The Art of War
Sun Tzu
1,277 passages indexed from The Art of War (Sun Tzu) — Page 21 of 26
License: Public Domain
The Art of War, passage 350
7. With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will be complete.
The Art of War, passage 1201
[This idea, that the true object of war is peace, has its root in the national temperament of the Chinese. Even so far back as 597 B.C., these memorable words were uttered by Prince Chuang of the Ch’u State: "The [Chinese] character for ‘prowess’ is made up of [the characters for] ‘to stay’ and ‘a spear’ (cessation of hostilities). Military prowess is seen in the repression of cruelty, the calling in of weapons, the preservation of the appointment of Heaven, the firm establishment of merit, the bestowal of happiness on the people, putting harmony between the princes, the diffusion of wealth."]
The Art of War, passage 347
[We are reminded of the terrible losses of the Japanese before Port Arthur, in the most recent siege which history has to record.]
The Art of War, passage 386
18. Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
The Art of War, passage 850
10. With regard to _precipitous heights_, if you are beforehand with your adversary, you should occupy the raised and sunny spots, and there wait for him to come up.
The Art of War, passage 416
[The last half is literally "one who, conquering, excels in easy conquering." Mei Yao-ch’en says: "He who only sees the obvious, wins his battles with difficulty; he who looks below the surface of things, wins with ease."]
The Art of War, passage 631
27. A whole army may be robbed of its spirit;
The Art of War, passage 31
Ssu-ma Ch’ien gives the following biography of Sun Tzŭ: [1]
The Art of War, passage 1223
[By means of heavy bribes and liberal promises detaching them from the enemy’s service, and inducing them to carry back false information as well as to spy in turn on their own countrymen. On the other hand, Hsiao Shih-hsien says that we pretend not to have detected him, but contrive to let him carry away a false impression of what is going on.
The Art of War, passage 1015
35. It is the business of a general to be quiet and thus ensure secrecy; upright and just, and thus maintain order.
The Art of War, passage 989
[Chang Yu has the best note on this passage: "Wealth and long life are things for which all men have a natural inclination. Hence, if they burn or fling away valuables, and sacrifice their own lives, it is not that they dislike them, but simply that they have no choice." Sun Tzŭ is slyly insinuating that, as soldiers are but human, it is for the general to see that temptations to shirk fighting and grow rich are not thrown in their way.]
The Art of War, passage 109
Hence, what more natural, as time went on, than that the acknowledged master of strategy, Sun Wu, should be popularly identified with that campaign, at first perhaps only in the sense that his brain conceived and planned it; afterwards, that it was actually carried out by him in conjunction with Wu Yuan, [34] Po P’ei and Fu Kai?
The Art of War, passage 245
5, 6. _The Moral Law_ causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.
The Art of War, passage 912
[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 Tzŭ, ch. V.
The Art of War, passage 1140
[An example given is the destruction of Yuan Shao’s wagons and impedimenta by Ts’ao Ts’ao in 200 A.D.]
The Art of War, passage 838
Just as the duelist who finds his adversary’s point menacing him with certain death, and his own guard astray, is compelled to conform to his adversary’s movements, and to content himself with warding off his thrusts, so the commander whose communications are suddenly threatened finds himself in a false position, and he will be fortunate if he has not to change all his plans, to split up his force into more or less isolated detachments, and to fight with inferior numbers on ground which he has not had time to prepare, and where defeat will not be an ordinary failure, but will entail the ruin or surrender of his whole army." [2]
The Art of War, passage 559
[Like water, taking the line of least resistance.]
The Art of War, passage 921
[The belligerent who holds this dominating position can constrain most of them to become his allies.]
The Art of War, passage 331
3. Thus the highest form of generalship is to baulk the enemy’s plans;
The Art of War, passage 928
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.
The Art of War, passage 895
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.
The Art of War, passage 374
[I follow Mei Yao-ch’en here. The other commentators refer not to the ruler, as in §§ 13, 14, but to the officers he employs. Thus Tu Yu says: "If a general is ignorant of the principle of adaptability, he must not be entrusted with a position of authority." Tu Mu quotes: "The skilful employer of men will employ the wise man, the brave man, the covetous man, and the stupid man. For the wise man delights in establishing his merit, the brave man likes to show his courage in action, the covetous man is quick at seizing advantages, and the stupid man has no fear of death."]
The Art of War, passage 592
[Literally, "the leader of the first division will be _torn away_."]
The Art of War, passage 843
[Tu Mu says: "Each side finds it inconvenient to move, and the situation remains at a deadlock."]
The Art of War, passage 997
None of the duke’s retainers dared to move a muscle, and Ts’ao Kuei proceeded to demand full restitution, declaring the Lu was being unjustly treated because she was a smaller and a weaker state. Huan Kung, in peril of his life, was obliged to consent, whereupon Ts’ao Kuei flung away his dagger and quietly resumed his place amid the terrified assemblage without having so much as changed color.
The Art of War, passage 330
[Here again, no modern strategist but will approve the words of the old Chinese general. Moltke’s greatest triumph, the capitulation of the huge French army at Sedan, was won practically without bloodshed.]
The Art of War, passage 233
56. The allusion may be to Mencius VI. 2. ix. 2.
The Art of War, passage 877
[Chang Yu paraphrases the latter part of the sentence and continues: "Whenever there is fighting to be done, the keenest spirits should be appointed to serve in the front ranks, both in order to strengthen the resolution of our own men and to demoralize the enemy." Cf. the primi ordines of Caesar ("De Bello Gallico," V. 28, 44, et al.).]
The Art of War, passage 167
War may be defined as punishment, which is one of the functions of government. It was the profession of Chung Yu and Jan Ch’iu, both disciples of Confucius. Nowadays, the holding of trials and hearing of litigation, the imprisonment of offenders and their execution by flogging in the market-place, are all done by officials.
The Art of War, passage 529
[In Frederick the Great’s _Instructions to his Generals_ we read: "A defensive war is apt to betray us into too frequent detachment. Those generals who have had but little experience attempt to protect every point, while those who are better acquainted with their profession, having only the capital object in view, guard against a decisive blow, and acquiesce in small misfortunes to avoid greater."]
The Art of War, passage 657
Far better to die for our country than to go with fettered hands into captivity!" A strong gale happened to be blowing from the northeast and darkening the air with dense clouds of sandy dust.
The Art of War, passage 11
But apparently there was not much interest in Sun Tzŭ in English-speaking countries since it took the start of the Second World War to renew interest in his work. Several people published unsatisfactory English translations of Sun Tzŭ. In 1944, Dr. Giles’ translation was edited and published in the United States in a series of military science books. But it wasn’t until 1963 that a good English translation (by Samuel B.
The Art of War, passage 327
1. Sun Tzŭ said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to capture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.
The Art of War, passage 841
5. From a position of this sort, if the enemy is unprepared, you may sally forth and defeat him. But if the enemy is prepared for your coming, and you fail to defeat him, then, return being impossible, disaster will ensue.
The Art of War, passage 206
14. Ts’ao Kung seems to be thinking of the first part of chap. II, perhaps especially of § 8.
The Art of War, passage 117
Towards the middle of the Sung period, by which time all the chief commentaries on Sun Tzŭ were in existence, a certain Chi T’ien-pao published a work in 15 _chuan_ entitled "Sun Tzŭ with the collected commentaries of ten writers." There was another text, with variant readings put forward by Chu Fu of Ta-hsing, which also had supporters among the scholars of that period; but in the Ming editions, Sun Hsing-yen tells us, these readings were for some reason or other no longer put into circulation.
The Art of War, passage 239
[Ts’ao Kung, in defining the meaning of the Chinese for the title of this chapter, says it refers to the deliberations in the temple selected by the general for his temporary use, or as we should say, in his tent. See. § 26.]
The Art of War, passage 801
Sung was not advancing to the attack, but Cho said: ‘It is a principle of war not to pursue desperate men and not to press a retreating host.’ Sung answered: ‘That does not apply here. What I am about to attack is a jaded army, not a retreating host; with disciplined troops I am falling on a disorganized multitude, not a band of desperate men.’ Thereupon he advances to the attack unsupported by his colleague, and routed the enemy, Wang Kuo being slain."]
The Art of War, passage 63
That is the motive which has led me to outline a rough explanation of the whole.
The Art of War, passage 798
[In the ordinary course of things, the men would be fed on grain and the horses chiefly on grass.]
The Art of War, passage 316
[Tu Mu and Wang Hsi agree that the people are not mulcted not of 3/10, but of 7/10, of their income. But this is hardly to be extracted from our text. Ho Shih has a characteristic tag: "The _people_ being regarded as the essential part of the State, and _food_ as the people’s heaven, is it not right that those in authority should value and be careful of both?"]
The Art of War, passage 593
10. If you march thirty _li_ with the same object, two-thirds of your army will arrive.
The Art of War, passage 1214
10. Having _inward spies_, making use of officials of the enemy.
The Art of War, passage 905
[1] See "Pensees de Napoleon 1er," no. 47.
The Art of War, passage 182
The following are the oldest Chinese treatises on war, after Sun Tzŭ. The notes on each have been drawn principally from the _Ssu k’u ch’uan shu chien ming mu lu_, ch. 9, fol. 22 sqq.
The Art of War, passage 15
However, the text, on the whole, is quite satisfactory for the casual reader, a transformation made possible by conversion to an etext. However, I come away from this task with the feeling of loss because I know that someone with a background in Chinese can do a better job than I did; any such attempt would be welcomed.
The Art of War, passage 159
No less remarkable is the succession of illustrious captains to whom China can point with pride. As in all countries, the greatest are fond of emerging at the most fateful crises of her history. Thus, Po Ch’i stands out conspicuous in the period when Ch’in was entering upon her final struggle with the remaining independent states. The stormy years which followed the break-up of the Ch’in dynasty are illuminated by the transcendent genius of Han Hsin.
The Art of War, passage 1169
12. In every army, the five developments connected with fire must be known, the movements of the stars calculated, and a watch kept for the proper days.
The Art of War, passage 566
There are short days and long; the moon has its periods of waning and waxing.
The Art of War, passage 472
masking strength with weakness is to be effected by tactical dispositions.