Weigh the situation, then move.
Probe him and learn where his strength is abundant and where deficient.
There are routes not to be followed, armies not to be attacked, citadels not to be besieged, territory not to be fought over.
When he pretends to flee, do not pursue.
Peace proposals unaccompanied by a sworn covenant indicate a plot.
If I wish to engage, then the enemy, for all his high ramparts and deep moat, cannot avoid engagement; I attack that which he is obliged to rescue.
Fierce language and pretentious advances are signs that the enemy is about to retreat.
Until death itself comes, no calamity need be feared.
The rising of birds in their flight is the sign of an ambuscade. Startled beasts indicate that a sudden attack is coming.
The control of large numbers is possible, and like unto that of small numbers, if we subdivide them.
If you follow the enemy’s shifts and changes, you can always find a way to win.
He who exercises no forethought but makes light of his opponents is sure to be captured by them.
When you know both yourself as well as your competition, you are never in danger. To know yourself and not others, gives you half a chance of winning. Knowing neither yourself nor your competition puts you in a position to lose.
There is no place where espionage is not possible.
The business of a general is to kick away the ladder behind soldiers when they have climbed up a height.
The height of strategy, is to attack your opponent’s strategy.
War is a matter of vital importance to the state.
So the principles of warfare are: Do not depend on the enemy not coming, but depend on our readiness against him. Do not depend on the enemy not attacking, but depend on our position that cannot be attacked.
A battle avoided cannot be lost.
When the general is weak and without authority; when his orders are not clear and distinct; when there are no fixed duties assigned to officers and men, and the ranks are formed in a slovenly haphazard manner, the result is utter disorganization.