Art of War 3.7
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Attack By Stratagem 謀攻篇
必以全爭於天下故兵不頓而利可全此謀攻之法也
With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will be complete.
This is the method of attacking by stratagem.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
Owing to the double meanings of 兵, 頓 [=鈍] and 利, the latter part of the sentence is susceptible of quite a different meaning: “And thus, the weapon not being blunted by use, its keenness remains perfect.” Chang Yü says that 利 is “the advantage of a prosperous kingdom and a strong army.”
Character glossary
- 必bìsurely, certainly; must; will
- 以yǐaccording to; so as to; because of; then
- 全quánwhole, entire, complete; to preserve
- 爭zhēngto dispute, to fight, to contend, to str
- 於yúat, in, on; to, from; alas!
- 天tiānsky, heaven; god, celestial
- 下xiàbelow, underneath; inferior; to bring do
- 故gùreason, cause; happening, instance
- 兵bīngsoldier; troops, an army; warlike
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 頓dùnto pause; to bow; to arrange
- 而érand, and then, and yet; but
- 利lìgains, advantage, profit, merit
- 可kěmay, can, -able; possibly
- 此cǐthis, these; in this case, then
- 謀móuto plan, to scheme; strategem
- 攻gōngto accuse; to assault; to criticize
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 法fǎlaw, rule, statute; method, way; French
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
- Zhuangzi The Circling Sky
- Art of War 10.31
- Zhuangzi Man Among Men
- Zhuangzi On Letting Alone
- Zhuangzi Tsê Yang
- Zhuangzi Nourishment of the Soul
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.