The General Character Analysis

War is
A grave affair of state;
It is a place
Of life and death,
A road
To survival and extinction,
A matter
To be pondered carefully.

The Way of War is
A Way of Deception.

In War,
Victory should be
Swift.
If victory is slow,
Men tire,
Morale sags.
Sieges
Exhaust strength;
Protracted campaigns
Strain the public treasury.

I have heard that in war
Haste can be
Folly
But have never seen
Delay that was
Wise.

Ultimate excellence lies
Not in winning
Every battle
But in defeating the enemy
Without ever fighting.

So it is said:
"Know the enemy,
Know yourself,
And victory
Is never in doubt,
Not in a hundred battles."

A victorious army
Is like
Pent-up water
Crashing
A thousand fathoms
Into a gorge.

In the dynamics of War,
There are but these two-
Indirect
And direct-
And yet their permutations
Are inexhaustible.
They give rise to each other
In a never-ending,
Inexhaustible circle.

A rushing torrent
Carries boulders
On its flood;
Such is the energy
Of its momentum.

A swooping falcon
Breaks the back
Of its prey;
Such is the precision
Of its timing.

His energy is like
A drawn crossbow,
His timing like
The release of a trigger.

Skillfully deployed soldiers
Are like round boulders
Rolling down
A mighty mountainside.

The Skillful Warrior attacks
So that the enemy
Cannot defend;
He defends
So that the enemy
Cannot attack.

His form is visible,
But I am
Formless;
I am concentrated,
He is divided.

Military dispositions
Take form like water.
Water shuns the high
And hastens to the low.
War shuns the strong
And attacks the weak.
Water shapes its current
From the lie of the land.
The warrior shapes his victory
From the dynamic of the enemy.

War has no
Constant dynamic;
Water has no
Constant form.
Supreme military skill lies
In deriving victory
From the changing circumstances
Of the enemy.

The difficulty of the fray
Lies in making
The crooked
Straight
And in making
An advantage
Of misfortune.

Be rushing as a wind;
Be stately as a forest;
Be ravaging as a fire;
Be still as a mountain.
Be inscrutable as night;
Be swift as thunder or lightning.

He regards his troops
As his children,
And they will go with him
Into the deepest ravine.
He regards them
As his loved ones,
And they will stand by him
Unto death.

Know Heaven,
Know Earth,
And your victory
Is complete.

To the question
"How should we confront
An enemy,
Numerous and well arrayed,
Poised to attack?"
My reply is
"Seize something
He cherishes,
And he will do your will."

It is the business of the general
To be still
And inscrutable,
To be upright
And impartial.
He must be able
To keep his own troops
In ignorance,
To deceive their eyes
And their ears.

Success in war
Lies in
Scrutinizing
Enemy intentions.
And going with them.
Focus on the enemy,
And from hundreds of miles
You can kill their general.

At first,
Be like a maiden;
When the enemy opens the door,
Be swift as a hare;
Your enemy will not
Withstand you.

It is therefore callous
To begrudge the expense of
A hundred taels
Of silver
For knowledge
Of the enemy's situation.

War is
A grave affair of state;
It is a place
Of life and death,
A road
To survival and extinction,
A matter
To be pondered carefully.

The Way of War is
A Way of Deception.

In War,
Victory should be
Swift.
If victory is slow,
Men tire,
Morale sags.
Sieges
Exhaust strength;
Protracted campaigns
Strain the public treasury.

I have heard that in war
Haste can be
Folly
But have never seen
Delay that was
Wise.

Ultimate excellence lies
Not in winning
Every battle
But in defeating the enemy
Without ever fighting.

So it is said:
"Know the enemy,
Know yourself,
And victory
Is never in doubt,
Not in a hundred battles."

A victorious army
Is like
Pent-up water
Crashing
A thousand fathoms
Into a gorge.

In the dynamics of War,
There are but these two-
Indirect
And direct-
And yet their permutations
Are inexhaustible.
They give rise to each other
In a never-ending,
Inexhaustible circle.

A rushing torrent
Carries boulders
On its flood;
Such is the energy
Of its momentum.

A swooping falcon
Breaks the back
Of its prey;
Such is the precision
Of its timing.

His energy is like
A drawn crossbow,
His timing like
The release of a trigger.

Skillfully deployed soldiers
Are like round boulders
Rolling down
A mighty mountainside.

The Skillful Warrior attacks
So that the enemy
Cannot defend;
He defends
So that the enemy
Cannot attack.

His form is visible,
But I am
Formless;
I am concentrated,
He is divided.

Military dispositions
Take form like water.
Water shuns the high
And hastens to the low.
War shuns the strong
And attacks the weak.
Water shapes its current
From the lie of the land.
The warrior shapes his victory
From the dynamic of the enemy.

War has no
Constant dynamic;
Water has no
Constant form.
Supreme military skill lies
In deriving victory
From the changing circumstances
Of the enemy.

The difficulty of the fray
Lies in making
The crooked
Straight
And in making
An advantage
Of misfortune.

Be rushing as a wind;
Be stately as a forest;
Be ravaging as a fire;
Be still as a mountain.
Be inscrutable as night;
Be swift as thunder or lightning.

He regards his troops
As his children,
And they will go with him
Into the deepest ravine.
He regards them
As his loved ones,
And they will stand by him
Unto death.

Know Heaven,
Know Earth,
And your victory
Is complete.

To the question
"How should we confront
An enemy,
Numerous and well arrayed,
Poised to attack?"
My reply is
"Seize something
He cherishes,
And he will do your will."

It is the business of the general
To be still
And inscrutable,
To be upright
And impartial.
He must be able
To keep his own troops
In ignorance,
To deceive their eyes
And their ears.

Success in war
Lies in
Scrutinizing
Enemy intentions.
And going with them.
Focus on the enemy,
And from hundreds of miles
You can kill their general.

At first,
Be like a maiden;
When the enemy opens the door,
Be swift as a hare;
Your enemy will not
Withstand you.

It is therefore callous
To begrudge the expense of
A hundred taels
Of silver
For knowledge
Of the enemy's situation.