Art of War 4.11
The Art of War (孫子兵法), Tactical Dispositions 形篇
古之所謂善戰者勝勝易勝者也
What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.
Lionel Giles (1910), Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War (1910), with Giles' notes — public domain.
Lionel Giles's notes
The original text, followed by the T‘u Shu, has 勝於易勝者也. But this is an alteration evidently intended to smooth the awkwardness of 勝勝易勝者也, which means literally: “one who, conquering, excels in easy conquering.” Mei Yao-ch‘ên says: “He who only sees the obvious, wins his battles with difficulty; he who looks below the surface of things, wins with ease.”
Character glossary
- 古gǔold, classic, ancient
- 之zhīmarks preceding phrase as modifier of fo
- 所suǒplace, location; "that which", a particl
- 謂wèito call, to say, to tell; name, title; m
- 善shàngood, virtuous, charitable, kind
- 戰zhànwar, fighting, battle
- 者zhěthat which; they who; those who
- 勝shèngvictory; to excel, to truimph
- 易yìto change; to exchange, to trade; simple
- 也yěalso, too
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.