At first, then, exhibit the coyness of a maiden, until the enemy gives
you an opening; afterwards emulate the rapidity of a running hare, and
it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you.
As the hare is noted for its extreme timidity, the comparison
hardly appears felicitous. But of course Sun Tzŭ was thinking only
of its speed. The words have been taken to mean: You must flee
from the enemy as quickly as an escaping hare; but this is rightly
rejected by Tu Mu. Capt. Calthrop is wrong in translating 兎
“rabbit.” Rabbits are not indigenous to China, and were certainly
not known there in the 6th century B.C. The last sixteen
characters evidently form a sort of four-line jingle. Chap. X, it
may be remembered, closed in similar fashion.