VI. WEAK POINTS AND STRONG.

Chang Yu attempts to explain the sequence of chapters as follows: "Chapter IV, on Tactical Dispositions, treated of the offensive and the defensive; chapter V, on Energy, dealt with direct and indirect methods. The good general acquaints himself first with the theory of attack and defence, and then turns his attention to direct and indirect methods. He studies the art of varying and combining these two methods before pro- ceeding to the subject of weak and strong points. For the use of direct or indirect methods arises out of attack and defence, and the perception of weak and strong points depends again on the above methods. Hence the present chapter comes immediately after the chapter on Energy."
1 . Sun Tzu said : Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle, will arrive exhausted.
Instead of l|| , the Yu Lan has in both clauses the stronger word JjH .
'7^—. l£9>
For the antithesis between ^ and 2fi , cf. I. §23, where however %ft is used as a verb.
2. Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him.
The next paragraph makes it clear that |*jj[ does not merely mean, as Tu Mu says, ^ j|£ Jfc |^ ^ «to make the enemy approach me," but rather to make him go in any direction I please. It is thus practically synonymous with fljjj . Cf. Tu Mu's own note on V. § 19. One mark of a great soldier is that he fights on his own terms or fights not at all. * * See Col. Henderson's biography of Stonewall Jackson, 1902 ed., vol. II, p. 490-
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5.
3. By holding out advantages to him, he can cause the enemy to approach of his own accord; or, by inflicting damage, he can make it, impossible .for the e;iemy to draw near.
In the first case^-he will entice him with a bait; in the second, he will strike at some important point which the enemy will have to defend.
4. If the enemy is taking his ease, he can harass him ;
This passage may be cited as evidence against Mei Yao-Ch'en's inter- pretation of I. § 23.
if well supplied with food, he can starve him out;
/||H is probably an older form than -^| , the reading of the original text. Both are given in the gj£ ^£.
if quietly encamped, he can force him to move.
The subject to ofe is still sS jg& ^& ; but these clauses would read
J Nii 1=1 \ >\ H '
better as direct admonitions, and in the next sentence we find Sun Tzu dropping insensibly into the imperative.
5. Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend; march swiftly to places where you are not expected.
The original text, adopted by the Tlu Shu, has |jj lit $f ~jf> jfH ;
it has been altered to suit the context and the commentaries of Ts'ao Kung and Ho Shih, who evidently read jj£\ ^ . The other reading would mean: "Appear at points to which the enemy cannot hasten;" but in this case there is something awkward in the use of ^^ . Capt. Calthrop is wrong of course with "appearing where the enemy is not."
6. An army may march great distances without distress, if it marches through country where the enemy is not.
We must beware of understanding ^ ^ £ jjjjj as "uninhabited country." Sun Tzu habitually uses A in the sense of ||£, e.g. supra, §2.
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Ts'ao Kung sums up very well : Jfj ^ lj£ |J[ $j| JL Jyf ->J- |jg S
^ J£ "Emerge from the void [q. d. like "a bolt from the blue"], strike at vulnerable points, shun places that are defended, attack in unexpected quarters." The difference of meaning between ^ and ^ is worth noting.
7. You can be sure of succeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.
j££ ^ TJP is of course hyperbolical; Wang Hsi rightly explains it as "weak points; that is to say, where the general is lacking in capacity, or the soldiers in spirit; where the walls are not strong enough, or the pre- cautions not strict enough; where relief comes too late, or provisions are too scanty, or the defenders are variance amongst themselves."
You can ensure the safety of your defence if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.