Dispositions

T The good commanders of old made themselves impossible to beat first, then waited for the enemy to give them the opening. Being beyond defeat is in your own hands. The chance to beat the enemy comes from him. Sun Tzu said: Those of old who were good at war first made themselves unconquerable, and waited for the enemy to become conquerable. Being unconquerable lies in oneself; the enemy's being conquerable lies in the enemy.

So you can make yourself unbeatable. You cannot force the enemy to be beatable. Which is why they say: you can see how to win, but you cannot always make it happen. Thus the good fighter can make himself unconquerable, but cannot make the enemy sure to be conquered. Hence it is said: victory can be known, but cannot be made.

Not being beaten is defense. Beating the enemy is attack. You defend when your strength is short. You attack when you have strength to spare. Being unconquerable is a matter of defense; being able to conquer is a matter of attack. One defends when strength is insufficient; one attacks when there is more than enough.

“The winning army wins first and then goes to war. The losing army goes to war first and then looks for a way to win.”

The master of defense hides as if under the deepest ground. The master of attack strikes as if down from the highest sky. So he keeps himself whole and wins the whole victory. One skilled in defense hides beneath the nine layers of the earth; one skilled in attack moves above the nine heavens. So he can both protect himself and take the complete victory.

To see the win only when everyone else can see it is not the best of skill. To fight and win and have the whole world say well done is not the best of skill. To foresee victory no further than the common crowd can is not the finest skill. To fight and win and have all under heaven call it good is not the finest skill.

Lifting a single autumn hair takes no great strength. Seeing the sun and moon is no proof of sharp eyes. Hearing thunder is no proof of a quick ear. To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength; to see sun and moon is no sign of clear sight; to hear thunder is no sign of a keen ear.

The good commanders of old won where winning was easy. So when a good commander wins, he earns no name for cleverness and no medal for courage. Those of old who were good at war won where it was easy to win. So the victories of the good fighter bring him no reputation for wisdom, no merit for courage.

His victories are without error. Without error, because what he sets up is already certain. He beats an enemy who is already beaten. His victories are not in doubt — not in doubt because what he arranges is already a winning position. He conquers an enemy that is already defeated.

So the good commander stands on ground where he cannot lose, and lets slip no chance to take the enemy down. The winning army wins first and then goes to war. The losing army goes to war first and then looks for a way to win. So the good fighter takes his stand on ground where he cannot be defeated, and lets slip no chance of the enemy's defeat. Therefore the winning army wins first and afterwards seeks battle; the losing army gives battle first and afterwards seeks to win.

The man who is good at war tends to his cause and holds to his method. That is how he commands whether he wins or loses. One skilled in the use of arms cultivates the Way and keeps to method, and so holds command over victory and defeat.

The method runs in five steps: measure the ground, weigh the forces, count the numbers, compare the odds, decide the win. The ground gives you measure, measure gives you the weight, weight gives you the count, the count gives you the comparison, and the comparison gives you the win. The art of war has five things: first, measurement; second, estimation of quantity; third, calculation; fourth, weighing; fifth, victory. The ground gives rise to measurement, measurement to estimation, estimation to calculation, calculation to weighing, and weighing to victory.

A winning army against a losing one weighs like a full measure set against a single grain. When the winner sends his men into battle, it is like loosing pent water down a gorge a thousand fathoms deep. That is what form means. So the winning army is as a full measure weighed against a single grain, and the losing army a single grain against a full measure. When the victor sends his people to battle, it is like loosing pent-up water down a gorge a thousand fathoms deep — this is form.

軍形 The original Chinese · honored as an artifact

昔之善戰者，先為不可勝，以待敵之可勝。

Opening lines, classical Chinese · The Art of War 孫子兵法