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Sun Tzu Quotes
206 Sourced Quotes
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What is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.
Sun Tzu
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He who knows things, and in fighting puts his knowledge into practice, will win his battles. He who knows them not, nor practices them, will surely be defeated.
Sun Tzu
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Thus those skilled in war subdue the enemy's army without battle.... They conquer by strategy.
Sun Tzu
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The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers.
Sun Tzu
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When a general, unable to estimate the enemy's strength, allows an inferior force to engage a larger one, or hurls a weak detachment against a powerful one, and neglects to place picked soldiers in the front rank, the result must be rout.
Sun Tzu
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Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.
Sun Tzu
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Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different from fighting with a small one: it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals.
Sun Tzu
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So the important thing in a military operation is victory, not persistence.
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With regard to precipitous heights, if you are beforehand with your adversary, you should occupy the raised and sunny spots, and there wait for him to come up.
Sun Tzu
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Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity.
Sun Tzu
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Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits.
Sun Tzu
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When the position is such that neither side will gain by making the first move, it is called temporising ground.
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The military has no constant form, just as water has no constant shape - adapt as you face the enemy, without letting them know beforehand what you are going to do.
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The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Now the shuai-jan is a snake that is found in the Ch'ang mountains. Strike at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail; strike at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head; strike at its middle, and you will be attacked by head and tail both.
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Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy... use the conquered foe to augment one's own strength.
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Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.
Sun Tzu
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Should the enemy forestall you in occupying a pass, do not go after him if the pass is fully garrisoned, but only if it is weakly garrisoned.
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Ground which can be abandoned but is hard to re-occupy is called entangling.
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The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived, in the first instance, from the converted spy. Hence it is essential that the converted spy be treated with the utmost liberality.
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The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities.... It is best to win without fighting.
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If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve.
Sun Tzu
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To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.
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A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.
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Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and you know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you now Heaven and you know Earth, you may make your victory complete.
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Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve.
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Sun Tzu
Born:
543 BC
Died:
495 BC
(aged 48)
Bio:
Sun Tzu was a Chinese general, military strategist, and philosopher who lived in the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China.
Known for:
The Art of War
Most used words:
enemy
victory
army
war
general
attack
battle
fight
ground
men
fighting
win
strength
soldiers
result
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