第三十一章    兵者不祥

夫兵者，不祥之器，物或恶之，故有道者不处。君子居则贵左，用兵则贵右。兵者不祥之器，非君子之器，不得已而用之，恬淡为上。胜而不美，而美之者，是乐杀人。夫乐杀人者，则不可得志于天下矣。
吉事尚左，凶事尚右。偏将军居左，上将军居右，言以丧礼处之。杀人之众，以悲哀泣之，战胜以丧礼处之。

The Misfortune of Weapens

Fine weapons are instruments of evil hated by people. Thereforethose who possess Tao turn away from them.The gentleman favors the left incivilian life, But on military occasions favors the right.

Weapons are meant for destruction, and thus are avoided by thewise. Only When he uses them as a last resort, he regards calm restraint as thebest principle.Even when he is victorious, he does not regard it aspraiseworthy, For to praise victory is to delight in the slaughter of men. Hewho delights in the slaughter of men cannot achieve good purposes in the world.

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The left side is a place of honor on happy occasions. The rightside is reserved for mourning at a funeral. When the lieutenants take the leftside to prepare for war, the general should be on the right side,  This means that war is treated as a funeralservice.

The death of many should be greeted with great sorrow, and thevictory celebration should honor those who have died.

 [译文]

兵器是不详的东西, 是不受众人欢迎的， 有道的人远离它。君子平时以左为上，而用兵之时以右方为贵。兵器这个不祥之物，君子尽量避免使用，即使是不得已而为之，也要适可而止。即使战胜了也不自鸣得意，如洋洋自得，就暴露嗜血的本性。乐杀者是无法得到天下百姓的拥戴的。人们日常吉庆之事以左为上，而凶事则以右为上。所以偏将军居于左位，主将军居于右位，这就是说要以丧礼仪式来处理用兵打仗的事情。

战争中杀人众多，以悲哀心情一起默哀，打了胜仗也要以丧礼之仪对待战死的人。