IV. Form

Sun Tzu said: Those skilled at fighting in ancient times first made themselves unbeatable and then waited for the enemy to become beatable. Being unbeatable lies with oneself; being beatable lies with the enemy. So those skilled at fighting can make themselves unbeatable, but they cannot make the enemy certain to be beaten. So it is said: Victory can be known, but it cannot be made.

Being unbeatable is a matter of defense; being able to win is a matter of attack. One defends when one’s strength is not enough and attacks when it is more than enough. Those skilled at defense hide beneath the ninefold earth; those skilled at attack move above the ninefold heavens. So they can protect themselves and win a complete victory.

To foresee a victory that the crowd can also see is not the height of skill. To win in battle and have the whole world call it skillful is not the height of skill. Lifting a strand of autumn down is no proof of great strength; seeing the sun and moon is no proof of sharp eyes; hearing thunder is no proof of keen ears. Those skilled at fighting in ancient times won where winning was easy. So the victories of those skilled at fighting bring them no fame for wisdom and no merit for courage. Thus their victories in battle never go astray. Never going astray, whatever they set in place is sure to win, for they defeat an enemy already defeated. Hence those skilled at fighting take their stand on ground where they cannot be defeated and do not miss the enemy’s defeat. That is why a victorious army first wins and then seeks battle; a defeated army first fights and then seeks victory. Those skilled at using troops cultivate the Way and preserve Law, and so they can govern victory and defeat.

The art of war has, first, measurement; second, quantity; third, count; fourth, weighing; fifth, victory. Ground gives rise to measurement, measurement to quantity, quantity to count, count to weighing, and weighing to victory. So a victorious army is like a yi weighed against a zhu, and a defeated army like a zhu weighed against a yi.¹ When the victor fights, it is like pent-up water bursting into a gorge a thousand fathoms deep. This is form.

Notes

1. 1. Units of weight: a yi was about five hundred times a zhu.