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art of war-第8章

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  abeyance in the Empire。  All one can say is that this power 

  will be exercised wisely by some; foolishly by others;  and 

  that among those who bear arms some will be loyal and others 

  rebellious。 '58'



     The next piece is taken from Tu Mu's preface to his 

commentary on Sun Tzu: 



       War may be defined as punishment; which is one of the 

  functions of government。  It was the profession of Chung Yu 

  and Jan Ch‘iu; both disciples of Confucius。  Nowadays;  the 

  holding of trials and hearing of litigation; the imprisonment 

  of offenders and their execution by flogging in the market…

  place;  are all done by officials。  But the wielding of huge 

  armies; the throwing down of fortified cities; the hauling of 

  women and children into captivity; and the beheading of 

  traitors    this is also work which is done by officials。  

  The objects of the rack and of military weapons   are 

  essentially the same。  There is no intrinsic difference 

  between the punishment of flogging and cutting off heads in 

  war。  For the lesser infractions of law; which are easily 

  dealt with; only a small amount of force need be employed:  

  hence the use of military weapons and wholesale decapitation。  

  In both cases; however; the end in view is to get rid of 

  wicked people; and to give comfort and relief to the good。。。。

       Chi…sun asked Jan Yu; saying:  〃Have you; Sir;  acquired 

  your military aptitude by study; or is it innate?〃   Jan Yu 

  replied:   〃It has been acquired by study。〃 '59'   〃How can 

  that be so;〃 said Chi…sun; 〃seeing that you are a disciple of 

  Confucius?〃  〃It is a fact;〃 replied Jan Yu; 〃I was taught by 

  Confucius。  It is fitting that the great Sage should exercise 

  both civil and military functions; though to be sure my 

  instruction in the art of fighting has not yet gone very 

  far。〃

       Now;  who the author was of this rigid distinction 

  between the 〃civil〃 and the 〃military;〃 and the limitation of 

  each to a separate sphere of action; or in what year of which 

  dynasty it was first introduced; is more than I can say。  

  But;  at any rate; it has come about that the members of the 

  governing class are quite afraid of enlarging on military 

  topics;  or do so only in a shamefaced manner。  If any are 

  bold enough to discuss the subject; they are at once set down 

  as eccentric individuals of coarse and brutal propensities。  

  This is an extraordinary instance in which;  through sheer 

  lack of reasoning; men unhappily lose sight of fundamental 

  principles。

       When the Duke of Chou was minister under Ch‘eng Wang; he 

  regulated ceremonies and made music; and venerated the arts 

  of scholarship and learning; yet when the barbarians of the 

  River Huai revolted; '60' he sallied forth and chastised 

  them。  When Confucius held office under the Duke of Lu; and a 

  meeting was convened at Chia…ku; '61' he said:  〃If pacific 

  negotiations are in progress; warlike preparations should 

  have been made beforehand。〃  He rebuked and shamed the 

  Marquis of Ch‘i; who cowered under him and dared not proceed 

  to violence。  How can it be said that these two great Sages 

  had no knowledge of military matters?



     We have seen that the great Chu Hsi held Sun Tzu in high 

esteem。  He also appeals to the authority of the Classics: 



       Our Master Confucius; answering Duke Ling of Wei;  said:  

  〃I have never studied matters connected with armies and 

  battalions。〃  '62'   Replying to K‘ung Wen…tzu; he said:   I 

  have not been instructed about buff…coats and weapons。〃   But 

  if we turn to the meeting at Chia…ku; we find that he used 

  armed force against the men of Lai; so that the marquis of 

  Ch‘i was overawed。  Again;  when the inhabitants of Pi 

  revolted; the ordered his officers to attack them;  whereupon 

  they were defeated and fled in confusion。  He once uttered 

  the words:  〃If I fight; I conquer。〃 '63'  And Jan Yu also 

  said:    〃The   Sage exercises both civil   and   military 

  functions。〃  '64'   Can it be a fact that Confucius never 

  studied or received instruction in the art of war?   We can 

  only say that he did not specially choose matters connected 

  with armies and fighting to be the subject of his teaching。



     Sun Hsing…yen;  the editor of Sun Tzu;  writes in similar 

strain: 



       Confucius said:  〃I am unversed in military matters。〃 

  '65'  He also said:  〃If I fight;  I conquer。〃   Confucius 

  ordered ceremonies and regulated music。  Now war constitutes 

  one of the five classes of State ceremonial; '66'  and must 

  not be treated as an independent branch of study。  Hence; the 

  words 〃I am unversed in〃 must be taken to mean that there are 

  things which even an inspired Teacher does not know。  Those 

  who have to lead an army and devise stratagems;  must learn 

  the art of war。  But if one can command the services of a 

  good general like Sun Tzu; who was employed by Wu Tzu…hsu; 

  there is no need to learn it oneself。  Hence the remark added 

  by Confucius:  〃If I fight; I conquer。〃

       The men of the present day; however; willfully interpret 

  these words of Confucius in their narrowest sense; as though 

  he meant that books on the art of war were not worth reading。  

  With blind persistency; they adduce the example of Chao Kua; 

  who pored over his father's books to no purpose; '67'  as a 

  proof that all military theory is useless。  Again;  seeing 

  that books on war have to do with such things as opportunism 

  in designing plans; and the conversion of spies;  they hold 

  that the art is immoral and unworthy of a sage。  These people 

  ignore the fact that the studies of our scholars and the 

  civil administration of our officials also require steady 

  application and practice before efficiency is reached。  The 

  ancients were particularly chary of allowing mere novices to 

  botch their work。 '68'  Weapons are baneful '69' and fighting 

  perilous;  and useless unless a general is in constant 

  practice; he ought not to hazard other men's lives in battle。 

  '70'  Hence it is essential that Sun Tzu's 13 chapters should 

  be studied。

      Hsiang Liang used to instruct his nephew Chi '71' in the 

  art of war。  Chi got a rough idea of the art in its general 

  bearings;  but would not pursue his studies to their proper 

  outcome;  the consequence being that he was finally defeated 

  and overthrown。  He did not realize that the tricks and 

  artifices of war are beyond verbal computation。  Duke Hsiang 

  of Sung and King Yen of Hsu were brought to destruction by 

  their misplaced humanity。  The treacherous and underhand 

  nature of war necessitates the use of guile and stratagem 

  suited to the occasion。  There is a case on record of 

  Confucius himself having violated an extorted oath; '72'  and 

  also of his having left the Sung State in disguise。 '73'  Can 

  we then recklessly arraign Sun Tzu for disregarding truth and 

  honesty?





Bibliography







     The following are the oldest Chinese treatises on war; after 

Sun Tzu。  The notes on each have been drawn principally from the 

SSU K‘U CH‘UAN SHU CHIEN MING MU LU; ch。 9; fol。 22 sqq。



     1。  WU TZU; in 1 CHUAN or 6 chapters。  By Wu Ch‘i  (d。  381 

B。C。)。  A genuine work。  See SHIH CHI; ch。 65。



     2。  SSU…MA FA; in 1 CHUAN or 5 chapters。  Wrongly attributed 

to Ssu…ma Jang…chu of the 6th century B。C。  Its date;  however; 

must be early; as the customs of the three ancient dynasties are 

constantly to be met within its pages。  See SHIH CHI; ch。 64。

     The SSU K‘U CH‘UAN SHU (ch。 99; f。 1)  remarks that the 

oldest three treatises on war; SUN TZU; WU TZU and SSU…MA FA; 

are;  generally speaking; only concerned with things strictly 

military    the art of producing;  collecting;  training and 

dr

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