用間

• Information wins before force does. Reliable human intelligence is one of strategy's highest levers.
• Alternate chapter title: The Use of Spies
• Chinese chapter title: 用間
• This chapter is grouped into three contextual rule cards while preserving the full traditional Chinese text.

• Core idea: Foreknowledge does not come from omens, analogies, or guesswork; it comes from people.
• Meaning: Good intelligence is concrete, not mystical.
• Why it matters: Real strategic knowledge comes from direct sources and informed observers.
• How to apply: Talk to customers, partners, operators, recruiters, and former insiders instead of relying only on dashboards.

Original Text Explanation

孫子曰：凡興師十萬，出征千里，百姓之費，公家之奉，日費千金。內外騷動，怠于道路，不得操事者，七十萬家。

Sun Zi says that raising a vast army and marching it far away burdens the people heavily and drains the state's wealth day after day.

相守數年，以爭一日之勝，而愛爵祿百金，不知敵之情者，不仁之至也。

If armies face each other for years over a victory decided in one day, then refusing to spend modest sums to learn the enemy's condition is the height of inhumanity.

非人之將也，非主之佐也，非勝之主也。

Anyone who behaves that way is no true leader of men, no real support to the ruler, and no master of victory.

故明君賢將，所以動而勝人，成功出于眾者，先知也。

What allows a wise ruler and a capable general to move first, conquer, and achieve what ordinary people cannot is foreknowledge.

先知者，不可取于鬼神，不可象于事，不可驗于度。

That foreknowledge does not come from spirits, analogies, or abstract calculation.

必取于人，知敵之情者也。

It must come from people who know the enemy's real condition.

• Core idea: There are five kinds of spies: local, inside, double, doomed, and surviving.
• Meaning: Information comes from different channels with different roles.
• Why it matters: A single source is rarely enough.
• How to apply: Build intelligence from public market voices, internal contacts, partner signals, and verified competitor data.

Original Text Explanation

故用間有五：有因間，有內間，有反間，有死間，有生間。

So there are five kinds of spies: local spies, inside spies, double spies, doomed spies, and returning spies.

五間俱起，莫知其道，是謂神紀，人君之寶也。

When all five are at work together and no one can trace the method, that hidden system is one of the ruler's most precious powers.

因間者，因其鄉人而用之。

Local spies are drawn from the people of the district.

內間者，因其官人而用之。

Inside spies are drawn from the enemy's officials.

反間者，因其敵間而用之。

Double spies are enemy spies turned to our use.

死間者，為誑事于外，令吾聞知之，而傳于敵間也。

Doomed spies carry outwardly visible false information so that it reaches the enemy.

生間者，反報也。

Returning spies are those who come back alive with news from the enemy camp.

• Core idea: Double agents must be treated generously.
• Meaning: Valuable information sources require investment.
• Why it matters: The more sensitive the intelligence, the more carefully the relationship must be managed.
• How to apply: Protect and reward the people who consistently bring high-quality market truth, even if their reports are uncomfortable.

Original Text Explanation

故三軍之事，莫親于間，賞莫厚于間，事莫密于間。

No relationship in the whole army should be closer than the one kept with spies, no rewards should be richer, and no business should be kept more secret.

非聖智不能用間，

Spies cannot be used well without sharp intelligence.

非仁義不能使間，

They cannot be managed well without humanity and straightforward dealing.

非微妙不能得間之實。

Without subtle judgment, you cannot be sure their reports are true.

微哉！微哉！無所不用間也。

So be subtle, and use spies across every kind of matter.

間事未發，而先聞者，間與所告者兼死。

If secret intelligence is exposed too early by a spy, both the spy and the person told must die.

凡軍之所欲擊，城之所欲攻，人之所欲殺，必先知其守將、左右、謁者、門者、舍人之姓名，令吾間必索知之。

If the aim is to break an army, take a city, or kill a key person, first learn the names of the commander's attendants, aides, gatekeepers, and staff. Your spies must discover them.

必索敵人之間來間我者，因而利之，導而舍之，故反間可得而用也。

Enemy spies sent against us should be identified, bribed, guided over, and treated well. That is how double spies are made useful.

因是而知之，故鄉間、內間可得而使也﹔

Through the double spy's information, local and inside spies can be obtained and employed.

因是而知之，故死間為誑事可使告敵﹔

Through that same information, doomed spies can be sent with false reports.

因是而知之，故生間可使如期。

And through it, returning spies can be dispatched at the right moment and brought back effectively.

五間之事，君必知之，知之必在于反間，故反間不可不厚也。

All five kinds of espionage aim at knowledge of the enemy, and that knowledge begins with the double spy. That is why the double spy must be treated generously.

昔殷之興也，伊摯在夏﹔周之興也，呂牙在殷。

In earlier times, major dynastic rises were aided by men who had first served rival states.

故惟明君賢將能以上智為間者，必成大功。此兵之要，三軍之所恃而動也。

So only an enlightened ruler and a wise general can use the highest intelligence in the army for espionage and thereby accomplish great things. Spies are central to military action because an army's movement depends on them.