Weapons Are Inauspicious Instruments
The Text
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。
Weapons are inauspicious instruments; all things despise them. One who has the way does not dwell with them. The noble in times of peace honours the left; in war, the right. Weapons are not noble instruments — they are inauspicious; use them only when there is no choice. Calm restraint is best: win without glory. To glorify is to delight in killing; one who delights in killing will not succeed in the world. In joy honour the left; in mourning honour the right. The lieutenant stands left, the general right — as at a funeral. Kill many, and weep for them with grief; victorious, conduct it as a funeral.
Reading it
War is given a funeral protocol, not a victory protocol. The refusal of glory is the load-bearing line: whoever enjoys the instrument becomes indistinguishable from the condition that made the instrument necessary.
战争被给的是丧礼规程，不是凯旋规程。拒绝荣耀是承重的那句：谁喜欢这器物，谁就与使这器物成为必需的状况无法区分。
Find the victory you are still enjoying. Hold its funeral properly — gratitude, then burial.
找出你仍在享受的那场胜利。好好为它办一场丧礼——感恩，然后下葬。