Chapter 31 All fine weapons are ominous

 

Chapter 31

夫佳兵者,不祥之器,物或惡之,故有道者不處。君子居則貴左,用兵則貴右。兵者,不祥之器,非君子之器,不得已而用之,恬淡為上。勝而不美,而美之者,是樂殺人。夫樂殺人者,不可得志於天下。吉,事尚左;凶,事尚右。偏將,軍居左;上將,軍居右。言以喪禮處之,殺人眾多,以悲哀泣之,戰勝以喪禮處之。

fu jia bing zhe, bu
xiang zhi qi, wu huo wu zhi
夫佳兵者,不祥之器,物或惡之

All fine weapons are ominous. Most people reject them.

gu you dao zhe bu chu
故有道者不處

Therefore those who abide by dao will not use military force.

jun zi ju ze gui zuo
君子居則貴左

The junzi prefers staying with the natural way of left.

yong bing ze gui you
用兵則貴右

Those who use military forces prefer the counter-natural way of right.

bing zhe, bu xiang zhi
qi, fei jun zi zhi qi

兵者,不祥之器,非君子之器

All weapons are ominous. They are not the kind of device that the junzi prefers to use.

bu de yi er yong zhi, tian dan wei shang
不得已而用之,恬淡為上

When you find it inevitable to use military force, just take it mildly.

sheng er bu mei
勝而不美

Using military force to win over others should not be glorified.

er mei zhi zhe, shi le sha ren
而美之者,是樂殺人

Glorifying military victories only reflects that you find killing people amusing.

fu le sha ren zhe, bu ke de zhi yu tian xia
夫樂殺人者不可得志於天下

Those who find killing people amusing will never succeed to be a leader of the world.

ji, shi shang zuo
事尚左

Auspicious: Handle disputes in the natural way of left.

xiong, shi shang you
凶,事尚右

Disastrous: Handle disputes in the counter-natural way of right.

pian jiang, jun ju zuo
偏將,軍居左

The extraordinary commander: Employ strategies to deploy the army in the natural way of left.

shang jiang, jun ju you
上將,軍居右

The ordinary commander: Employ strategies to deploy the army in the counter-natural way of right.

yan yi sang li chu zhi
言以喪禮處之

The ruling codices say proceeding a mourning ceremony is when to launch the troops.

sha ren zhong duo, yi bei ai qi zhi
殺人眾多以悲哀泣之

But, launching troops is a matter about killing a lot of people; therefore it ought to be weeping with grief instead of a ceremony.

zhan sheng yi sang li chu zhi
戰勝以喪禮處之

It ought to proceed a mourning ceremony for a military victory.