Sunzi · The Art of War · IV
军形第四 · 校订版 1.0.0
本页说明中文底本、现代标点、八语种翻译原则、重要异文与关键兵学术语。它是二十张语录卡的出版说明，不宣称建立新的古籍校勘本。
Edition statement
《孙子兵法》传统署名孙武。本数字版整理其中《军形第四》，中文正文依传世《武经七书》系统常见文字，并参考古注、日文训读资料及银雀山汉简研究。古籍原无现代标点，本版按语义分为二十句。
The Art of War is traditionally attributed to Sun Wu. This digital edition presents Chapter IV, Military Disposition, using the commonly transmitted Wujing Qishu text in consultation with traditional commentary, Japanese annotated readings, and research on the Yinqueshan bamboo manuscript. Modern punctuation and the division into twenty semantic units are editorial.
Translation policy
Textual and interpretive notes
这里只列出会实质影响译义的异文、古义与术语问题；没有另列的句子按传世本通常语义处理。
故善戰者，能為不可勝，不能使敵之必可勝。
传世系统可见“不能使敌必可胜”“不能使敌之可胜”等异文。本版依《武经七书》系统作“不能使敌之必可胜”，诸译均按“不能强迫敌人显露必败之形”处理。
Transmitted witnesses vary between forms with and without the particles zhi and bi. This edition follows the Wujing Qishu wording and understands the line to mean that one cannot compel the enemy to expose a condition of certain defeat.
守則不足，攻則有餘。
本版保留传世本“守则不足，攻则有余”。曹操注偏向兵力不足或有余，李靖一系强调取胜条件尚未具备或已经充足；银雀山汉简又见次序相反的文字。本版不径改正文，外语译文采用较宽的“取胜条件”解释，并在此明示异说。
The main text retains the transmitted reading: defend when there is insufficiency, attack when there is abundance. Cao Cao’s commentary emphasizes strength, while another interpretive line emphasizes whether the conditions for victory are complete; the Yinqueshan bamboo manuscript preserves the clauses in the opposite order. The translations therefore use the broader language of conditions for victory without silently emending the Chinese text.
善守者，藏於九地之下；善攻者，動於九天之上，故能自保而全勝也。
古注以“九”为数之极，用来表示极深与极高，并非实指九层大地或九层天空。各译均据此处理为极深、极高的夸张比喻。
Traditional commentary treats nine as the numerical extreme, signifying the greatest depth and height rather than nine literal physical layers. The translations render the image accordingly.
故舉秋毫不為多力，見日月不為明目，聞雷霆不為聰耳。
“秋毫”指秋季鸟兽新生的极细毛，用来比喻极轻微之物；不是普通头发，也不是羽绒。本版各译尽量保留“秋季细毛”的文化意象。
Autumn hair denotes the exceptionally fine new hair of an animal in autumn and serves as an image of negligible weight. The translations retain that seasonal image rather than treating it as ordinary human hair.
古之所謂善戰者，勝於易勝者也。
本句不是讥讽善战者只挑弱敌，而是说真正的善战者先使胜利条件变得明确、容易实现，然后才取胜。韩语和阿拉伯语据此避免“只打弱敌”的歧义。
The line does not belittle the skilled commander as one who merely chooses weak opponents. Its point is that mastery makes the conditions of victory clear and easy to realize before the engagement.
不忒者，其所措必勝，勝已敗者也。
“已败者”不是已经打过败仗的敌军，而是败象已成、败局已定之敌。各译使用“败局已定”一类表达，避免误成战后追击败军。
The enemy is not one already defeated in a previous battle, but one whose configuration has already made defeat certain. The translations therefore speak of defeat as assured rather than completed.
是故勝兵先勝而後求戰，敗兵先戰而後求勝。
“先胜”不是说战争尚未发生却已在事实上打赢，而是先确立必胜条件与态势，再寻求交战。各译以“先确保取胜条件”解释原文的警句式表达。
To win first is not a literal claim that the battle has already occurred. It means securing the conditions and disposition of victory before seeking engagement.
善用兵者，修道而保法，故能為勝敗之政。
古注对“道”兼有政治治理、仁义与取胜原则等解释；“法”包括军制、法令、组织、赏罚与纪律。本版采用包容性的语义翻译，不把“道”大写成狭义道家专名，也不把“法”缩减成纪律一项。
Commentaries connect dao with sound governance, humane rule, and principles that secure victory; fa includes military institutions, law, organization, rewards, punishments, and discipline. The translations preserve that breadth rather than turning Dao into a narrowly philosophical proper name or reducing fa to discipline alone.
兵法：一曰度，二曰量，三曰數，四曰稱，五曰勝。
五项构成连续测算链：由地形与土地广狭而度量，由度量而估算物量，由物量而推算兵数，由兵数而权衡彼我强弱，最终判断胜负。相邻两句的各语言术语保持逐项一致。
The five terms form a chain of reckoning: terrain and extent are measured; measurement supports an estimate of resources; resources determine troop numbers; numbers permit relative strength to be weighed; and that comparison determines victory. The paired sentences use the same terms throughout.
地生度，度生量，量生數，數生稱，稱生勝。
本句与上一句是一组，不能把“胜”只译成已经取得的胜利。它首先是由测算与比较所得出的胜负判断，继而成为取胜依据。
This sentence belongs with the preceding list. Victory first denotes the judgment yielded by measurement and comparison, which then becomes the basis for achieving victory in practice.
故勝兵若以鎰稱銖，敗兵若以銖稱鎰。
“镒／鎰”是较重的古代重量单位，“铢／銖”是极轻单位。精确换算因时代与注家而有差异，本句重点是两军力量悬殊。外语保留 yì、zhū 及汉字，不用现代本地单位替代。
Yì is a heavy ancient Chinese unit and zhū a very light one. Exact conversions vary by period and commentator; the governing image is an overwhelming disparity of force. The translations retain the original unit names instead of substituting modern local measures.
勝者之戰民也，若決積水於千仞之谿者，形也。
军事语境中的“战民”指使士卒投入战斗，不是让普通百姓作战；繁体正文采用古籍常见的“谿”，简体作“溪”。篇末的“形”指已经构成的军力配置与作战态势，不与下一篇着重力量释放的“势”混同。
In this military context, min refers to the troops committed to battle, not civilians. The traditional text uses the historical form 谿, simplified as 溪. The closing xing denotes the formed disposition and configuration of military power and should not be collapsed into the momentum emphasized in the following chapter.
References
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