advantage and does not demand it from his men.

56. Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment - that which they cannot anticipate.

57. Where the army is, prices are high; when prices rise the wealth of the people is exhausted.

58. If fighting is sure to result in victory, then 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. (Ch. 10, 23)

59. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

60. To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.

1. It is according to the shapes that I lay the plans for victory, but the multitude does not comprehend this. Although everyone can see the outward aspects, none understands the way in which I have created victory.

2. Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.

3. Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision.

4. 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.

5. If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging us even though the lines of our encampment be merely traced out on the ground. All we need to do is to throw something odd and unaccountable in his way.

6. In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.

7. They [spies] cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness.

8. In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory. In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack.. the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers.

9. Do not press an enemy at bay.

10. When the soldiers stand leaning on their spears, they are faint from want of food.

11. Of all rewards none [is] more liberal than those given to secret agents.

12. If their forces are substantial, prepare for them; if their forces are strong, avoid them.

13. You cannot know if you will be successful or not. You can only prepare for battle and it must be done with all of your heart and with all of your consciousness. In that manner, you will have an edge.

14. The successful person has unusual skill at dealing with conflict and ensuring the best outcome for all.

15. On the field of battle, the spoken word does not carry far enough; hence the institution of gongs and drums... banners and flags. Gongs and drums, banners and flags, are means whereby the ears and eyes of the host may be focused on one particular point.

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

17. It is sufficient to estimate the enemy situation correctly and to concentrate your strength to capture him. There is no more to it than this. He who lacks foresight and underestimates his enemy will surely be captured by him.

18. There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.There are not more than five primary colors, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted.

19. Carefully study the well-being of your men, and do not overtax them. Concentrate your energy and hoard your strength. Keep your army continually on the move, and devise unfathomable plans.

20. He who knows things, and in fighting puts his knowledge into practice, will win his battles. He who knows them not, nor practices them, will surely be defeated.