有声读物《孙子兵法》第38期:第六章 虚实(7)

 　　虚实篇 NO.7：

　　夫兵形象水，水之形，避高而趋下，兵之形，避实而击虚。

　　水因地而制流，兵因敌而制胜。

　　故兵无常势，水无常形。

　　能因敌变化而取胜者，谓之神。

　　故五行无常胜，四时无常位，日有短长，月有死生。

　　这句啥意思：

　　兵的性态就象水一样，水流动时是避开高处流向低处，用兵取胜的关键是避开设防严密实力强大的敌人而攻击其薄弱环节；

　　水根据地势来决定流向，军队根据敌情来采取制胜的方略。

　　所以用兵作战没有一成不变的态势，正如流水没有固定的形状和去向。

　　能够根据敌情的变化而取胜的，就叫做用兵如神。

　　金、木、水、火、土这五行相生相克，没有哪一个常胜；四季相继相代，没有哪一个固定不移，白天的时间有长有短，月亮有圆也有缺。万物皆处于流变状态。

　　英文这么说：

　　Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards¹. So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak.

　　Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe² whom he is facing.

　　Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape,so in warfare³ there are no constant conditions.

　　He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby⁴ succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain.

　　The five elements (water, fire, wood, metal, earth)are not always equally predominant; the four seasons make way for each other in turn. There are short days and long;the moon has its periods of waning⁵ and waxing.

　　《五行简介》

　　木、火、土、金、水是指五行的五种运动的物质。而五行是指木、火、土、金、水五种物质的运动变化。研究它第一个要注意的，是“行”，假使算命先生算命，把行认为是走路，那就绝对错了。我们翻《易经》，乾卦的“天行健”这句话，这个“行”是代表运动的意思，就是“动能”，宇宙间物质最大的互相关系，就在这个动能。这个“动能”有五金，以金、木、水、火、土作代表。也和卦一样，是种传统符号，不要看得太严重了。所谓“金”并不是黄金，“水”亦并不是和杯中喝的水一样，千万不要看成了五行就是五种物质。上古文化的五行：金、木、水、火、土，就是现代的地球文化，地球外面的五星，对我们的关系很大。

1 downwards   

adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地）

参考例句：

• He lay face downwards on his bed.他脸向下伏在床上。
• As the river flows downwards,it widens.这条河愈到下游愈宽。

2 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

3 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

4 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

5 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》