Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.
Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.
Translated from the Chinese By Lionel Giles, M.A. (1910)
Discussion:
It goes naturally and needs few explanations. It matches the current emphasis on preventative medicine, community and outpatient care and non-invasive treatments. However, to call an operation "the worst policy of all" would be too harsh, so I changed it to "the least favourable policy of all" and referred to the most risky type of operation.Translation:
It is generally recognised: In practice of healthcare, the best thing of all is to make full recovery with the whole body parts intact; to dissect and destroy the affected part is not so good. So, too, it is better to recover an organ entire than to remove it, to recover a tumour, a tissue or a cell entire than to destroy them.Hence to perform and succeed in all your operations is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in healing the disease's symptoms without operating.
Thus the highest form of medicine is to break the disease's pathogens; the next best is to prevent the junction of the disease's factors; the next in order is to treat the disease's symptoms in the outpatient setting; and the least favourable policy of all is to perform an operation under general anaesthesia.
Ray Murakami
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