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第15章

art of war-第15章

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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 

strongly entrenched in the city of Ch‘eng…an;  said to his 

officers:  〃Gentlemen; we are going to annihilate the enemy;  and 

shall meet again at dinner。〃  The officers hardly took his words 

seriously;  and gave a very dubious assent。  But Han Hsin had 

already worked out in his mind the details of a clever stratagem; 

whereby;  as he foresaw; he was able to capture the city and 

inflict a crushing defeat on his adversary。〃'



     9。  Neither is it the acme of excellence if you fight and 

conquer and the whole Empire says; 〃Well done!〃



     'True excellence being; as Tu Mu says:  〃To plan secretly; 

to move surreptitiously; to foil the enemy's intentions and balk 

his schemes; so that at last the day may be won without shedding 

a drop of blood。〃  Sun Tzu reserves his approbation for things 

that

                    〃the world's coarse thumb

               And finger fail to plumb。〃'



     10。  To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength;



     '〃Autumn〃 hair〃 is explained as the fur of a hare; which is 

finest in autumn; when it begins to grow afresh。  The phrase is a 

very common one in Chinese writers。'



to see the sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the 

noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear。



     'Ho Shih gives as real instances of strength;  sharp sight 

and quick hearing:  Wu Huo; who could lift a tripod weighing 250 

stone;  Li Chu; who at a distance of a hundred paces could see 

objects no bigger than a mustard seed; and Shih K‘uang; a blind 

musician who could hear the footsteps of a mosquito。'



     11。  What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who 

not only wins; but excels in winning with ease。



     'The last half is literally 〃one who; conquering; excels in 

easy conquering。〃   Mei Yao…ch‘en says:  〃He who only sees the 

obvious; wins his battles with difficulty; he who looks below the 

surface of things; wins with ease。〃'



     12。  Hence his victories bring him neither reputation for 

wisdom nor credit for courage。



     'Tu Mu explains this very well:  〃Inasmuch as his victories 

are gained over circumstances that have not come to light;  the 

world as large knows nothing of them; and he wins no reputation 

for wisdom; inasmuch as the hostile state submits before there 

has been any bloodshed; he receives no credit for courage。〃'



     13。  He wins his battles by making no mistakes。



     'Ch‘en Hao says:   〃He plans no superfluous marches;  he 

devises no futile attacks。〃  The connection of ideas is thus 

explained by Chang Yu:  〃One who seeks to conquer by sheer 

strength; clever though he may be at winning pitched battles;  is 

also liable on occasion to be vanquished; whereas he who can look 

into the future and discern conditions that are not yet manifest; 

will never make a blunder and therefore invariably win。〃'



Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory; 

for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated。

     14。  Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into a position 

which makes defeat impossible; and does not miss the moment for 

defeating the enemy。



     'A  〃counsel of perfection〃  as Tu Mu truly   observes。  

〃Position〃 need not be confined to the actual ground occupied by 

the troops。  It includes all the arrangements and preparations 

which a wise general will make to increase the safety of his 

army。'



     15。  Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only 

seeks battle after the victory has been won; whereas he who is 

destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory。



     'Ho Shih thus expounds the paradox:  〃In warfare; first lay 

plans which will ensure victory; and then lead your army to 

battle;  if you will not begin with stratagem but rely on brute 

strength alone; victory will no longer be assured。〃'



     16。  The consummate leader cultivates the moral law;  and 

strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his 

power to control success。

     17。  In respect of military method;  we have;  firstly; 

Measurement;   secondly;   Estimation   of   quantity;   thirdly; 

Calculation; fourthly; Balancing of chances; fifthly; Victory。

     18。  Measurement owes its existence to Earth; Estimation of 

quantity to Measurement; Calculation to Estimation of quantity; 

Balancing of chances to Calculation; and Victory to Balancing of 

chances。



     'It is not easy to distinguish the four terms very clearly 

in the Chinese。  The first seems to be surveying and measurement 

of the ground; which enable us to form an estimate of the enemy's 

strength;  and to make calculations based on the data thus 

obtained; we are thus led to a general weighing…up; or comparison 

of the enemy's chances with our own; if the latter turn the 

scale;  then victory ensues。  The chief difficulty lies in third 

term;   which in the Chinese some commentators take as   a 

calculation of NUMBERS; thereby making it nearly synonymous with 

the second term。  Perhaps the second term should be thought of as 

a consideration of the enemy's general position or condition; 

while the third term is the estimate of his numerical strength。  

On the other hand;  Tu Mu says:   〃The question of relative 

strength having been settled; we can bring the varied resources 

of cunning into play。〃  Ho Shih seconds this interpretation;  but 

weakens it。  However; it points to the third term as being a 

calculation of numbers。'



     19。  A victorious army opposed to a routed one;  is as a 

pound's weight placed in the scale against a single grain。



     'Literally; 〃a victorious army is like an I (20 oz。) weighed 

against a SHU (1/24 oz。); a routed army is a SHU weighed against 

an I。〃   The point is simply the enormous advantage which a 

disciplined force; flushed with victory; has over one demoralized 

by defeat。〃  Legge; in his note on Mencius; I。 2。 ix。  2;  makes 

the I to be 24 Chinese ounces; and corrects Chu Hsi's statement 

that it equaled 20 oz。 only。  But Li Ch‘uan of the T‘ang dynasty 

here gives the same figure as Chu Hsi。'



     20。  The onrush of a conquering force is like the bursting 

of pent…up waters into a chasm a thousand fathoms deep。







V。  ENERGY





     1。  Sun Tzu said:  The control of a large force is the same 

principle as the control of a few men:  it is merely a question 

of dividing up their numbers。



     'That is;  cutting up the army into regiments;  companies; 

etc。;  with subordinate officers in command of each。  Tu Mu 

reminds us of Han Hsin's famous reply to the first Han Emperor; 

who once said to him:  〃How large an army do you think I could 

lead?〃   〃Not more than 100;000 men; your Majesty。〃   〃And you?〃 

asked the Emperor。  〃Oh!〃 he answered; 〃the more the better。〃'



     2。  Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise 

different from fighting with a small one:   it is merely a 

question of instituting signs and signals。

     3。  To ensure that your whole host may withstand the brunt 

of the enemy's attack and remain unshaken … this is effected by 

maneuvers direct and indirect。



     'We now come to one of the most interesting parts of Sun 

Tzu's treatise; the discussion of the CHENG and the CH‘I。〃  As it 

is by no means easy to grasp the full significance of these two 

terms;   or   to render them consistently by   good   English 

equivalents;  it may be as well to tabulate some of   the 

commentators'  remarks on the subject before proceeding further。 

Li Ch‘uan:  〃Facing the enemy is CHENG; making lateral diversion 

is CH‘I。  Chia Lin:  〃In presence of the enemy;  your troops 

should be arrayed in normal fashion; but in order to secure 

victory abnormal maneuvers must be employed。〃   Mei Yao…

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