VII. MANOEUVRING.

The commentators, as well as the subsequent text, make it clear that this is the real meaning of j|f ^jj . Thus, Li Ch'iian says that ^ means ^ ^] "marching rapidly to seize an advantage"; Wang Hsisays:
^ ^^M^f M 9A W* "'Striving' means striving for an advan- tage; this being obtained, victory will follow;" and Chang Yii : ppjj jj?
ffi ^j" f75 ^p1 ^J ifc "The two armies face to face, and each striving to obtain a tactical advantage over the other." According to the latter commentator, then, the situation is analogous to that of two wrestlers manoeuvring for a "hold," before coming to actual grips. In any case, we must beware of translating 4JJ1 by the word "fighting" or "battle," as if it were equivalent to |g^ . Capt. Calthrop falls into this mistake.
1 . Sun Tzu said : In war, the general receives his com- mands from the sovereign.
For jB: there is another reading ^ , which Li Ch'uan explains as :&£ Jfj ^ -gjj "being the reverent instrument of Heaven's chastisement."
2. Having collected an army and concentrated his forces, he must blend and harmonise the different elements thereof before pitching his camp.
Ts'ao Kung takes ^p as referring to the ;pp p^ or main gate of the
military camp. This, Tu Mu tells us, was formed with a couple of flags
hung across. [Cf. Chou Li, ch. xxvii. fol. 3 r of the Imperial edition :
lit JS^ P^ •] ^fc ffi would then mean "setting up his Jfft ^ opposite
that of the enemy." But Chia Lin's explanation, which has been adopted
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Jt * 4^ 1^
m
above, is on the whole simpler and better. Chang Yii, while following Ts'ao Kung, adds that the words may also be taken to mean "the establishment of harmony and confidence between the higher and lower ranks before venturing into the field;" and he quotes a saying of Wu Tzu (chap, i ad init.}: "Without harmony in the State, no military ex- pedition can be undertaken; without harmony in the army, no battle array can be formed." In the historical romance j|J J^|j ^|J ||j| , chap.
75, Sun Tzti himself is represented as saying to -^ 8 Wu Yiian: -fc
Jl ff & Z & ± fa ft E '& & It W ft ffi "As a
general rule, those who are waging war should get rid of all domestic troubles before proceeding to attack the external foe." ^ is defined as jj^ . It here conveys the notion of encamping after having taken the field.
3. After that, comes tactical manoeuvring-, than which there is nothing more difficult.
I have departed slightly from the traditional interpretation of Ts'ao Kung, who says: ^^§^^^^^5^11^ "From the time of receiving the sovereign's instructions until our encampment over against the enemy, the tactics to be pursued are most difficult." It seems to me that the jp[ ^- tactics or manoeuvres can hardly be said to begin until the army has sallied forth and encamped, and Ch'en Hao's note gives colour to this view: "For levying, concentrating, harmonising and intrenching an army, there are plenty of old rules which will serve. The real difficulty comes when we engage in tactical operations." Tu Yu also observes that "the great difficulty is to be beforehand with the enemy in seizing favourable positions."
The difficulty of tactical manoeuvring consists in turning the devious into the direct, and misfortune into gain.
jyi x£ 'jjfa ]jf[ is one of those highly condensed and somewhat enig- matical expressions of which Sun Tzu is so fond. This is how it is ex- plained by Ts'ao Kung: ^jaU^S^M^itSifc
"Make it appear that you are a long way off, then cover the distance rapidly and arrive on the scene before your opponent." Tu Mu says: "Hoodwink the enemy, so that he may be remiss and leisurely while you are dashing along with the utmost speed." Ho Shih gives a slightly different turn to the sentence: "Although you may have difficult ground to traverse and natural obstacles to encounter, this is a drawback which
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can be turned into actual advantage by celerity of movement." Signal examples of this saying are afforded by the two famous passages across the Alps — that of Hannibal, which laid Italy at his mercy, and that of Napoleon two thousand years later, which resulted in the great victory of Marengo.
4. Thus, to take a long and circuitous route, after enticing the enemy out of the way, and though starting after him, to contrive to reach the goal before him, shows knowledge of the artifice of deviation.
Chia Lin understands ^ as the enemy's line of march, thus : "If our adversary's course is really a short one, and we can manage to divert him from it ( ^J ^ ) either by simulating weakness or by holding out some small advantage, we shall be able to beat him in the race for good positions." This is quite a defensible view, though not adopted by any other commentator. ^ of course = jjj|£ , and ^ and ^Q are to be
taken as verbs. Tu Mu cites the famous march of j|& -^ Chao She in 270 B.C. to relieve the town of j|f| Ijjl O-yii, which was closely in- vested by a ^ps; Ch'in army. [It should be noted that the above is the correct pronunciation of ^ ]M , as given in the commentary on the Cfrien Han Shu, ch. 34. Giles' dictionary gives "Yii-yii," and Chavannes, I know not on what authority, prefers to write "Yen-yii." The name is omitted altogether from Playfair's "Cities and Towns."] The King of Chao first consulted j|| ^ Lien P'o on the advisability of attempting a relief, but the latter thought the distance too great, and the intervening country too rugged and difficult. His Majesty then turned to Chao She, who fully admitted the hazardous nature of the march, but finally said : "We shall be like two rats fighting in a hole — and the pluckier one will win !" So he left the capital with his army, but had only gone a distance of 30 // when he stopped and began throwing up intrenchments. For 28 days he continued strengthening his fortifications, and took care that spies should carry 'the intelligence to the enemy. The Ch'in general was overjoyed, and attributed his adversary's tardiness to the fact that the beleaguered city was in the Han State, and thus not actually part of Chao territory. But the spies had no sooner departed than Chao She began a forced march lasting for two days and one night, and arrived on the scene of action with such astonishing rapidity that he was able to occupy a commanding position on the ^ [Jj "North hill" before the enemy
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5. ffiJC 5. ff 3iS ^
c. § 5 rfii ^ ^
had got wind of his movements. A crushing defeat followed for the Ch'in forces, who were obliged to raise the siege of O-yii in all haste and retreat across the border. [See jjj |g, chap. 81.]
5. Manoeuvring with an army is advantageous; with an undisciplined multitude, most dangerous.
I here adopt the reading of the Tung Tien, Cheng Yu-hsien and the T'u Shu, where ^ appears to supply the exact nuance required in order to make sense. The standard text, on the other hand, in which j|F is repeated, seems somewhat pointless. The commentators take it to mean that manoeuvres may be profitable, or they may be dangerous: it all depends on the ability of the general. Capt. Calthrop translates ^ ^ "the wrangles of a multitude" !
6. If you set a fully equipped army in march in order to snatch an advantage, the chances are that you will be too late.
The original text has ^jfc instead of J^; but a verb is needed to balance 23§.
On the other hand, to detach a flying column for the purpose involves the sacrifice of its baggage and stores.
^ j|? is evidently unintelligible to the Chinese commentators, who paraphrase the sentence as though it began with pj| ijijg . Absolute tautology in the apodosis can then only be avoided by drawing an im- possibly fine distinction between iSb and ^ . I submit my own rendering without much enthusiasm, being convinced that there is some deep-seated corruption in the text. On the whole, it is clear that Sun Tzu does not approve of a lengthy march being undertaken without supplies. Cf. in- fra, § ii.
7. Thus, if you order your men to roll up their buff-coats,
^g; Ep does not mean "to discard one's armour," as Capt. Calthrop translates, but implies on the contrary that it is to be carried with you. Chang Yii says: Jg ^g ^ ^ "This means, in full panoply."
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9. 3L + ffi m & m M m ± m s
10. = + m ffij ^ ft) iw = » z — M
and make forced marches without halting day or night, covering double the usual distance at a stretch,
The ordinary day's march, according to Tu Mu, was 30 li\ but on one occasion, when pursuing ^|J ^ Liu Pei, Ts'ao Ts'ao is said to have covered the incredible distance of 300 li within twenty-four hours.
doing a hundred li in order to wrest an advantage, the leaders of all your three divisions will fall into the hands of the enemy.
8. The stronger men will be in front, the jaded ones will fall behind, and on this plan only one-tenth of your army will reach its destination.
For j|j£ , see II. § 14. The moral is, as Ts'ao Kung and others point out: Don't march a hundred li to gain a tactical advantage, either with or without impedimenta. Manoeuvres of this description should be con- fined to short distances. Stonewall Jackson said: "The hardships of forced marches are often more painful than the dangers of battle." He did not often call upon his troops for extraordinary exertions. It was only when he intended a surprise, or when a rapid retreat was impera- tive, that he sacrificed everything to speed.*
9. If you march fifty li in order to outmanoeuvre the enemy, you will lose the leader of your first division, and only half your force will reach the goal.
jjjjfc is explained as similar in meaning to ^: literally, "the leader of the first division will be torn away." Cf. Tso Chuan, 3| i9th year: >fe IH j^ lit 2J£ "This is a case of [the falling tree] tearing up its roots."
10. If you march thirty li with the same object, two- thirds of your army will arrive.
In the Tung Tien is added: j $ | "From this
we may know the difficulty of manoeuvring."
* See Col. Henderson, op. cit. vol. I. p. 426.
i.i. We may take it then that an army without its baggage-train is lost; without provisions it is lost; without bases of supply it is lost.
5^ j^jji is explained by Tu Yu as ^^ ffi ^ Jj| "fodder and the like;" by Tu Mu and Chang Yii as ^ ^ "goods in general;" and by Wang Hsi as ^ |j|jj j|g j^f %, JB "fuel> salt> foodstuffs, etc." But I think what Sun Tzu meant was "stores accumulated in depots," as distinguished from ifem Jff and S & , the various impedimenta accompanying an army on its march. Cf. Chou Li, ch. xvi. fol. 10: 2J£ A . . . ?£(/ l£r
•
1 2. We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbours.
j& — -^Q. Li Ch'iian understands it as 'JJH "guard against," which is hardly so good. An original interpretation of ^j? is given by Tu Mu, who says it stands for ^ Ji or ^ fjjrj^ "join in battle."
13. We are not fit to lead an army on the march un- \ less we are familiar with the face of the country — its
^mountains and forests, its pitfalls
Ujjjr, defined as J^j] ^ (Ts'ao Kung) or J^ ^ (Chang Yu). and precipices,
[$H , defined as — • "^ — » ~T^ . its marshes
ja, defined as and swamps. g|, defined as
14. We shall be unable to turn natural advantages to account unless we make use of local guides. §§ 12—14 are repeated in chap. XI. § 52.
6i
± M m m
15. In war, practise dissimulation, and you will succeed.
According to Tu Mu, jfc stands for jfc )0. Cf. I. § 18. In the tactics of Turenne, deception of the enemy, especially as to the numerical strength of his troops, took a very prominent position. *
Move only if there is a real advantage to be gained.
This is the interpretation of all the commentators except Wang Hsi, ^ who has the brief note g^ ^ -fy "Entice out the enemy" (by offering him some apparent advantage). /
1 6. Whether to concentrate or to divide your troops,^ must be decided by circumstances.
17. Let your rapidity be that of the wind,
The simile is doubly appropriate, because the wind is not only swift «* but, as Mei Yao-*ch'en points out, 3jt j^ $fc "invisible and leaves no tracks."
your compactness that of the forest.
It is hardly possible to take |jj£ here in its ordinary sense of "sedate," as Tu Yu tries to do. Meng Shih comes nearer the mark in his note ^§ "tr ^H ^f 'fT ?'J "Wnen slowly marching, order and ranks must be preserved" - so as to guard against surprise attacks. But natural forests do not grow in rows, whereas they do generally possess the quality of density or compactness. I think then that Mei Yao-ch'en uses the right adjective in saying #p ^ ^ ^ ^ .
1 8. In raiding and plundering be like fire,
Cf. Shih Ching, IV. 3. iv. 6: fa ^ ^ %\ g|J ^ ft # ^
"Fierce as a blazing fire which no man can check."
in immovability like a mountain.
That is, when holding a position from which the enemy is trying to dislodge you, or perhaps, as Tu Yu says, when he is trying to entice you into a trap.
* For a number of maxims on this head, see "Marshal Turenne" (Longmans, 1907), p. 29.
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19.
19. Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.
The original text has j|| instead of U . Cf. IV. § 7. Tu Yu quotes a saying of T'ai Kung which has passed into a proverb : ^ ^ ^f\ ~fc ^ If ^ 1|) ^f» 2£ IjlC @ "You cannot shut your ears to the thunder or your eyes to the lightning — so rapid are they." Likewise, an attack should be made so quickly that it cannot be parried.
20. When you plunder a countryside, let the spoil be divided amongst your men;
The reading of Tu Yu, Chia Lin, and apparently Ts'ao Kung, is ^ |S) ft $$, > wmcn is explained as referring to the subdivision of the army, mentioned in V. §§ i, 2, by means of banners and flags, serving to point out ( ^[ ) to each man the way he should go ( |fj] ). But this is very forced, and the ellipsis is too great, even for Sun Tzu. Luckily, the T'ung Tien and Yu Lan have the variant |j|j , which not only sug- gests the true reading ^pjj, but affords some clue to the way in which the corruption arose. Some early commentator having inserted [6] as the sound of ^|J , the two may afterwards have been read as one character; and this being interchangeable with |pjj, ^p|5 must finally have disap- peared altogether. Meanwhile, ;jjt would have been altered to ^ in order to make sense. As regards ^ ^J , I believe that Ho Shih alone has grasped the real meaning, the other commentators understanding it as "dividing the men into parties'' to search for plunder. Sun Tzu wishes to lessen the abuses of indiscriminate plundering by insisting that all booty shall be thrown into a common stock, which may afterwards be fairly divided amongst all.
when you capture new territory, cut it up into allotments for the benefit of the soldiery.
That this is the meaning, may be gathered from Tu Mu's note : ^i ±*5 *I KIJ # flj ja^f ^ 5£. The H §& gives the same advice: U jfa 3gi £ • )fj5 means "to enlarge" or "extend" — at the expense of the enemy, understood. Cf. Shih Ching, III. i. vii. i: »|^
"hating all the great States." Ch'en Hao also says lg & "quarter your soldiers on the land, and let them sow and plant
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23. mm
it." It is by acting on this principle, and harvesting the lands they in- vaded, that the Chinese have succeeded in carrying out some of their
most memorable and triumphant expeditions, such as that of Jff ^3 Pan Ch'ao who penetrated to the Caspian, and in more recent years, those of jjig J|£ jfc Fu-k'ang-an and ^ ^ ^ Tso Tsung-t'ang.
2 1 . Ponder and deliberate
Note that both these words, like the Chinese ^ /pH , are really meta- phors derived from the use of scales.
before you make a move.
Chang Yu quotes Jpsf j|§ -^r as saying that we must not break camp until we have gauged the resisting power of the enemy and the clever- ness of the opposing general. Cf. the "seven comparisons" in I. § 13. Capt. Calthrop omits this sentence.
22. He will conquer who has learnt the artifice of deviation.
See supra, §§ 3, 4. Such is the art of manoeuvring.
With these words, the chapter would naturally come to an end. But there now follows a long appendix in the shape of an extract from an earlier book on War, now lost, but apparently extant at the time when Sun Tzu wrote. The style of this fragment is not noticeably different from that of Sun Tzu himself, but no commentator raises a doubt as to its genuineness.
23. The Book of Army Management says:
It is perhaps significant that none of the earlier commentators give us any information about this work. Mei Yao-Ch'en calls it jj? ^ ^ JpL "an ancient military classic," and Wang Hsi, ~^£ jff U "an old book on war." Considering the enormous amount of fighting that had gone on for centuries before Sun Tzu's time between the various kingdoms and principalities of China, it is not in itself improbable that a collection of military maxims should have been made and written downraf some e^r- lier period. V
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26.
On the field of battle, Implied, though not actually in the Chinese.
the spoken word does not carry far enough: hence the institution of gongs and drums.
I have retained the words the next paragraph, in preference to the other reading j|{? ^f K drums and bells," which is found in the T^ung Tien, Pel Tlang Shu Cfcao and Yu Lan. ^p is a bell with a clapper. See Lun Yu III. 24, Chou Li