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第21章

art of war-第21章

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them sow and plant it。〃  It is by acting on this principle;  and 

harvesting the lands they invaded;  that the Chinese   have 

succeeded in carrying out some of their most memorable and 

triumphant expeditions; such as that of Pan Ch‘ao who penetrated 

to the Caspian; and in more recent years; those of Fu…k‘ang…an 

and Tso Tsung…t‘ang。'



     21。  Ponder and deliberate before you make a move。



     'Chang Yu quotes Wei Liao Tzu as saying that we must not 

break camp until we have gained the resisting power of the enemy 

and the cleverness of the opposing general。  Cf。  the  〃seven 

comparisons〃 in I。 ss。 13。'



     22。  He will conquer who has learnt the artifice of 

deviation。



     'See supra; SS。 3; 4。'



Such is the art of maneuvering。



     'With these words; the chapter would naturally come to an 

end。  But there now follows a long appendix in the shape of an 

extract from an earlier book on War; now lost;  but apparently 

extant at the time when Sun Tzu wrote。  The style of this 

fragment is not noticeable different from that of Sun Tzu 

himself;   but   no commentator raises a doubt as   to   its 

genuineness。'



     23。  The Book of Army Management says:



     'It is perhaps significant that none of the   earlier 

commentators give us any information about this work。  Mei Yao…

Ch‘en calls it 〃an ancient military classic;〃 and Wang Hsi;  〃an 

old book on war。〃  Considering the enormous amount of fighting 

that had gone on for centuries before Sun Tzu's time between the 

various kingdoms and principalities of China; it is not in itself 

improbable that a collection of military maxims should have been 

made and written down at some earlier period。'



On the field of battle;



     'Implied; though not actually in the Chinese。'



the spoken word does not carry far enough:  hence the institution 

of gongs and drums。  Nor can ordinary objects be seen clearly 

enough:  hence the institution of banners and flags。

     24。  Gongs and drums; banners and flags; are means whereby 

the ears and eyes of the host may be focused on one particular 

point。



     'Chang   Yu   says:    〃If sight   and   hearing   converge 

simultaneously on the same object; the evolutions of as many as a 

million soldiers will be like those of a single man。〃!'



     25。  The host thus forming a single united body;  is it 

impossible either for the brave to advance alone;  or for the 

cowardly to retreat alone。



     'Chuang Yu quotes a saying: 〃Equally guilty are those who 

advance against orders and those who retreat against orders。〃  Tu 

Mu tells a story in this connection of Wu Ch‘i;  when he was 

fighting against the Ch‘in State。  Before the battle had begun; 

one of his soldiers; a man of matchless daring; sallied forth by 

himself; captured two heads from the enemy; and returned to camp。  

Wu Ch‘i had the man instantly executed;  whereupon an officer 

ventured to remonstrate; saying:  〃This man was a good soldier; 

and ought not to have been beheaded。〃  Wu Ch‘i replied:  〃I fully 

believe he was a good soldier; but I had him beheaded because he 

acted without orders。〃'



This is the art of handling large masses of men。

     26。  In night…fighting; then; make much use of signal…fires 

and drums;  and in fighting by day; of flags and banners;  as a 

means of influencing the ears and eyes of your army。



     'Ch‘en Hao alludes to Li Kuang…pi's night ride to Ho…yang at 

the head of 500 mounted men; they made such an imposing display 

with torches; that though the rebel leader Shih Ssu…ming had a 

large army; he did not dare to dispute their passage。'



     27。  A whole army may be robbed of its spirit;



     '〃In war;〃 says Chang Yu; 〃if a spirit of anger can be made 

to pervade all ranks of an army at one and the same time;  its 

onset will be irresistible。  Now the spirit of the enemy's 

soldiers will be keenest when they have newly arrived on the 

scene;  and it is therefore our cue not to fight at once; but to 

wait until their ardor and enthusiasm have worn off;  and then 

strike。  It is in this way that they may be robbed of their keen 

spirit。〃   Li Ch‘uan and others tell an anecdote (to be found in 

the TSO CHUAN; year 10; ss。 1) of Ts‘ao Kuei; a protege of Duke 

Chuang of Lu。  The latter State was attacked by Ch‘i;  and the 

duke was about to join battle at Ch‘ang…cho; after the first roll 

of the enemy's drums; when Ts‘ao said:  〃Not just yet。〃   Only 

after their drums had beaten for the third time; did he give the 

word for attack。  Then they fought; and the men of Ch‘i were 

utterly defeated。  Questioned afterwards by the Duke as to the 

meaning of his delay;  Ts‘ao Kuei replied:   〃In battle;  a 

courageous spirit is everything。  Now the first roll of the drum 

tends to create this spirit; but with the second it is already on 

the wane; and after the third it is gone altogether。  I attacked 

when their spirit was gone and ours was at its height。  Hence our 

victory。〃   Wu Tzu (chap。 4) puts 〃spirit〃 first among the  〃four 

important influences〃  in war; and continues:  〃The value of a 

whole armya mighty host of a million menis dependent on one 

man alone:  such is the influence of spirit!〃'



a commander…in…chief may be robbed of his presence of mind。



     'Chang Yu says:  〃Presence of mind is the general's most 

important asset。  It is the quality which enables him to 

discipline disorder and to inspire courage into the panic…

stricken。〃   The great general Li Ching (A。D。  571…649)  has a 

saying:  〃Attacking does not merely consist in assaulting walled 

cities or striking at an army in battle array; it must include 

the art of assailing the enemy's mental equilibrium。〃'



     28。  Now a solider's spirit is keenest in the morning;



     'Always provided; I suppose; that he has had breakfast。  At 

the battle of the Trebia; the Romans were foolishly allowed to 

fight   fasting;  whereas Hannibal's men had breakfasted   at 

their leisure。  See Livy; XXI; liv。 8; lv。 1 and 8。'



by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the evening; his mind is 

bent only on returning to camp。

     29。  A clever general; therefore; avoids an army when its 

spirit is keen; but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined 

to return。  This is the art of studying moods。

     30。  Disciplined and calm; to await the appearance of 

disorder and hubbub amongst the enemy:this is the art of 

retaining self…possession。

     31。  To be near the goal while the enemy is still far from 

it; to wait at ease while the enemy is toiling and struggling; to 

be well…fed while the enemy is famished:this is the art of 

husbanding one's strength。

     32。  To refrain from intercepting an enemy whose banners are 

in perfect order; to refrain from attacking an army drawn up in 

calm   and confident array:this is the art   of   studying 

circumstances。

     33。  It is a military axiom not to advance uphill against 

the enemy; nor to oppose him when he comes downhill。

     34。  Do not pursue an enemy who simulates flight;  do not 

attack soldiers whose temper is keen。

     35。  Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy。



     'Li Ch‘uan and Tu Mu; with extraordinary inability to see a 

metaphor; take these words quite literally of food and drink that 

have been poisoned by the enemy。  Ch‘en Hao and Chang Yu 

carefully point out that the saying has a wider application。'



Do not interfere with an army that is returning home。



     'The commentators explain this rather singular piece of 

advice by saying that a man whose heart is set on returning home 

will fight to the death against any attempt to bar his way;  and 

is therefore too dangerous an opponent to be tackled。  Chang Yu 

quotes the words of Han Hsin:  〃Invincible is the soldier who 

hath his desire and returneth homewards。〃  A marvelous tale is 

told of Ts‘ao Ts‘ao's cou

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