My Favorite Translation of the Art of War
John Minford's translation of the Art of War, Penguin Books 2002 (ISBN 0-670-03156-9(hc.); ISBN 0 14 04.3919 6 (pbk.)) is my favorite translation. Minford says that the Art of War is "beautiful and chilling." The same can be said of his translation, a portion of which (Chapter 5) is presented below. However, in order to save space, the excerpt is regrettably not presented in Minford's poetic structure. It is still beautiful and chilling nonetheless.
Potential Energy
Master Sun said:
Managing many is the same as managing few; it is a question of division.
Fighting with many is the same as fighting with few; it is a matter of marshaling men with gongs, identiying them with flags.
With a combination of indirect and direct, an army can hold off the enemy undefeated.
With an understanding of weakness and strength, an army can strike like a millstone cast at an egg.
In warfare, engage directly; secure victory indirectly.
The warrior skilled in indirect warfare in infinite as Heaven and Earth, inexhaustible as river and sea. He ends and begins again like sun and moon, dies and is born again like the Four Seasons.
There are but five notes, and yet their permutations are more than can ever be heard.
Therre are but five colors, and yet their permutations are more than can ever be seen.
There are but five flavors, and yet their permutations are more than can ever be tasted.
In the dynamics of war, there are but two - indirect and direct - and yet their permutations are inexhaustible. They give rise to each other in a never-ending inexhaustible circle.
A rushing torrent carries boulders on its flood; such is the energy of its momentum.
A swooping falcon breaks the back of its prey; such is the precision of its timing.
The Skillful Warrior's energy is devastating; his timing, taut.
His energy is like a drawn crossbow, his timing like the release of a trigger.
In the tumult of battle, the struggle may seem pell-mell, but there is no disorder; in the confusion of the mellee, the battle array may seem topsy-turvy, but defeat is out of the question.
Disorder is founded on order; fear, on courage; weakness, on strength.
Orderly disorder is based on careful division; courageous fear, on potential energy; strong weakness, on troop dispositions.
The warrior skilled at stirring the enemy provides a visible form, and the enemy is sure to come. He proffers the bait, and the enemy is sure to take it. He causes the enemy to make a move and awaits him with full force.
The Skillufl Warrior exploits the potential energy; he does not hold his men responsible. He deploys his men to their best but relies on the potential energy.
Relying on the energy, he sends his men into battle like a man rolling logs or boulders. By their nature, on level ground logs and boulders stay still; on steep ground they move; square, they halt; round, they roll. Skillfully deployed soldiers are like round boulders rolling down a mighty mountainside.
These are all matters of potential energy.
