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第34章

art of war-第34章

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home to be 'dispersive;' but something between the two。〃  Wang Hsi 

says:  〃It is ground separated from home by an interjacent state; 

whose territory we have had to cross in order to reach it。  

Hence;  it is incumbent on us to settle our business there 

quickly。〃   He adds that this position is of rare occurrence; 

which is the reason why it is not included among the Nine 

Situations。'



When there are means of communication on all four sides;  the 

ground is one of intersecting highways。

     44。  When you penetrate deeply into a country; it is serious 

ground。  When you penetrate but a little way;  it is facile 

ground。

     45。  When you have the enemy's strongholds on your rear; and 

narrow passes in front; it is hemmed…in ground。  When there is no 

place of refuge at all; it is desperate ground。

     46。  Therefore; on dispersive ground; I would inspire my men 

with unity of purpose。



     'This end; according to Tu Mu; is best attained by remaining 

on the defensive; and avoiding battle。  Cf。 supra; ss。 11。'



On facile ground; I would see that there is close connection 

between all parts of my army。



     'As Tu Mu says; the object is to guard against two possible 

contingencies:   〃(1)  the desertion of our own troops;  (2)  a 

sudden attack on the part of the enemy。〃  Cf。 VII。 ss。 17。  Mei 

Yao…ch‘en says:  〃On the march; the regiments should be in close 

touch;  in an encampment; there should be continuity between the 

fortifications。〃'



     47。  On contentious ground; I would hurry up my rear。



     'This is Ts‘ao Kung's interpretation。  Chang Yu adopts it; 

saying:   〃We must quickly bring up our rear; so that head and 

tail may both reach the goal。〃  That is; they must not be allowed 

to straggle up a long way apart。  Mei Yao…ch‘en offers another 

equally plausible explanation:  〃Supposing the enemy has not yet 

reached the coveted position; and we are behind him;  we should 

advance with all speed in order to dispute its possession。〃  

Ch‘en Hao;  on the other hand; assuming that the enemy has had 

time to select his own ground; quotes VI。 ss。 1; where Sun Tzu 

warns us against coming exhausted to the attack。  His own idea of 

the situation is rather vaguely expressed:   〃If there is a 

favorable position lying in front of you; detach a picked body of 

troops to occupy it; then if the enemy; relying on their numbers; 

come up to make a fight for it; you may fall quickly on their 

rear with your main body; and victory will be assured。〃  It was 

thus;  he adds; that Chao She beat the army of Ch‘in。  (See p。 

57。)'



     48。  On open ground; I would keep a vigilant eye on my 

defenses。   On   ground of intersecting highways;   I   would 

consolidate my alliances。

     49。  On serious ground; I would try to ensure a continuous 

stream of supplies。



     'The commentators take this as referring to forage and 

plunder;  not; as one might expect; to an unbroken communication 

with a home base。'



On difficult ground; I would keep pushing on along the road。

     50。  On hemmed…in ground; I would block any way of retreat。



     'Meng Shih says:  〃To make it seem that I meant to defend 

the position;  whereas my real intention is to burst suddenly 

through the enemy's lines。〃  Mei Yao…ch‘en says:  〃in order to 

make my soldiers fight with desperation。〃   Wang Hsi says; 

〃fearing lest my men be tempted to run away。〃  Tu Mu points out 

that this is the converse of VII。 ss。 36; where it is the enemy 

who is surrounded。  In 532 A。D。; Kao Huan; afterwards Emperor and 

canonized as Shen…wu; was surrounded by a great army under Erh…

chu Chao and others。  His own force was comparatively small; 

consisting only of 2000 horse and something under 30;000 foot。  

The lines of investment had not been drawn very closely together; 

gaps being left at certain points。  But Kao Huan;  instead of 

trying to escape;  actually made a shift to block all the 

remaining outlets himself by driving into them a number of oxen 

and donkeys roped together。  As soon as his officers and men saw 

that there was nothing for it but to conquer or die;  their 

spirits rose to an extraordinary pitch of exaltation;  and they 

charged with such desperate ferocity that the opposing ranks 

broke and crumbled under their onslaught。'



On desperate ground;  I would proclaim to my soldiers the 

hopelessness of saving their lives。



     Tu Yu says:  〃Burn your baggage and impedimenta; throw away 

your stores and provisions; choke up the wells;  destroy your 

cooking…stoves;  and make it plain to your men that they cannot 

survive; but must fight to the death。〃  Mei Yao…ch‘en says:  〃The 

only chance of life lies in giving up all hope of it。〃   This 

concludes what Sun Tzu has to say about  〃grounds〃  and the 

〃variations〃 corresponding to them。  Reviewing the passages which 

bear on this important subject; we cannot fail to be struck by 

the desultory and unmethodical fashion in which it is treated。  

Sun Tzu begins abruptly in VIII。 ss。 2 to enumerate  〃variations〃 

before touching on 〃grounds〃 at all; but only mentions five; 

namely nos。 7; 5; 8 and 9 of the subsequent list; and one that is 

not included in it。  A few varieties of ground are dealt with in 

the earlier portion of chap。 IX; and then chap。 X sets forth six 

new grounds; with six variations of plan to match。  None of these 

is   mentioned   again;  though the first is hardly   to   be 

distinguished from ground no。 4 in the next chapter。  At last; in 

chap。 XI; we come to the Nine Grounds par excellence; immediately 

followed by the variations。  This takes us down to ss。  14。  In 

SS。 43…45; fresh definitions are provided for nos。 5; 6; 2; 8 and 

9  (in the order given); as well as for the tenth ground noticed 

in chap。 VIII; and finally; the nine variations are enumerated 

once more from beginning to end; all; with the exception of 5;  6 

and 7; being different from those previously given。  Though it is 

impossible to account for the present state of Sun Tzu's text;  a 

few suggestive facts maybe brought into prominence:   (1)  Chap。 

VIII;  according to the title; should deal with nine variations; 

whereas only five appear。  (2) It is an abnormally short chapter。  

(3) Chap。 XI is entitled The Nine Grounds。  Several of these are 

defined twice over; besides which there are two distinct lists of 

the corresponding variations。  (4) The length of the chapter is 

disproportionate; being double that of any other except IX。  I do 

not propose to draw any inferences from these facts; beyond the 

general conclusion that Sun Tzu's work cannot have come down to 

us in the shape in which it left his hands:   chap。  VIII is 

obviously defective and probably out of place; while XI seems to 

contain matter that has either been added by a later hand or 

ought to appear elsewhere。'



     51。  For it is the soldier's disposition to offer an 

obstinate resistance when surrounded; to fight hard when he 

cannot help himself; and to obey promptly when he has fallen into 

danger。



     'Chang Yu alludes to the conduct of Pan Ch‘ao's devoted 

followers in 73 A。D。  The story runs thus in the HOU HAN SHU; ch。 

47:  〃When Pan Ch‘ao arrived at Shan…shan; Kuang; the King of the 

country; received him at first with great politeness and respect; 

but shortly afterwards his behavior underwent a sudden change; 

and he became remiss and negligent。  Pan Ch‘ao spoke about this 

to the officers of his suite:  'Have you noticed;' he said; 'that 

Kuang's polite intentions are on the wane?  This must signify 

that envoys have come from the Northern barbarians;  and that 

consequently he is in a state of indecision; not knowing with 

which side to throw in his lot。  That surely is the reason。  The 

truly wise man; we are told; can perceive things before they have 

come to pass;  how much more; then;  those that are already 

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