The Art of War
Sun Tzu
1,277 passages indexed from The Art of War (Sun Tzu) — Page 13 of 26
License: Public Domain
The Art of War, passage 70
It is also possible, though less likely, that some of them existed in the time of the earlier historian and were purposely ignored by him. [16]
The Art of War, passage 134
2. MENG SHIH. The commentary which has come down to us under this name is comparatively meager, and nothing about the author is known. Even his personal name has not been recorded. Chi T’ien-pao’s edition places him after Chia Lin, and Ch’ao Kung-wu also assigns him to the T’ang dynasty, [41] but this is a mistake. In Sun Hsing-yen’s preface, he appears as Meng Shih of the Liang dynasty [502-557]. Others would identify him with Meng K’ang of the 3rd century. He is named in one work as the last of the "Five Commentators," the others being Wei Wu Ti, Tu Mu, Ch’en Hao and Chia Lin.
The Art of War, passage 229
43. The Hsia, the Shang and the Chou. Although the last-named was nominally existent in Sun Tzŭ’s day, it retained hardly a vestige of power, and the old military organization had practically gone by the board. I can suggest no other explanation of the passage.
The Art of War, passage 34
Ho Lu asked: "May the test be applied to women?"
The Art of War, passage 680
For instance, "a certain road may be the shortest way for him, but if he knows that it abounds in natural obstacles, or that the enemy has laid an ambush on it, he will not follow that road. A hostile force may be open to attack, but if he knows that it is hard-pressed and likely to fight with desperation, he will refrain from striking," and so on.]
The Art of War, passage 1069
[Chang Yu alludes to the conduct of Pan Ch’ao’s devoted followers in 73 A.D. The story runs thus in the _Hou Han Shu_, ch. 47: "When Pan Ch’ao arrived at Shan-shan, Kuang, the King of the country, received him at first with great politeness and respect; but shortly afterwards his behavior underwent a sudden change, and he became remiss and negligent. Pan Ch’ao spoke about this to the officers of his suite: ‘Have you noticed,’ he said, ‘that Kuang’s polite intentions are on the wane?
The Art of War, passage 809
38. When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.
The Art of War, passage 1130
[Rather more than half the chapter (§§ 1-13) is devoted to the subject of fire, after which the author branches off into other topics.]
The Art of War, passage 292
with provisions enough to carry them a thousand _li_,
The Art of War, passage 1149
3. There is a proper season for making attacks with fire, and special days for starting a conflagration.
The Art of War, passage 656
The country was bare and desert-like, and the little Chinese force was soon in dire straits for want of water. The wells they bored ran dry, and the men were reduced to squeezing lumps of mud and sucking out the moisture. Their ranks thinned rapidly, until at last Fu Yen-ch’ing exclaimed: "We are desperate men.
The Art of War, passage 1034
40. To muster his host and bring it into danger:—this may be termed the business of the general.
The Art of War, passage 1074
What are we to do?’ With one accord, the officers replied: ‘Standing as we do in peril of our lives, we will follow our commander through life and death.’ For the sequel of this adventure, see chap. XII. § 1, note.]
The Art of War, passage 105
[33] We may feel fairly certain that the author, whoever he may have been, was not a man of any great eminence in his own day. On this point the negative testimony of the _Tso Chuan_ far outweighs any shred of authority still attaching to the _Shih Chi_, if once its other facts are discredited. Sun Hsing-yen, however, makes a feeble attempt to explain the omission of his name from the great commentary.
The Art of War, passage 1118
66. Forestall your opponent by seizing what he holds dear,
The Art of War, passage 254
12. Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise:—
The Art of War, passage 564
[That is, as Wang Hsi says: "they predominate alternately."]
The Art of War, passage 973
[Ch’en recalls the line of action adopted in 224 B.C. by the famous general Wang Chien, whose military genius largely contributed to the success of the First Emperor. He had invaded the Ch’u State, where a universal levy was made to oppose him. But, being doubtful of the temper of his troops, he declined all invitations to fight and remained strictly on the defensive.
The Art of War, passage 550
conceal your dispositions, and you will be safe from the prying of the subtlest spies, from the machinations of the wisest brains.
The Art of War, passage 298
5. Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.
The Art of War, passage 378
(2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
The Art of War, passage 160
When the House of Han in turn is tottering to its fall, the great and baleful figure of Ts’ao Ts’ao dominates the scene. And in the establishment of the T’ang dynasty, one of the mightiest tasks achieved by man, the superhuman energy of Li Shih-min (afterwards the Emperor T’ai Tsung) was seconded by the brilliant strategy of Li Ching. None of these generals need fear comparison with the greatest names in the military history of Europe.
The Art of War, passage 775
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.
The Art of War, passage 112
Sun Wu was thus a well-seasoned warrior when he sat down to write his famous book, which according to my reckoning must have appeared towards the end, rather than the beginning of Ho Lu’s reign. The story of the women may possibly have grown out of some real incident occurring about the same time. As we hear no more of Sun Wu after this from any source, he is hardly likely to have survived his patron or to have taken part in the death-struggle with Yüeh, which began with the disaster at Tsui-li.
The Art of War, passage 737
which enabled the Yellow Emperor to vanquish four several sovereigns.
The Art of War, passage 1146
[T’sao Kung thinks that "traitors in the enemy’s camp" are referred to. But Ch’en Hao is more likely to be right in saying: "We must have favourable circumstances in general, not merely traitors to help us." Chia Lin says: "We must avail ourselves of wind and dry weather."]
The Art of War, passage 857
12. If you are situated at a great distance from the enemy, and the strength of the two armies is equal, it is not easy to provoke a battle,
The Art of War, passage 1196
[Mei Yao-ch’en says: "Men will be lacking at the plough-tail." The allusion is to the system of dividing land into nine parts, each consisting of about 15 acres, the plot in the center being cultivated on behalf of the State by the tenants of the other eight. It was here also, so Tu Mu tells us, that their cottages were built and a well sunk, to be used by all in common. [See II. § 12, note.] In time of war, one of the families had to serve in the army, while the other seven contributed to its support. Thus, by a levy of 100,000 men (reckoning one able-bodied soldier to each family) the husbandry of 700,000 families would be affected.]
The Art of War, passage 946
The stratagem which Hannibal devised to baffle his foes was remarkably like that which T’ien Tan had also employed with success exactly 62 years before. [See IX. § 24, note.] When night came on, bundles of twigs were fastened to the horns of some 2000 oxen and set on fire, the terrified animals being then quickly driven along the mountain side towards the passes which were beset by the enemy.
The Art of War, passage 1021
The King of Khotan will march away by the easterly route, and I will then return myself towards the west. Let us wait until the evening drum has sounded and then start.’ Pan Ch’ao now secretly released the prisoners whom he had taken alive, and the King of Kutcha was thus informed of his plans.
The Art of War, passage 122
Fortunately, two versions of Sun Tzŭ, even older than the newly discovered work, were still extant, one buried in the _T’ung Tien_, Tu Yu’s great treatise on the Constitution, the other similarly enshrined in the _T’ai P’ing Yu Lan_ encyclopedia. In both the complete text is to be found, though split up into fragments, intermixed with other matter, and scattered piecemeal over a number of different sections.
The Art of War, passage 156
Chu Hsi, commenting on this, fully admits the first part of the criticism, although he dislikes the audacious comparison with the venerated classical works. Language of this sort, he says, "encourages a ruler’s bent towards unrelenting warfare and reckless militarism."
The Art of War, passage 8
Giles, in justifying his translation, wrote: "It was not undertaken out of any inflated estimate of my own powers; but I could not help feeling that Sun Tzŭ deserved a better fate than had befallen him, and I knew that, at any rate, I could hardly fail to improve on the work of my predecessors."
The Art of War, passage 446
4. That the impact of your army may be like a grindstone dashed against an egg—this is effected by the science of weak points and strong.
The Art of War, passage 1158
[Ts’ao Kung says: "If you see a possible way, advance; but if you find the difficulties too great, retire."]
The Art of War, passage 1061
On desperate ground, I would proclaim to my soldiers the hopelessness of saving their lives.
The Art of War, passage 576
This is how it is explained by Ts’ao Kung: "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 utmost speed." Ho Shih gives a slightly different turn: "Although you may have difficult ground to traverse and natural obstacles to encounter this is a drawback which 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.]
The Art of War, passage 814
[Literally, "no martial advance." That is to say, _cheng_ tactics and frontal attacks must be eschewed, and stratagem resorted to instead.]
The Art of War, passage 535
[The Chinese of this last sentence is a little lacking in precision, but the mental picture we are required to draw is probably that of an army advancing towards a given rendezvous in separate columns, each of which has orders to be there on a fixed date. If the general allows the various detachments to proceed at haphazard, without precise instructions as to the time and place of meeting, the enemy will be able to annihilate the army in detail.
The Art of War, passage 29
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, however, I shall not cry out if in return I am visited with more than a rap over the knuckles.
The Art of War, passage 675
4. The general who thoroughly understands the advantages that accompany variation of tactics knows how to handle his troops.
The Art of War, passage 607
[Meng Shih comes nearer to the mark in his note: "When slowly marching, order and ranks must be preserved"—so as to guard against surprise attacks. But natural forest do not grow in rows, whereas they do generally possess the quality of density or compactness.]
The Art of War, passage 1046
[This end, according to Tu Mu, is best attained by remaining on the defensive, and avoiding battle. Cf. _supra_, § 11.]
The Art of War, passage 1070
This must signify that envoys have come from the Northern barbarians, and that consequently he is in a state of indecision, not knowing with which side to throw in his lot. That surely is the reason.
The Art of War, passage 916
5. Ground on which each side has liberty of movement is open ground.
The Art of War, passage 1002
30. Asked if an army can be made to imitate the _shuai-jan_,
The Art of War, passage 39
So saying, he ordered the leaders of the two companies to be beheaded. Now the king of Wu was watching the scene from the top of a raised pavilion; and when he saw that his favourite concubines were about to be executed, he was greatly alarmed and hurriedly sent down the following message: "We are now quite satisfied as to our general’s ability to handle troops. If we are bereft of these two concubines, our meat and drink will lose their savor. It is our wish that they shall not be beheaded."
The Art of War, passage 459
Applying this definition to the falcon, it seems to me to denote that instinct of _self-restraint_ which keeps the bird from swooping on its quarry until the right moment, together with the power of judging when the right moment has arrived. The analogous quality in soldiers is the highly important one of being able to reserve their fire until the very instant at which it will be most effective.
The Art of War, passage 827
[Chang Yu says: "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 Tzŭ, ch. 4: "The art of giving 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.]
The Art of War, passage 188
5. _San Lueh_ in 3 _chuan_. Attributed to Huang-shih Kung, a legendary personage who is said to have bestowed it on Chang Liang (_d_. 187 B.C.) in an interview on a bridge. But here again, the style is not that of works dating from the Ch’in or Han period. The Han Emperor Kuang Wu [25-57 A.D.] apparently quotes from it in one of his proclamations; but the passage in question may have been inserted later on, in order to prove the genuineness of the work. We shall not be far out if we refer it to the Northern Sung period [420-478 A.D.], or somewhat earlier.