不戰而屈人之兵

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Chinese

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not; no
to fight; fight; war
to fight; fight; war; battle
 
and; as well as; but (not)
and; as well as; but (not); yet (not); (shows causal relation); (shows change of state); (shows contrast)
 
bent; feel wronged man; person; people 's; him/her/it; this
soldiers; a force; an army
soldiers; a force; an army; weapons; arms; military; warlike
 
trad. (不戰而屈人之兵)
simp. (不战而屈人之兵)

Etymology

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From The Art of War:

是故百戰百勝 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
是故百战百胜 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Art of War, circa 5th century BCE, translated based on Lionel Giles's version
Shìgù bǎizhànbǎishèng, fēi shàn zhī shàn zhě yě; zhàn ér rén zhī bīng, shàn zhī shàn zhě yě. [Pinyin]
Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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不戰而屈人之兵

  1. to subdue the enemy without fighting; to win without fighting

Synonyms

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