Verse 1-Wei Liao Zi Art of War Chapter 9
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Verse 1-Wei Liao Zi Art of War Chapter 9
English
In general, a general is an officer of the law and punishment, the manager of all matters. He should not favor anyone. When he does not favor anyone, everything is within his control and he can control anything. The perfect man does not stop criminals more than five paces away. Even though they may have shot at him with barbed arrows, he does not pursue past vengeance. He excels at discovering the nature of a criminal’s offense. Without relying torture, he can obtain a complete understanding of the offender’s situation. If you flog a person's back, brand his ribs, or compress his fingers in order to question him about the nature of his offense, even a state hero could not withstand this cruelty and would falsely implicate himself.
Modern
将帅是掌管刑法的官吏，也是一切事务的主宰者，不应偏袒任何人。正由于不偏袒任何人，所以任何事情发生，都能公平裁决，任何情况出现，都能正确处理。贤德的人总是亲自询问，详察案情，避免错误，秉公审理，即使犯人与自己有深仇宿怨，也不追究前仇。所以善于审案的人，不必施行拷打，也可以把案情全部掌握。如果依靠鞭打犯人脊背，烧灼犯人两胁，捆夹犯人手指等办法来审讯，就是豪杰之士，也会因经不起这种酷刑，而被屈打成招了。
Original
凡将理官也，万物之主也，不私于一人。夫能无私于一人，故万物至而制之，万物至而命之。君子不救囚于五步之外，虽钩矢射之，弗追也。故善审囚之情，不待棰楚，而囚之情可毕矣。答人之背，灼人之胁，束人之指，而讯囚之情，虽国士有不胜其酷，而自诬矣。
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From: Wei Liao Zi Art of War Chapter 9