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第38章

art of war-第38章

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all sides at once; thus emulating the achievement of T‘ien Tan。'  

'See p。 90。'  That same evening; a strong breeze sprang up;  so 

Huang…fu Sung instructed his soldiers to bind reeds together into 

torches and mount guard on the city walls; after which he sent 

out a band of daring men; who stealthily made their way through 

the lines and started the fire with loud shouts and yells。  

Simultaneously; a glare of light shot up from the city walls; and 

Huang…fu Sung;  sounding his drums; led a rapid charge;  which 

threw the rebels into confusion and put them to headlong flight。〃  

'HOU HAN SHU; ch。 71。' '



     10。  (5) When you start a fire; be to windward of it。  Do 

not attack from the leeward。



     'Chang Yu; following Tu Yu; says:  〃When you make a fire; 

the enemy will retreat away from it; if you oppose his retreat 

and attack him then; he will fight desperately; which will not 

conduce to your success。〃  A rather more obvious explanation is 

given by Tu Mu:  〃If the wind is in the east; begin burning to 

the east of the enemy; and follow up the attack yourself from 

that side。  If you start the fire on the east side;  and then 

attack from the west; you will suffer in the same way as your 

enemy。〃'



     11。  A wind that rises in the daytime lasts long;  but a 

night breeze soon falls。



     'Cf。  Lao Tzu's saying:  〃A violent wind does not last the 

space of a morning。〃  (TAO TE CHING; chap。 23。)   Mei Yao…ch‘en 

and Wang Hsi say:  〃A day breeze dies down at nightfall;  and a 

night breeze at daybreak。  This is what happens as a general 

rule。〃   The phenomenon observed may be correct enough;  but how 

this sense is to be obtained is not apparent。'



     12。  In every army; the five developments connected with 

fire must be known; the movements of the stars calculated; and a 

watch kept for the proper days。



     'Tu Mu says:  〃We must make calculations as to the paths of 

the stars;  and watch for the days on which wind will rise; 

before making our attack with fire。〃  Chang Yu seems to interpret 

the text differently:  〃We must not only know how to assail our 

opponents with fire; but also be on our guard against similar 

attacks from them。〃'



     13。  Hence those who use fire as an aid to the attack show 

intelligence; those who use water as an aid to the attack gain an 

accession of strength。

     14。  By means of water; an enemy may be intercepted; but not 

robbed of all his belongings。



     'Ts‘ao Kung's note is:  〃We can merely obstruct the enemy's 

road or divide his army; but not sweep away all his accumulated 

stores。〃  Water can do useful service; but it lacks the terrible 

destructive power of fire。  This is the reason;  Chang Yu 

concludes; why the former is dismissed in a couple of sentences; 

whereas the attack by fire is discussed in detail。  Wu Tzu  (ch。 

4)  speaks thus of the two elements:  〃If an army is encamped on 

low…lying marshy ground; from which the water cannot run off; and 

where the rainfall is heavy; it may be submerged by a flood。  If 

an army is encamped in wild marsh lands thickly overgrown with 

weeds and brambles; and visited by frequent gales;  it may be 

exterminated by fire。〃'



     15。  Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his battles 

and succeed in his attacks without cultivating the spirit of 

enterprise;  for the result is waste of time and   general 

stagnation。



     'This is one of the most perplexing passages in Sun Tzu。  

Ts‘ao Kung says:   〃Rewards for good service should not be 

deferred a single day。〃   And Tu Mu:   〃If you do not take 

opportunity   to   advance and reward   the   deserving;   your 

subordinates will not carry out your commands; and disaster will 

ensue。〃   For several reasons; however; and in spite of the 

formidable array of scholars on the other side;  I prefer the 

interpretation suggested by Mei Yao…ch‘en alone; whose words I 

will quote:  〃Those who want to make sure of succeeding in their 

battles and assaults must seize the favorable moments when they 

come and not shrink on occasion from heroic measures:  that is to 

say; they must resort to such means of attack of fire; water and 

the like。  What they must not do; and what will prove fatal;  is 

to sit still and simply hold to the advantages they have got。〃'



     16。  Hence the saying:  The enlightened ruler lays his plans 

well ahead; the good general cultivates his resources。



     'Tu Mu quotes the following from the SAN LUEH; ch。 2:   〃The 

warlike prince controls his soldiers by his authority; kits them 

together by good faith; and by rewards makes them serviceable。  

If faith decays;  there will be disruption;  if rewards are 

deficient; commands will not be respected。〃'



     17。  Move not unless you see an advantage;  use not your 

troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless 

the position is critical。



     'Sun Tzu may at times appear to be over…cautious;  but he 

never goes so far in that direction as the remarkable passage in 

the TAO TE CHING; ch。 69。  〃I dare not take the initiative;  but 

prefer to act on the defensive; I dare not advance an inch;  but 

prefer to retreat a foot。〃'



     18。  No ruler should put troops into the field merely to 

gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply 

out of pique。

     19。  If it is to your advantage; make a forward move;  if 

not; stay where you are。



     'This is repeated from XI。 ss。 17。  Here I feel convinced 

that it is an interpolation; for it is evident that ss。 20 ought 

to follow immediately on ss。 18。'



     20。  Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be 

succeeded by content。

     21。  But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never 

come again into being;



     'The Wu State was destined to be a melancholy example of 

this saying。'



nor can the dead ever be brought back to life。

     22。  Hence the enlightened ruler is heedful; and the good 

general full of caution。  This is the way to keep a country at 

peace and an army intact。





'1'   〃Unless you enter the tiger's lair; you cannot get hold of 

the tiger's cubs。〃







XIII。  THE USE OF SPIES





     1。  Sun Tzu said:  Raising a host of a hundred thousand men 

and marching them great distances entails heavy loss on the 

people and a drain on the resources of the State。  The daily 

expenditure will amount to a thousand ounces of silver。



     'Cf。 II。 ss。 ss。 1; 13; 14。'



There will be commotion at home and abroad; and men will drop 

down exhausted on the highways。



     'Cf。  TAO TE CHING;  ch。  30:   〃Where troops have been 

quartered; brambles and thorns spring up。  Chang Yu has the note:  

〃We may be reminded of the saying:  'On serious ground; gather in 

plunder。'   Why then should carriage and transportation cause 

exhaustion on the highways?The answer is; that not victuals 

alone;  but all sorts of munitions of war have to be conveyed to 

the army。  Besides; the injunction to 'forage on the enemy'  only 

means that when an army is deeply engaged in hostile territory; 

scarcity of food must be provided against。  Hence; without being 

solely dependent on the enemy for corn; we must forage in order 

that there may be an uninterrupted flow of supplies。  Then; 

again; there are places like salt deserts where provisions being 

unobtainable; supplies from home cannot be dispensed with。〃'



As many as seven hundred thousand families will be impeded in 

their labor。



     'Mei Yao…ch‘en says:  〃Men will be lacking at the plough…

tail。〃  The allusion is to the system of dividing land into nine 

parts; each consisting of about 15 acres; the plot in the center 

being cultivated on behalf of the State by the tenants of the 

other eight。  It was here also; so Tu Mu tells us;  that their 

cottages were built and a well sunk; to be use

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