Meaning of Appear weak when you are strong – Original text, explanations and examples

Original text

This sentence appears in the first chapter (LAYING PLANS) of The Art of War. Its original Chinese text is as follows: “兵者，诡道也。故能而示之不能，用而示之不用，近而示之远，远而示之近。“

It means “All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.“（Translation from Lionel Giles）

Explanations

In war, the skillful use of trickery and strategy became a vital skill. Clever use of this deception often leads to quicker and easier victories.

Through skillful deception, obfuscation, and the creation of false intelligence and scenarios, commanders on the battlefield can sow confusion among their enemies, erode their judgment, undermine their confidence, and lull them into a false sense of security. This psychological strategy helps lower the opponent’s vigilance, creates favorable opportunities for oneself, and achieves the goal of defeating the enemy.

Therefore, in war, one must not only possess powerful force and military tactics, but also be good at using psychological tactics and deception in order to gain the upper hand in complex and ever-changing battlefield environments. These sophisticated strategies can be seen as one of the keys to victory in war.

Through the following example, you can have a deeper understanding of the practical application of “appear weak when you are strong sun tzu.”

Historical Example: Appear Weak When You Are Strong

Li Mu was a famous general of the Zhao State in the late Warring States Period of China. He had been stationed in northern Xinjiang for a long time to resist the invasion of the Xiongnu.

He formulated a strict system that required all soldiers to quickly enter the fort to defend themselves when the Xiongnu cavalry invaded. Anyone who dared to fight would be beheaded immediately.

Therefore, every time the Xiongnu came to attack, they would be rejected and could only return without success. After a few years, the Xiongnu thought that Zhao’s weak generals were timid and did not dare to fight, so they did not take Li Mu seriously.

As time passed, the soldiers stationed at the border also thought that Li Mu was timid. King Zhao was very angry when he heard about it. He dismissed Li Mu from his post and sent another general to guard the border.

Whenever the Xiongnu invaded, the defender would lead his troops to fight. As a result, he was repeatedly defeated and suffered heavy losses. King Zhao had no choice but to reinstate Li Muguan to his post.

After Li Mu returned to the frontier, everything was as usual. Gradually, the Xiongnu became more and more proud and complacent, and completely lost their guard. But Li Mu did not relax the training of the army. The army was strong and strong, and the soldiers hoped to fight to the death with the Xiongnu as soon as possible.

Li Mu believed that the time was ripe and prepared to launch an attack. He ordered the soldiers who went out to fight to pretend to be defeated. The Xiongnu soldiers were arrogant and underestimated the enemy, and led the army to march straight in. Li Mu formed a strange formation to encircle the Xiongnu, wiping out all the 100,000 cavalrymen who invaded the Xiongnu.

Usually, when two armies face each other, both sides want to present their armies as powerful and strong so that the enemy will not despise them. However, in some cases, the generals should not be greedy for a moment of vanity, but should be good at showing weakness, so that they can win the battle with ease.

Li Mu was well versed in this strategy. He has elite soldiers and strong generals, but he never sends troops to fight easily. Instead, he deliberately pretends that his troops are weak and timid, so that the enemy will be complacent and underestimate him and relax his vigilance. Then he took the opportunity to dispatch elite troops to defeat the enemy.

As Sun Tzu emphasized: When able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

Generally speaking, the weak need more deception, while the strong do not need it, because they rely on the strength of their troops, and do not need to use any trickery. But in fact, the strong side sometimes need to use trickery. Because they are in the center of attention, easy to get more attention, of course, there will be more trouble.If you show that you are weak, avoid distracting matters and build up your strength, instead you will be able to chart a more secure course.

Personal and business applications: Appear Weak When You Are Strong

We should all grasp this wisdom, not just in war, but in daily life and business competition.

If your opponent is in front of you, you may not be sure of winning if you immediately rush forward and fight head-on. On the contrary, if you can deliberately hide your strength and intentions and expose some weaknesses, you can effectively divert the opponent’s attention, which is also an effective strategy.

This is especially true in corporate competition. Facing ubiquitous opponents and pervasive commercial espionage, companies need to learn to hide their trump cards and convey some weak and superficial information to draw the attention of competitors. Otherwise, once your strength and intentions are exposed, you may fall into passivity and become the target of your opponent’s attacks.

A sophisticated strategy involves holding back, accumulating strength without leaving a trace, and not letting your opponent see your true strength so that you can counterattack at a critical moment. What may appear to be an unwinnable situation may actually be planning a final blow to win outright. It’s like water building up, waiting for the floodgates to finally open. We should be good at hiding our weaknesses and waiting for opportunities to come.At the same time, the demonstration of one’s abilities and intentions should have a level of subtlety that leads the opponent to misjudge and wait for the ultimate victory.

Regarding deception, Sun Tzu famously said, “All Warfare Is Based on Deception.” He mentioned 12 “methods of deception.” “Appear weak when you are strong” is just one form of deception. If this interests you, read “The Meaning of All Warfare Is Based on Deception” to learn about Sun Tzu’s laws and art of “deception.”