II. Waging War 9

„ III. Attack by Stratagem 17
„ IV. Tactical Dispositions 26
„ V. Energy 33
„ VI._Weak Points and Strong 42
„ VIL Manoeuvring 55
„ VIII. Variation of Tactics 71
IX,-Xhe Army on the March 80
Terrain 100
The Nine Situations 114
The Attack by Fire 150
„" XIII. The Use of Spies . 160
CHINESE CONCORDANCE 176
INDEX 192
PREFACE
The seventh volume of "Memoires concernant 1'histoire, les sciences, les arts, les mceurs, les usages, &c., des Chinois"1 is devoted to the Art of War, and contains, amongst other treatises, "Les Treize Articles de Sun-tse, " translated from the Chinese by a Jesuit Father, Joseph Amiot. Pere Amiot appears to have enjoyed no small reputation as a sinologue in his day, and the field of his labours was certainly extensive. But his so-called trans- lation of Sun Tzu, if placed side by side with the original, is seen at once to be little better than an imposture. It contains a great deal that Sun Tzu did not write, and very little indeed of what he did. Here is a fair speci- men, taken from the opening sentences of chapter 5 : —
De Vhabilete dans le gouvernement des Troupes. Sun-tse dit : Ayez les noms de tous les Officiers tant generaux que subalternes; inscrivez-les dans un catalogue a part, avec la note des talents & de la capacite de chacun d'eux, afin de pouvoir les employer avec avantage lorsque 1'oc- casion en sera venue. Faites en sorte que tous ceux que vous devez commander soient persuades que votre principale attention est de les preserver de tout dommage. Les troupes que vous ferez avancer centre 1'ennemi doivent etre comme des pierres que vous lanceriez centre des oeufs. De vous a 1'ennemi il ne doit y avoir d'autre difference que celle du fort au foible, du vuide au plein. Attaquez a decouvert, mais soyez vainqueur en secret. Voila en peu de mots en quoi consiste 1'habilete & toute la perfection meme du gouvernement des troupes.
Throughout the nineteenth century, which saw a wonder- ful development in the study of Chinese literature, no translator ventured to tackle Sun Tzu, although his work was known to be highly valued in China as by far the
1 Published at Paris in 1782.
vm PREFACE
oldest and best compendium of military science. It wa; not until the year 1905 that the first English translation by Capt. E. F. Calthrop, R.F.A., appeared at Tokyo under the title "Sonshi" (the Japanese form of Sun Tzu). Unfortunately, it was evident that the translator's know ledge of Chinese was far too scanty to fit him to grappl( with the manifold difficulties of Sun Tzu. He himsel plainly acknowledges that without the aid of two Japanes gentlemen "the accompanying translation would have beer impossible." We can only wonder, then, that with thei help it should have been so excessively bad. It is no merely a question of downright blunders, from which non can hope to be wholly exempt. Omissions were frequent hard passages were wilfully distorted or slurred over. Sucl offences are less pardonable. They would not be tolerate( in any edition of a Greek or Latin classic, and a simila standard of honesty ought to be insisted upon in trans lations from Chinese.
From blemishes of this nature, at least, I believe tha the present translation is free. It was not undertake! out of any inflated estimate of my own powers; but could not help feeling that Sun Tzu deserved a bette fate than had befallen him, and I knew that, at any rate I could hardly fail to improve on the work of my predeces sors. Towards the end of 1908, a new and revised editioi of Capt. Calthrop's translation was published in London this time, however, without any allusion to his Japanes collaborators. My first three chapters were then alread; in the printer's hands, so that the criticisms of Capl Calthrop therein contained must be understood as refer ring to his earlier edition. In the subsequent chapters have of course transferred my attention to the secon> edition. This is on the whole an improvement on th other, though there still remains much that cannot pas
1 A rather distressing Japanese flavour pervades the work throughout. Thus, Kir Ho Lu masquerades as "Katsuryo," Wu and Yu'eh become "Go" and "Etsu," etc. etc,
PREFACE IX
muster. Some of the grosser blunders have been rectified and lacunae filled up, but on the other hand a certain number of new mistakes appear. The very first sentence of the introduction is startlingly inaccurate; and later on, while mention is made of "an army of Japanese com- mentators" on Sun Tzu (who are these, by the way?), not a word is vouchsafed about the Chinese commentators, who nevertheless, I venture to assert, form a much more numerous and infinitely more important "army."
A few special features of the present volume may now be noticed. In the first place, the text has been cut up into numbered paragraphs, both in order to facilitate cross- reference and for the convenience of students generally. The division follows broadly that of Sun Hsing-yen's edition ; but I have sometimes found it desirable to join two or more of his paragraphs into one. In quoting from other works, Chinese writers seldom give more than the bare title by way of reference, and the task of research is apt to be seriously hampered in consequence. With a view to obviating this difficulty so far as Sun Tzu is concerned, I have also appended a complete concordance of Chinese characters, following in this the admirable example of Legge, though an alphabetical arrangement has been preferred to the distribution under radicals which he adopted. Another feature borrowed from "The Chinese Classics" is the printing of text, translation and notes on the same page ; the notes, however, are inserted, according to the Chinese method, immediately after the passages to which they refer. From the mass of native commentary my aim has been to extract the cream only, adding the Chinese text here and there when it seemed to present points of literary interest. Though constituting in itself an important branch of Chinese literature, very little com- mentary of this kind has hitherto been made directly acces- sible by translation. l
1 A notable exception is to be found in Biot's edition of the Chou Li.
X PREFACE
I may say in conclusion that, owing to the printing off of my sheets as they were completed, the work has not had the benefit of a final revision. On a review of the whole, without modifying the substance of my criticisms, I might have been inclined in a few instances to temper their asperity. Having chosen to wield a bludgeon, how- ever, I shall not cry out if in return I am visited with more than a rap over the knuckles. Indeed, I have been at some pains to put a sword into the hands of future opponents by scrupulously giving either text or reference for every passage translated. A scathing review, even from the pen of the Shanghai critic who despises "mere trans- lations," would not, I must confess, be altogether unwel- come. For, after all, the worst fate I shall have to dread is that which befel the ingenious paradoxes of George in The Vicar of Wakefield.
INTRODUCTION
SUN Wu AND HIS BOOK.
Ssu-ma Ch'ien gives the following biography of Sun Tzu:1- *
Sun Tzu Wu was a native of the Cn'i State. His Art of War brought him to the notice of f|fj IS Ho Lu, 2 King of 1^ Wu. Ho Lu said to him: I have carefully perused your 13 chapters. May I submit your theory of managing soldiers to a slight test? — Sun Tzu replied: You may. — Ho Lu asked: May the test be applied to women? — The answer was again in the affirmative, so arrangements were made to bring 180 ladies out of the Palace. Sun Tzu divided them into two companies, and placed one of the King's favourite concubines at the head of each. He then bade them all take spears in their hands, and addressed them thus: I presume you know the difference between front and back, right hand and left hand? — The girls replied: Yes. - Sun Tzu went on: When I say "Eyes front," you must look straight ahead. When I say "Left turn," you must face towards your left hand. When I say "Right turn," you must face towards your right hand. When I say "About turn," you must face right round towards the back. — Again the girls assented. The words of command having been thus ex-- plained, he set up the halberds and battle-axes in order to begin the drill. Then, to the sound of drums, he gave the order "Right turn." But the girls only burst out laughing. Sun Tzu said : If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame. — So he started drilling them again, and this time gave the order "Left turn," whereupon the girls once more burst into fits of laughter. Sun Tzu said : If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders are clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers. — So saying, he ordered the leaders of the two companies to be beheaded. Now the King of Wu was watching the
1 Shih Chi, ch. 6s.
2 Also written ^ Rf| Ho LU. He reigned from 514 to 496 B.C.
xn INTRODUCTION
scene from the top of a raised pavilion ; and when he saw that his fa- vourite concubines were about to be executed, he was greatly alarmed and hurriedly sent down the following message: We are now quite satis- fied as to our general's ability to handle troops. If We are bereft of these two concubines, our meat and drink will lose their savour. It is our wish that they shall not be beheaded. — Sun Tzu replied: Having once received His Majesty's commission to be general of his forces, there are certain commands of His Majesty which, acting in that capacity, I am unable to accept. — Accordingly, he had the two leaders beheaded, and straightway installed the pair next in order as leaders in their place. When this had been done, the drum was sounded for the drill once more ; and the girls went through all the evolutions, turning to the right or to the left, marching ahead or wheeling back, kneeling or standing, with perfect accuracy and precision, not venturing to utter a sound. Then Sun Tzu sent a messenger to the King saying: Your soldiers, Sire, are now properly drilled and disciplined, and ready for Your Majesty's in- spection. They can be put to any use that their sovereign may desire; bid them go through fire and water, and they will not disobey. — But the King replied: Let our general cease drilling and return to camp. As for us, We have no wish to come down and inspect the troops. — There- upon Sun Tzu said: The King is only fond of words, and cannot trans- late them into deeds. — After that, Ho Lu saw that Sun Tzu was one who knew how to handle an army, and finally appointed him general. In the West, he defeated the G§Ji__State and forced his way into Yin the capital; to the north, he put fear into the States of Ch'i and Chin, and spread his fame abroad amongst the feudal princes. And Sun Tzu shared in the might of the King.
About Sun Tzu himself this is all that Ssu-ma Ch'ien has to tell us in this chapter. But he proceeds to give a biography of his descendant, J$fr Jj|| Sun Pin, born about a hundred years after his famous ancestor's death, and also the outstanding military genius of his time. The historian speaks of him too as Sun Tzu, and in his preface we read: % -f- $f jjjj] ft) jfft _E| j£ "Sun Tzu had his feet cut off and yet continued to discuss the art of war." l It seems likely, then, that "Pin" was a nickname bestowed on him after his mutilation, unless indeed the story was invented in order to account for the name. The crowning incident of his career, the crushing defeat of his treacherous rival P'ang Chuan, will be found briefly related on p. 40.
1 Shih Chi, ch. 130 , f. 6 r°.
INTRODUCTION XIII
To return to the elder Sun Tzu. He is mentioned in two other passages of the Shih Chi: -
In the third year of his reign [512 B.C.] Ho Lu, King of Wu, took the field with -^ ^ Tzu-hsu [i.e. f£ J| Wu Yiian] and f£j g-g Po P'ei, and attacked Ch'u. He captured the town of ^ Shu and slew the two prince's sons who had formerly been generals of Wu. He was then meditating a descent on §±|$ Ying [the capital]; but the general Sun Wu said: "The army is exhausted. ' It is not yet possible. We must wait". . . . 2 [After further successful fighting,] "in the ninth year [506 B.C.], King Ho Lu of Wu addressed Wu Tzu-hsii and Sun Wu, saying: "Formerly, you declared that it was not yet possible for us to enter Ying. Is the time ripe now?" The two men replied: "ChVs general, -^ ^ Tzu-ch'ang, 3 is grasping and covetous, and the princes of HI* T'ang and ^^ Ts'ai both have a grudge against him. If Your Majesty has resolved to make a grand attack, you must win over T'ang and Ts'ai, and then you may succeed." Ho Lu followed this advice, [beat Ch'u in five pitched battles and marched into Ying]. 4
This is the latest date at which anything is recorded of Sun Wu. He does not appear to have survived his patron, who died from the effects of a wound in 496.
In the chapter entitled ffit fj (the earlier portion of which M. Chavannes believes to be a fragment of a treatise on Military Weapons), there occurs this passage : 5
From this time onward, a number of famous soldiers arose, one after the other : ^~ ;||J Kao-fan, 6 who was employed by the Chin State ; Wang-tzu, 7 in the service of Ch'i; and Sun Wu, in the service of Wu. These men developed and threw light upon the principles of war ( m
1 I note that M. Chavannes translates f& *^ "le peuple est e"puise." But in Sun Tzu's own book (see especially VII §§ 24 — 26) the ordinary meaning of ^&
is "army," and this, I think, is more suitable here.
2 These words are given also in Wu Tzu-hsii's biography, ch. 66, fol. 3 r°.
3 The appellation of ^T Nang Wa.
4 Shih Chi^ ch. 31, fol. 6r°.
5 Ibid. ch. 25, fol. i r°.
6 The appellation of ;jfjfj£ ^& Hu Yen, mentioned in ch. 39 under t^' year 637.
7 ^£ -^ jjjjjj ^ Wang-tzii Chceng-fu, ch. 32, year 607.
XIV INTRODUCTION
It is obvious that Ssu-ma Ch'ien at least had no doubt about the reality of Sun Wu as an historical personage ; and with one exception, to be noticed presently, he is by far the most important authority on the period in question. It will not be necessary, therefore, to say much of such a work as the ^ ^ ^ ^ Wu Yiieh Cfcun Cfciu, which is supposed to have been written by Jj| fl|| Chao Yeh of the Ist century A.D. The attribution is somewhat doubt- ful ; but even if it were otherwise, his account would be of little value, based as it is on the Shih Chi and ex- panded with romantic details. The story of Sun Tzu will be found, for what it is worth, in chapter 2. The only new points in it worth noting are: i) Sun Tzu was first recommended to Ho Lu by Wu Tzu-hsli. 2) He is called a native of Wu. x 3) He had previously lived a retired life, and his contemporaries were unaware of his ability. 2
The following passage occurs in ^£ fjf -^ Huai-nan Tzu : "When sovereign and ministers show perversity of mind, it is impossible even for a Sun Tzu to encounter the foe."3 Assuming that this work is genuine (and hitherto no doubt has been cast upon it), we have here the earliest direct reference to Sun Tzu, for Huai-nan Tzu died in 122 B.C., many years before the Shih Chi was given to the world.
UJ [S] Liu Hsiang (B.C. 80-9) in his %fr ff> says: "The reason why Sun Wu at the head of 30,000 men beat
1 The mistake is natural enough. Native critics refer to the ^ ^ft !^ , a work of the Han dynasty, which says (ch. 2, fol. 3 v° of my edition) : /g P^
"Ten li outside the Wu gate [of the city of ^ Wu, now Soochow in Kiangsu] there is a great mound, raised to commemorate the entertainment of Sun Wu of Chci, who excelled in the art of war, by the King of Wu."
M * •? 7 ft ft •
INTRODUCTION XV
Ch'u with 200,000 is that the latter were undisciplined."1 15 ^ tft Teng Ming-shih in his jft R ^ |f || (com- pleted in 1 1 34) informs us that the surname ^ was be- stowed on Sun Wu's grandfather by j|Sr £+ Duke Ching of Ch'i [547-490 B.C.]. Sun Wu's father Sun }J| P'ing, rose to be a Minister of State in Ch'i, and Sun Wu him- self, whose style was J| j)|||J Ch'ang-ch'ing, fled to Wu on account of the rebellion which was being fomented by the kindred of gj jj& Tcien Pao. He had three sons, of whom the second, named B|j Ming, was the father of Sun Pin. According to this account, then, Pin was the grandson of Wu,3 which, considering that Sun Pin's victory over ^ Wei was gained in 341 B.C., may be dismissed as chronologically impossible. Whence these data were ob- tained by Teng Ming-shih I do not know, but of course no reliance whatever can be placed in them.
An interesting document which has survived from the close of the Han period is the short preface written by the great ]f ^ Ts'ao Ts'ao, or H jf£ tffr Wei Wu Ti, for his edition of Sun Tzu. I shall give it in full : —
I have heard that the ancients used bows and arrows to their advan- tage. 3 The Lun Yii says : "There must be a sufficiency of military strength." 4 The Shu Ching mentions "the army" among the "eight objects of government."5 The I Ching says: " ||jjj 'army' indicates firmness and justice; the experienced leader will have good fortune."6
2 The Shih Chi, on the other hand, says :
3fa -fjl . I may remark in passing that the name jj£ for one who was a great warrior is just as suspicious as H^ f°r a man wh° had his feet cut off.
« An allusion to , , II. ,:
jtjjj^ ^ ^ ^|J J[/j[ ^ ^ ~j\ "They attached strings to wood to make bows, and sharpened wood to make arrows. The use of bows and arrows is to keep the Empire in awe."
4 !if Jnf XIL 7' 5 IS t? V' iv* 7>
, 7th diagram ( gjg ).
XVI INTRODUCTION
The Shih Ching says : "The King rose majestic in his wrath, and he marshalled his troops." ' The Yellow Emperor, T'ang the Completer and Wu Wang all used spears and battle-axes in order to succour their generation. The Ssu-ma Fa says : "If one man slay another of set pur- pose, he himself may rightfully be slain." 2 He who relies solely on warlike measures shall be exterminated; he who relies solely on peaceful measures shall perish. Instances of this are Fu Ch'ai 3 on the one hand and Yen Wang on the other. * In military matters, the Sage's rule is normally to keep the peace, and to move his forces only when occasion requires. He will not use armed force unless driven to it by necessity. 5 Many books have I read on the subject of war and fighting; but the work composed by Sun Wu is the profoundest of them all. [Sun Tzu was a native of the Ch'i state, his personal name was Wu. He wrote the Art of War in 13 chapters for Ho Lii, King of Wu. Its principles were tested on women, and he was subsequently made a general. He led an army westwards, crushed the Ch'u State and entered Ying the capital. In the north, he kept Ch'i and Chin in awe. A hundred years and more after his time, Sun Pin lived. He was a descendant of Wu]. 6 In his treatment of deliberation and planning, the importance of rapidity in taking the field, 7 clearness of conception, and depth of design, Sun
ch. I ( ) ad init. The text of the passage in the
«5) - £ ft ft A % A $t
3 The son and successor of Ho Lu. He was finally defeated and overthrown by ^J jg| Kou Chien, King of Yiieh, in 473 B.C. See post.
4 King Yen of |fj£ Hsu, a fabulous being, of whom Sun Hsing-yen says in
his preface: ^ ffjj j£ "His humanity brought him to destruction." See Shih Chi^ ch. 5, f. i z/c, and M. Chavannes' note, Memoires Historiques^ torn. II, p. 8. i TV, Skn, HU. ch. 90: $ ^ J- £ ^ gfc £ £ ^ gj| H
B & :fc ft 1= A # B IS ^ B 0TJT 5t A 1* B
» * * tr * mn .1 * 4 »-A -^ Jt * «k.» *
m^n&mmz.
6 The passage I have put in brackets is omitted in the T'-u Shu, and may be an interpolation. It was known, however, to j*J| ^ |j} Chang Shou-chieh of the T'ang dynasty, and appears in the Tlai P^ing Yu Lan.
7 Ts'ao Kung seems to be thinking of the first part of chap. II, perhaps especially of § 8.
INTRODUCTION XVII
Tzfi stands beyond the reach of carping criticism. My contemporaries, however, have failed to grasp the full meaning of his instructions, and while putting into practice the smaller details in which his work abounds, they have overlooked its essential purport. That is the motive which has led me to outline a rough explanation of the whole. *
One thing to be noticed in the above is the explicit statement that the 1 3 chapters were specially composed for King Ho Lu. This is supported by the internal evidence of I. § 15, in which it seems clear that some ruler is addressed.
In the bibliographical section of the Han Shu, 3 there is an entry which has given rise to much discussion : ^^-f-A + H ^^1^ "The works of Sun Tzu of Wu in 82 p'ien (or chapters), with diagrams in 9 chuan." It is evident that this cannot be merely the 13 chapters known to Ssu-ma Ch'ien, or those we possess to-day. Chang Shou-chieh in his jjj ff g j£ J|| refers to an edition of Sun Tzu's -ft jj- of which the " 1 3 chapters" formed the first chuan, adding that there were two other chuan besides. 3 This has brought forth a theory, that the bulk of these 82 chapters consisted of other writings of Sun Tzii - - we should call them apocryphal — similar to the ^{j ^ Wen Ta, of which a specimen dealing with the Nine Situations 4 is preserved in the :J|| J& T^ung Tien, and another in Ho Shih's commentary. It is suggested
» ft*
A A«
A # # s # am & « A IB
at A * z
3 The -|j^ ~7yT =^ mentions two editions of Sun Tzii in 3 chuan, namely
fc«? -a
* See chap. XL
xvm INTRODUCTION
that before his interview with Ho Lu, Sun Tzu had only written the 13 chapters, but afterwards composed a sort of execresis in the form of question and answer between himself and the King. || $ jfj Pi I-hsiin, author of the ^ jy. £fe ^ Sun Tzu Hsu Lu, backs this up with a quotation from the Wu Yueh Cfcun Cfciu: "The King of Wu summoned Sun Tzu, and asked him questions about the art of war. Each time he set forth a chapter of his work, the King could not find words enough to praise him." l As he points out, if the whole work was ex- pounded on the same scale as in the above-mentioned fragments, the total number of chapters could not fail to be considerable. 3 Then the numerous other treatises at- tributed to Sun Tzu3 might also be included. The fact that the Han Chih mentions no work of Sun Tzu except the 82 p'ien, whereas the Sui and T'ang bibliographies give the titles of others in addition to the "13 chapters," is good proof, Pi I-hsiin thinks, that all of these were contained in the 82 p^ien. Without pinning our faith to the accuracy of details supplied by the Wu Yuek Cfcun Cfciu, or admitting the genuineness of any of the treatises cited by Pi I-hslin, we may see in this theory a probable solution of the mystery. Between Ssu-ma Ch'ien and Pan Ku there was plenty of time for a luxuriant crop of for- geries to have grown up under the magic name of Sun Tzu, and the 82 p'ien may very well represent a collected edition of these lumped together with the original work.
3 Such as the /\ |8j[ |jj , quoted in ^|J ^ Cheng Hsuan's commentary on the Ckon Li, the ffc g| ^ |Eff £ fe and „££ j£ || £ , mentioned in
*e Rt ^fe Sui C'"h-' and the S ~f" ^. ij[ jjj£ , in 'he Han Tang Chih.
INTRODUCTION XIX
It is also possible, though less likely, that some of them existed in the time of the earlier historian and were pur- posely ignored by him. l
Tu Mu, after Ts'ao Kung the most important commen- tator on Sun Tzu, composed the preface to his edition 3 about the middle of the ninth century. After a somewhat lengthy defence of the military art, 3 he comes at last to Sun Tzu himself, and makes one or two very startling assertions : -- "The writings of Sun Wu," he says, "originally comprised several hundred thousand words, but Ts'ao Ts'ao, the Emperor Wu Wei, pruned away all redundancies and wrote out the essence of the whole, so as to form a single