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第14章

art of war-第14章

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governed from without;  and army should not be directed from 

within。〃   Of course it is true that; during an engagement;  or 

when in close touch with the enemy; the general should not be in 

the thick of his own troops; but a little distance apart。  

Otherwise; he will be liable to misjudge the position as a whole; 

and give wrong orders。'



     14。  (2)  By attempting to govern an army in the same way as 

he administers a kingdom; being ignorant of the conditions which 

obtain in an army。  This causes restlessness in the soldier's 

minds。



     'Ts‘ao Kung's note is; freely translated:   〃The military 

sphere and the civil sphere are wholly distinct; you can't handle 

an army in kid gloves。〃  And Chang Yu says:   〃Humanity and 

justice are the principles on which to govern a state; but not an 

army;  opportunism and flexibility;  on the other hand;  are 

military rather than civil virtues to assimilate the governing of 

an army〃to that of a State; understood。'



     15。  (3)   By employing the officers of his army without 

discrimination;



     'That is;  he is not careful to use the right man in the 

right place。'



through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to 

circumstances。  This shakes the confidence of the soldiers。



     'I follow Mei Yao…ch‘en here。  The other commentators refer 

not to the ruler; as in SS。 13; 14; but to the officers he 

employs。  Thus Tu Yu says:  〃If a general is ignorant of the 

principle of adaptability;  he must not be entrusted with a 

position of authority。〃  Tu Mu quotes:  〃The skillful employer of 

men will employ the wise man; the brave man; the covetous man; 

and the stupid man。  For the wise man delights in establishing 

his merit; the brave man likes to show his courage in action; the 

covetous man is quick at seizing advantages; and the stupid man 

has no fear of death。〃'



     16。  But when the army is restless and distrustful;  trouble 

is sure to come from the other feudal princes。  This is simply 

bringing anarchy into the army; and flinging victory away。

     17。  Thus we may know that there are five essentials for 

victory:  (1) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to 

fight。



     'Chang Yu says:  If he can fight; he advances and takes the 

offensive;  if he cannot fight; he retreats and remains on the 

defensive。  He will invariably conquer who knows whether it is 

right to take the offensive or the defensive。'



     (2)   He will win who knows how to handle both superior and 

inferior forces。



     'This is not merely the general's ability to estimate 

numbers correctly; as Li Ch‘uan and others make out。  Chang Yu 

expounds the saying more satisfactorily:  〃By applying the art of 

war; it is possible with a lesser force to defeat a greater;  and 

vice versa。  The secret lies in an eye for locality; and in not 

letting the right moment slip。  Thus Wu Tzu says:   'With a 

superior force; make for easy ground; with an inferior one;  make 

for difficult ground。'〃'



     (3)  He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit 

throughout all its ranks。

     (4)   He will win who; prepared himself; waits to take the 

enemy unprepared。

     (5)   He will win who has military capacity and is not 

interfered with by the sovereign。



     'Tu Yu quotes Wang Tzu as saying:  〃It is the sovereign's 

function to give broad instructions; but to decide on battle it 

is the function of the general。〃  It is needless to dilate on the 

military disasters which have been caused by undue interference 

with operations in the field on the part of the home government。  

Napoleon undoubtedly owed much of his extraordinary success to 

the fact that he was not hampered by central authority。'



     18。  Hence the saying:  If you know the enemy and know 

yourself; you need not fear the result of a hundred battles。  If 

you know yourself but not the enemy; for every victory gained you 

will also suffer a defeat。



     'Li Ch‘uan cites the case of Fu Chien; prince of Ch‘in;  who 

in 383 A。D。 marched with a vast army against the Chin Emperor。  

When warned not to despise an enemy who could command the 

services of such men as Hsieh An and Huan Ch‘ung; he boastfully 

replied:   〃I have the population of eight provinces at my back; 

infantry and horsemen to the number of one million;  why;  they 

could dam up the Yangtsze River itself by merely throwing their 

whips   into   the stream。  What danger have I   to   fear?〃  

Nevertheless;  his forces were soon after disastrously routed at 

the Fei River; and he was obliged to beat a hasty retreat。'



If you know neither the enemy nor yourself; you will succumb in 

every battle。



     'Chang Yu said:  〃Knowing the enemy enables you to take the 

offensive;   knowing yourself enables you to stand on   the 

defensive。〃  He adds:  〃Attack is the secret of defense;  defense 

is the planning of an attack。〃  It would be hard to find a better 

epitome of the root…principle of war。'







IV。  TACTICAL DISPOSITIONS





     'Ts‘ao Kung explains the Chinese meaning of the words for 

the title of this chapter:  〃marching and countermarching on the 

part of the two armies with a view to discovering each other's 

condition。〃   Tu Mu says:  〃It is through the dispositions of an 

army that its condition may be discovered。  Conceal   your 

dispositions; and your condition will remain secret; which leads 

to victory;;  show your dispositions; and your condition will 

become patent; which leads to defeat。〃  Wang Hsi remarks that the 

good general can 〃secure success by modifying his tactics to meet 

those of the enemy。〃'



     1。  Sun Tzu said:  The good fighters of old first put 

themselves beyond the possibility of defeat; and then waited for 

an opportunity of defeating the enemy。

     2。  To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own 

hands; but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by 

the enemy himself。



     'That is; of course; by a mistake on the enemy's part。'



     3。  Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against 

defeat;



     'Chang Yu says this is done;  〃By concealing the disposition 

of his troops; covering up his tracks; and taking unremitting 

precautions。〃'



but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy。

     4。  Hence the saying:  One may KNOW how to conquer without 

being able to DO it。

     5。  Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; 

ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive。



     'I retain the sense found in a similar passage in ss。  1…3; 

in spite of the fact that the commentators are all against me。  

The meaning they give;  〃He who cannot conquer takes   the 

defensive;〃 is plausible enough。'



     6。   Standing on the defensive indicates   insufficient 

strength; attacking; a superabundance of strength。

     7。  The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most 

secret recesses of the earth;



     'Literally;  〃hides under the ninth earth;〃  which is a 

metaphor indicating the utmost secrecy and concealment; so that 

the enemy may not know his whereabouts。〃'



he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost 

heights of heaven。



     'Another metaphor; implying that he falls on his adversary 

like a thunderbolt; against which there is no time to prepare。  

This is the opinion of most of the commentators。'



Thus on the one hand we have ability to protect ourselves; on the 

other; a victory that is complete。

     8。  To see victory only when it is within the ken of the 

common herd is not the acme of excellence。



     'As Ts‘ao Kung remarks; 〃the thing is to see the plant 

before it has germinated;〃 to foresee the event before the action 

has begun。  Li Ch‘uan alludes to the story of Han Hsin who;  when 

about to attack the vastly superior army of Chao;  which was 


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