result in victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler's
bidding.
[Cf. VIII. ss. 3 fin. Huang Shih-kung of the Ch`in dynasty,
who is said to have been the patron of Chang Liang and to have
written the SAN LUEH, has these words attributed to him: "The
responsibility of setting an army in motion must devolve on the
general alone; if advance and retreat are controlled from the
Palace, brilliant results will hardly be achieved. Hence the
god-like ruler and the enlightened monarch are content to play a
humble part in furthering their country's cause [lit., kneel down
to push the chariot wheel]." This means that "in matters lying
outside the zenana, the decision of the military commander must
be absolute." Chang Yu also quote the saying: "Decrees from the
Son of Heaven do not penetrate the walls of a camp."]
24. The general who advances without coveting fame and
retreats without fearing disgrace,
[It was Wellington, I think, who said that the hardest thing
of all for a soldier is to retreat.]
whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service
for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.
[A noble presentiment, in few words, of the Chinese "happy
warrior." Such a man, says Ho Shih, "even if he had to suffer
punishment, would not regret his conduct."]
25. Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will
follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own
beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.
[Cf. I. ss. 6. In this connection, Tu Mu draws for us an
engaging picture of the famous general Wu Ch`i, from whose
treatise on war I have frequently had occasion to quote: "He
wore the same clothes and ate the same food as the meanest of his
soldiers, refused to have either a horse to ride or a mat to
sleep on, carried his own surplus rations wrapped in a parcel,
and shared every hardship with his men. One of his soldiers was
suffering from an abscess, and Wu Ch`i himself sucked out the
virus. The soldier's mother, hearing this, began wailing and
lamenting. Somebody asked her, saying: 'Why do you cry? Your
son is only a common soldier, and yet the commander-in-chief
himself has sucked the poison from his sore.' The woman replied,
'Many years ago, Lord Wu performed a similar service for my
husband, who never left him afterwards, and finally met his death
at the hands of the enemy. And now that he has done the same for
my son, he too will fall fighting I know not where.'" Li Ch`uan
mentions the Viscount of Ch`u, who invaded the small state of
Hsiao during the winter. The Duke of Shen said to him: "Many of
the soldiers are suffering severely from the cold." So he made a
round of the whole army, comforting and encouraging the men; and
straightway they felt as if they were clothed in garments lined
with floss silk.]
26. If, however, you are indulgent, but unable to make your
authority felt; kind-hearted, but unable to enforce your
commands; and incapable, moreover, of quelling disorder: then
your soldiers must be likened to spoilt children; they are
useless for any practical purpose.
[Li Ching once said that if you could make your soldiers
afraid of you, they would not be afraid of the enemy. Tu Mu
recalls an instance of stern military discipline which occurred
in 219 A.D., when Lu Meng was occupying the town of Chiang-ling.
He had given stringent orders to his army not to molest the
inhabitants nor take anything from them by force. Nevertheless,
a certain officer serving under his banner, who happened to be a
fellow-townsman, ventured to appropriate a bamboo hat belonging
to one of the people, in order to wear it over his regulation
helmet as a protection against the rain. Lu Meng considered that
the fact of his being also a native of Ju-nan should not be
allowed to palliate a clear breach of discipline, and accordingly
he ordered his summary execution, the tears rolling down his
face, however, as he did so. This act of severity filled the
army with wholesome awe, and from that time forth even articles
dropped in the highway were not picked up.]
27. If we know that our own men are in a condition to
attack, but are unaware that the enemy is not open to attack, we
have gone only halfway towards victory.
[That is, Ts`ao Kung says, "the issue in this case is
uncertain."]
28. If we know that the enemy is open to attack, but are
unaware that our own men are not in a condition to attack, we
have gone only halfway towards victory.
[Cf. III. ss. 13 (1).]
29. If we know that the enemy is open to attack, and also
know that our men are in a condition to attack, but are unaware
that the nature of the ground makes fighting impracticable, we
have still gone only halfway towards victory.
30. Hence the experienced soldier, once in motion, is never
bewildered; once he has broken camp, he is never at a loss.
[The reason being, according to Tu Mu, that he has taken his
measures so thoroughly as to ensure victory beforehand. "He does
not move recklessly," says Chang Yu, "so that when he does move,
he makes no mistakes."]
31. Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know
yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know
Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.
[Li Ch`uan sums up as follows: "Given a knowledge of three
things--the affairs of men, the seasons of heaven and the natural
advantages of earth--, victory will invariably crown your
battles."]
[1] See "Pensees de Napoleon 1er," no. 47.
[2] "The Science of War," chap. 2.
[3] "Aids to Scouting," p. xii.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
XI. THE NINE SITUATIONS
1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war recognizes nine varieties
of ground: (1) Dispersive ground; (2) facile ground; (3)
contentious ground; (4) open ground; (5) ground of intersecting
highways; (6) serious ground; (7) difficult ground; (8) hemmed-in
ground; (9) desperate ground.
2. When a chieftain is fighting in his own territory, it is
dispersive ground.
[So called because the soldiers, being near to their homes
and anxious to see their wives and children, are likely to seize
the opportunity afforded by a battle and scatter in every
direction. "In their advance," observes Tu Mu, "they will lack
the valor of desperation, and when they retreat, they will find
harbors of refuge."]
3. When he has penetrated into hostile territory, but to no
great distance, it is facile ground.
[Li Ch`uan and Ho Shih say "because of the facility for
retreating," and the other commentators give similar
explanations. Tu Mu remarks: "When your army has crossed the
border, you should burn your boats and bridges, in order to make
it clear to everybody that you have no hankering after home."]
4. Ground the possession of which imports great advantage
to either side, is contentious ground.
[Tu Mu defines the ground as ground "to be contended for."
Ts`ao Kung says: "ground on which the few and the weak can
defeat the many and the strong," such as "the neck of a pass,"
instanced by Li Ch`uan. Thus, Thermopylae was of this
classification because the possession of it, even for a few days
only, meant holding the entire invading army in check and thus
gaining invaluable time. Cf. Wu Tzu, ch. V. ad init.: "For
those who have to fight in the ratio of one to ten, there is
nothing better than a narrow pass." When Lu Kuang was returning
from his triumphant expedition to Turkestan in 385 A.D., and had
got as far as I-ho, laden with spoils, Liang Hsi, administrator
of Liang-chou, taking advantage of the death of Fu Chien, King of
Ch`in, plotted against him and was for barring his way into the
province. Yang Han, governor of Kao-ch`ang, counseled him,
saying: "Lu Kuang is fresh from his victories in the west, and
his soldiers are vigorous and mettlesome. If we oppose him in
the shifting sands of the desert, we shall be no match for him,
and we must therefore try a different plan. Let us hasten to
occupy the defile at the mouth of the Kao-wu pass, thus cutting
him off from supplies of water, and when his troops are
prostrated with thirst, we can dictate our own terms without
moving. Or if you think that the pass I mention is too far off,
we could make a stand against him at the I-wu pass, which is
nearer. The cunning and resource of Tzu-fang himself would be
expended in vain against the enormous strength of these two
positions." Liang Hsi, refusing to act on this advice, was
overwhelmed and swept away by the invader.]
5. Ground on which each side has liberty of movement is
open ground.
[There are various interpretations of the Chinese adjective
for this type of ground. Ts`ao Kung says it means "ground
covered with a network of roads," like a chessboard. Ho Shih
suggested: "ground on which intercommunication is easy."]
6. Ground which forms the key to three contiguous states,
[Ts`au Kung defines this as: "Our country adjoining the
enemy's and a third country conterminous with both." Meng Shih
instances the small principality of Cheng, which was bounded on
the north-east by Ch`i, on the west by Chin, and on the south by
Ch`u.]
so that he who occupies it first has most of the Empire at his
command,
[The belligerent who holds this dominating position can
constrain most of them to become his allies.]
is a ground of intersecting highways.
7. When an army has penetrated into the heart of a hostile
country, leaving a number of fortified cities in its rear, it is
serious ground.
[Wang Hsi explains the name by saying that "when an army has
reached such a point, its situation is serious."]
8. Mountain forests,
[Or simply "forests."]
rugged steeps, marshes and fens--all country that is hard to
traverse: this is difficult ground.
9. Ground which is reached through narrow gorges, and from
which we can only retire by tortuous paths, so that a small
number of the enemy would suffice to crush a large body of our
men: this is hemmed in ground.
10. Ground on which we can only be saved from destruction
by fighting without delay, is desperate ground.
[The situation, as pictured by Ts`ao Kung, is very similar
to the "hemmed-in ground" except that here escape is no longer
possible: "A lofty mountain in front, a large river behind,
advance impossible, retreat blocked." Ch`en Hao says: "to be on
'desperate ground' is like sitting in a leaking boat or crouching
in a burning house." Tu Mu quotes from Li Ching a vivid
description of the plight of an army thus entrapped: "Suppose an
army invading hostile territory without the aid of local guides:
-- it falls into a fatal snare and is at the enemy's mercy. A
ravine on the left, a mountain on the right, a pathway so
perilous that the horses have to be roped together and the
chariots carried in slings, no passage open in front, retreat cut
off behind, no choice but to proceed in single file. Then,
before there is time to range our soldiers in order of battle,
the enemy is overwhelming strength suddenly appears on the scene.
Advancing, we can nowhere take a breathing-space; retreating, we
have no haven of refuge. We seek a pitched battle, but in vain;
yet standing on the defensive, none of us has a moment's respite.
If we simply maintain our ground, whole days and months will
crawl by; the moment we make a move, we have to sustain the
enemy's attacks on front and rear. The country is wild,
destitute of water and plants; the army is lacking in the
necessaries of life, the horses are jaded and the men worn-out,
all the resources of strength and skill unavailing, the pass so
narrow that a single man defending it can check the onset of ten
thousand; all means of offense in the hands of the enemy, all
points of vantage already forfeited by ourselves:--in this
terrible plight, even though we had the most valiant soldiers and
the keenest of weapons, how could they be employed with the
slightest effect?" Students of Greek history may be reminded of
the awful close to the Sicilian expedition, and the agony of the
Athenians under Nicias and Demonsthenes. [See Thucydides, VII.
78 sqq.].]
11. On dispersive ground, therefore, fight not. On facile
ground, halt not. On contentious ground, attack not.
[But rather let all your energies be bent on occupying the
advantageous position first. So Ts`ao Kung. Li Ch`uan and
others, however, suppose the meaning to be that the enemy has
already forestalled us, sot that it would be sheer madness to
attack. In the SUN TZU HSU LU, when the King of Wu inquires what
should be done in this case, Sun Tzu replies: "The rule with
regard to contentious ground is that those in possession have the
advantage over the other side. If a position of this kind is
secured first by the enemy, beware of attacking him. Lure him
away by pretending to flee--show your banners and sound your
drums--make a dash for other places that he cannot afford to
lose--trail brushwood and raise a dust--confound his ears and
eyes--detach a body of your best troops, and place it secretly in
ambuscade. Then your opponent will sally forth to the rescue."]
12. On open ground, do not try to block the enemy's way.
[Because the attempt would be futile, and would expose the
blocking force itself to serious risks. There are two
interpretations available here. I follow that of Chang Yu. The
