VI. The Empty and the Full

Sun Tzu said: Whoever is first on the field of battle and waits for the enemy is at ease; whoever comes to the field later and hurries into battle is worn out.

So those skilled at fighting bring others to them and are not brought by others. What can make the enemy come of his own accord is advantage; what can keep the enemy from coming is harm. So if the enemy is at ease, be able to wear him out; if well fed, to starve him; if settled, to move him. Go out to where he must hurry; hurry to where he does not expect. One who marches a thousand li without tiring marches through land where there is no one. One who attacks and is sure to take attacks where the enemy does not defend. One who defends and is sure to hold defends where the enemy does not attack.

So against those skilled at attack, the enemy does not know where to defend; against those skilled at defense, the enemy does not know where to attack. Subtle, so subtle, to the point of having no form! Mysterious, so mysterious, to the point of having no sound! Thus they can be the masters of the enemy’s fate. They advance and cannot be resisted, because they strike at his emptiness; they withdraw and cannot be pursued, because they are too quick to be overtaken. When we want to fight, the enemy, though he has high ramparts and deep moats, cannot help but fight us, because we attack what he must rescue. When we do not want to fight, though we only draw a line on the ground and hold it, the enemy cannot fight us, because we lead him away from where he would go. If we make others show their form while we have none, we are concentrated and the enemy is divided. If we are concentrated into one and the enemy is divided into ten, we attack one with ten. Then we are many and the enemy is few; and if we can strike the few with the many, those we fight will be few indeed. The ground where we will fight must not be known. If it cannot be known, the enemy must prepare in many places; and if the enemy prepares in many places, those we fight will be few. If he prepares at the front, the rear has few; if he prepares at the rear, the front has few; if he prepares on the left, the right has few; if he prepares on the right, the left has few; if there is no place he does not prepare, there is no place where he is not few. The few are those who prepare against others; the many are those who make others prepare against them. Therefore, if one knows the place of battle and knows the day of battle, one can march a thousand li to join battle. If one knows neither the place of battle nor the day of battle, the left cannot help the right, the right cannot help the left, the front cannot help the rear, and the rear cannot help the front, to say nothing of the farthest units tens of li away and the nearest several li! As I reckon it, though the troops of Yue¹ are many, what good will that do them toward victory? So it is said: Victory can be made. Though the enemy is numerous, he can be kept from fighting. Weigh him up to learn the calculation of gain and loss; stir him to learn the pattern of his movement and rest; make him show his form to learn the ground of death and life; test him to learn where he has more than enough and where too little. Thus the height of giving an army form is to reach formlessness. Without form, the deepest spy cannot see in, nor the wise make plans against it. By form one sets victory before the crowd, and the crowd cannot understand it. Everyone knows the form by which we win, but no one knows the form by which we shaped the victory. That is why our victories in battle are not repeated, and we answer form with form without end. Now, the form of an army is like water. Water in its course avoids the high and hurries to the low; an army in its form avoids the full and strikes the empty. Water shapes its flow by the ground; an army shapes its victory by the enemy. Therefore war has no constant momentum, and water no constant form. One who can win by changing with the enemy is called divine. Among the five phases none always prevails, among the four seasons none keeps its place forever, the days are short and long, and the moon dies and is born again.

Notes

1. 1. Yue was the southern neighbor and bitter enemy of Wu, the state Sun Tzu served.