孙子兵法英文版 The Art Of War Chapter 6 Weak Points And Strong

1. Sun Tzu said: Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight;whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted1.

2. Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him.

3. By holding out advantages to him, he can cause the enemy to approach of his own accord; or, by inflicting2 damage,he can make it impossible for the enemy to draw near.

4. If the enemy is taking his ease, he can harass3 him;if well supplied with food, he can starve him out;if quietly encamped, he can force him to move.

5. Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend;march swiftly to places where you are not expected.

6. An army may march great distances without distress,if it marches through country where the enemy is not.

7. You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.You can ensure the safety of your defense4 if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.

8. Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.

9. O divine art of subtlety5 and secrecy6! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible;and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.

10. You may advance and be absolutely irresistible,if you make for the enemy's weak points; you may retire and be safe from pursuit if your movements are more rapid than those of the enemy.

11. If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve.

12. 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 do is to throw something odd and unaccountable in his way.

13. By discovering the enemy's dispositions7 and remaining invisible ourselves, we can keep our forces concentrated,while the enemy's must be divided.

14. We can form a single united body, while the enemy must split up into fractions. Hence there will be a whole pitted against separate parts of a whole,which means that we shall be many to the enemy's few.

15. And if we are able thus to attack an inferior force with a superior one, our opponents will be in dire8 straits.

16. The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points;and his forces being thus distributed in many directions,the numbers we shall have to face at any given point will be proportionately few.

17. For should the enemy strengthen his van,he will weaken his rear; should he strengthen his rear,he will weaken his van; should he strengthen his left,he will weaken his right; should he strengthen his right,

he will weaken his left. If he sends reinforcements everywhere,he will everywhere be weak.

18. Numerical weakness comes from having to prepare against possible attacks; numerical strength, from compelling our adversary9 to make these preparations against us.

19. Knowing the place and the time of the coming battle,we may concentrate from the greatest distances in order to fight.

20. But if neither time nor place be known,then the left wing will be impotent to succor10 the right,the right equally impotent to succor the left, the van unable to relieve the rear, or the rear to support the van.How much more so if the furthest portions of the army are anything under a hundred LI apart, and even the nearest are separated by several LI!

21. Though according to my estimate the soldiers of Yueh exceed our own in number, that shall advantage them nothing in the matter of victory. I say then that victory can be achieved.

22. Though the enemy be stronger in numbers, we may prevent him from fighting. Scheme so as to discover his plans and the likelihood of their success.

23. Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself,so as to find out his vulnerable spots.

24. Carefully compare the opposing army with your own,so that you may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient11.

25. In making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch you can attain12 is to conceal13 them; conceal your dispositions,and you will be safe from the prying14 of the subtlest spies,from the machinations of the wisest brains.

26. How victory may be produced for them out of the enemy's own tactics--that is what the multitude cannot comprehend.

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

28. Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.

29. Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards15.

30. So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak.

31. Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe16 whom he is facing.

32. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape,so in warfare17 there are no constant conditions.

33. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby18 succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain.

34. The five elements (water, fire, wood, metal, earth)are not always equally predominant; the four seasons make way for each other in turn. There are short days and long;the moon has its periods of waning19 and waxing.

原文：　 【虚实第六】

1.孙子曰：

凡先处战地而待敌者佚，后处战地而趋战者劳。故善战者，致人而不致于人。能使敌人自至者，利之也;能使敌人不得至者，害之也。故敌佚能劳之，饱能饥之，安能动之。

2.出其所不趋，趋其所不意。行千里而不劳者，行于无人之地也;攻而必取者，攻其所不守也。守而必固者，守其所必攻也。故善攻者，敌不知其所守;善守者，敌不知其所攻。微乎微乎，至于无形;神乎神乎，至于无声，故能为敌之司命。

3.进而不可御者，冲其虚也;退而不可追者，速而不可及也。故我欲战，敌虽高垒深沟，不得不与我战者，攻其所必救也;我不欲战，虽画地而守之，敌不得与我战者，乖其所之也。

4.故形人而我无形，则我专而敌分。我专为一，敌分为十，是以十攻其一也。则我众敌寡，能以众击寡者，则吾之所与战者约矣。吾所与战之地不可知，不可知则敌所备者多，敌所备者多，则吾所与战者寡矣。

故备前则后寡，备后则前寡，备左则右寡，备右则左寡，无所不备，则无所不寡。寡者，备人者也;众者，使人备己者也。

5.故知战之地，知战之日，则可千里而会战;不知战之地，不知战日，则左不能救右，右不能救左，前不能救后，后不能救前，而况远者数十里，近者数里乎!

以吾度之，越人之兵虽多，亦奚益于胜哉! 故曰：胜可为也。敌虽众，可使无斗。

6.故策之而知得失之计，作之而知动静之理，形之而知死生之地，角之而知有余不足之处。故形兵之极，至于无形。无形，则深间不能窥，智者不能谋。因形而措胜于众，众不能知。人皆知我所以胜之形，而莫知吾所以制胜之形。故其战胜不复，而应形于无穷。

7.夫兵形象水，水之形，避高而趋下，兵之形，避实而击虚。水因地而制流，兵因敌而制胜。故兵无常势，水无常形。能因敌变化而取胜者，谓之神。故五行无常胜，四时无常位，日有短长，月有死生。

译文：　　　　【虚实第六】

1.孙子说，大凡先期到达战地等待敌军的就精力充沛、主动安逸，而后到达战地匆忙投入战斗的就被动劳累。所以，善战者调动敌人而决不为敌人所调动。能够调动敌人使之自动前来我预想的战地，是用利益来引诱;能使敌人不能先我来到战场，是设置障碍、多方阻挠的结果。所以，敌人若处军安逸，能使之疲劳;若敌人粮食充足就能使之匮乏;若敌人安然不动，就能使他不得不行动起来。

2.通过敌人不设防的地区进军，在敌人预料不到的时间，向敌人预料不到的地点攻击。进军千里而不疲惫，是因为走在敌军无人抵抗或无力抵抗的地区，如入无人之境。我进攻就一定会获胜，是因为攻击的是敌人疏于防守的地方。我防守一定稳固，是因为守住了敌人一定会进攻的地方。所以善于进攻的，能做到使敌方不知道在哪防守，不知道怎样防守。而善于防守的，使敌人不知道从哪进攻，不知怎样进攻。深奥啊，精妙啊，竟然见不到一点形迹;神奇啊，玄妙啊，居然不漏出一点消息。所以能成为敌人命运的主宰。

3.进攻时，敌人无法抵御，那是攻击了敌人兵力空虚的地方;撤退时，敌人无法追击，那是行动迅速敌人无法追上。所以我军要交战，敌人就算垒高墙挖深沟，也不得不出来与我军交战，是因为我军攻击了它非救不可的要害之处;我军不想与敌军交战，虽然只是在地上画出界限权作防守，敌人也无法与我军交战，原因是我已设法改变了敌军进攻的方向。

4.所以，使敌军处于暴露状态而我军处于隐蔽状态，这样我军兵力就可以集中而敌军兵力就不得不分散。(如果敌我总兵力相当)，我集中兵力与一点，而敌人分散为十处，我就是以十对一。这样，(在局部战场上)就出现我众敌寡的态势，在这种态势下，则我军所与战者用力少而成功多也。敌军不知道我军所预定的战场在哪里，就会处处分兵防备，防备的地方越多，能够与我军在特定的地点直接交战的敌军就越少。

所以防备前面，则后面兵力不足，防备后面，则前面兵力不足，防备左方，则右方兵力不足，防备右方，则左方兵力不足，所有的地方都防备，则所有的地方都兵力不足。兵力不足，全是因为分兵防御敌人;兵力充足，是由于迫使敌人分兵防御我。

5.所以，既预知与敌人交战的地点，又预知交战的时间，即使行军千里也可以与敌人交战。不能预知与敌人交战的地点，又不能预知交战的时间，仓促遇敌，就会左军不能救右军，右军不能救左军，前军不能救后军，后军不能救前军，何况远的相距十里，近的也有好几里呢。

依我对吴国所作的分析，越国虽然兵多，但对他的胜利又有什么帮助呢? 所以说：胜利是可以创造的，敌人虽然兵多，却可以使敌人无法有效地参加战斗。

6.通过仔细分析可以判断敌人作战计划的优劣得失;通过挑动敌人，可以了解敌方的活动规律;通过“示形”，可以弄清地形是否对敌有利;通过试探性进攻，可以探明敌方兵力布置的强弱多寡。所以，示形诱敌的方法运用得极其巧妙时，一点破绽也没有。到这种境地，即使隐藏再深的间谍也不能探明我的虚实，智慧高超的敌手也想不出对付我的办法。根据敌情采取制胜的策略，即使摆在众人面前，众人也理解不了。人们都知道我克敌制胜的方法，却不能知道我是怎样运用这些方法制胜的。所以战胜敌人的战略战术每次都是不一样的，应适应敌情灵活运用。

7.兵的性态就象水一样，水流动时是避开高处流向低处，用兵取胜的关键是避开设防严密实力强大的敌人而攻击其薄弱环节;水根据地势来决定流向，军队根据敌情来采取制胜的方略。所以用兵作战没有一成不变的态势，正如流水没有固定的形状和去向。能够根据敌情的变化而取胜的，就叫做用兵如神。金、木、水、火、土这五行相生相克，没有哪一个常胜;四季相继相代，没有哪一个固定不移，白天的时间有长有短，月亮有圆也有缺。万物皆处于流变状态。

1 exhausted        

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。

Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

2 inflicting        

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。

It's impossible to do research without inflicting some pain on animals. 搞研究不让动物遭点罪是不可能的。

3 harass        

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。

They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

4 defense        

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。

The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 subtlety        

n.微妙，敏锐，精巧；微妙之处，细微的区别

参考例句：

He has shown enormous strength,great intelligence and great subtlety.他表现出充沛的精力、极大的智慧和高度的灵活性。

The subtlety of his remarks was unnoticed by most of his audience.大多数听众都没有觉察到他讲话的微妙之处。

6 secrecy        

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。

Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

7 dispositions        

安排( disposition的名词复数 )； 倾向； （财产、金钱的）处置； 气质

参考例句：

We got out some information about the enemy's dispositions from the captured enemy officer. 我们从捕获的敌军官那里问出一些有关敌军部署的情况。

Elasticity, solubility, inflammability are paradigm cases of dispositions in natural objects. 伸缩性、可缩性、易燃性是天然物体倾向性的范例。

8 dire        

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。

We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

9 adversary        

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。

They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

10 succor        

n.援助，帮助；v.给予帮助

参考例句：

In two short hours we may look for succor from Webb.在短短的两小时内，韦布将军的救兵就可望到达。

He was so much in need of succor,so totally alone.他当时孑然一身，形影相吊，特别需要援助。

11 deficient        

adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的

参考例句：

The crops are suffering from deficient rain.庄稼因雨量不足而遭受损害。

I always have been deficient in selfconfidence and decision.我向来缺乏自信和果断。

12 attain        

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。

His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。

13 conceal        

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。

He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

14 prying        

adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开

参考例句：

I'm sick of you prying into my personal life! 我讨厌你刺探我的私生活！

She is always prying into other people's affairs. 她总是打听别人的私事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 downwards        

adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地）

参考例句：

He lay face downwards on his bed.他脸向下伏在床上。

As the river flows downwards,it widens.这条河愈到下游愈宽。

16 foe        

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。

A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

17 warfare        

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。

Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

18 thereby        

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。

He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

19 waning        

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。

The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》