IX. THE ARMY ON THE MARCH.

The contents of this interesting chapter are better indicated in § i than by this heading.
i . Sun Tzu said : We come now to the question of encamping the army, and observing signs of the enemy.
The discussion of j|| jl? , as Chang Yii points out, extends from here down to ^ ^ £ #f IK & ifc point down to jj£\ ^jjjjl &j£ ^ (§§ 18 — 39). The rest of the chapter consists of a few desultory remarks, chiefly on the subject of discipline.
Pass quickly over mountains,
For this use of jjfa, cf. infra, § 3. See also ^fjj* -^ , ch. i. fol. 2 (standard edition of 1876): $jjfc fa JjjJ*; Shih Chi, ch. 27 ad init.:
and keep in the neighbourhood of valleys.
Tu Mu says that ^ here = jj£. The idea is, not to linger among barren uplands, but to keep close to supplies of water and grass. Capt. Calthrop translates "camp in valleys," heedless of the very next sentence. Cf. Wu Tzu, ch. 3 : ^ |£ ^ |g "Abide not in natural ovens," /. e. ^ ^ ^ IH "the openings of large valleys." Chang Yii tells the fol- lowing anecdote : " j£ |j|$ ^g Wu-tu Ch'iang was a robber captain in the time of the Later Han, and Jj| ^ Ma Yuan was sent to exterminate his gang. Ch'iang having found a refuge in the hills, Ma Yuan made no attempt to force a battle, but seized all the favourable positions com- manding supplies of water and forage. Ch'iang was soon in such a desperate plight for want of provisions that he was forced to make a total surrender. He did not know the advantage of keeping in the neighbour- hood of valleys." •
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2
2. Camp in high places,
Not on high hills, but on knolls or hillocks elevated above the sur- rounding country.
facing the sun.
jjjj^ £[::=: |fj [j|^ . Tu Mu takes this to mean "facing south," and Ch'en Hao "facing east." Cf. infra, §§ n, 13.
Do not climb heights in order to fight.
^jg is here simply equivalent to "jf|f . The T'ung Tien and Yu Lan read |J£ . So much for mountain warfare.
After [Jj , the Tung Tien and Yu Lan insert ^ .
3. After crossing a river, you should get far away from it.
"In order to tempt the enemy to cross after you," according to Ts'ao Kung, and also, says Chang Yu, "in order not to be impeded in your evolutions." The Tung Tien reads j|£ ^ %jb -fa "lf the enemy crosses a river," etc. But in view of the next sentence, this is almost certainly an interpolation.
4. When an invading force crosses a river in its on- ward march, do not advance to meet it in mid-stream. It will be best to let half the army get across, and then deliver your attack.
The T'ung Tien and Yu Lan read Jg for ^ , without change of meaning. Wu Tzu plagiarises this passage twice over: — ch. II ad fin.,
• Li
Ch'iian alludes to the great victory won by Han Hsin over ^|[ fl Lung Chu at the yjj^ Wei River. Turning to the Ch'ien Han Shu, ch. 34, fol. 6 verso, we find the battle described as follows: "The two armies were drawn up on opposite sides of the river. In the night, Han Hsin ordered his men to take some ten thousand sacks filled with sand and construct a dam a little higher up. Then, leading half his army across, he at-
6
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. ft fcJMR ftJl it M ft ft
tacked Lung CM; but after a time,, pretending to have failed in his attempt, he hastily withdrew to the other bank. Lung Chu was much elated by this unlooked-for success, and exclaiming : "I felt sure that Han Hsin was really a coward!" he pursued him and began crossing the river in his turn. Han Hsin now sent a party to cut open the sandbags, thus releasing a great volume of water, which swept down and prevented the greater portion of Lung Chii's army from getting across. He then turned upon the force which had been cut off, and annihilated it, Lung Chu himself being amongst the slain. The rest of the army, on the further bank, also scattered and fled in all directions."
5. If you are anxious to fight, you should not go to meet the invader near a river which he has to cross.
For fear of preventing his crossing. Capt. Calthrop makes the injunction ridiculous by omitting
6. Moor your craft higher up than the enemy, and facing the sun.
See supra, § 2. The repetition of these words in connection with water is very awkward. Chang Yii has the note : al/ S ;J| "1SJ (fifi p£ -^C
* ^^ /i xyy_ X*"ft tsSj\. *^?^4 /+
-t i0 f} if ^1 M i| fffi Jt ft "Said either of tro°Ps marshalled on the river-bank, or of boats anchored in the stream itself; in either case it is essential to be higher than the enemy and facing the sun." The other commentators are not at all explicit. One is much tempted to reject their explanation of jjjj^ /Jl altogether, and understand it simply
as "seeking safety.'' [Cf. Jjfc B£ in VIII. § 12, and infra, §9.] It is true
that this involves taking jjjj^ in an unusual, though not, I think, an im- possible sense. Of course the earlier passage would then have to be translated in like manner.
Do not move up-stream to meet the enemy.
Tu Mu says: "As water flows downwards, we must not pitch our camp on the lower reaches of a river, for fear the enemy should open the sluices and sweep us away in a flood. This is implied above in the words J|jj^ ^ ||J jfyj . Chu-ko Wu-hou has remarked that 'in river warfare we must not advance against the stream,' which is as much as to say that our fleet must not be anchored below that of the enemy, for then they would be able to take advantage of the current and make short work of us." There is also the danger, noted by other commentators,
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that the enemy may throw poison on the water to be carried down to us. Capt. Calthrop's first version was: "Do not cross rivers in the face of the stream" — a sapient piece of advice, which made one curious to know what the correct way of crossing rivers might be. He has now improved this into: "Do not fight when the enemy is between the army and the source of the river."
So much for river warfare.
7. In crossing salt-marshes, your sole concern should be to get over them quickly, without any delay.
Because of the lack of fresh water, the poor quality of the herbage, and last but not least, because they are low, flat, and exposed to attack.
8. If forced to fight in a salt-marsh, you should have water and grass near you, and get your back to a clump of trees.
Li Ch'uan remarks that the ground is less likely to be treacherous where there are trees, while Tu Yu says that they will serve to protect the rear. Capt. Calthrop, with a perfect genius for going wrong, says "in the neighbourhood of a marsh." For ^k the Tlung Tien and Ytt Lan wrongly read ^|J , and the latter also has ^g instead of ^* .
So much for operations in salt-marshes. .1
9. In dry, level country, take up an easily accessible position
This is doubtless the force of Jjj^j , its opposite being |^ . Thus, Tu
Mu explains it as -JJ3 ^ ^f i$8 ^ |fl "ground that is smooth and firm," and therefore adapted for cavalry; Chang Ytt as ;JfJ ^ fit J^£ Rl ^ ilk "level ground, free from depressions and hollows." He adds later on that although Sun Tzu is discussing flat country, there will never- theless be slight elevations and hillocks.
with rising ground to your right and on your rear,
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io. Jl ift P9 W £ 5
11. ii it sx9 •3E4Ht 9 • it
12. # £ ffi £ » m n w ^ *n # 0
The Yii Lan again reads ^ for ^ . Tu Mu quotes T'ai Kung as saying : "An army should have a stream or a marsh on its left, and a hill or tumulus on its right."
so that the danger may be in front, and safety lie behind. Wang Hsi thinks that ^ ^ contradicts the saying jjj^ £j: in § 2, and therefore suspects a mistake in the text.
So much for campaigning in flat country.
10. These are the four useful branches of military knowledge
Those, namely, concerned with (i) mountains, (2) rivers, (3) marshes, and (4) plains. Compare Napoleon's "Military Maxims," no. i.
which enabled the Yellow Emperor to vanquish four several sovereigns.
Mei Yao-ch'en asks, with some plausibility, whether »jjj» is not a mistake for jpT "armies," as nothing is known of Huang Ti having conquered four other Emperors. The Shih Chi (ch. I ad init.) speaks only of his victories over jj£ *jjj* Yen Ti and j^ -fa Ch'ih Yu. In the ^ |?g it is mentioned that he "fought seventy battles and pacified the Empire." Ts'ao Kung's explanation is, that the Yellow Emperor was the first to institute the feudal system of vassal princes, each of whom (to the number of four) originally bore the title of Emperor. Li Chfcian tells us that the art of war originated under Huang Ti, who received it from his Minister M, J5f Feng Hou.
1 1 . All armies prefer high ground to low,
"High ground," says Mei Yao-ch'en, "is not only more agreeable and salubrious, but more convenient from a military point of view; low ground is not only damp and unhealthy, but also disadvantageous for fighting." The original text and the Tlu Shu have ^jp instead of Jal .
and sunny places to dark.
12. If you are careful of your men,
Ts'ao Kung says: [fi] fc ^ ~pf $ >$ ^ ^ "Make for fresh water and pasture, where you can turn out your animals to graze." And
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the other commentators follow him, apparently taking ^^ as = ffi . Cf. Mencius, V. i. ix. i, where ^jji ffi ^- means a cattle-keeper. But here ^ £jr surely has reference to the health of the troops. It is the title of Chuang Tzii's third chapter, where it denotes moral rather than physical well-being.
and camp on hard ground,
jj must mean dry and solid, as opposed to damp and marshy, ground. This is to be found as a rule in high places, so the commentators explain jj as practically equivalent to "Jj|j .
the army will be free from disease of every kind,
Chang Yii says: "The dryness of the climate will prevent the outbreak of illness."
and this will spell victory.
13. When you come to a hill or a bank, occupy the sunny side, with the slope on your right rear. Thus you will at once act for the benefit of your soldiers and utilise the natural advantages of the ground.
14. When, in consequence of heavy rains up-country, a river which you wish to ford is swollen and flecked with foam, you must wait until it subsides.
The T'ung Tien and Ya Lan have a superfluous ~~J\ before fc .
15. Country in which there are precipitous cliffs with torrents running between,
% ffi , explained by Mei Yao-ch'en as^^l^l^^C^^^I. deep natural hollows,
^ # , explained as |3J @J ^ ^ ffl l£ #f Hf V^ces enclosed on every side by steep banks, with pools of water at the bottom."
confined places,
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^ 5}5 "natural pens or prisons," explained as ^£ jgj J|| ^g ^
^A HE HJ "Places surrounded by precipices on three sides — easy to get into, but hard to get out of." tangled thickets,
^ |f, explained as ^ ^ ^ ^ |f |g ^ |g "places covered with such dense undergrowth that spears cannot be used."
quagmires
^ jig, explained as ^ "pfflffig $. ^ ^ M "low-lying places, so heavy with mud as to be impassible for chariots and horsemen."
and crevasses,
^ |$$ is explained by MeiYao-ch^n as ^ tH ffi [6) ^ ^ jfc ^
"a narrow difficult way between beetling cliffs," but Ts'ao Kung says
UJ $1 it *H[ ilb ^ ft E K ^ ii: 3t ^. which seems to
denote something on a much smaller scale. Tu Mu's note is j^ ^ j(S ^HL ^t R§ ^k 5 "Sroun(^ covered with trees and rocks, and inter- sected by numerous ravines and pitfalls." This is very vague, but Chia Lin explains it clearly enough as a defile or narrow pass : ppjj ^ [J^ ^ ~f& $5 "M ff5 St S' anc^ Chang Yii takes much the same view. On the whole, the weight of the commentators certainly inclines to the rendering "defile". But the ordinary meaning of [J§ (a crack or fissure) and the fact that defile, make me think that Sun Tzu is here speaking of crevasses. The Tung Tien and Yil Lan read J|$ for |Jj^, with the same meaning; the latter also has -^ ^ after ^ J|J — a palpable gloss. should be left with all possible speed and not approached 1 6. While we keep away from such places, we should get the enemy to approach them; while we face them, we should let the enemy have them on his rear.
17. If in ,the neighbourhood of your camp
The original text has jg Jfj , but ^ has been generally adopted as yielding much better sense.
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is. at a B5 » # it s wrto
there should be any hilly country,
|J& Iffi is £|$ -^ 2, *&» according to Chang Yu, ponds surrounded by aquatic grass, hollow basins filled with reeds,
The original text omits 3JJL and £fc, so that ^ and ^ join to make a pair: "ponds and basins." This is plausible enough at first sight, but there are several objections to the reading: (r) 3JL is unlikely to have got into the text as a gloss on ^; (2) it is easy to suppose, on the other
hand, that 3j£. and afterwards tk (to restore the balance of the sentence)
" VM* i I
were omitted by a copyist who jumped to the conclusion that gi| and ^p must go together; (3) the sense, when one comes to consider it, actually requires ^J, for it is absurd to talk of pools and ponds as in themselres suitable places for an ambush; (4) Li Ching (571 — 649 A. D.) in his -E j£ "Art of War" has the words: |f $| !g % glj # ^ g -ft . This is evidently a rerniniscence of Sun Tzti, so there can be little doubt that ^j§ stood in the text at this early date. It may be added that the T'-ung Tien and Yu Lan both have $&, and the latter also reads :yj± for #..
or woods with thick undergrowth,
I read /\\ ^ with tne Yii Lan in preference to [Jj ^JC, given in the original text, which is accepted by the commentators without question. The text of the T(u Shu up to this point runs as follows: fr
they must be carefully routed out and searched; for these are places where men in ambush or insidious spies are likely to be lurking.
The original text omits |j^, which has been restorecj from the T~ung Tien and Yii Lan. The T'u Shu omits ||£ as well, making " a sub-
stantive. On Chang Yu has the note:
on our guard against traitors who may lie in close covert, secretly spying out our weaknesses and overhearing our instructions. Fu and chien are to be taken separately."
1 8. When the enemy is close at hand and remains quiet, he is relying on the natural strength of his position.
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19. a us & a * # A 2 at tfe
». £ ft £ * 4 * ft
Here begin Sun Tzu's remarks on the reading of signs, much of which is so good that it could almost be included in a modern manual like Gen. Baden-Powell's "Aids to Scouting."
19. When he keeps aloof and tries to provoke a battle, he is anxious for the other side to advance.
Probably because we are in a strong position from which he wishes to dislodge us. "If he came close up to us," says Tu Mu, "and tried to force a battle, he would seem to despise us, and there would be less probability of our responding to the challenge."
20. If his place of encampment is easy of access, he is tendering a bait.
Sj is here the opposite of |Jj|r in § 18. The reading of the T^ung Tien and Yil Lan, 3t ffi $j. % fg $ %\] ifc , is pretty obviously corrupt. The original text, which transposes ^ and 5§", niay very pos- sibly be right. Tu Mu tells us that there is yet another reading :
2 1 . Movement amongst the trees of a forest shows that the enemy is advancing.
Ts'ao Kung explains this as "felling trees to clear a passage," and Chang Yii says: "Every army sends out scouts to climb high places and observe the enemy. If a scout sees that the trees of a forest are moving and shaking, he may know that they are being cut down to clear a pas- sage for the enemy's march."
The appearance of a number of screens in the midst of thick grass means that the enemy wants to make us suspicious.
Whenever the meaning of a passage happens to be somewhat elusive, Capt. Calthrop seems to consider himself justified in giving free rein to the imagination. Thus, though his text is here identical with ours, he renders the above : "Broken branches and trodden grass, as of the passing of a large host, must be regarded with suspicion." Tu Yu's explanation, borrowed from Ts'ao Kung, is as follows : "The presence of a number of screens or sheds in the midst of thick vegetation is a sure sign that the enemy has fled and, fearing pursuit, has constructed these hiding-places
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22-
23.
in order to make u's suspect an ambush." It appears that these "screens" were hastily knotted together out of any long grass which the retreating enemy happened to come across.
22. The rising of birds in their flight is the sign of an ambuscade.
Chang Yii's explanation is doubtless right: "When birds that are flying along in a straight line suddenly shoot upwards, it means that soldiers are in ambush at the spot beneath."
Startled beasts indicate that a sudden attack is coming.
An example of JJ fou* in the meaning of "ambuscade" may be found in the Tso Chuan, |g 9th year: 3jg* ^ =£ g[ J£j[ ffi ^ . In the
present passage, however, it is to be distinguished from -^ just above, in that it implies onward motion on the part of the attacking force. Thus, Li Ch'iian defines it as ^ jj; ffp jg , and Tu Mu as ^ t|j ^ ^ .
23. When there is dust rising in a high column, it is the sign of chariots advancing; when the dust is low, but spread over a wide area, it betokens the approach of infantry.
ft f?5 IPt "high and sharp," or rising to a peak, is of course some- what exaggerated as applied to dust. The commentators explain the phenomenon by saying that horses and chariots, being heavier than men, raise more dust, and also follow one another in the same wheel-track, whereas foot-soldiers would be marching in ranks, many abreast. According to Chang Yii, "every army on the march must have scouts ( $fc ^ffc ^ ^ ) some way in advance, who on sighting dust raised by the enemy, will gallop back and report it to the commander-in-chief." Cf. Gen. Baden- Powell: "As you move along, say, in a hostile country, your eyes should be looking afar for the enemy or any signs of him : figures, dust rising, birds getting up, glitter of arms, etc." *
When it branches out in different directions, it shows that parties have been sent to collect firewood.
There is some doubt about the reading jffij. J^jJ . The T'ung Tien and Yil Lan have , and Li Ch'iian proposes
* "Aids to Scouting," p. 26.
go
A few clouds of dust moving to and fro signify that the army is encamping.
Chang Yii says: "In apportioning the defences for a cantonment, light horse will be sent out to survey the position and ascertain the weak and strong points all along its circumference. Hence the small quantity of dust and its motion*"
24. Humble words and increased preparations are signs that the enemy is about to advance.
"As though they stood in great fear of us," says Tu Mu. "Their ob- ject is- to make us contemptuous and careless, after which they will attack us." Chang Yu alludes to the story of gj j|[ T'ien Tan of the Ch'i State, who in 279 B.C. was hard-pressed in his defence of [|p ||§ Chi- mo against the Yen forces, led by jjjj^ 5J^f Ch'i Chieh. In ch. 82 of the Shih Chi we read: "T'ien Tan openly said: 'My only fear is that the Yen army may cut off the noses of their Ch'i prisoners and place them in the "front rank to fight against us; that would be the undoing of our city.' The other side being informed of this speech, at once acted on the suggestion; but those within the city were enraged at seeing their fellow-countrymen thus mutilated, and fearing only lest they should fall into the enemy's hands, were nerved to defend themselves more obstinately than ever. Once again T'ien Tan sent back converted spies who reported. these words to the enemy: 'What I dread most is that the men of Yen may dig up the ancestral tombs outside the town, and by inflicting this indignity on our forefathers cause us to become faint-hearted.' Forthwith the besiegers dug up all the graves and burned the corpses lying in them. And the inhabitants of Chi-mo, witnessing the outrage from the city-walls, wept passionately and were all impatient to go out and fight, their fury being increased tenfold. T'ien Tan knew then that his soldiers were ready for any enterprise. But instead of a sword, he himself took a mat- tock in his hands, and ordered others to be distributed amongst his best warriors, while the ranks were filled up with their wives and concubines. He then served out all the remaining rations and bade his men eat their fill. The regular soldiers were told to keep out of sight, and the walls were manned with the old and weaker men and with women. This done, envoys were despatched to the enemy's camp to arrange terms of surrender, whereupon the Yen army began shouting for joy. T'ien Tan also collected 20,000 ounces of silver from the people, and got the wealthy citizens of Chi-mo to send it to the Yen general with the prayer that, when the town capitulated, he would not allow their homes to be plundered or their women to be maltreated. Ch'i Chieh, in high good humour, granted their prayer; but his army now became increasingly slack and
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26. Jfi5
careless. Meanwhile, T'ien Tan got together a thousand oxen, decked them with pieces of red silk, painted their bodies, dragon-like, with coloured stripes, and fastened sharp blades on their horns and well-greased rushes on their tails. When night came on, he lighted the ends of the rushes, and drove the oxen through a number of holes which he had pierced in the walls, backing them up with a force of 5000 picked warriors. The animals, maddened with pain, dashed furiously into the enemy's camp where they caused the utmost confusion and dismay; for their tails acted as torches, showing up the hideous pattern on their bodies, and the weapons on their horns killed or wounded any with whom they came into contact. In the meantime, the band of 5000 had crept up with gags in their mouths, and now threw themselves on the enemy. At the same moment a frightful din arose in the city itself, all those that remained behind making as much noise as possible by banging drums and hammering on bronze vessels, until heaven and earth were convulsed by the uproar. Terror-stricken, the Yen army fled in disorder, hotly pursued by the men of Ch'i, who succeeded in slaying their general Ch'i Chieh . . . The result of the battle was the ultimate recovery of some seventy cities which had belonged to the Ch'i State."
Violent language and driving forward as if to the attack are signs that he will retreat.
I follow the original text here, also adopted by the Tu Shu. The standard text reads ||£ =jfa ffjj ij|j J|t lg| ^g- ^ fy on the strength
of Ts'ao Kung's commentary Hfjjf g^ -j^ , which shows that his text in- cluded the word |^. Strong as this ground is, I do not think it can counterbalance the obvious superiority of the other reading in point of sense, g^ not only provides no antithesis to j|f , but makes the whole passage absurd; for if the language of the enemy is calculated to deceive, it cannot be known as deceitful at the time, and can therefore afford no "sign." Moreover, the extra word in itjj j[£ |g (an awkward locu-
tion, by the way) spoils the parallelism with
25. When the light chariots
The same, according to Tu Yu, as the B^ £ of II. $ I. come out first and take up a position on the wings, it is a sign that the enemy is forming for battle.
The Tung Tien omits |fj .
26. Peace proposals unaccompanied by a sworn covenant indicate a plot.
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27.
28.
29.
30. » fffi ft tfc
Tu Yu defines jjft as Jg $J , and Li Ch'uan as J| jg[ ;> $J ";
treaty confirmed by oaths and hostages." Wang Hsi and Chang Yii, 01 the other hand, simply say fit jjg£ "without reason," "on a frivolou pretext," as though ^J bore the rather unusual sense of "important.' Capt. Calthrop has "without consultation," which is too loose.
27. When there is much running about
Every man hastening to his proper place under his own regimental banner and the soldiers fall into rank,
I follow the Tl u Shu in omitting jjj after Jiri . Tu Mu quotes th Chou Li, ch. xxix. fol. 31: ^ Qg ^ 38 # ^ TJr jfc . it means that the critical moment has come.
What Chia Lin calls >g. J|J ^ flft , as opposed to ||
28. When some are seen advancing and some retreating it is a lure.
Capt. Calthrop is hardly right in translating: "An advance, followed b) sudden retirement." It is rather a case of feigned confusion. As Tu Mi
29. WThen the soldiers stand leaning on their spears they are faint from want of food.
^ is here probably not a synonym for ^ , but = & "a weapon.' The original text has ^ fflj JJL ^* » which has been corrected fron the Tlung Tien and Yu Lan.
30. If those who are sent to draw water begin b) drinking themselves, the army is suffering from thirst.
As Tu Mu remarks: |JJ — '^^^^r^ifa "One may knov the condition of a whole army from the behaviour of a single man." Th •^ may mean either that they drink before drawing water for the army or before they return to camp. Chang Yu takes the latter view. Th Tung Tien has the faulty reading ^ - = , and the Yu Lan
worse still,
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32- & $k % £ & # P* * & til
33.
34. *
31. If the enemy sees an advantage to be gained
Not necessarily "booty," as Capt. Calthrop translates it. The Tlung Tien and Yu Lan read fS] ^ Jjj, % |J , etc.
and makes no effort to secure it, the soldiers are exhausted.
32. If birds gather on any spot, it is unoccupied.
A useful fact to bear in mind when, for instance, as Ch'en Hao says, the enemy has secretly abandoned his camp.
Clamour by night betokens nervousness.
Owing to false alarms; or, as Tu Mu explains it: Jgf |H >P ^ jjjfc ^L ^ J^l S ifi ifc "Fear makes men restless; so they fall to shouting at night in order to keep up their courage." The T'ung Tien inserts Pj[ before |T^ .
33. If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is weak. If the banners and flags are shifted about, sedition is afoot.
The Tung Tien and Yu Lan omit J^ . If the officers are angry, it means that the men are weary.
And therefore, as Capt. Calthrop says, slow to obey. Tu Yu under- stands the sentence differently : "If all the officers of an army are angry with their general, it means that they are broken with fatigue" [owing to the exertions which he has demanded from them].
34. When an army feeds its horses with grain and kills its cattle for food,
!§L ,fj| |^j] ^ is expanded by Mei Yao-ch'en (following Tu Mu) into
|pilJaf*^.i^^^Ss^±' which is the sense J
have given above. In the ordinary course of things, the men would be fed on grain and the horses chiefly on grass.
i and when the men do not hang their cooking-pots
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35. || ff H ^ f& w A A
The 7^£- TzV;* reads ^ , which is much the same as feft , and th Yu Lan jjj , which is manifestly wrong.
over the camp-fires, showing that they will not return t their tents,
For }g , the Tung Tien and Yil Lan both read ^ .
you may know that they are determined to fight to the death For 1jj| ^ , see VII. § 36. I may quote here the illustrative passag from the Hou Han Shu, ch. 71, given in abbreviated form by the /" Wen Yun Fu: "The rebel ^ jg] Wang Kuo of i|£ Liang was besiegin the town of |Jjj[ ^ Ch'en-ts'ang, and j|| "jjj ^f Huang-fu Sung, who wa in supreme command, and U j|t Tung Cho were sent out against hin The latter pressed for hasty measures, but Sung turned a deaf ear to h counsel. At last the rebels were utterly worn out, and began to thro1 down their weapons of their own accord. Sung was now for advancin to. ,the attack, but Cho said : 'It is a principle of war not to pursue dei perate-men and not to press a retreating host.' Sung answered: 'The does not apply here. What I am about to attack is a jaded army, not retreating host; with disciplined troops I am falling on a disorganise multitude, not a band of desperate men.' Thereupon he advanced t the attack unsupported by his colleague, and routed the enemy, Wan Kuo being slain." The inferior reading of the T'u Shu for § 34 is z
follows: it' Jf :fl|- A «-9:|Kii-'{k V flg'^'JIf X' V4I 1PI 7§ "tfc • ^e ^rst c^ause strikes me as rather shallow for Sun Tzi and it is hard to make anything of jjjjj: ^ in the second without th negative. Capt. Calthrop, nothing daunted, set down in his first edition "When they cast away their cooking-pots." He now has: "When th cooking-pots are hung up on the wall."
35. The sight of men whispering together
fi|[ |f|L is well explained by Tu Mu as ^ vg ^ ^jjl "speaking wit bated breath." in small knots
The Shuo Wen rather strangely defines ^ by the word ^E, but th £rh Ya says -A. «to join" or "contract," which is undoubtedly its pr mary meaning. Chang Yu is right, then, in explaining it here by th word Jpf . The other commentators are very much at sea: Ts'ao Kun
l, Tu Yu ^ j^ , Tu Mu ®li®\^^$l, Chia Li Mei Yao-ch
95 36. M
37. ;fc|
33. #
or speaking in subdued tones
~/{ ^ is said to be the same as points to disaffection amongst the rank and file.
-^ ^ is equivalent to -^ J[t ^ j(£, the subject of course being "the general," understood. In the original text, which seems to be fol- lowed by several commentators, the whole passage stands thus: =j& |f|[
^^f^HAW^^c^ifc- Here h would be the seneral
who is talking to his men, not the men amongst themselves. For ^^ , which is the chief stumbling-block in the way of this reading, the T'u S/iu gives the very plausible emendation g^ (also read /isi, and defined by K'ang Hsi as ^ S "to speak fast"). But this is unnecessary if we keep to the standard text.
36. Too frequent rewards signify that the enemy is at the end of his resources;
Because, when an army is hard pressed, as Tu Mu says, theie is al- ways a fear of mutiny, and lavish rewards are given to keep the men in good temper.
too many punishments betray a condition of dire distress.
Because in such case discipline becomes relaxed, and unwonted severity is necessary to keep the men to their duty.
37. To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy's numbers, shows a supreme lack of in- telligence.
I follow the interpretation of Ts'ao Kung: ^Q jgjt $j£ ^ ^ ^ ^ Ml] ^ HJ* £ fy ' also ad°Pted by Li Ch'iian, Tu Mu and Cha*ng Yii. Another possible meaning, set forth by Tu Yu, Chia Lin, Mei Yao-ch'en and Wang Hsi, is: "The general who is first tyrannical towards his men, and then in terror lest they should mutiny, etc." This would connect the sentence with what went before about rewards and punishments. The T'ung Tien and Yu Lan read '|*j§ "affection" instead of ;^| .
38. When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.
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40. ^ it * * * «Ji « * IH t * A
Tu Mu says: #f 0 £ R # * ft * » Q »
ifc ^ $fc ^ A tit "If tlie enemv °Pen friendly relations by sending hostages, it is a sign that they are anxious for an armistice, either because their strength is exhausted or for some other reason." But it hardly needs a Sun Tzu to draw such an obvious inference; and although Tu Mu is supported by Mei Yao-ch'en and Chang Yii, I cannot think that hostages are indicated by the word ^ .
39. If the enemy's troops march up angrily and remain facing ours for a long time without either joining battle or taking themselves off again, the situation is one that demands great vigilance and circumspection.
Capt. Calthrop falls into a trap which often lurks in the word ^ . He translates: "When both sides, eager for a fight, face each other for a considerable time, neither advancing nor retiring," etc. Had he reflected a little, he would have seen that this is meaningless as addressed to a commander who has control over the movements of his own troops. ;j|J |jj , then, does not mean that the two armies go to meet each other, but simply that the other side comes up to us. Likewise with ;jig ^» . If this were not perfectly clear of itself, Mei Yao-ch'en 's paraphrase would make it so : ^g jfjj ^Jj ^ ^ , etc. As Ts'ao Kung points out, a manoeuvre of this sort may be only a ruse to gain time for an unexpected flank attack or the laying of an ambush.
40. If our troops are no more in number than the enemy, that is amply sufficient;
Wang Hsi's paraphrase, partly borrowed from Ts'ao Kung, is jg| ~f\
k 1_* •—» ^ • t*^ S J
Jg JjL ^ . Another reading, adopted by Chia Lin and the T*u S/iu,
is Ji ^ji j||- ^jHj? ^ , which Capt. Calthrop renders, much too loosely : "Numbers are no certain mark of strength."
it only means that no direct attack can be made.
Literally, "no martial advance." That is to say, j£ "chtng" tactics and frontal attacks must be eschewed, and stratagem resorted to instead. What we can do is simply to concentrate all our available strength, keep a close watch on the enemy, and obtain reinforcements.
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# H ^ A 42. $ 3t % pt iffi 18 2 MiJ 7 JR ^ «
B Ifllt A fi 7 f? 'M 7 W M A
This is an obscure sentence, and none of the commentators succeed in squeezing very good sense out of it. The difficulty lies chiefly in the words Jffi Jl , which have been taken in every possible way. I follow Li Ch'iian, who appears to offer the simplest explanation: ^ ^ ^
^t" %& ifc "Only the side that gets more men will win." Ts'ao Kung's note, concise as usual to the verge of incomprehensibility, is |^ :j|
jFjL 4-ft . Fortunately we have Chang Yii to expound its meaning to us in language which is lucidity itself:
1IV&&& B "When the numbers
are even, and no favourable opening presents itself, although we may not be strong enough to deliver a sustained attack, we can find additional recruits amongst our sutlers and camp-followers, and then, concentrating our forces and keeping a close watch on the enemy, contrive to snatch the victory. But we must avoid borrowing foreign soldiers to help us." He then quotes from Wei Liao Tzti, ch. 3: g^^^g^|J-]-^S Jf -7* i® S& j-jj ^Ef "The nominal strength of mercenary troops may be 100,000, but their real value will be not more than half that figure." According to this interpretation, Jjj( J^ means "to get recruits," not from outside, but from the tag-rag and bobtail which follows in the wake of a large army. This does not sound a very soldierly suggestion, and I feel convinced that it is not what Sun Tzu meant. Chia Lin, on the other hand, takes the words in a different sense altogether, namely "to conquer the enemy" [cf. I. § 20]. But in that case they could hardly be followed by jj]j Qi • Better than this would be the rendering "to make isolated captures," as opposed to ;g£ $£ "a general attack."
41. He who exercises no forethought but makes light of his opponents is sure to be captured by them.
The force of -^ is not easy to appreciate. Ch'en Hao says ^t
' thus
continues, quoting from the Tso Chuan: jj^ Jj /^ ^ ^jj ^ HU ^
fW /l^ II& ^(P -7 "W ^^ "^ bees and scorpi°ns carry poison, how much more will a hostile state I [ f|t ^ , XXII. 3.] Even a puny opponent, then, should not be treated with contempt."
42. If soldiers are punished before they have grown
7
98
*e & ii # w
R * 4 * * ff
* JR
attached to you, they will not prove submissive; and, unless submissive, they will be practically useless. If, when the soldiers have become attached to you, punishments are not enforced, they will still be useless.
This is wrongly translated by Capt. Calthrop: elf the troops know the general, but are not affected by his punishments, they are useless."
43. Therefore soldiers must be treated in the first in- stance with humanity, but kept under control by means of iron discipline.
jj^ and jj£ , according to Ts'ao Kung, are here equivalent to £^ and fg" respectively. Compare our two uses of the word "civil." ^P* — ]p Yen Tzu [f B. C. 493] said of ^| || f J| ^ Ssu-ma Jang-chii : ^ gg IW ^ fl(J H! M j|)C ifc "His civil virtues endeared him to the people; his martial prowess kept his enemies in awe." Cf. Wu Tzu, ch. 4 init.\
^m^^^mzm^MmmM^^m^
"The ideal commander unites culture with a warlike temper; the profes- sion of arms requires a combination of hardness and tenderness." Again I must find fault with Capt. Calthrop's translation : "By humane treatment we obtain obedience; authority brings uniformity."
This is a certain road to victory.
44. If in training soldiers commands are habitually en- forced, the army will be well-disciplined; if not, its discipline will be bad.
The Tung Tien and Yii Lan read: ^^^Tji^^^A^
m ^ * ff w A « 4 * 7 n.ty A x »^
45- If a general shows confidence in his men but always insists on his orders being obeyed,
The original text has ^ ^ ft ^ . ^ ^ is certainly awkward without fa, but on the other hand it is clear that Tu Mu accepted the Tung Tien text, which is identical with ours. He says : "A general ought
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in time of peace to show kindly confidence in his men and also make his authority respected, so that when they come to face the enemy, orders may be executed and discipline maintained, because they all trust and look up to him." What Sun Tzu has said in § 44, however, would lead one rather to expect something like this : "If a general is always confident that his orders will be carried out," etc. Hence I am tempted to think that he may have written ^ ^ j=| Jf=f =£ . But this is perhaps too conjectural.
the gain will be mutual.
Chang Yu says: ± 0 B $ 15 & K* 1g J$ ± ft ± T
;j»g ^ -jj^ "The general has confidence in the men under his command, and the men are docile, having confidence in him. Thus the gain is mutual." He quotes a pregnant sentence from Wei Liao Tzu, ch. 4:
4 Z Z & * M $& ~$i >Mi; M 4« "The art of givi"g
orders is not to try to rectify minor blunders and not to be swayed by petty doubts." Vacillation and fussiness are the surest means of sapping the confidence of an army. Capt. Calthrop winds up the chapter with a final mistranslation of a more than usually heinous description: "Orders are always obeyed, if general and soldiers are in sympathy." Besides inventing the latter half of the sentence, he has managed to invert pro- tasis and apodosis.
X.