The Art of War quotes

“Sun Tzu — also called Sun Wu — wrote during the Warring States Period of ancient China, roughly the 5th century BCE.”

“Sun Tzu's calculation is concrete: an army of a hundred thousand, fully equipped and supplied, costs the state a thousand pieces of gold per day.”

“The peak skill in warfare is not to win every battle; it is to break the opponent's resistance without fighting.”

“Build a position from which loss is impossible, and let opportunity present itself.”

“Shi is one of the hardest concepts in the text to translate.”

“The strategist's task is to make the enemy fight where he chooses, on his terms, while presenting an unreadable shape.”

“Maneuvering — moving the army between positions — is the most difficult of all warfare.”

“The general who can vary tactics according to the situation has understood the use of an army; the one who cannot is its prisoner.”

“How to read the signs of an enemy's preparation — the dust that rises, the silence in the trees, the disturbed birds.”

“Accessible ground means whoever occupies the high sunny spots first has advantage.”

“The general who positions his army such that there is no path back will produce soldiers who must win.”

“Each has a different application and requires different conditions — dry weather, the right wind direction, the right moment in the season.”