Chapter 1: Winning Stratagems
第一套 胜战计
第一计 瞒天过海
crossing the sea under camouflage
古：备周则意怠;常见则不疑。阴在阳之内，不在阳之对。太阳，太阴。
白：是使用伪装的手段，利用机会，趁对方不注意的时候，出其不意的行动，让人措手不及。
英：
Mask your real goals, by using the ruse of a fake goal, until the real goal is achieved. Tactically, this is known as an 'open feint': in front of everyone, you point west, when your goal is actually in the east.
第二计 围魏救赵
relieving the state of Zhao by besieging the state of Wei
古：共敌不如分敌;敌阳不如敌阴。
白：利用敌人的精锐去攻打别的国家，当二军相持不下时，趁隙攻占敌方的本土，待敌回国的时候，在途中予以迎头痛击，并把他们消灭掉。
英：
When the enemy is too strong to be attacked directly, then attack something he holds dear. Know that he cannot be superior in all things. Somewhere there is a gap in the armour, a weakness that can be attacked instead. The idea here is to avoid a head-on battle with a strong enemy, and instead strike at his weakness elsewhere. This will force the strong enemy to retreat in order to support his weakness. Battling against the now tired and low-morale enemy will give a much higher chance of success.
第三计 借刀杀人
killing someone with a borrowed knife
古：敌已明，友示定，引友杀敌，不自出力，以《损》推演。
白：利用矛盾、反间、离间等谋略，巧妙的借用别国的力量，来击败敌人，并能保存自己的实力。
英：
When you do not have the means to attack your enemy directly, then attack using the strength of another. Trick an ally into attacking him, bribe an official to turn traitor, or use the enemy's own strength against him.
第四计 以逸待劳
waiting at one's ease for the exhausted enemy
古：困敌之势，不以战;损刚益柔。
白：乃占有利的形势，一面防止敌人的功击，一面养精蓄锐，等到敌人士气低落的时候，再采取主动攻击的策略。
英：
It is an advantage to choose the time and place for battle. In this way you know when and where the battle will take place, while your enemy does not. Encourage your enemy to expend his energy in futile quests while you conserve your strength. When he is exhausted and confused, you attack with energy and purpose.
第五计 趁火打劫
plundering a burning house
古：敌之害大，就势取利，刚决柔也。
白：趁著人家的家里失火时，闯入屋内掠夺财物，也就，是说趁著敌人处於危险混乱的时候加以攻击的策略。
英：
When a country is beset by internal conflicts, when disease and famine ravage the population, when corruption and crime are rampant, then it will be unable to deal with an outside threat. This is the time to attack.
第六计 声东击西
making a feint to the east and attacking in the west
古：敌志乱萃，不虞，坤下兑上之象。利其不自主而取之。
白：利用巧妙的方法诱敌，使敌人产生错觉，再乘机消灭敌人。
英：
In any battle the element of surprise can provide an overwhelming advantage. Even when face to face with an enemy, surprise can still be employed by attacking where he least expects it. To do this you must create an expectation in the enemy's mind through the use of a feint.
Chapter 2: Enemy Dealing Stratagems
第二套 敌战计
第七计 无中生有
creating something out of nothing
古：诳也，非诳也，实其所诳也。少阴，太阴，太阳。
白：所谓无中生有是将没有假装成有，使出虚虚实实的手段，以混淆对方判断的策略。
英：
You use the same feint twice. Having reacted to the first and often the second feint as well, the enemy will be hesitant to react to a third feint. Therefore the third feint is the actual attack catching your enemy with his guard down.
第八计 暗渡陈仓
advancing secretly by an unknown path
古：示之以动，利其静而有主，“益动而巽”。
白：此计和声东击西有异曲同工之妙，亦即假装要出兵攻击，诱使敌方注意，集中兵力防备，我方却从另一个方向予以突击。这即是出其不意，攻其不备的策略。
英：
Deceive the enemy with an obvious approach that will take a very long time, while surprising him by taking a shortcut and sneak up to him. As the enemy concentrates on the decoy, he will miss you sneaking up to him.
第九计 隔岸观火
watching a fire from the other side of the river
古：阳乖序乱，阴以待逆。暴戾恣睢，其势自毙。顺以动豫，豫顺以动。
白：静观对岸火势，按兵不动，不论遇到任何事，就静静的观察变化。
英：
Delay entering the field of battle until all the other players have become exhausted fighting amongst themselves. Then go in at full strength and pick up the pieces.
第十计 笑里藏刀
covering the dagger with a smile
古：信而安之，阴以图之。备而后动，勿使有变。刚中柔外也。
白：表面上露出笑容，态度和善，使人疏於防备，而自己却秘密策划，准备充份后，一举打败对方，这是表面柔和，却暗藏杀机的策略。
英：
Charm and ingratiate yourself with your enemy. When you have gained his trust, move against him in secret.
第十一计 李代桃僵
palming off substitute for the real thing
古：势必有损，损阴以益阳。
白：就是舍弃李而获得桃的策略。也就是用最小的损失得到最大的胜利。
英：
There are circumstances in which you must sacrifice short-term objectives in order to gain the long-term goal. This is the scapegoat strategy whereby someone else suffers the consequences so that the rest do not.
第十二计 顺手牵羊
picking up something in passing
古：微隙在所必乘，微利在所必得。少阴，少阳。
白：原来的意思是说，在路上看到一只羊，便顺手把它牵回去的意思，就是趁对方不注意的时候，把人家的东西拿走。
英：
While carrying out your plans be flexible enough to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself, however small, and avail yourself of any profit, however slight.
Chapter 3: Attacking Stratagems
第三套：攻战计
第十三计 打草惊蛇
beating the grass to frighten the snake
古：疑以叩实，察而后动。复者，阴之媒也。
白：以木棍挥打四周的草丛，使躲在草中的蛇惊惶奔走，进而加以捉捕。当敌情不明时，应切实掌握情况后，再展开行动，如此才不会陷入敌人的埋伏中。
英：
Do something unaimed, but spectacular ("hitting the grass") to provoke a response of the enemy ("startle the snake"), thereby giving away his plans or position, or just taunt him.
Do something unusual, strange, and unexpected as this will arouse the enemy's suspicion and disrupt his thinking.
More widely used as "[Do not] startle the snake by hitting the grass". An imprudent act will give your position or intentions away to the enemy.
第十四计 借尸还魂
resurrecting a dead soul by borrowing a corpse
古：有用者，不可借;不能用者，求借。借不能用者而用之。匪我求童蒙，童蒙求我。
白：原意是指，已失去的效用东西，又以另外一种方式出现。
英：
Take an institution, a technology, a method, or even an ideology that has been forgotten or discarded and appropriate it for your own purpose.
Revive something from the past by giving it a new purpose or bring to life old ideas, customs, or traditions and reinterpret them to fit your purposes.
第十五计 调虎离山
luring the tiger out of his den
古：待天以困之，用人以诱之，往蹇来返。
白：老虎是山中之王，因此若想打虎，必须要先把老虎从山中引诱出来，所谓虎落平阳被犬欺，因为老虎离开了山区后，威风尽失。这句话用在战略上，就是说当强敌一但离开其根据地，失去了优势后，再予以攻击。
英：
Never directly attack an opponent whose advantage is derived from its position. Instead lure him away from his position thus separating him from his source of strength.
第十六计 欲擒故纵
letting the enemy off in order to catch him
古：逼则反兵，走则减势。紧随勿迫，累其气力，消其斗志，散而后擒，兵不血刃。需，有孚，光。
白：以退为进，却抑先与的策略。在包围攻击时，故意放纵敌人，并不是任意的放纵敌人，而是先放松一下，不把敌人逼的太紧，所谓的逼则兵反，纵则灭势，紧随勿迫，累其气力，散而后擒，兵不血刃。
英：
Cornered prey will often mount a final desperate attack. To prevent this you let the enemy believe he still has a chance for freedom.
His will to fight is thus dampened by his desire to escape. When in the end the freedom is proven a falsehood the enemy's morale will be defeated and he will surrender without a fight.
第十七计 抛砖引玉
giving the enemy something to induce him to lose more valuable things
古：类以诱之，击蒙也。
白：其意是指利用没有价值的东西来换取珍贵而有价值的策略。有以小易大、以贱易贵的意思。
英：
Bait someone by making him believe he gains something or just make him react to it ("toss out a brick") and obtain something valuable from him in return ("get a jade gem").
第十八计 擒贼擒王
capturing the ringleader first in order to capture all the followers
古：摧其坚，夺其魁，以解其体。龙战于野，其道穷也。
白：挽弓当自强，用箭当用长，射人先射马，擒贼先擒王。作战时要先把敌方的主力摧毁，先俘虏其领导人，就可以瓦解敌人的战力。
英：
If the enemy's army is strong but is allied to the commander only by money, superstition or threats, then take aim at the leader.
If the commander falls the rest of the army will disperse or come over to your side.
If, however, they are allied to the leader through loyalty then beware, the army can continue to fight on after his death out of vengeance.
