;

And so the method

Critical Text

故	用	兵	之	法	十
gu	yong	bing	zhi	fa	shi
thus	employ	military	's	method	ten

則	圍	之	五	則	攻
ze	wei	zhi	wu	ze	gong
then	surround	it	five	then	attack

之	倍	則	戰	之	敵
zhi	bei	ze	zhan	zhi	di
it	pair	then	battle	it	even

則	能	分	之	少	則
ze	neng	fen	zhi	shao	ze
then	able	divide	it	few	then

能	守	之	不	若	則
neng	shou	zhi	bu	ruo	ze
able	defend	it	not	like	then

能	避	之	故	小	敵
neng	bi	zhi	gu	xiao	di
able	avoid	it	thus	small	enemy

之	堅	大	敵	之	擒	也
zhi	jian	da	di	zhi	qin	ye
's	tenacity	large	enemy	's	catch	(period)

Yinqueshan Text

。。。戰之。。。

Shiyijia zhu Text

故用兵之法十則圍之五則攻之倍則分之敵則能戰之少則能逃之不若則能避之故小敵之堅大敵之擒也

Translation

And so the method of employing the military. When ten to one, surround them. When five to one, attack them.When two to one, do battle with them. When matched, then divide them. When fewer, then defend against them. When inadequate, then avoid them. Thus a small enemy's tenacity Is a large enemy's catch.

Annotations

The received texts all have, "When two to one, then divide them. When matched, then be able to do battle with them." This logic is clearly inconsistent with the Sunzi, and Wu Jiulong (p. 42) has advanced an intricate series of texts in counterpoint to it. We have followed his emendations. A similar line of reasoning corrects the usual reading of the next line, "when fewer, then escape them," since "escape" preempts the force of the subsequent line, "When inadequate, then avoid them."

For a discussion of "the small enemy掇 tenacity," see the commentary section of The Art of War, p. 143.