不戰而屈人之兵

Chinese

		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)		不	戰	而	屈	人	之	兵
simp. (不战而屈人之兵)		不	战	而	屈	人	之	兵

Etymology

From The Art of War:

是故百戰百勝，非善之善者也；不戰而屈人之兵，善之善者也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

是故百战百胜，非善之善者也；不战而屈人之兵，善之善者也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Art of War, circa 5^th century BCE, translated based on Lionel Giles's version

Shìgù bǎizhànbǎishèng, fēi shàn zhī shàn zhě yě; bù zhàn ér qū 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

Mandarin
(Pinyin): bù zhàn ér qū rén zhī bīng

(Zhuyin): ㄅㄨˋ ㄓㄢˋ ㄦˊ ㄑㄩㄖㄣˊ ㄓㄅㄧㄥ
Cantonese (Jyutping): bat¹ zin³ ji⁴ wat¹ jan⁴ zi¹ bing¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: bù zhàn ér qū rén zhī bīng [Phonetic: bú zhàn ér qū rén zhī bīng]
  - Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˋ ㄓㄢˋ ㄦˊ ㄑㄩㄖㄣˊ ㄓㄅㄧㄥ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: bù jhàn ér cyu rén jhih bing
  - Wade–Giles: pu⁴ chan⁴ êrh² chʻü¹ jên² chih¹ ping¹
  - Yale: bù jàn ér chyū rén jr̄ bīng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bu jann erl chiu ren jy bing
  - Palladius: бу чжань эр цюй жэнь чжи бин (bu čžanʹ er cjuj žɛnʹ čži bin)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ ʈ͡ʂän⁵¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ t͡ɕʰy⁵⁵ ʐən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ piŋ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: bat¹ zin³ ji⁴ wat¹ jan⁴ zi¹ bing¹
  - Yale: bāt jin yìh wāt yàhn jī bīng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: bat⁷ dzin³ ji⁴ wat⁷ jan⁴ dzi¹ bing¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: bed¹ jin³ yi⁴ wed¹ yen⁴ ji¹ bing¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɐt̚⁵ t͡siːn³³ jiː²¹ wɐt̚⁵ jɐn²¹ t͡siː⁵⁵ pɪŋ⁵⁵/

Idiom

不戰而屈人之兵

to subdue the enemy without fighting; to win without fighting

Synonyms

不戰而勝／不战而胜 (bùzhàn'érshèng)

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