攻其无备 gōng qí wú bèi Attack when the enemy is unprepared

Explanation

趁敌人没有防备的时候进攻。比喻抓住时机，出奇制胜。

To attack when the enemy is not prepared. A metaphor for seizing the opportunity and achieving a surprise victory.

Origin Story

话说春秋时期，吴国军队准备攻打越国，吴王阖闾派大将孙武率领大军前往。孙武深知越王勾践狡诈多疑，不易正面强攻，便决定采取“攻其无备，出其不意”的策略。他带领军队，绕道行军，日夜兼程，直奔越国边境的一个小城。这个小城地处偏僻，防守薄弱，越军根本没有料到吴军会从这里进攻。吴军以迅雷不及掩耳之势，迅速攻破了小城，杀敌无数，取得了战争的主动权。这一战，吴国以少胜多，彻底打破了越国的嚣张气焰。此战也成为孙子兵法中“攻其无备，出其不意”的经典战例，被后世无数军事家所研究和借鉴。

huìshuō chūnqiū shíqí，wú guó jūnduì zhǔnbèi gōngdǎ yuè guó，wú wáng hé lǘ pài dà jiàng sūn wǔ shuǎilǐng dàjūn qiánwǎng。sūn wǔ shēnzhī yuè wáng gōujiàn jiǎozhà duōyí，bù yì zhèngmiàn qiánggōng，biàn juédìng cǎiqǔ “gōng qí wú bèi，chū qí bù yì” de cèlüè。tā dàilǐng jūnduì，rào dào xíngjūn，rìyè jiānchéng，zhí bēn yuè guó biānjìng de yīgè xiǎo chéng。zhège xiǎo chéng dì chù piānpì，fángshǒu bóruò，yuè jūn gēnběn méiyǒu liàodào wú jūn huì cóng zhè lǐ jìngōng。wú jūn yǐ xùnlēi bùjí yǎnyǐ zhī shì，sùnsù gōngpò le xiǎo chéng，shādí wúshù，qǔdé le zhànzhēng de zhǔdòngquán。zhè yī zhàn，wú guó yǐ shǎo shèng duō，chěndì dǎpò le yuè guó de xiāozhāng qìyàn。cǐ zhàn yě chéngwéi sūnzi bīngfǎ zhōng “gōng qí wú bèi，chū qí bù yì” de jīngdiǎn zhànlì，bèi hòushì wúshù jūnshìjiā suǒ yánjiū hé jièjiàn。

During the Spring and Autumn period, the Wu kingdom prepared to attack the Yue kingdom. King Helü of Wu dispatched the great general Sun Wu to lead the army. Sun Wu was well aware of King Goujian's cunning and suspicion, making a direct attack difficult. He decided to employ the strategy of "attacking when the enemy is unprepared and taking them by surprise." He led the army on a detour, marching day and night until they reached a small, weakly defended city on the Yue border. This city was remote and poorly guarded, and the Yue army did not expect an attack from this direction. The Wu army swiftly conquered the city, killing countless enemy soldiers and securing the initiative in the war. This victory, where Wu won with fewer soldiers, completely shattered the arrogance of Yue. This battle became a classic example of Sun Tzu's "attack when the enemy is unprepared" in his Art of War, and was studied and emulated by countless military strategists throughout history.

Usage

用于军事或其他竞争场合，比喻要抓住时机，出奇制胜。

yòng yú jūnshì huò qítā jìngzhēng chǎnghé，bǐyù yào zhuāzhù shíjī，chūqí zhìshèng。

Used in military or other competitive situations; a metaphor for seizing opportunities and achieving a surprise victory.

Examples

• 孙子兵法有云：‘攻其无备，出其不意’

  sūnzǐ bīngfǎ yǒuyún：‘gōng qí wú bèi，chū qí bù yì’

  Sun Tzu's Art of War says: 'Attack when the enemy is unprepared, and surprise them.

• 敌军毫无防备，正是我们攻其无备的好时机

  dījūn háo wú fángbèi，zhèng shì wǒmen gōng qí wú bèi de hǎo shíjī

  The enemy army is completely unprepared, this is the perfect opportunity to attack them when they are unguarded.

Related Idioms

• 出其不意

• 攻其不备

Opposite Idioms

• 开门见山

• 明刀明枪