Sun Tzu Quotes
68 Quotes Revealing Powerful Wisdom on Strategy, Leadership, and Victory in War

Uncover the wisdom of Sun Tzu, the legendary strategist. His quotes offer valuable insights into strategy, leadership, and achieving victory in the art of war. Gain a deeper understanding of his powerful words and the pursuit of peace.

Sun Tzu was a highly influential Chinese military general, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period. He is best known for being the author of The Art of War, a renowned work of military strategy that has had a significant impact on both Western and East Asian philosophy and military thinking. Although there is some uncertainty regarding his historicity, Sun Tzu is revered in Chinese and East Asian culture as a legendary historical figure.

Born as Sun Wu, he was also known by his courtesy name Changqing. However, he is more commonly referred to as Sun Tzu, which means "Master Sun," an honorific title bestowed upon him. Traditional accounts suggest that he served as a minister to King Helü of Wu during the Warring States period, but modern scholars believe that the extant text of The Art of War was composed in this later period based on its style and descriptions of warfare.

The influence of Sun Tzu's work extends beyond the realm of military strategy. Throughout East Asian history, his teachings have been praised and applied in various contexts. In recent years, The Art of War has gained popularity worldwide and found practical use not only in the field of warfare but also in areas such as espionage, culture, politics, business, and even sports. Its enduring relevance speaks to the profound wisdom contained within its pages.

✵ 543 BC – 495 BC   •   Other names Sun-c’
Sun Tzu photo

Works

Sun Tzu: 68   quotes 333   likes

Famous Sun Tzu Quotes

“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”

This has often been attributed to Sun Tzu and sometimes to Petrarch. It comes most directly from a line spoken by Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974), written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola:
My father taught me many things here. He taught me in this room. He taught me: keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
Niccolò Machiavelli, who is also sometimes credited, wrote on the subject in The Prince:
It is easier for the prince to make friends of those men who were contented under the former government, and are therefore his enemies, than of those who, being discontented with it, were favourable to him and encouraged him to seize it.
Misattributed

“Fear is the true enemy, the only enemy.”

Attributed implicitly to Sun Tzu by "William Riker" in the episode The Last Outpost of the TV program Star Trek: The Next Generation, but no source for this quote predates the episode's airing in 1987.
Misattributed

“A leader leads by example not by force.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter IX · Movement and Development of Troops

“He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter III · Strategic Attack

“In peace, prepare for war. In war, prepare for peace.”

Sometimes erroneously prepended to the opening line "The art of war is of vital importance to the State", but appears to be a variation of the Roman motto "Si vis pacem, para bellum". It's not clear who first misattributed this phrase to Sun Tzu. The earliest appearance of the phrase in Google Books is 1920, when it appeared in a pharmaceutical journal, but no attribution was given then.
Misattributed

“The true objective of war is peace.”

This attributed to Sun Tzu and his book The Art of War. Actually James Clavell’s foreword in The Art of War http://www.scribd.com/doc/42222505/The-Art-Of-War states http://www.collegetermpapers.com/TermPapers/History_Other/Sun_Tzu_vs_The_Wisdom_of_the_Desert.shtml, “’the true object of war is peace.’” Therefore the quote is stated by James Clavell, but the true origin of Clavell's quotation is unclear. Nonetheless the essence of the quote, that a long war exhausts a state and therefore ultimately seeking peace is in the interest of the warring state, is true, as Sun Tzu in Chapter II Waging Wars says that "There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on." This has been interpreted by Lionel Giles http://www.dutchjoens.info/SunTzu%20-%20Art%20of%20War.pdf as "Only one who knows the disastrous effects of a long war can realize the supreme importance of rapidity in bringing it to a close."
Dr. Hiroshi Hatanaka, President of Kobe College, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan is recorded as saying "the real objective of war is peace" in Pacific Stars and Stripes Ryukyu Edition, Tokyo, Japan (10 February 1949), Page 2, Column 2.
Misattributed

Sun Tzu Quotes about war

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”

Variant: Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.
Source: The Art of War, Chapter IV · Disposition of the Army

“The art of war is of vital importance to the State.”

The Art of War, Chapter I · Detail Assessment and Planning
Context: The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

“Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter XIII · Intelligence and Espionage

“In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.”

Variant translations
It is best to keep one’s own state intact; to crush the enemy’s state is only second best.
Source: The Art of War, Chapter III · Strategic Attack

Sun Tzu Quotes about victory

“All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.”

人皆知我所以勝之形,而莫知吾所以制勝之形。
Source: The Art of War, Chapter VI · Weaknesses and Strengths

“For 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.”

Variant translations
Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
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.
Source: The Art of War, Chapter III · Strategic Attack

“He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter III · Strategic Attack

“What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter II · Waging War

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”

Probably apocryphal. This quotation does not appear in any print translation of Sun Tzu. The first citation in Google Books is from 2002; no citation in Google Books occurs in a translation of Sun Tzu.
Misattributed

Sun Tzu: Trending quotes

“In war, numbers alone confer no advantage. Do not advance relying on sheer military power.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter IX · Movement and Development of Troops

Sun Tzu Quotes

“To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.”

This is sometimes attributed to Sun Tzu in combination with the above quote, as well as alone, but it too has not been sourced to any published translation of The Art of War, though it is similar in concept to his famous statement in Ch. 3 : "It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles..."
Misattributed

“If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter I · Detail Assessment and Planning

“Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter X · Terrain

“To a surrounded enemy, you must leave a way of escape.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter VII · Military Maneuvers

“Sweat more during peace; bleed less during war.”

Source: The Art of War (Umění války)

“Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.”

This has appeared as a variant of Sun Tzu's assertion to "leave a way of escape." Tu Mu, commenting on Sun Tzu, advises, "Show him there is a road to safety..." Ch. 7; it has also recently appeared on the internet attributed to Scipio Africanus, but without citation.
Disputed

“It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.”

Variant translations
If you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
Know your enemy and know yourself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know yourself but not your enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know not thy enemy nor yourself, wallow in defeat every time.
Literal translation: Know [the] other, know [the] self, hundred battles without danger; not knowing [the] other but know [the] self, one win one loss; not knowing [the] other, not knowing [the] self, every battle must [be] lost.
Source: The Art of War, Chapter III · Strategic Attack

“If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame.”

The Art of War, Chapter X · Terrain
Context: If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders are clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers.

“Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter I · Detail Assessment and Planning

“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”

Variant translations
A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.
Source: The Art of War, Chapter I · Detail Assessment and Planning

“Where the army is, prices are high; when prices rise the wealth of the people is exhausted.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter II · Waging War

“Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.”

是故上攻伐谋
The Art of War, Chapter III · Strategic Attack
Variant: Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

“Too frequent rewards indicate that the general is at the end of his resources; too frequent punishments that he is in acute distress.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter IX · Movement and Development of Troops

“What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter III · Strategic Attack

“And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter VI · Weaknesses and Strengths

“There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter II · Waging War

“Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter I · Detail Assessment and Planning

“Management of many is the same as management of few. It is a matter of organization.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter V · Forces

“One defends when his strength is inadequate; he attacks when it is abundant.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter IV · Disposition of the Army

“To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.”

Source: The Art of War, Chapter IV · Disposition of the Army

“Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price.”

Attributed to Sun Tzu in multiple books and internet sites, but this text does not appear in The Art of War and seems to be a more recent creation.
Disputed

“The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.”

(zh-TW) 孫子曰:國之上下,死生之地,存亡之道,不可不察也。
The Art of War, Chapter 1 · Detail Assessment and Planning

“Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness.”

Alternative translation: Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is master of his enemy's fate.
Alternative translation: O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.
The Art of War, Chapter VI · Weaknesses and Strengths
Context: 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.

“WANG XI Opponents cannot exhaust you.”

The Art of War: Complete Texts and Commentaries

“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”

Sun Tzu among many other military thinkers and leaders believed in fate and determination from the correct application of theory, the state of the opponent's and one's own power, and a code for the general and a code for the soldier to follow, rather than the Machiavellian type of intuition that evokes an evolution of opportunism that brought great historical consequences as it dominated over the classical and medieval ethical doctrines. Thus this statement is contrary to Sun Tzu principles. Nevertheless, there is a possible relation to the quote: Quickness is the essence of the war.
Misattributed

“A skilled commander seeks victory from the situation and does not demand it of his subordinates.”

Variant: The expert in battle seeks his victory from strategic advantage and does not demand it from his men.
Source: The Art of War, Chapter V · Forces

“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.”

(zh-TW) 微乎微乎,至於無形;神乎神乎,至於無聲;故能為敵之司命。
Alternative translation: Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is master of his enemy's fate.
Alternative translation: O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.
The Art of War, Chapter VI · Weaknesses and Strengths

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