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第35章

art of war-第35章

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

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

manifest!'   Thereupon he called one of the natives who had been 

assigned to his service; and set a trap for him; saying:   'Where 

are those envoys from the Hsiung…nu who arrived some day ago?'  

The man was so taken aback that between surprise and fear he 

presently blurted out the whole truth。  Pan Ch‘ao;  keeping his 

informant carefully under lock and key; then summoned a general 

gathering of his officers; thirty…six in all; and began drinking 

with them。  When the wine had mounted into their heads a little; 

he tried to rouse their spirit still further by addressing them 

thus:   'Gentlemen;  here we are in the heart of an isolated 

region;  anxious to achieve riches and honor by some great 

exploit。  Now it happens that an ambassador from the Hsiung…no 

arrived in this kingdom only a few days ago; and the result is 

that the respectful courtesy extended towards us by our royal 

host has disappeared。  Should this envoy prevail upon him to 

seize our party and hand us over to the Hsiung…no; our bones will 

become food for the wolves of the desert。  What are we to do?'  

With one accord; the officers replied:  'Standing as we do in 

peril of our lives; we will follow our commander through life and 

death。'  For the sequel of this adventure; see chap。 XII。 ss。  1; 

note。'



     52。  We cannot enter into alliance with neighboring princes 

until we are acquainted with their designs。  We are not fit to 

lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of 

the   countryits mountains and forests;  its pitfalls   and 

precipices;  its marshes and swamps。  We shall be unable to turn 

natural advantages to account unless we make use of local guides。



     'These three sentences are repeated from VII。 SS。 12…14   

in order to emphasize their importance; the commentators seem to 

think。  I prefer to regard them as interpolated here in order to 

form an antecedent to the following words。  With regard to local 

guides; Sun Tzu might have added that there is always the risk of 

going   wrong;   either   through   their   treachery   or   some 

misunderstanding such as Livy records (XXII。 13):  Hannibal;  we 

are told; ordered a guide to lead him into the neighborhood of 

Casinum;  where there was an important pass to be occupied;  but 

his Carthaginian accent; unsuited to the pronunciation of Latin 

names;  caused the guide to understand Casilinum instead of 

Casinum;  and turning from his proper route; he took the army in 

that direction; the mistake not being discovered until they had 

almost arrived。'



     53。  To be ignored of any one of the following four or five 

principles does not befit a warlike prince。

     54。  When a warlike prince attacks a powerful state;  his 

generalship shows itself in preventing the concentration of the 

enemy's forces。  He overawes his opponents; and their allies are 

prevented from joining against him。



     'Mei Tao…ch‘en constructs one of the chains of reasoning 

that are so much affected by the Chinese:   〃In attacking a 

powerful state;  if you can divide her forces; you will have a 

superiority in strength; if you have a superiority in strength; 

you will overawe the enemy; if you overawe the enemy;  the 

neighboring states will be frightened; and if the neighboring 

states are frightened; the enemy's allies will be prevented from 

joining her。〃  The following gives a stronger meaning:  〃If the 

great state has once been defeated (before she has had time to 

summon her allies); then the lesser states will hold aloof and 

refrain from massing their forces。〃  Ch‘en Hao and Chang Yu take 

the sentence in quite another way。  The former says:   〃Powerful 

though a prince may be; if he attacks a large state; he will be 

unable to raise enough troops; and must rely to some extent on 

external aid;  if he dispenses with this; and with overweening 

confidence in his own strength; simply tries to intimidate the 

enemy; he will surely be defeated。〃  Chang Yu puts his view thus:  

〃If we recklessly attack a large state; our own people will be 

discontented and hang back。  But if (as will then be the case) 

our display of military force is inferior by half to that of the 

enemy;  the other chieftains will take fright and refuse to join 

us。〃'



     55。  Hence he does not strive to ally himself with all and 

sundry; nor does he foster the power of other states。  He carries 

out his own secret designs; keeping his antagonists in awe。



     'The train of thought; as said by Li Ch‘uan; appears to be 

this:   Secure against a combination of his enemies;  〃he can 

afford to reject entangling alliances and simply pursue his own 

secret designs; his prestige enable him to dispense with external 

friendships。〃'



Thus he is able to capture their cities and overthrow their 

kingdoms。



     'This paragraph; though written many years before the Ch‘in 

State became a serious menace; is not a bad summary of the policy 

by which the famous Six Chancellors gradually paved the way for 

her final triumph under Shih Huang Ti。  Chang Yu;  following up 

his previous note;  thinks that Sun Tzu is condemning this 

attitude of cold…blooded selfishness and haughty isolation。'



     56。  Bestow rewards without regard to rule;



     'Wu Tzu (ch。 3) less wisely says:  〃Let advance be richly 

rewarded and retreat be heavily punished。〃'



issue orders



     'Literally; 〃hang〃 or post up。〃'



without regard to previous arrangements;



     '〃In order to prevent treachery;〃  says Wang Hsi。  The 

general meaning is made clear by Ts‘ao Kung's quotation from the 

SSU…MA FA:  〃Give instructions only on sighting the enemy;  give 

rewards when you see deserving deeds。〃  Ts‘ao Kung's paraphrase:  

〃The final instructions you give to your army should not 

correspond with those that have been previously posted up。〃  

Chang Yu simplifies this into 〃your arrangements should not be 

divulged beforehand。〃  And Chia Lin says:  〃there should be no 

fixity in your rules and arrangements。〃  Not only is there danger 

in letting your plans be known; but war often necessitates the 

entire reversal of them at the last moment。'



and you will be able to handle a whole army as though you had to 

do with but a single man。



     'Cf。 supra; ss。 34。'



     57。  Confront your soldiers with the deed itself; never let 

them know your design。



     'Literally; 〃do not tell them words;〃 i。e。 do not give your 

reasons for any order。  Lord Mansfield once told a junior 

colleague to 〃give no reasons〃 for his decisions; and the maxim 

is even more applicable to a general than to a judge。'



When the outlook is bright; bring it before their eyes; but tell 

them nothing when the situation is gloomy。

     58。  Place your army in deadly peril; and it will survive; 

plunge it into desperate straits; and it will come off in safety。



     'These words of Sun Tzu were once quoted by Han Hsin in 

explanation of the tactics he employed in one of his most 

brilliant battles; already alluded to on p。 28。  In 204 B。C。;  he 

was sent against the army of Chao; and halted ten miles from the 

mouth of the Ching…hsing pass; where the enemy had mustered in 

full force。  Here; at midnight; he detached a body of 2000 light 

cavalry; every man of which was furnished with a red flag。  Their 

instructions were to make their way through narrow defiles and 

keep a secret watch on the enemy。  〃When the men of Chao see me 

in full flight;〃  Han Hsin said;  〃they will abandon their 

fortifications and give chase。  This must be the sign for you to 

rush in; pluck down the Chao standards and set up the red banners 

of Han in their stead。〃  Turning then to his other officers;  he 

remarked:   〃Our adversary holds a strong position; a

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