http://git-wip-us.apache.org/repos/asf/ignite/blob/11b00873/modules/hadoop-impl/src/test/java/org/apache/ignite/internal/processors/hadoop/impl/books/art-of-war.txt ---------------------------------------------------------------------- diff --git a/modules/hadoop-impl/src/test/java/org/apache/ignite/internal/processors/hadoop/impl/books/art-of-war.txt b/modules/hadoop-impl/src/test/java/org/apache/ignite/internal/processors/hadoop/impl/books/art-of-war.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8efd211 --- /dev/null +++ b/modules/hadoop-impl/src/test/java/org/apache/ignite/internal/processors/hadoop/impl/books/art-of-war.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6982 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Art of War, by Sun Tzu + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Art of War + +Author: Sun Tzu + +Translator: Lionel Giles + +Release Date: May 1994 [eBook #132] +[Last updated: January 14, 2012] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ART OF WAR *** + +Note: Please see Project Gutenberg's eBook #17405 for a version of +this eBook without the Giles commentary (that is, with only the +Sun Tzu text). + + + + SUN TZU ON THE ART OF WAR + + THE OLDEST MILITARY TREATISE IN THE WORLD + + Translated from the Chinese with Introduction + and Critical Notes + + BY + + LIONEL GILES, M.A. + + Assistant in the Department of Oriental Printed Books and MSS. + in the British Museum + + First Published in 1910 + +----------------------------------------------------------------- + + To my brother + Captain Valentine Giles, R.G. + in the hope that + a work 2400 years old + may yet contain lessons worth consideration + by the soldier of today + this translation + is affectionately dedicated. + +----------------------------------------------------------------- + +Preface to the Project Gutenberg Etext +-------------------------------------- + + When Lionel Giles began his translation of Sun Tzu's ART OF +WAR, the work was virtually unknown in Europe. Its introduction +to Europe began in 1782 when a French Jesuit Father living in +China, Joseph Amiot, acquired a copy of it, and translated it +into French. It was not a good translation because, according to +Dr. Giles, "[I]t contains a great deal that Sun Tzu did not +write, and very little indeed of what he did." + The first translation into English was published in 1905 in +Tokyo by Capt. E. F. Calthrop, R.F.A. However, this translation +is, in the words of Dr. Giles, "excessively bad." He goes +further in this criticism: "It is not merely a question of +downright blunders, from which none can hope to be wholly exempt. +Omissions were frequent; hard passages were willfully distorted +or slurred over. Such offenses are less pardonable. They would +not be tolerated in any edition of a Latin or Greek classic, and +a similar standard of honesty ought to be insisted upon in +translations from Chinese." In 1908 a new edition of Capt. +Calthrop's translation was published in London. It was an +improvement on the first -- omissions filled up and numerous +mistakes corrected -- but new errors were created in the process. +Dr. Giles, in justifying his translation, wrote: "It was not +undertaken out of any inflated estimate of my own powers; but I +could not help feeling that Sun Tzu deserved a better fate than +had befallen him, and I knew that, at any rate, I could hardly +fail to improve on the work of my predecessors." + Clearly, Dr. Giles' work established much of the groundwork +for the work of later translators who published their own +editions. Of the later editions of the ART OF WAR I have +examined; two feature Giles' edited translation and notes, the +other two present the same basic information from the ancient +Chinese commentators found in the Giles edition. Of these four, +Giles' 1910 edition is the most scholarly and presents the reader +an incredible amount of information concerning Sun Tzu's text, +much more than any other translation. + The Giles' edition of the ART OF WAR, as stated above, was a +scholarly work. Dr. Giles was a leading sinologue at the time +and an assistant in the Department of Oriental Printed Books and +Manuscripts in the British Museum. Apparently he wanted to +produce a definitive edition, superior to anything else that +existed and perhaps something that would become a standard +translation. It was the best translation available for 50 years. +But apparently there was not much interest in Sun Tzu in English- +speaking countries since it took the start of the Second +World War to renew interest in his work. Several people +published unsatisfactory English translations of Sun Tzu. In +1944, Dr. Giles' translation was edited and published in the +United States in a series of military science books. But it +wasn't until 1963 that a good English translation (by Samuel B. +Griffith and still in print) was published that was an equal to +Giles' translation. While this translation is more lucid than +Dr. Giles' translation, it lacks his copious notes that make his +so interesting. + Dr. Giles produced a work primarily intended for scholars of +the Chinese civilization and language. It contains the Chinese +text of Sun Tzu, the English translation, and voluminous notes +along with numerous footnotes. Unfortunately, some of his notes +and footnotes contain Chinese characters; some are completely +Chinese. Thus, a conversion to a Latin alphabet etext was +difficult. I did the conversion in complete ignorance of Chinese +(except for what I learned while doing the conversion). Thus, I +faced the difficult task of paraphrasing it while retaining as +much of the important text as I could. Every paraphrase +represents a loss; thus I did what I could to retain as much of +the text as possible. Because the 1910 text contains a Chinese +concordance, I was able to transliterate proper names, books, and +the like at the risk of making the text more obscure. However, +the text, on the whole, is quite satisfactory for the casual +reader, a transformation made possible by conversion to an etext. +However, I come away from this task with the feeling of loss +because I know that someone with a background in Chinese can do a +better job than I did; any such attempt would be welcomed. + + Bob Sutton + al...@cleveland.freenet.edu + b...@gnu.ai.mit.edu + +----------------------------------------------------------------- +INTRODUCTION + + +Sun Wu and his Book +------------------- + + + Ssu-ma Ch`ien gives the following biography of Sun Tzu: [1] +-- + + Sun Tzu Wu was a native of the Ch`i State. His ART OF + WAR brought him to the notice of Ho Lu, [2] King of Wu. Ho + Lu said to him: "I have carefully perused your 13 chapters. + May I submit your theory of managing soldiers to a slight + test?" + Sun Tzu replied: "You may." + Ho Lu asked: "May the test be applied to women?" + The answer was again in the affirmative, so arrangements + were made to bring 180 ladies out of the Palace. Sun Tzu + divided them into two companies, and placed one of the King's + favorite concubines at the head of each. He then bade them + all take spears in their hands, and addressed them thus: "I + presume you know the difference between front and back, right + hand and left hand?" + The girls replied: Yes. + Sun Tzu went on: "When I say "Eyes front," you must + look straight ahead. When I say "Left turn," you must face + towards your left hand. When I say "Right turn," you must + face towards your right hand. When I say "About turn," you + must face right round towards your back." + Again the girls assented. The words of command having + been thus explained, he set up the halberds and battle-axes + in order to begin the drill. Then, to the sound of drums, he + gave the order "Right turn." But the girls only burst out + laughing. Sun Tzu said: "If words of command are not clear + and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then + the general is to blame." + So he started drilling them again, and this time gave + the order "Left turn," whereupon the girls once more burst + into fits of laughter. Sun Tzu: "If words of command are + not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly + understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders ARE + clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the + fault of their officers." + So saying, he ordered the leaders of the two companies + to be beheaded. Now the king of Wu was watching the scene + from the top of a raised pavilion; and when he saw that his + favorite concubines were about to be executed, he was greatly + alarmed and hurriedly sent down the following message: "We + are now quite satisfied as to our general's ability to handle + troops. If We are bereft of these two concubines, our meat + and drink will lose their savor. It is our wish that they + shall not be beheaded." + Sun Tzu replied: "Having once received His Majesty's + commission to be the general of his forces, there are certain + commands of His Majesty which, acting in that capacity, I am + unable to accept." + Accordingly, he had the two leaders beheaded, and + straightway installed the pair next in order as leaders in + their place. When this had been done, the drum was sounded + for the drill once more; and the girls went through all the + evolutions, turning to the right or to the left, marching + ahead or wheeling back, kneeling or standing, with perfect + accuracy and precision, not venturing to utter a sound. Then + Sun Tzu sent a messenger to the King saying: "Your soldiers, + Sire, are now properly drilled and disciplined, and ready for + your majesty's inspection. They can be put to any use that + their sovereign may desire; bid them go through fire and + water, and they will not disobey." + But the King replied: "Let our general cease drilling + and return to camp. As for us, We have no wish to come down + and inspect the troops." + Thereupon Sun Tzu said: "The King is only fond of + words, and cannot translate them into deeds." + After that, Ho Lu saw that Sun Tzu was one who knew how + to handle an army, and finally appointed him general. In the + west, he defeated the Ch`u State and forced his way into + Ying, the capital; to the north he put fear into the States + of Ch`i and Chin, and spread his fame abroad amongst the + feudal princes. And Sun Tzu shared in the might of the King. + + About Sun Tzu himself this is all that Ssu-ma Ch`ien has to +tell us in this chapter. But he proceeds to give a biography of +his descendant, Sun Pin, born about a hundred years after his +famous ancestor's death, and also the outstanding military genius +of his time. The historian speaks of him too as Sun Tzu, and in +his preface we read: "Sun Tzu had his feet cut off and yet +continued to discuss the art of war." [3] It seems likely, then, +that "Pin" was a nickname bestowed on him after his mutilation, +unless the story was invented in order to account for the name. +The crowning incident of his career, the crushing defeat of his +treacherous rival P`ang Chuan, will be found briefly related in +Chapter V. ss. 19, note. + To return to the elder Sun Tzu. He is mentioned in two +other passages of the SHIH CHI: -- + + In the third year of his reign [512 B.C.] Ho Lu, king of + Wu, took the field with Tzu-hsu [i.e. Wu Yuan] and Po P`ei, + and attacked Ch`u. He captured the town of Shu and slew the + two prince's sons who had formerly been generals of Wu. He + was then meditating a descent on Ying [the capital]; but the + general Sun Wu said: "The army is exhausted. It is not yet + possible. We must wait".... [After further successful + fighting,] "in the ninth year [506 B.C.], King Ho Lu + addressed Wu Tzu-hsu and Sun Wu, saying: "Formerly, you + declared that it was not yet possible for us to enter Ying. + Is the time ripe now?" The two men replied: "Ch`u's general + Tzu-ch`ang, [4] is grasping and covetous, and the princes of + T`ang and Ts`ai both have a grudge against him. If Your + Majesty has resolved to make a grand attack, you must win + over T`ang and Ts`ai, and then you may succeed." Ho Lu + followed this advice, [beat Ch`u in five pitched battles and + marched into Ying.] [5] + + This is the latest date at which anything is recorded of Sun +Wu. He does not appear to have survived his patron, who died +from the effects of a wound in 496. + In another chapter there occurs this passage: [6] + + From this time onward, a number of famous soldiers + arose, one after the other: Kao-fan, [7] who was employed by + the Chin State; Wang-tzu, [8] in the service of Ch`i; and Sun + Wu, in the service of Wu. These men developed and threw + light upon the principles of war. + + It is obvious enough that Ssu-ma Ch`ien at least had no +doubt about the reality of Sun Wu as an historical personage; and +with one exception, to be noticed presently, he is by far the +most important authority on the period in question. It will not +be necessary, therefore, to say much of such a work as the WU +YUEH CH`UN CH`IU, which is supposed to have been written by Chao +Yeh of the 1st century A.D. The attribution is somewhat +doubtful; but even if it were otherwise, his account would be of +little value, based as it is on the SHIH CHI and expanded with +romantic details. The story of Sun Tzu will be found, for what +it is worth, in chapter 2. The only new points in it worth +noting are: (1) Sun Tzu was first recommended to Ho Lu by Wu +Tzu-hsu. (2) He is called a native of Wu. (3) He had previously +lived a retired life, and his contemporaries were unaware of his +ability. + The following passage occurs in the Huai-nan Tzu: "When +sovereign and ministers show perversity of mind, it is impossible +even for a Sun Tzu to encounter the foe." Assuming that this +work is genuine (and hitherto no doubt has been cast upon it), we +have here the earliest direct reference for Sun Tzu, for Huai-nan +Tzu died in 122 B.C., many years before the SHIH CHI was given to +the world. + Liu Hsiang (80-9 B.C.) says: "The reason why Sun Tzu at the +head of 30,000 men beat Ch`u with 200,000 is that the latter were +undisciplined." + Teng Ming-shih informs us that the surname "Sun" was +bestowed on Sun Wu's grandfather by Duke Ching of Ch`i [547-490 +B.C.]. Sun Wu's father Sun P`ing, rose to be a Minister of State +in Ch`i, and Sun Wu himself, whose style was Ch`ang-ch`ing, fled +to Wu on account of the rebellion which was being fomented by the +kindred of T`ien Pao. He had three sons, of whom the second, +named Ming, was the father of Sun Pin. According to this account +then, Pin was the grandson of Wu, which, considering that Sun +Pin's victory over Wei was gained in 341 B.C., may be dismissed +as chronological impossible. Whence these data were obtained by +Teng Ming-shih I do not know, but of course no reliance whatever +can be placed in them. + An interesting document which has survived from the close of +the Han period is the short preface written by the Great Ts`ao +Ts`ao, or Wei Wu Ti, for his edition of Sun Tzu. I shall give it +in full: -- + + I have heard that the ancients used bows and arrows to + their advantage. [10] The SHU CHU mentions "the army" among + the "eight objects of government." The I CHING says: + "'army' indicates firmness and justice; the experienced + leader will have good fortune." The SHIH CHING says: "The + King rose majestic in his wrath, and he marshaled his + troops." The Yellow Emperor, T`ang the Completer and Wu Wang + all used spears and battle-axes in order to succor their + generation. The SSU-MA FA says: "If one man slay another of + set purpose, he himself may rightfully be slain." He who + relies solely on warlike measures shall be exterminated; he + who relies solely on peaceful measures shall perish. + Instances of this are Fu Ch`ai [11] on the one hand and Yen + Wang on the other. [12] In military matters, the Sage's rule + is normally to keep the peace, and to move his forces only + when occasion requires. He will not use armed force unless + driven to it by necessity. + Many books have I read on the subject of war and + fighting; but the work composed by Sun Wu is the profoundest + of them all. [Sun Tzu was a native of the Ch`i state, his + personal name was Wu. He wrote the ART OF WAR in 13 chapters + for Ho Lu, King of Wu. Its principles were tested on women, + and he was subsequently made a general. He led an army + westwards, crushed the Ch`u state and entered Ying the + capital. In the north, he kept Ch`i and Chin in awe. A + hundred years and more after his time, Sun Pin lived. He was + a descendant of Wu.] [13] In his treatment of deliberation + and planning, the importance of rapidity in taking the field, + [14] clearness of conception, and depth of design, Sun Tzu + stands beyond the reach of carping criticism. My + contemporaries, however, have failed to grasp the full + meaning of his instructions, and while putting into practice + the smaller details in which his work abounds, they have + overlooked its essential purport. That is the motive which + has led me to outline a rough explanation of the whole. + + One thing to be noticed in the above is the explicit +statement that the 13 chapters were specially composed for King +Ho Lu. This is supported by the internal evidence of I. ss. 15, +in which it seems clear that some ruler is addressed. + In the bibliographic section of the HAN SHU, there is an +entry which has given rise to much discussion: "The works of Sun +Tzu of Wu in 82 P`IEN (or chapters), with diagrams in 9 CHUAN." +It is evident that this cannot be merely the 13 chapters known to +Ssu-ma Ch`ien, or those we possess today. Chang Shou-chieh +refers to an edition of Sun Tzu's ART OF WAR of which the "13 +chapters" formed the first CHUAN, adding that there were two +other CHUAN besides. This has brought forth a theory, that the +bulk of these 82 chapters consisted of other writings of Sun Tzu +-- we should call them apocryphal -- similar to the WEN TA, of +which a specimen dealing with the Nine Situations [15] is +preserved in the T`UNG TIEN, and another in Ho Shin's commentary. +It is suggested that before his interview with Ho Lu, Sun Tzu had +only written the 13 chapters, but afterwards composed a sort of +exegesis in the form of question and answer between himself and +the King. Pi I-hsun, the author of the SUN TZU HSU LU, backs +this up with a quotation from the WU YUEH CH`UN CH`IU: "The King +of Wu summoned Sun Tzu, and asked him questions about the art of +war. Each time he set forth a chapter of his work, the King +could not find words enough to praise him." As he points out, if +the whole work was expounded on the same scale as in the above- +mentioned fragments, the total number of chapters could not fail +to be considerable. Then the numerous other treatises attributed +to Sun Tzu might be included. The fact that the HAN CHIH +mentions no work of Sun Tzu except the 82 P`IEN, whereas the Sui +and T`ang bibliographies give the titles of others in addition to +the "13 chapters," is good proof, Pi I-hsun thinks, that all of +these were contained in the 82 P`IEN. Without pinning our faith +to the accuracy of details supplied by the WU YUEH CH`UN CH`IU, +or admitting the genuineness of any of the treatises cited by Pi +I-hsun, we may see in this theory a probable solution of the +mystery. Between Ssu-ma Ch`ien and Pan Ku there was plenty of +time for a luxuriant crop of forgeries to have grown up under the +magic name of Sun Tzu, and the 82 P`IEN may very well represent a +collected edition of these lumped together with the original +work. It is also possible, though less likely, that some of them +existed in the time of the earlier historian and were purposely +ignored by him. [16] + Tu Mu's conjecture seems to be based on a passage which +states: "Wei Wu Ti strung together Sun Wu's Art of War," which +in turn may have resulted from a misunderstanding of the final +words of Ts`ao King's preface. This, as Sun Hsing-yen points +out, is only a modest way of saying that he made an explanatory +paraphrase, or in other words, wrote a commentary on it. On the +whole, this theory has met with very little acceptance. Thus, +the SSU K`U CH`UAN SHU says: "The mention of the 13 chapters in +the SHIH CHI shows that they were in existence before the HAN +CHIH, and that latter accretions are not to be considered part of +the original work. Tu Mu's assertion can certainly not be taken +as proof." + There is every reason to suppose, then, that the 13 chapters +existed in the time of Ssu-ma Ch`ien practically as we have them +now. That the work was then well known he tells us in so many +words. "Sun Tzu's 13 Chapters and Wu Ch`i's Art of War are the +two books that people commonly refer to on the subject of +military matters. Both of them are widely distributed, so I will +not discuss them here." But as we go further back, serious +difficulties begin to arise. The salient fact which has to be +faced is that the TSO CHUAN, the greatest contemporary record, +makes no mention whatsoever of Sun Wu, either as a general or as +a writer. It is natural, in view of this awkward circumstance, +that many scholars should not only cast doubt on the story of Sun +Wu as given in the SHIH CHI, but even show themselves frankly +skeptical as to the existence of the man at all. The most +powerful presentment of this side of the case is to be found in +the following disposition by Yeh Shui-hsin: [17] -- + + It is stated in Ssu-ma Ch`ien's history that Sun Wu was + a native of the Ch`i State, and employed by Wu; and that in + the reign of Ho Lu he crushed Ch`u, entered Ying, and was a + great general. But in Tso's Commentary no Sun Wu appears at + all. It is true that Tso's Commentary need not contain + absolutely everything that other histories contain. But Tso + has not omitted to mention vulgar plebeians and hireling + ruffians such as Ying K`ao-shu, [18] Ts`ao Kuei, [19], Chu + Chih-wu and Chuan She-chu [20]. In the case of Sun Wu, whose + fame and achievements were so brilliant, the omission is much + more glaring. Again, details are given, in their due order, + about his contemporaries Wu Yuan and the Minister P`ei. [21] + Is it credible that Sun Wu alone should have been passed + over? + In point of literary style, Sun Tzu's work belongs to + the same school as KUAN TZU, [22] LIU T`AO, [23] and the YUEH + YU [24] and may have been the production of some private + scholar living towards the end of the "Spring and Autumn" or + the beginning of the "Warring States" period. [25] The story + that his precepts were actually applied by the Wu State, is + merely the outcome of big talk on the part of his followers. + From the flourishing period of the Chou dynasty [26] + down to the time of the "Spring and Autumn," all military + commanders were statesmen as well, and the class of + professional generals, for conducting external campaigns, did + not then exist. It was not until the period of the "Six + States" [27] that this custom changed. Now although Wu was + an uncivilized State, it is conceivable that Tso should have + left unrecorded the fact that Sun Wu was a great general and + yet held no civil office? What we are told, therefore, about + Jang-chu [28] and Sun Wu, is not authentic matter, but the + reckless fabrication of theorizing pundits. The story of Ho + Lu's experiment on the women, in particular, is utterly + preposterous and incredible. + + Yeh Shui-hsin represents Ssu-ma Ch`ien as having said that +Sun Wu crushed Ch`u and entered Ying. This is not quite correct. +No doubt the impression left on the reader's mind is that he at +least shared in these exploits. The fact may or may not be +significant; but it is nowhere explicitly stated in the SHIH CHI +either that Sun Tzu was general on the occasion of the taking of +Ying, or that he even went there at all. Moreover, as we know +that Wu Yuan and Po P`ei both took part in the expedition, and +also that its success was largely due to the dash and enterprise +of Fu Kai, Ho Lu's younger brother, it is not easy to see how yet +another general could have played a very prominent part in the +same campaign. + Ch`en Chen-sun of the Sung dynasty has the note: -- + + Military writers look upon Sun Wu as the father of their + art. But the fact that he does not appear in the TSO CHUAN, + although he is said to have served under Ho Lu King of Wu, + makes it uncertain what period he really belonged to. + +He also says: -- + + The works of Sun Wu and Wu Ch`i may be of genuine + antiquity. + + It is noticeable that both Yeh Shui-hsin and Ch`en Chen-sun, +while rejecting the personality of Sun Wu as he figures in Ssu-ma +Ch`ien's history, are inclined to accept the date traditionally +assigned to the work which passes under his name. The author of +the HSU LU fails to appreciate this distinction, and consequently +his bitter attack on Ch`en Chen-sun really misses its mark. He +makes one of two points, however, which certainly tell in favor +of the high antiquity of our "13 chapters." "Sun Tzu," he says, +"must have lived in the age of Ching Wang [519-476], because he +is frequently plagiarized in subsequent works of the Chou, Ch`in +and Han dynasties." The two most shameless offenders in this +respect are Wu Ch`i and Huai-nan Tzu, both of them important +historical personages in their day. The former lived only a +century after the alleged date of Sun Tzu, and his death is known +to have taken place in 381 B.C. It was to him, according to Liu +Hsiang, that Tseng Shen delivered the TSO CHUAN, which had been +entrusted to him by its author. [29] Now the fact that +quotations from the ART OF WAR, acknowledged or otherwise, are to +be found in so many authors of different epochs, establishes a +very strong anterior to them all, -- in other words, that Sun +Tzu's treatise was already in existence towards the end of the +5th century B.C. Further proof of Sun Tzu's antiquity is +furnished by the archaic or wholly obsolete meanings attaching to +a number of the words he uses. A list of these, which might +perhaps be extended, is given in the HSU LU; and though some of +the interpretations are doubtful, the main argument is hardly +affected thereby. Again, it must not be forgotten that Yeh Shui- +hsin, a scholar and critic of the first rank, deliberately +pronounces the style of the 13 chapters to belong to the early +part of the fifth century. Seeing that he is actually engaged in +an attempt to disprove the existence of Sun Wu himself, we may be +sure that he would not have hesitated to assign the work to a +later date had he not honestly believed the contrary. And it is +precisely on such a point that the judgment of an educated +Chinaman will carry most weight. Other internal evidence is not +far to seek. Thus in XIII. ss. 1, there is an unmistakable +allusion to the ancient system of land-tenure which had already +passed away by the time of Mencius, who was anxious to see it +revived in a modified form. [30] The only warfare Sun Tzu knows +is that carried on between the various feudal princes, in which +armored chariots play a large part. Their use seems to have +entirely died out before the end of the Chou dynasty. He speaks +as a man of Wu, a state which ceased to exist as early as 473 +B.C. On this I shall touch presently. + + But once refer the work to the 5th century or earlier, and +the chances of its being other than a bona fide production are +sensibly diminished. The great age of forgeries did not come +until long after. That it should have been forged in the period +immediately following 473 is particularly unlikely, for no one, +as a rule, hastens to identify himself with a lost cause. As for +Yeh Shui-hsin's theory, that the author was a literary recluse, +that seems to me quite untenable. If one thing is more apparent +than another after reading the maxims of Sun Tzu, it is that +their essence has been distilled from a large store of personal +observation and experience. They reflect the mind not only of a +born strategist, gifted with a rare faculty of generalization, +but also of a practical soldier closely acquainted with the +military conditions of his time. To say nothing of the fact that +these sayings have been accepted and endorsed by all the greatest +captains of Chinese history, they offer a combination of +freshness and sincerity, acuteness and common sense, which quite +excludes the idea that they were artificially concocted in the +study. If we admit, then, that the 13 chapters were the genuine +production of a military man living towards the end of the "CH`UN +CH`IU" period, are we not bound, in spite of the silence of the +TSO CHUAN, to accept Ssu-ma Ch`ien's account in its entirety? In +view of his high repute as a sober historian, must we not +hesitate to assume that the records he drew upon for Sun Wu's +biography were false and untrustworthy? The answer, I fear, must +be in the negative. There is still one grave, if not fatal, +objection to the chronology involved in the story as told in the +SHIH CHI, which, so far as I am aware, nobody has yet pointed +out. There are two passages in Sun Tzu in which he alludes to +contemporary affairs. The first in in VI. ss. 21: -- + + Though according to my estimate the soldiers of Yueh + exceed our own in number, that shall advantage them nothing + in the matter of victory. I say then that victory can be + achieved. + +The other is in XI. ss. 30: -- + + Asked if an army can be made to imitate the SHUAI-JAN, I + should answer, Yes. For the men of Wu and the men of Yueh + are enemies; yet if they are crossing a river in the same + boat and are caught by a storm, they will come to each + other's assistance just as the left hand helps the right. + + These two paragraphs are extremely valuable as evidence of +the date of composition. They assign the work to the period of +the struggle between Wu and Yueh. So much has been observed by +Pi I-hsun. But what has hitherto escaped notice is that they +also seriously impair the credibility of Ssu-ma Ch`ien's +narrative. As we have seen above, the first positive date given +in connection with Sun Wu is 512 B.C. He is then spoken of as a +general, acting as confidential adviser to Ho Lu, so that his +alleged introduction to that monarch had already taken place, and +of course the 13 chapters must have been written earlier still. +But at that time, and for several years after, down to the +capture of Ying in 506, Ch`u and not Yueh, was the great +hereditary enemy of Wu. The two states, Ch`u and Wu, had been +constantly at war for over half a century, [31] whereas the first +war between Wu and Yueh was waged only in 510, [32] and even then +was no more than a short interlude sandwiched in the midst of the +fierce struggle with Ch`u. Now Ch`u is not mentioned in the 13 +chapters at all. The natural inference is that they were written +at a time when Yueh had become the prime antagonist of Wu, that +is, after Ch`u had suffered the great humiliation of 506. At +this point, a table of dates may be found useful. + +B.C. | + | +514 | Accession of Ho Lu. +512 | Ho Lu attacks Ch`u, but is dissuaded from entering Ying, + | the capital. SHI CHI mentions Sun Wu as general. +511 | Another attack on Ch`u. +510 | Wu makes a successful attack on Yueh. This is the first + | war between the two states. +509 | + or | Ch`u invades Wu, but is signally defeated at Yu-chang. +508 | +506 | Ho Lu attacks Ch`u with the aid of T`ang and Ts`ai. + | Decisive battle of Po-chu, and capture of Ying. Last + | mention of Sun Wu in SHIH CHI. +505 | Yueh makes a raid on Wu in the absence of its army. Wu + | is beaten by Ch`in and evacuates Ying. +504 | Ho Lu sends Fu Ch`ai to attack Ch`u. +497 | Kou Chien becomes King of Yueh. +496 | Wu attacks Yueh, but is defeated by Kou Chien at Tsui-li. + | Ho Lu is killed. +494 | Fu Ch`ai defeats Kou Chien in the great battle of Fu- + | chaio, and enters the capital of Yueh. +485 | + or | Kou Chien renders homage to Wu. Death of Wu Tzu-hsu. +484 | +482 | Kou Chien invades Wu in the absence of Fu Ch`ai. +478 | + to | Further attacks by Yueh on Wu. +476 | +475 | Kou Chien lays siege to the capital of Wu. +473 | Final defeat and extinction of Wu. + + The sentence quoted above from VI. ss. 21 hardly strikes me +as one that could have been written in the full flush of victory. +It seems rather to imply that, for the moment at least, the tide +had turned against Wu, and that she was getting the worst of the +struggle. Hence we may conclude that our treatise was not in +existence in 505, before which date Yueh does not appear to have +scored any notable success against Wu. Ho Lu died in 496, so +that if the book was written for him, it must have been during +the period 505-496, when there was a lull in the hostilities, Wu +having presumably exhausted by its supreme effort against Ch`u. +On the other hand, if we choose to disregard the tradition +connecting Sun Wu's name with Ho Lu, it might equally well have +seen the light between 496 and 494, or possibly in the period +482-473, when Yueh was once again becoming a very serious menace. +[33] We may feel fairly certain that the author, whoever he may +have been, was not a man of any great eminence in his own day. +On this point the negative testimony of the TSO CHUAN far +outweighs any shred of authority still attaching to the SHIH CHI, +if once its other facts are discredited. Sun Hsing-yen, however, +makes a feeble attempt to explain the omission of his name from +the great commentary. It was Wu Tzu-hsu, he says, who got all +the credit of Sun Wu's exploits, because the latter (being an +alien) was not rewarded with an office in the State. + How then did the Sun Tzu legend originate? It may be that +the growing celebrity of the book imparted by degrees a kind of +factitious renown to its author. It was felt to be only right +and proper that one so well versed in the science of war should +have solid achievements to his credit as well. Now the capture +of Ying was undoubtedly the greatest feat of arms in Ho Lu's +reign; it made a deep and lasting impression on all the +surrounding states, and raised Wu to the short-lived zenith of +her power. Hence, what more natural, as time went on, than that +the acknowledged master of strategy, Sun Wu, should be popularly +identified with that campaign, at first perhaps only in the sense +that his brain conceived and planned it; afterwards, that it was +actually carried out by him in conjunction with Wu Yuan, [34] Po +P`ei and Fu Kai? + It is obvious that any attempt to reconstruct even the +outline of Sun Tzu's life must be based almost wholly on +conjecture. With this necessary proviso, I should say that he +probably entered the service of Wu about the time of Ho Lu's +accession, and gathered experience, though only in the capacity +of a subordinate officer, during the intense military activity +which marked the first half of the prince's reign. [35] If he +rose to be a general at all, he certainly was never on an equal +footing with the three above mentioned. He was doubtless present +at the investment and occupation of Ying, and witnessed Wu's +sudden collapse in the following year. Yueh's attack at this +critical juncture, when her rival was embarrassed on every side, +seems to have convinced him that this upstart kingdom was the +great enemy against whom every effort would henceforth have to be +directed. Sun Wu was thus a well-seasoned warrior when he sat +down to write his famous book, which according to my reckoning +must have appeared towards the end, rather than the beginning of +Ho Lu's reign. The story of the women may possibly have grown +out of some real incident occurring about the same time. As we +hear no more of Sun Wu after this from any source, he is hardly +likely to have survived his patron or to have taken part in the +death-struggle with Yueh, which began with the disaster at Tsui- +li. + If these inferences are approximately correct, there is a +certain irony in the fate which decreed that China's most +illustrious man of peace should be contemporary with her greatest +writer on war. + + +The Text of Sun Tzu +------------------- + + + I have found it difficult to glean much about the history of +Sun Tzu's text. The quotations that occur in early authors go to +show that the "13 chapters" of which Ssu-ma Ch`ien speaks were +essentially the same as those now extant. We have his word for +it that they were widely circulated in his day, and can only +regret that he refrained from discussing them on that account. +Sun Hsing-yen says in his preface: -- + + During the Ch`in and Han dynasties Sun Tzu's ART OF WAR + was in general use amongst military commanders, but they seem + to have treated it as a work of mysterious import, and were + unwilling to expound it for the benefit of posterity. Thus + it came about that Wei Wu was the first to write a commentary + on it. + + As we have already seen, there is no reasonable ground to +suppose that Ts`ao Kung tampered with the text. But the text +itself is often so obscure, and the number of editions which +appeared from that time onward so great, especially during the +T`ang and Sung dynasties, that it would be surprising if numerous +corruptions had not managed to creep in. Towards the middle of +the Sung period, by which time all the chief commentaries on Sun +Tzu were in existence, a certain Chi T`ien-pao published a work +in 15 CHUAN entitled "Sun Tzu with the collected commentaries of +ten writers." There was another text, with variant readings put +forward by Chu Fu of Ta-hsing, which also had supporters among +the scholars of that period; but in the Ming editions, Sun Hsing- +yen tells us, these readings were for some reason or other no +longer put into circulation. Thus, until the end of the 18th +century, the text in sole possession of the field was one derived +from Chi T`ien-pao's edition, although no actual copy of that +important work was known to have survived. That, therefore, is +the text of Sun Tzu which appears in the War section of the great +Imperial encyclopedia printed in 1726, the KU CHIN T`U SHU CHI +CH`ENG. Another copy at my disposal of what is practically the +same text, with slight variations, is that contained in the +"Eleven philosophers of the Chou and Ch`in dynasties" [1758]. +And the Chinese printed in Capt. Calthrop's first edition is +evidently a similar version which has filtered through Japanese +channels. So things remained until Sun Hsing-yen [1752-1818], a +distinguished antiquarian and classical scholar, who claimed to +be an actual descendant of Sun Wu, [36] accidentally discovered a +copy of Chi T`ien-pao's long-lost work, when on a visit to the +library of the Hua-yin temple. [37] Appended to it was the I +SHUO of Cheng Yu-Hsien, mentioned in the T`UNG CHIH, and also +believed to have perished. This is what Sun Hsing-yen designates +as the "original edition (or text)" -- a rather misleading name, +for it cannot by any means claim to set before us the text of Sun +Tzu in its pristine purity. Chi T`ien-pao was a careless +compiler, and appears to have been content to reproduce the +somewhat debased version current in his day, without troubling to +collate it with the earliest editions then available. +Fortunately, two versions of Sun Tzu, even older than the newly +discovered work, were still extant, one buried in the T`UNG TIEN, +Tu Yu's great treatise on the Constitution, the other similarly +enshrined in the T`AI P`ING YU LAN encyclopedia. In both the +complete text is to be found, though split up into fragments, +intermixed with other matter, and scattered piecemeal over a +number of different sections. Considering that the YU LAN takes +us back to the year 983, and the T`UNG TIEN about 200 years +further still, to the middle of the T`ang dynasty, the value of +these early transcripts of Sun Tzu can hardly be overestimated. +Yet the idea of utilizing them does not seem to have occurred to +anyone until Sun Hsing-yen, acting under Government instructions, +undertook a thorough recension of the text. This is his own +account: -- + + Because of the numerous mistakes in the text of Sun Tzu + which his editors had handed down, the Government ordered + that the ancient edition [of Chi T`ien-pao] should be used, + and that the text should be revised and corrected throughout. + It happened that Wu Nien-hu, the Governor Pi Kua, and Hsi, a + graduate of the second degree, had all devoted themselves to + this study, probably surpassing me therein. Accordingly, I + have had the whole work cut on blocks as a textbook for + military men. + + The three individuals here referred to had evidently been +occupied on the text of Sun Tzu prior to Sun Hsing-yen's +commission, but we are left in doubt as to the work they really +accomplished. At any rate, the new edition, when ultimately +produced, appeared in the names of Sun Hsing-yen and only one co- +editor Wu Jen-shi. They took the "original edition" as their +basis, and by careful comparison with older versions, as well as +the extant commentaries and other sources of information such as +the I SHUO, succeeded in restoring a very large number of +doubtful passages, and turned out, on the whole, what must be +accepted as the closes approximation we are ever likely to get to +Sun Tzu's original work. This is what will hereafter be +denominated the "standard text." + The copy which I have used belongs to a reissue dated 1877. +it is in 6 PEN, forming part of a well-printed set of 23 early +philosophical works in 83 PEN. [38] It opens with a preface by +Sun Hsing-yen (largely quoted in this introduction), vindicating +the traditional view of Sun Tzu's life and performances, and +summing up in remarkably concise fashion the evidence in its +favor. This is followed by Ts`ao Kung's preface to his edition, +and the biography of Sun Tzu from the SHIH CHI, both translated +above. Then come, firstly, Cheng Yu-hsien's I SHUO, [39] with +author's preface, and next, a short miscellany of historical and +bibliographical information entitled SUN TZU HSU LU, compiled by +Pi I-hsun. As regards the body of the work, each separate +sentence is followed by a note on the text, if required, and then +by the various commentaries appertaining to it, arranged in +chronological order. These we shall now proceed to discuss +briefly, one by one. + + +The Commentators +---------------- + + + Sun Tzu can boast an exceptionally long distinguished roll +of commentators, which would do honor to any classic. Ou-yang +Hsiu remarks on this fact, though he wrote before the tale was +complete, and rather ingeniously explains it by saying that the +artifices of war, being inexhaustible, must therefore be +susceptible of treatment in a great variety of ways. + + 1. TS`AO TS`AO or Ts`ao Kung, afterwards known as Wei Wu Ti +[A.D. 155-220]. There is hardly any room for doubt that the +earliest commentary on Sun Tzu actually came from the pen of this +extraordinary man, whose biography in the SAN KUO CHIH reads like +a romance. One of the greatest military geniuses that the world +has seen, and Napoleonic in the scale of his operations, he was +especially famed for the marvelous rapidity of his marches, which +has found expression in the line "Talk of Ts`ao Ts`ao, and Ts`ao +Ts`ao will appear." Ou-yang Hsiu says of him that he was a great +captain who "measured his strength against Tung Cho, Lu Pu and +the two Yuan, father and son, and vanquished them all; whereupon +he divided the Empire of Han with Wu and Shu, and made himself +king. It is recorded that whenever a council of war was held by +Wei on the eve of a far-reaching campaign, he had all his +calculations ready; those generals who made use of them did not +lose one battle in ten; those who ran counter to them in any +particular saw their armies incontinently beaten and put to +flight." Ts`ao Kung's notes on Sun Tzu, models of austere +brevity, are so thoroughly characteristic of the stern commander +known to history, that it is hard indeed to conceive of them as +the work of a mere LITTERATEUR. Sometimes, indeed, owing to +extreme compression, they are scarcely intelligible and stand no +less in need of a commentary than the text itself. [40] + + 2. MENG SHIH. The commentary which has come down to us +under this name is comparatively meager, and nothing about the +author is known. Even his personal name has not been recorded. +Chi T`ien-pao's edition places him after Chia Lin,and Ch`ao Kung- +wu also assigns him to the T`ang dynasty, [41] but this is a +mistake. In Sun Hsing-yen's preface, he appears as Meng Shih of +the Liang dynasty [502-557]. Others would identify him with Meng +K`ang of the 3rd century. He is named in one work as the last of +the "Five Commentators," the others being Wei Wu Ti, Tu Mu, Ch`en +Hao and Chia Lin. + + 3. LI CH`UAN of the 8th century was a well-known writer on +military tactics. One of his works has been in constant use down +to the present day. The T`UNG CHIH mentions "Lives of famous +generals from the Chou to the T`ang dynasty" as written by him. +[42] According to Ch`ao Kung-wu and the T`IEN-I-KO catalogue, he +followed a variant of the text of Sun Tzu which differs +considerably from those now extant. His notes are mostly short +and to the point, and he frequently illustrates his remarks by +anecdotes from Chinese history. + + 4. TU YU (died 812) did not publish a separate commentary +on Sun Tzu, his notes being taken from the T`UNG TIEN, the +encyclopedic treatise on the Constitution which was his life- +work. They are largely repetitions of Ts`ao Kung and Meng Shih, +besides which it is believed that he drew on the ancient +commentaries of Wang Ling and others. Owing to the peculiar +arrangement of T`UNG TIEN, he has to explain each passage on its +merits, apart from the context, and sometimes his own explanation +does not agree with that of Ts`ao Kung, whom he always quotes +first. Though not strictly to be reckoned as one of the "Ten +Commentators," he was added to their number by Chi T`ien-pao, +being wrongly placed after his grandson Tu Mu. + + 5. TU MU (803-852) is perhaps the best known as a poet -- a +bright star even in the glorious galaxy of the T`ang period. We +learn from Ch`ao Kung-wu that although he had no practical +experience of war, he was extremely fond of discussing the +subject, and was moreover well read in the military history of +the CH`UN CH`IU and CHAN KUO eras. His notes, therefore, are +well worth attention. They are very copious, and replete with +historical parallels. The gist of Sun Tzu's work is thus +summarized by him: "Practice benevolence and justice, but on the +other hand make full use of artifice and measures of expediency." +He further declared that all the military triumphs and disasters +of the thousand years which had elapsed since Sun Tzu's death +would, upon examination, be found to uphold and corroborate, in +every particular, the maxims contained in his book. Tu Mu's +somewhat spiteful charge against Ts`ao Kung has already been +considered elsewhere. + + 6. CH`EN HAO appears to have been a contemporary of Tu Mu. +Ch`ao Kung-wu says that he was impelled to write a new commentary +on Sun Tzu because Ts`ao Kung's on the one hand was too obscure +and subtle, and that of Tu Mu on the other too long-winded and +diffuse. Ou-yang Hsiu, writing in the middle of the 11th +century, calls Ts`ao Kung, Tu Mu and Ch`en Hao the three chief +commentators on Sun Tzu, and observes that Ch`en Hao is +continually attacking Tu Mu's shortcomings. His commentary, +though not lacking in merit, must rank below those of his +predecessors. + + 7. CHIA LIN is known to have lived under the T`ang dynasty, +for his commentary on Sun Tzu is mentioned in the T`ang Shu and +was afterwards republished by Chi Hsieh of the same dynasty +together with those of Meng Shih and Tu Yu. It is of somewhat +scanty texture, and in point of quality, too, perhaps the least +valuable of the eleven. + + 8. MEI YAO-CH`EN (1002-1060), commonly known by his "style" +as Mei Sheng-yu, was, like Tu Mu, a poet of distinction. His +commentary was published with a laudatory preface by the great +Ou-yang Hsiu, from which we may cull the following: -- + + Later scholars have misread Sun Tzu, distorting his + words and trying to make them square with their own one-sided + views. Thus, though commentators have not been lacking, only + a few have proved equal to the task. My friend Sheng-yu has + not fallen into this mistake. In attempting to provide a + critical commentary for Sun Tzu's work, he does not lose + sight of the fact that these sayings were intended for states + engaged in internecine warfare; that the author is not + concerned with the military conditions prevailing under the + sovereigns of the three ancient dynasties, [43] nor with the + nine punitive measures prescribed to the Minister of War. + [44] Again, Sun Wu loved brevity of diction, but his meaning + is always deep. Whether the subject be marching an army, or + handling soldiers, or estimating the enemy, or controlling + the forces of victory, it is always systematically treated; + the sayings are bound together in strict logical sequence, + though this has been obscured by commentators who have + probably failed to grasp their meaning. In his own + commentary, Mei Sheng-yu has brushed aside all the obstinate + prejudices of these critics, and has tried to bring out the + true meaning of Sun Tzu himself. In this way, the clouds of + confusion have been dispersed and the sayings made clear. I + am convinced that the present work deserves to be handed down + side by side with the three great commentaries; and for a + great deal that they find in the sayings, coming generations + will have constant reason to thank my friend Sheng-yu. + + Making some allowance for the exuberance of friendship, I am +inclined to endorse this favorable judgment, and would certainly +place him above Ch`en Hao in order of merit. + + 9. WANG HSI, also of the Sung dynasty, is decidedly +original in some of his interpretations, but much less judicious +than Mei Yao-ch`en, and on the whole not a very trustworthy +guide. He is fond of comparing his own commentary with that of +Ts`ao Kung, but the comparison is not often flattering to him. +We learn from Ch`ao Kung-wu that Wang Hsi revised the ancient +text of Sun Tzu, filling up lacunae and correcting mistakes. [45] + + 10. HO YEN-HSI of the Sung dynasty. The personal name of +this commentator is given as above by Cheng Ch`iao in the TUNG +CHIH, written about the middle of the twelfth century, but he +appears simply as Ho Shih in the YU HAI, and Ma Tuan-lin quotes +Ch`ao Kung-wu as saying that his personal name is unknown. There +seems to be no reason to doubt Cheng Ch`iao's statement, +otherwise I should have been inclined to hazard a guess and +identify him with one Ho Ch`u-fei, the author of a short treatise +on war, who lived in the latter part of the 11th century. Ho +Shih's commentary, in the words of the T`IEN-I-KO catalogue, +"contains helpful additions" here and there, but is chiefly +remarkable for the copious extracts taken, in adapted form, from +the dynastic histories and other sources. + + 11. CHANG YU. The list closes with a commentator of no +great originality perhaps, but gifted with admirable powers of +lucid exposition. His commentator is based on that of Ts`ao +Kung, whose terse sentences he contrives to expand and develop in +masterly fashion. Without Chang Yu, it is safe to say that much +of Ts`ao Kung's commentary would have remained cloaked in its +pristine obscurity and therefore valueless. His work is not +mentioned in the Sung history, the T`UNG K`AO, or the YU HAI, but +it finds a niche in the T`UNG CHIH, which also names him as the +author of the "Lives of Famous Generals." [46] + It is rather remarkable that the last-named four should all +have flourished within so short a space of time. Ch`ao Kung-wu +accounts for it by saying: "During the early years of the Sung +dynasty the Empire enjoyed a long spell of peace, and men ceased +to practice the art of war. but when [Chao] Yuan-hao's rebellion +came [1038-42] and the frontier generals were defeated time after +time, the Court made strenuous inquiry for men skilled in war, +and military topics became the vogue amongst all the high +officials. Hence it is that the commentators of Sun Tzu in our +dynasty belong mainly to that period. [47] + + Besides these eleven commentators, there are several others +whose work has not come down to us. The SUI SHU mentions four, +namely Wang Ling (often quoted by Tu Yu as Wang Tzu); Chang Tzu- +shang; Chia Hsu of Wei; [48] and Shen Yu of Wu. The T`ANG SHU +adds Sun Hao, and the T`UNG CHIH Hsiao Chi, while the T`U SHU +mentions a Ming commentator, Huang Jun-yu. It is possible that +some of these may have been merely collectors and editors of +other commentaries, like Chi T`ien-pao and Chi Hsieh, mentioned +above. + + +Appreciations of Sun Tzu +------------------------ + + + Sun Tzu has exercised a potent fascination over the minds of +some of China's greatest men. Among the famous generals who are +known to have studied his pages with enthusiasm may be mentioned +Han Hsin (d. 196 B.C.), [49] Feng I (d. 34 A.D.), [50] Lu Meng +(d. 219), [51] and Yo Fei (1103-1141). [52] The opinion of Ts`ao +Kung, who disputes with Han Hsin the highest place in Chinese +military annals, has already been recorded. [53] Still more +remarkable, in one way, is the testimony of purely literary men, +such as Su Hsun (the father of Su Tung-p`o), who wrote several +essays on military topics, all of which owe their chief +inspiration to Sun Tzu. The following short passage by him is +preserved in the YU HAI: [54] -- + + Sun Wu's saying, that in war one cannot make certain of + conquering, [55] is very different indeed from what other + books tell us. [56] Wu Ch`i was a man of the same stamp as + Sun Wu: they both wrote books on war, and they are linked + together in popular speech as "Sun and Wu." But Wu Ch`i's + remarks on war are less weighty, his rules are rougher and + more crudely stated, and there is not the same unity of plan + as in Sun Tzu's work, where the style is terse, but the + meaning fully brought out. + + The following is an extract from the "Impartial Judgments in +the Garden of Literature" by Cheng Hou: -- + + Sun Tzu's 13 chapters are not only the staple and base + of all military men's training, but also compel the most + careful attention of scholars and men of letters. His + sayings are terse yet elegant, simple yet profound, + perspicuous and eminently practical. Such works as the LUN + YU, the I CHING and the great Commentary, [57] as well as the + writings of Mencius, Hsun K`uang and Yang Chu, all fall below + the level of Sun Tzu. + + Chu Hsi, commenting on this, fully admits the first part of +the criticism, although he dislikes the audacious comparison with +the venerated classical works. Language of this sort, he says, +"encourages a ruler's bent towards unrelenting warfare and +reckless militarism." + + +Apologies for War +----------------- + + + Accustomed as we are to think of China as the greatest +peace-loving nation on earth, we are in some danger of forgetting +that her experience of war in all its phases has also been such +as no modern State can parallel. Her long military annals +stretch back to a point at which they are lost in the mists of +time. She had built the Great Wall and was maintaining a huge +standing army along her frontier centuries before the first Roman +legionary was seen on the Danube. What with the perpetual +collisions of the ancient feudal States, the grim conflicts with +Huns, Turks and other invaders after the centralization of +government, the terrific upheavals which accompanied the +overthrow of so many dynasties, besides the countless rebellions +and minor disturbances that have flamed up and flickered out +again one by one, it is hardly too much to say that the clash of +arms has never ceased to resound in one portion or another of the +Empire. + No less remarkable is the succession of illustrious captains +to whom China can point with pride. As in all countries, the +greatest are fond of emerging at the most fateful crises of her +history. Thus, Po Ch`i stands out conspicuous in the period when +Ch`in was entering upon her final struggle with the remaining +independent states. The stormy years which followed the break-up +of the Ch`in dynasty are illuminated by the transcendent genius +of Han Hsin. When the House of Han in turn is tottering to its +fall, the great and baleful figure of Ts`ao Ts`ao dominates the +scene. And in the establishment of the T`ang dynasty,one of the +mightiest tasks achieved by man, the superhuman energy of Li +Shih-min (afterwards the Emperor T`ai Tsung) was seconded by the +brilliant strategy of Li Ching. None of these generals need fear +comparison with the greatest names in the military history of +Europe. + In spite of all this, the great body of Chinese sentiment, +from Lao Tzu downwards, and especially as reflected in the +standard literature of Confucianism, has been consistently +pacific and intensely opposed to militarism in any form. It is +such an uncommon thing to find any of the literati defending +warfare on principle, that I have thought it worth while to +collect and translate a few passages in which the unorthodox view +is upheld. The following, by Ssu-ma Ch`ien, shows that for all +his ardent admiration of Confucius, he was yet no advocate of +peace at any price: -- + + Military weapons are the means used by the Sage to + punish violence and cruelty, to give peace to troublous + times, to remove difficulties and dangers, and to succor + those who are in peril. Every animal with blood in its veins + and horns on its head will fight when it is attacked. How + much more so will man, who carries in his breast the + faculties of love and hatred, joy and anger! When he is + pleased, a feeling of affection springs up within him; when + angry, his poisoned sting is brought into play. That is the + natural law which governs his being.... What then shall be + said of those scholars of our time, blind to all great + issues, and without any appreciation of relative values, who + can only bark out their stale formulas about "virtue" and + "civilization," condemning the use of military weapons? They + will surely bring our country to impotence and dishonor and + the loss of her rightful heritage; or, at the very least, + they will bring about invasion and rebellion, sacrifice of + territory and general enfeeblement. Yet they obstinately + refuse to modify the position they have taken up. The truth + is that, just as in the family the teacher must not spare the + rod, and punishments cannot be dispensed with in the State, + so military chastisement can never be allowed to fall into + abeyance in the Empire. All one can say is that this power + will be exercised wisely by some, foolishly by others, and + that among those who bear arms some will be loyal and others + rebellious. [58] + + The next piece is taken from Tu Mu's preface to his +commentary on Sun Tzu: -- + + War may be defined as punishment, which is one of the + functions of government. It was the profession of Chung Yu + and Jan Ch`iu, both disciples of Confucius. Nowadays, the + holding of trials and hearing of litigation, the imprisonment + of offenders and their execution by flogging in the market- + place, are all done by officials. But the wielding of huge + armies, the throwing down of fortified cities, the hauling of + women and children into captivity, and the beheading of + traitors -- this is also work which is done by officials. + The objects of the rack and of military weapons are + essentially the same. There is no intrinsic difference + between the punishment of flogging and cutting off heads in + war. For the lesser infractions of law, which are easily + dealt with, only a small amount of force need be employed: + hence the use of military weapons and wholesale decapitation. + In both cases, however, the end in view is to get rid of + wicked people, and to give comfort and relief to the good.... + Chi-sun asked Jan Yu, saying: "Have you, Sir, acquired + your military aptitude by study, or is it innate?" Jan Yu + replied: "It has been acquired by study." [59] "How can + that be so," said Chi-sun, "seeing that you are a disciple of + Confucius?" "It is a fact," replied Jan Yu; "I was taught by + Confucius. It is fitting that the great Sage should exercise + both civil and military functions, though to be sure my + instruction in the art of fighting has not yet gone very + far." + Now, who the author was of this rigid distinction + between the "civil" and the "military," and the limitation of + each to a separate sphere of action, or in what year of which + dynasty it was first introduced, is more than I can say. + But, at any rate, it has come about that the members of the + governing class are quite afraid of enlarging on military + topics, or do so only in a shamefaced manner. If any are + bold enough to discuss the subject, they are at once set down + as eccentric individuals of coarse and brutal propensities. + This is an extraordinary instance in which, through sheer + lack of reasoning, men unhappily lose sight of fundamental + principles. + When the Duke of Chou was minister under Ch`eng Wang, he + regulated ceremonies and made music, and venerated the arts + of scholarship and learning; yet when the barbarians of the + River Huai revolted, [60] he sallied forth and chastised + them. When Confucius held office under the Duke of Lu, and a + meeting was convened at Chia-ku, [61] he said: "If pacific + negotiations are in progress, warlike preparations should + have been made beforehand." He rebuked and shamed the + Marquis of Ch`i, who cowered under him and dared not proceed + to violence. How can it be said that these two great Sages + had no knowledge of military matters? + + We have seen that the great Chu Hsi held Sun Tzu in high +esteem. He also appeals to the authority of the Classics: -- + + Our Master Confucius, answering Duke Ling of Wei, said: + "I have never studied matters connected with armies and + battalions." [62] Replying to K`ung Wen-tzu, he said: I + have not been instructed about buff-coats and weapons." But + if we turn to the meeting at Chia-ku, we find that he used + armed force against the men of Lai, so that the marquis of + Ch`i was overawed. Again, when the inhabitants of Pi + revolted, the ordered his officers to attack them, whereupon + they were defeated and fled in confusion. He once uttered + the words: "If I fight, I conquer." [63] And Jan Yu also + said: "The Sage exercises both civil and military + functions." [64] Can it be a fact that Confucius never + studied or received instruction in the art of war? We can + only say that he did not specially choose matters connected + with armies and fighting to be the subject of his teaching. + + Sun Hsing-yen, the editor of Sun Tzu, writes in similar +strain: -- + + Confucius said: "I am unversed in military matters." + [65] He also said: "If I fight, I conquer." Confucius + ordered ceremonies and regulated music. Now war constitutes + one of the five classes of State ceremonial, [66] and must + not be treated as an independent branch of study. Hence, the + words "I am unversed in" must be taken to mean that there are + things which even an inspired Teacher does not know. Those + who have to lead an army and devise stratagems, must learn + the art of war. But if one can command the services of a + good general like Sun Tzu, who was employed by Wu Tzu-hsu, + there is no need to learn it oneself. Hence the remark added + by Confucius: "If I fight, I conquer." + The men of the present day, however, willfully interpret + these words of Confucius in their narrowest sense, as though + he meant that books on the art of war were not worth reading. + With blind persistency, they adduce the example of Chao Kua, + who pored over his father's books to no purpose, [67] as a + proof that all military theory is useless. Again, seeing + that books on war have to do with such things as opportunism + in designing plans, and the conversion of spies, they hold + that the art is immoral and unworthy of a sage. These people + ignore the fact that the studies of our scholars and the + civil administration of our officials also require steady + application and practice before efficiency is reached. The + ancients were particularly chary of allowing mere novices to + botch their work. [68] Weapons are baneful [69] and fighting + perilous; and useless unless a general is in constant + practice, he ought not to hazard other men's lives in battle. + [70] Hence it is essential that Sun Tzu's 13 chapters should + be studied. + Hsiang Liang used to instruct his nephew Chi [71] in the + art of war. Chi got a rough idea of the art in its general + bearings, but would not pursue his studies to their proper + outcome, the consequence being that he was finally defeated + and overthrown. He did not realize that the tricks and + artifices of war are beyond verbal computation. Duke Hsiang + of Sung and King Yen of Hsu were brought to destruction by + their misplaced humanity. The treacherous and underhand + nature of war necessitates the use of guile and stratagem + suited to the occasion. There is a case on record of + Confucius himself having violated an extorted oath, [72] and + also of his having left the Sung State in disguise. [73] Can + we then recklessly arraign Sun Tzu for disregarding truth and + honesty? + + +Bibliography +------------ + + + The following are the oldest Chinese treatises on war, after +Sun Tzu. The notes on each have been drawn principally from the +SSU K`U CH`UAN SHU CHIEN MING MU LU, ch. 9, fol. 22 sqq. + + 1. WU TZU, in 1 CHUAN or 6 chapters. By Wu Ch`i (d. 381 +B.C.). A genuine work. See SHIH CHI, ch. 65. + + 2. SSU-MA FA, in 1 CHUAN or 5 chapters. Wrongly attributed +to Ssu-ma Jang-chu of the 6th century B.C. Its date, however, +must be early, as the customs of the three ancient dynasties are +constantly to be met within its pages. See SHIH CHI, ch. 64. + The SSU K`U CH`UAN SHU (ch. 99, f. 1) remarks that the +oldest three treatises on war, SUN TZU, WU TZU and SSU-MA FA, +are, generally speaking, only concerned with things strictly +military -- the art of producing, collecting, training and +drilling troops, and the correct theory with regard to measures +of expediency, laying plans, transport of goods and the handling +of soldiers -- in strong contrast to later works, in which the +science of war is usually blended with metaphysics, divination +and magical arts in general. + + 3. LIU T`AO, in 6 CHUAN, or 60 chapters. Attributed to Lu +Wang (or Lu Shang, also known as T`ai Kung) of the 12th century +B.C. [74] But its style does not belong to the era of the Three +Dynasties. Lu Te-ming (550-625 A.D.) mentions the work, and +enumerates the headings of the six sections so that the forgery +cannot have been later than Sui dynasty. + + 4. WEI LIAO TZU, in 5 CHUAN. Attributed to Wei Liao (4th +cent. B.C.), who studied under the famous Kuei-ku Tzu. The work +appears to have been originally in 31 chapters, whereas the text +we possess contains only 24. Its matter is sound enough in the +main, though the strategical devices differ considerably from +those of the Warring States period. It is been furnished with a +commentary by the well-known Sung philosopher Chang Tsai. + + 5. SAN LUEH, in 3 CHUAN. Attributed to Huang-shih Kung, a +legendary personage who is said to have bestowed it on Chang +Liang (d. 187 B.C.) in an interview on a bridge. But here again, +the style is not that of works dating from the Ch`in or Han +period. The Han Emperor Kuang Wu [25-57 A.D.] apparently quotes +from it in one of his proclamations; but the passage in question +may have been inserted later on, in order to prove the +genuineness of the work. We shall not be far out if we refer it +to the Northern Sung period [420-478 A.D.], or somewhat earlier. + + 6. LI WEI KUNG WEN TUI, in 3 sections. Written in the form +of a dialogue between T`ai Tsung and his great general Li Ching, +it is usually ascribed to the latter. Competent authorities +consider it a forgery, though the author was evidently well +versed in the art of war. + + 7. LI CHING PING FA (not to be confounded with the +foregoing) is a short treatise in 8 chapters, preserved in the +T`ung Tien, but not published separately. This fact explains its +omission from the SSU K`U CH`UAN SHU. + + 8. WU CH`I CHING, in 1 CHUAN. Attributed to the legendary +minister Feng Hou, with exegetical notes by Kung-sun Hung of the +Han dynasty (d. 121 B.C.), and said to have been eulogized by the +celebrated general Ma Lung (d. 300 A.D.). Yet the earliest +mention of it is in the SUNG CHIH. Although a forgery, the work +is well put together. + + Considering the high popular estimation in which Chu-ko +Liang has always been held, it is not surprising to find more +than one work on war ascribed to his pen. Such are (1) the SHIH +LIU TS`E (1 CHUAN), preserved in the YUNG LO TA TIEN; (2) CHIANG +YUAN (1 CHUAN); and (3) HSIN SHU (1 CHUAN), which steals +wholesale from Sun Tzu. None of these has the slightest claim to +be considered genuine. + Most of the large Chinese encyclopedias contain extensive +sections devoted to the literature of war. The following +references may be found useful: -- + + T`UNG TIEN (circa 800 A.D.), ch. 148-162. + T`AI P`ING YU LAN (983), ch. 270-359. + WEN HSIEN TUNG K`AO (13th cent.), ch. 221. + YU HAI (13th cent.), ch. 140, 141. + SAN TS`AI T`U HUI (16th cent). + KUANG PO WU CHIH (1607), ch. 31, 32. + CH`IEN CH`IO LEI SHU (1632), ch. 75. + YUAN CHIEN LEI HAN (1710), ch. 206-229. + KU CHIN T`U SHU CHI CH`ENG (1726), section XXX, esp. ch. 81- + 90. + HSU WEN HSIEN T`UNG K`AO (1784), ch. 121-134. + HUANG CH`AO CHING SHIH WEN PIEN (1826), ch. 76, 77. + + The bibliographical sections of certain historical works +also deserve mention: -- + + CH`IEN HAN SHU, ch. 30. + SUI SHU, ch. 32-35. + CHIU T`ANG SHU, ch. 46, 47. + HSIN T`ANG SHU, ch. 57,60. + SUNG SHIH, ch. 202-209. + T`UNG CHIH (circa 1150), ch. 68. + + To these of course must be added the great Catalogue of the +Imperial Library: -- + + SSU K`U CH`UAN SHU TSUNG MU T`I YAO (1790), ch. 99, 100. + + +Footnotes +--------- + + +1. SHI CHI, ch. 65. + +2. He reigned from 514 to 496 B.C. + +3. SHI CHI, ch. 130. + +4. The appellation of Nang Wa. + +5. SHI CHI, ch. 31. + +6. SHI CHI, ch. 25. + +7. The appellation of Hu Yen, mentioned in ch. 39 under the year +637. + +8. Wang-tzu Ch`eng-fu, ch. 32, year 607. + +9. The mistake is natural enough. Native critics refer to a +work of the Han dynasty, which says: "Ten LI outside the WU gate +[of the city of Wu, now Soochow in Kiangsu] there is a great +mound, raised to commemorate the entertainment of Sun Wu of Ch`i, +who excelled in the art of war, by the King of Wu." + +10. "They attached strings to wood to make bows, and sharpened +wood to make arrows. The use of bows and arrows is to keep the +Empire in awe." + +11. The son and successor of Ho Lu. He was finally defeated and +overthrown by Kou chien, King of Yueh, in 473 B.C. See post. + +12. King Yen of Hsu, a fabulous being, of whom Sun Hsing-yen +says in his preface: "His humanity brought him to destruction." + +13. The passage I have put in brackets is omitted in the T`U +SHU, and may be an interpolation. It was known, however to Chang +Shou-chieh of the T`ang dynasty, and appears in the T`AI P`ING YU +LAN. + +14. Ts`ao Kung seems to be thinking of the first part of chap. +II, perhaps especially of ss. 8. + +15. See chap. XI. + +16. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that WU TZU, which is +not in 6 chapters, has 48 assigned to it in the HAN CHIH. +Likewise, the CHUNG YUNG is credited with 49 chapters, though now +only in one only. In the case of very short works, one is +tempted to think that P`IEN might simply mean "leaves." + +17. Yeh Shih of the Sung dynasty [1151-1223]. + +18. He hardly deserves to be bracketed with assassins. + +19. See Chapter 7, ss. 27 and Chapter 11, ss. 28. + +20. See Chapter 11, ss. 28. Chuan Chu is the abbreviated form +of his name. + +21. I.e. Po P`ei. See ante. + +22. The nucleus of this work is probably genuine, though large +additions have been made by later hands. Kuan chung died in 645 +B.C. + +23. See infra, beginning of INTRODUCTION. + +24. I do not know what this work, unless it be the last chapter +of another work. Why that chapter should be singled out, +however, is not clear. + +25. About 480 B.C. + +26. That is, I suppose, the age of Wu Wang and Chou Kung. + +27. In the 3rd century B.C. + +28. Ssu-ma Jang-chu, whose family name was T`ien, lived in the +latter half of the 6th century B.C., and is also believed to have +written a work on war. See SHIH CHI, ch. 64, and infra at the +beginning of the INTRODUCTION. + +29. See Legge's Classics, vol. V, Prolegomena p. 27. Legge +thinks that the TSO CHUAN must have been written in the 5th +century, but not before 424 B.C. + +30. See MENCIUS III. 1. iii. 13-20. + +31. When Wu first appears in the CH`UN CH`IU in 584, it is +already at variance with its powerful neighbor. The CH`UN CH`IU +first mentions Yueh in 537, the TSO CHUAN in 601. + +32. This is explicitly stated in the TSO CHUAN, XXXII, 2. + +33. There is this to be said for the later period, that the feud +would tend to grow more bitter after each encounter, and thus +more fully justify the language used in XI. ss. 30. + +34. With Wu Yuan himself the case is just the reverse: -- a +spurious treatise on war has been fathered on him simply because +he was a great general. Here we have an obvious inducement to +forgery. Sun Wu, on the other hand, cannot have been widely +known to fame in the 5th century. + +35. From TSO CHUAN: "From the date of King Chao's accession +[515] there was no year in which Ch`u was not attacked by Wu." + +36. Preface ad fin: "My family comes from Lo-an, and we are +really descended from Sun Tzu. I am ashamed to say that I only +read my ancestor's work from a literary point of view, without +comprehending the military technique. So long have we been +enjoying the blessings of peace!" + +37. Hoa-yin is about 14 miles from T`ung-kuan on the eastern +border of Shensi. The temple in question is still visited by +those about the ascent of the Western Sacred Mountain. It is +mentioned in a text as being "situated five LI east of the +district city of Hua-yin. The temple contains the Hua-shan +tablet inscribed by the T`ang Emperor Hsuan Tsung [713-755]." + +38. See my "Catalogue of Chinese Books" (Luzac & Co., 1908), no. +40. + +39. This is a discussion of 29 difficult passages in Sun Tzu. + +40. Cf. Catalogue of the library of Fan family at Ningpo: "His +commentary is frequently obscure; it furnishes a clue, but does +not fully develop the meaning." + +41. WEN HSIEN T`UNG K`AO, ch. 221. + +42. It is interesting to note that M. Pelliot has recently +discovered chapters 1, 4 and 5 of this lost work in the "Grottos +of the Thousand Buddhas." See B.E.F.E.O., t. VIII, nos. 3-4, p. +525. + +43. The Hsia, the Shang and the Chou. Although the last-named +was nominally existent in Sun Tzu's day, it retained hardly a +vestige of power, and the old military organization had +practically gone by the board. I can suggest no other +explanation of the passage. + +44. See CHOU LI, xxix. 6-10. + +45. T`UNG K`AO, ch. 221. + +46. This appears to be still extant. See Wylie's "Notes," p. 91 +(new edition). + +47. T`UNG K`AO, loc. cit. + +48. A notable person in his day. His biography is given in the +SAN KUO CHIH, ch. 10. + +49. See XI. ss. 58, note. + +50. HOU HAN SHU, ch. 17 ad init. + +51. SAN KUO CHIH, ch. 54. + +52. SUNG SHIH, ch. 365 ad init. + +53. The few Europeans who have yet had an opportunity of +acquainting themselves with Sun Tzu are not behindhand in their +praise. In this connection, I may perhaps be excused for quoting +from a letter from Lord Roberts, to whom the sheets of the +present work were submitted previous to publication: "Many of +Sun Wu's maxims are perfectly applicable to the present day, and +no. 11 [in Chapter VIII] is one that the people of this country +would do well to take to heart." + +54. Ch. 140. + +55. See IV. ss. 3. + +56. The allusion may be to Mencius VI. 2. ix. 2. + +57. The TSO CHUAN. + +58. SHIH CHI, ch. 25, fol. I. + +59. Cf. SHIH CHI, ch 47. + +60. See SHU CHING, preface ss. 55. + +61. See SHIH CHI, ch. 47. + +62. Lun Yu, XV. 1. + +63. I failed to trace this utterance. + +64. Supra. + +65. Supra. + +66. The other four being worship, mourning, entertainment of +guests, and festive rites. See SHU CHING, ii. 1. III. 8, and +CHOU LI, IX. fol. 49. + +67. See XIII. ss. 11, note. + +68. This is a rather obscure allusion to the TSO CHUAN, where +Tzu-ch`an says: "If you have a piece of beautiful brocade, you +will not employ a mere learner to make it up." + +69. Cf. TAO TE CHING, ch. 31. + +70. Sun Hsing-yen might have quoted Confucius again. See LUN +YU, XIII. 29, 30. + +71. Better known as Hsiang Yu [233-202 B.C.]. + +72. SHIH CHI, ch. 47. + +73. SHIH CHI, ch. 38. + +74. See XIII. ss. 27, note. Further details on T`ai Kung will +be found in the SHIH CHI, ch. 32 ad init. Besides the tradition +which makes him a former minister of Chou Hsin, two other +accounts of him are there given, according to which he would +appear to have been first raised from a humble private station by +Wen Wang. + +----------------------------------------------------------------- + +I. LAYING PLANS + + [Ts`ao Kung, in defining the meaning of the Chinese for the +title of this chapter, says it refers to the deliberations in the +temple selected by the general for his temporary use, or as we +should say, in his tent. See. ss. 26.] + + 1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to +the State. + 2. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to +safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on +no account be neglected. + 3. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant +factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when +seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field. + 4. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; +(4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline. + + [It appears from what follows that Sun Tzu means by "Moral +Law" a principle of harmony, not unlike the Tao of Lao Tzu in its +moral aspect. One might be tempted to render it by "morale," +were it not considered as an attribute of the ruler in ss. 13.] + + 5, 6. The MORAL LAW causes the people to be in complete +accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless +of their lives, undismayed by any danger. + + [Tu Yu quotes Wang Tzu as saying: "Without constant +practice, the officers will be nervous and undecided when +mustering for battle; without constant practice, the general will +be wavering and irresolute when the crisis is at hand."] + + 7. HEAVEN signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and +seasons. + + [The commentators, I think, make an unnecessary mystery of +two words here. Meng Shih refers to "the hard and the soft, +waxing and waning" of Heaven. Wang Hsi, however, may be right in +saying that what is meant is "the general economy of Heaven," +including the five elements, the four seasons, wind and clouds, +and other phenomena.] + + 8. EARTH comprises distances, great and small; danger and +security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and +death. + 9. The COMMANDER stands for the virtues of wisdom, +sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness. + + [The five cardinal virtues of the Chinese are (1) humanity +or benevolence; (2) uprightness of mind; (3) self-respect, self- +control, or "proper feeling;" (4) wisdom; (5) sincerity or good +faith. Here "wisdom" and "sincerity" are put before "humanity or +benevolence," and the two military virtues of "courage" and +"strictness" substituted for "uprightness of mind" and "self- +respect, self-control, or 'proper feeling.'"] + + 10. By METHOD AND DISCIPLINE are to be understood the +marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the +graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads +by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military +expenditure. + 11. These five heads should be familiar to every general: +he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will +fail. + 12. Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to +determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of +a comparison, in this wise: -- + 13. (1) Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the +Moral law? + + [I.e., "is in harmony with his subjects." Cf. ss. 5.] + + (2) Which of the two generals has most ability? + (3) With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and +Earth? + + [See ss. 7,8] + + (4) On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced? + + [Tu Mu alludes to the remarkable story of Ts`ao Ts`ao (A.D. +155-220), who was such a strict disciplinarian that once, in +accordance with his own severe regulations against injury to +standing crops, he condemned himself to death for having allowed +his horse to shy into a field of corn! However, in lieu of +losing his head, he was persuaded to satisfy his sense of justice +by cutting off his hair. Ts`ao Ts`ao's own comment on the +present passage is characteristically curt: "when you lay down a +law, see that it is not disobeyed; if it is disobeyed the +offender must be put to death."] + + (5) Which army is stronger? + + [Morally as well as physically. As Mei Yao-ch`en puts it, +freely rendered, "ESPIRIT DE CORPS and 'big battalions.'"] + + (6) On which side are officers and men more highly trained? + + [Tu Yu quotes Wang Tzu as saying: "Without constant +practice, the officers will be nervous and undecided when +mustering for battle; without constant practice, the general will +be wavering and irresolute when the crisis is at hand."] + + (7) In which army is there the greater constancy both in +reward and punishment? + + [On which side is there the most absolute certainty that +merit will be properly rewarded and misdeeds summarily punished?] + + 14. By means of these seven considerations I can forecast +victory or defeat. + 15. The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon +it, will conquer: --let such a one be retained in command! The +general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will +suffer defeat: --let such a one be dismissed! + + [The form of this paragraph reminds us that Sun Tzu's +treatise was composed expressly for the benefit of his patron Ho +Lu, king of the Wu State.] + + 16. While heading the profit of my counsel, avail yourself +also of any helpful circumstances over and beyond the ordinary +rules. + 17. According as circumstances are favorable, one should +modify one's plans. + + [Sun Tzu, as a practical soldier, will have none of the +"bookish theoric." He cautions us here not to pin our faith to +abstract principles; "for," as Chang Yu puts it, "while the main +laws of strategy can be stated clearly enough for the benefit of +all and sundry, you must be guided by the actions of the enemy in +attempting to secure a favorable position in actual warfare." On +the eve of the battle of Waterloo, Lord Uxbridge, commanding the +cavalry, went to the Duke of Wellington in order to learn what +his plans and calculations were for the morrow, because, as he +explained, he might suddenly find himself Commander-in-chief and +would be unable to frame new plans in a critical moment. The +Duke listened quietly and then said: "Who will attack the first +tomorrow -- I or Bonaparte?" "Bonaparte," replied Lord Uxbridge. +"Well," continued the Duke, "Bonaparte has not given me any idea +of his projects; and as my plans will depend upon his, how can +you expect me to tell you what mine are?" [1] ] + + 18. All warfare is based on deception. + + [The truth of this pithy and profound saying will be +admitted by every soldier. Col. Henderson tells us that +Wellington, great in so many military qualities, was especially +distinguished by "the extraordinary skill with which he concealed +his movements and deceived both friend and foe."] + + 19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when +using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we +must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we +must make him believe we are near. + 20. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, +and crush him. + + [All commentators, except Chang Yu, say, "When he is in +disorder, crush him." It is more natural to suppose that Sun Tzu +is still illustrating the uses of deception in war.] + + 21. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If +he is in superior strength, evade him. + 22. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to +irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. + + [Wang Tzu, quoted by Tu Yu, says that the good tactician +plays with his adversary as a cat plays with a mouse, first +feigning weakness and immobility, and then suddenly pouncing upon +him.] + + 23. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. + + [This is probably the meaning though Mei Yao-ch`en has the +note: "while we are taking our ease, wait for the enemy to tire +himself out." The YU LAN has "Lure him on and tire him out."] + +If his forces are united, separate them. + + [Less plausible is the interpretation favored by most of the +commentators: "If sovereign and subject are in accord, put +division between them."] + + 24. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are +not expected. + 25. These military devices, leading to victory, must not be +divulged beforehand. + 26. Now the general who wins a battle makes many +calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. + + [Chang Yu tells us that in ancient times it was customary +for a temple to be set apart for the use of a general who was +about to take the field, in order that he might there elaborate +his plan of campaign.] + +The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations +beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few +calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It +is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to +win or lose. + + +[1] "Words on Wellington," by Sir.
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