Avoid the Strong and Attack the Weak
避开坚实的地方而攻击虚弱的地方。“避实击虚”一说出自《孙子》，是中国古代军事家孙武提出的一种用兵原则。孙武主张，在战争中应全面准确地掌握敌我双方的情况，并在此基础上找到敌人部署薄弱的地方，以自己的优势兵力进行攻击，从而获取战争的胜利。这样一种用兵原则，也被人们应用于各种具有竞争性的社会生活领域。
The expression is proposed by the ancient military thinker Sunzi in The Art of War, and is one of his principles of conducting warfare. Sunzi believed that a commander should, on the basis of an accurate assessment of one's own and the enemy's force deployment, attack the weak front in the enemy's deployment with superior force. This would ensure victory. This tactic is later also used by people to deal with social activities in which there is competition.
引例 Citation：
◎夫兵形象水，水之形避高而趋下，兵之形避实而击虚。水因地而制流，兵因敌而制胜。（《孙子·虚实》）
用兵作战之法就像水流一样。水流之势是避开高处而向低处奔流，用兵之法是避开敌人坚实之处而攻击其虚弱的地方。水因地势的高下而制约其流向，作战则根据敌情而决定取胜的方针。
Commanding troops should be like the flow of water. Water runs from a high point to a low one. Troops should avoid attacking where the enemy defense is strong but instead attack where its defense is weak. Just as the flow of water is determined by terrain, war fighting should be based on the assessment of the enemy's situation to secure victory. (The Art of War)
推荐：教育部 国家语委
供稿：北京外国语大学 外语教学与研究出版社
责任编辑：钱耐安
