The Art of War · Chapter 7
军争
Maneuvering
The hardest art is turning the roundabout into the direct and misfortune into gain. Move by advantage, be as fast as wind and still as a mountain, and never fight for the sake of fighting.
- What this chapter says
- Key lines
- Applied today
- Related stratagems
- Chapters that share ground with this one
What this chapter says
Maneuvering — getting an army into an advantageous position before the enemy — is the most difficult thing in war, because you must make a devious, roundabout route serve as the direct one, and turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Set off after the enemy yet arrive before him by taking the winding path and tempting him with a bait. But the maneuver has risks: race too fast with your whole force and your supplies fall behind; push troops beyond endurance and only a fraction arrive fit to fight. War is grounded in deception, moves by advantage, and adapts by dividing and recombining. Sun Tzu's famous image of the well-run army follows: as swift as the wind, as quiet as the forest, raiding like fire, immovable as a mountain — matching its tempo to the moment.
Key lines
From 十一家注孫子, the Eleven Commentators edition. The Chinese is verbatim from that text; the English beneath each is ours.
以迂为直，以患为利。
The difficulty of tactical maneuvering consists in turning the devious into the direct, and misfortune into gain.
- 曹操 示以遠，邇其道里，先敵至也。 Show him the long way while shortening your own road, and arrive before him.
- 杜牧 言欲爭奪，先以迂遠爲近，以患爲利，誑紿敵人，使其慢易，然後急趨也。 To take the prize, first make the long way the near one and the setback the advantage, deceiving the enemy into carelessness — and only then move at speed.
- 陳皥 言合軍聚衆，交和而舍，皆有舊制，惟軍爭最難也。苟不知以迂爲直，以患爲利者，卽不能與敵爭也。 It means that assembling the host and encamping face to face all have their old rules; only contending for position is hardest. If one does not know how to make the roundabout direct and the adverse advantageous, one simply cannot contend with an enemy.
- 賈林 全軍而行，爭於便利之地，而先據之；若不得其地，則輸敵之勝，最其難也。 To move with the army whole, contend for the convenient ground and seize it first; fail to get that ground and you hand the enemy his victory. This is the hardest thing of all.
- 杜佑 敵途本迂，患在道遠，則先處形勢之地。故曰「以患爲利」。 The enemy's road is roundabout to begin with and his trouble is its length, so we take up the commanding ground first. Hence 'make the adverse advantageous'.
- 梅堯臣 能變迂爲近，轉患爲利，難也。 To be able to turn the roundabout into the near and trouble into advantage — that is hard.
- 王晳 曹公曰︰「示以遠，邇其道里，先敵至。」晳謂示以遠者，使其不虞而行，或奇兵從間道出也。 Lord Cao says: 'Show him the long way, shorten your own road, arrive before him.' Xi says 'show him the long way' means moving so he does not expect it, or sending an irregular force out by a side road.
- 何氏 謂所征之國，路由山險，迂曲而遠，將欲爭利，則當分兵出奇，隨逐鄉導，由直路乘其不備，急擊之，雖有陷險之患，得利亦速也。如鍾會伐蜀，而鄧艾出奇，先至蜀，蜀無備而降。故下云「不得鄉導，不能得地利」是也。 It means: the state one campaigns against lies beyond mountains and defiles, by a winding and distant road. Wanting to contend for advantage, one should divide the force and send a surprise column, following local guides by the direct road, and fall on him unprepared. There is the danger of being trapped in the defiles, but the advantage is gained quickly too. As when Zhong Hui invaded Shu and Deng Ai took the surprise route, reaching Shu first, and Shu surrendered unprepared. Hence the text below: 'without local guides one cannot gain the advantage of the ground.'
- 張預 變迂曲爲近直，轉患害爲便利，此軍爭之難也。 To turn the winding into the near and direct, and harm into convenience — this is the difficulty of contending with an army.
其疾如风，其徐如林，侵掠如火，不动如山。
Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of the forest. In raiding and plundering be like fire, in immovability like a mountain.
其疾如風
- 曹操 擊空虛也。 Strike the empty place.
- 李筌 進退也。其來無跡，其退至疾也。 Of advance and withdrawal: it comes leaving no trace, and withdraws at utmost speed.
- 梅堯臣 來無形跡。 It comes with no shape or trace.
- 王晳 速乘虛也。 Speed mounted on emptiness.
- 張預 其來疾暴，所向皆靡。 It comes swift and violent, and all before it gives way.
其徐如林
- 曹操 不見利也。 No advantage is in sight.
- 李筌 整陳而行。 Marching in ordered ranks.
- 杜牧 徐，緩也。言緩行之時，須有行列如林木也，恐爲敵人之掩襲也。 徐 means unhurried. It means that when moving slowly one must keep ranks like trees in a wood, for fear of the enemy's sudden descent.
- 孟氏 言緩行須有行列如林，以防其掩襲。 It means slow movement must keep ranks like a wood, to guard against a surprise attack.
- 杜佑 不見利不前，如風吹林，小動而其大不移。 Seeing no advantage it does not advance — like wind through a wood, the small parts stirring while the mass does not shift.
- 梅堯臣 如林之森然不亂也。 Dense and unbroken as a wood.
- 王晳 齊肅也。 Orderly and grave.
- 張預 徐，舒也。舒緩而行，若林木之森森然，謂未見利也。《尉繚子》曰「重者如山如林，輕者如炮如燔」也。 徐 means unhurried. Moving unhurried and dense as standing timber means no advantage is yet in sight. The Wei Liaozi says: 'The heavy are as mountain and wood; the light as roasting and burning.'
侵掠如火
- 曹操 疾也。 Swiftness.
- 李筌 如火燎原，無遺草。 Like fire running over a plain, leaving not a blade of grass.
- 杜牧 猛烈不可嚮也。 Fierce, and not to be faced.
- 賈林 侵掠敵國，若火燎原，不可往復。 Raiding the enemy's country like fire over a plain — no going back over it.
- 張預 《詩》云︰「如火烈烈，莫我敢遏。」言勢如猛火之熾，誰敢禦我！ The Odes say: 'Like fire, blazing — none dares check me.' It means the force is like the fury of a raging fire; who dares stand against us?
不動如山
- 曹操 守也。 Defence.
- 李筌 駐軍也。 Halting the army.
- 杜牧 閉壁屹然，不可搖動也。 Walls shut, standing sheer, not to be shaken.
- 賈林 未見便利，敵誘誑我，我因不動，如山之安。 No advantage yet in sight and the enemy trying to lure and mislead us, we accordingly do not move — steady as a mountain.
- 梅堯臣 峻不可犯。 Sheer, and not to be encroached on.
- 王晳 堅守也。 Holding firm.
- 何氏 止如山之鎮靜。 At rest with the stillness of a mountain.
- 張預 所以持重也。《荀子‧議兵篇》云︰「圓居而方正，則若磐石然，觸之者角摧。」言不動之時，若山石之不可移；犯之者，其角立毁。 This is how weight is kept. The Xunzi, 'Debate on Arms', says: 'Settled in a circle yet square and true, it is like a boulder — whatever strikes it has its horns broken.' It means that when not moving one is as immovable as mountain rock; whoever assails it has his horns snapped off.
兵以诈立，以利动。
In war, practise dissimulation, and you will succeed. Move only if there is a real advantage to be gained.
兵以詐立
- 杜牧 詐敵人，使不知我本情，然後能立勝也。 Deceive the enemy so he cannot know our true state; only then can victory be established.
- 梅堯臣 非詭道，不能立事。 Without the way of deception, nothing can be established.
- 王晳 謂以迂爲直，以患爲利也。 It refers to making the roundabout direct and the adverse advantageous.
- 何氏 張形勢，以誤敵也。 Spread out an appearance of force, to mislead him.
- 張預 以變詐爲本，使敵不知吾奇正所在，則我可爲立。 Take change and deception as the root, so the enemy cannot know where our regular and irregular lie — then we can establish ourselves.
以利動
- 杜牧 利者，見利始動也。 Advantage: see the advantage before you move at all.
- 梅堯臣 非利不可動。 Without advantage there is no moving.
- 王晳 誘之也。 Lure him.
- 何氏 量敵可擊，則擊。 Weigh whether the enemy can be struck, and then strike.
- 張預 見利乃動，不妄發也。《傳》曰︰「三軍以利動。」 See the advantage and only then move; do not set out at random. The Zuo Tradition says: 'The three armies move by advantage.'
Applied today
Business
The indirect route often reaches the goal faster: a partnership, an adjacent market, a reframing can turn an apparent detour into the shortest path — and a present setback into leverage. Move only where there's real advantage.
Leadership
Match your tempo to the moment — move fast when speed wins, hold utterly still when patience does. And beware the cost of overreach: pushing a team past its limits to seize a prize can leave you arriving with a fraction of your strength.