Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.

Ground which can be abandoned but is hard to re-occupy is called entangling.

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.

A kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.

Generally, management of many is the same as management of few. It is a matter of organization. And to control many is the same as to control few. This is a matter of formations and signals.

If we know that the enemy is open to attack, but are unaware that our own men are not in a condition to attack, we have gone only halfway towards victory.

You can prevent your opponent from defeating you through defense, but you cannot defeat him without taking the offensive.