I. Initial Calculations

Sun Tzu¹ said: War is a great matter of the state. It is the ground of death and life, the way to survival or ruin. It must be examined.

So assess it by five factors, compare the two sides by calculation, and search out the true situation. The first factor is the Way, the second Heaven, the third Earth, the fourth the General, the fifth Law.

The Way is what makes the people one in purpose with those above them, so that they will die with them and live with them and not fear danger. Heaven is yin and yang, cold and heat, and the order of the seasons. Earth is far and near, rugged and easy, wide and narrow, ground of death and ground of life. The General is wisdom, trustworthiness, humaneness, courage, and strictness. Law is the organization of units, the ranks and duties of officers, and the control of supplies. There is no general who has not heard of these five. Those who know them win; those who do not know them do not win.

So compare the two sides by calculation and search out the true situation, asking: Which ruler has the Way? Which general has ability? Which side has Heaven and Earth? Whose laws and orders are carried out? Whose troops are stronger? Whose soldiers are better trained? Whose rewards and punishments are clearer? By these I know who will win and who will lose.

If a general heeds my plans and is employed, he will surely win: keep him. If a general does not heed my plans and is employed, he will surely lose: send him away.²

Once the advantageous plans have been heeded, create momentum to support them from outside. Momentum means taking control of the balance by following advantage.

War is the way of deception. So when able, appear unable; when using troops, appear not to be using them; when near, appear far; when far, appear near. If he wants gain, lure him; if he is in disorder, take him; if he is at full strength, be prepared for him; if he is strong, avoid him; if he is angry, rile him; if he is humble, make him arrogant; if he is at ease, wear him out; if they are close to one another, divide them. Attack where he is unprepared; go out where he does not expect. This is how the strategist wins, and it cannot be handed down beforehand.

Now, the side that wins the reckoning in the temple³ before battle has more counts in its favor; the side that does not win the reckoning in the temple before battle has fewer. More counts win and fewer do not, to say nothing of having none at all! Looking at it this way, I can see who will win and who will lose.

Notes

1. 1. “Master Sun,” the title by which Sun Wu is known. He came from the state of Qi and, according to the historian Sima Qian, served as a general under Helü, king of Wu, at the end of the sixth century BC.

2. 2. Some old commentators read the opening word not as “general” but as “if”: if the king heeds Sun Tzu’s plans and uses them, he will surely win, and Sun Tzu will stay; if not, he will surely lose, and Sun Tzu will leave.

3. 3. Before a campaign the ruler and his advisers reckoned the chances of victory in the ancestral temple, perhaps with counting rods.