The Art of War, passage 361

[The meaning, "we can _watch_ the enemy," is certainly a great improvement on the above; but unfortunately there appears to be no very good authority for the variant. Chang Yu reminds us that the saying only applies if the other factors are equal; a small difference in numbers is often more than counterbalanced by superior energy and discipline.]

The Art of War, passage 269

17. According as circumstances are favourable, one should modify one’s plans.

The Art of War, passage 682

["Whether in an advantageous position or a disadvantageous one," says Ts’ao Kung, "the opposite state should be always present to your mind."]

The Art of War, passage 669

[More correctly, perhaps, "there are times when an army must not be attacked." Ch’en Hao says: "When you see your way to obtain a rival advantage, but are powerless to inflict a real defeat, refrain from attacking, for fear of overtaxing your men’s strength."]

The Art of War, passage 658

To Chung-wei was for waiting until this had abated before deciding on a final attack; but luckily another officer, Li Shou-cheng by name, was quicker to see an opportunity, and said: "They are many and we are few, but in the midst of this sandstorm our numbers will not be discernible; victory will go to the strenuous fighter, and the wind will be our best ally." Accordingly, Fu Yen-ch’ing made a sudden and wholly unexpected onslaught with his cavalry, routed the barbarians and succeeded in breaking through to safety.]

The Art of War, passage 59

[10] The _Lun Yu_ says: “There must be a sufficiency of military strength.” The _Shu Ching_ mentions "the army" among the "eight objects of government." The _I Ching_ says: "‘army’ indicates firmness and justice; the experienced leader will have good fortune." 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 Art of War, passage 55

Liu Hsiang (80-9 B.C.) says: "The reason why Sun Tzŭ at the head of 30,000 men beat Ch’u with 200,000 is that the latter were undisciplined."

The Art of War, passage 1176

Ts’ao Kung says: "Rewards for good service should not be deferred a single day." And Tu Mu: "If you do not take opportunity to advance and reward the deserving, your subordinates will not carry out your commands, and disaster will ensue." For several reasons, however, and in spite of the formidable array of scholars on the other side, I prefer the interpretation suggested by Mei Yao-ch’en alone, whose words I will quote: "Those who want to make sure of succeeding in their battles and assaults must seize the favourable moments when they come and not shrink on occasion from heroic measures: that is to say, they must resort to such means of attack of fire, water and the like.

The Art of War, passage 1104

What says the Military Classic—‘Swoop down on the market-place and drive the men off to fight.’ [This passage does not occur in the present text of Sun Tzŭ.] If I had not placed my troops in a position where they were obliged to fight for their lives, but had allowed each man to follow his own discretion, there would have been a general _débandade_, and it would have been impossible to do anything with them." The officers admitted the force of his argument, and said: "These are higher tactics than we should have been capable of." [See _Ch’ien Han Shu_, ch.

The Art of War, passage 116

As we have already seen, there is no reasonable ground to suppose that Ts’ao Kung tampered with the text. But the text itself is often so obscure, and the number of editions which appeared from that time onward so great, especially during the T’ang and Sung dynasties, that it would be surprising if numerous corruptions had not managed to creep in.

The Art of War, passage 467

17. Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline; simulated fear postulates courage; simulated weakness postulates strength.

The Art of War, passage 1028

[Chang Yu, in a quotation from another work, says: "The axiom, that war is based on deception, does not apply only to deception of the enemy. You must deceive even your own soldiers. Make them follow you, but without letting them know why."]

The Art of War, passage 223

36. Preface ad fin: "My family comes from Lo-an, and we are really descended from Sun Tzŭ. I am ashamed to say that I only read my ancestor’s work from a literary point of view, without comprehending the military technique. So long have we been enjoying the blessings of peace!"

The Art of War, passage 1132

[So Tu Mu. Li Ch’uan says: "Set fire to the camp, and kill the soldiers" (when they try to escape from the flames). Pan Ch’ao, sent on a diplomatic mission to the King of Shan-shan [see XI. § 51, note], found himself placed in extreme peril by the unexpected arrival of an envoy from the Hsiung-nu [the mortal enemies of the Chinese]. In consultation with his officers, he exclaimed: "Never venture, never win!

The Art of War, passage 791

[As Tu Mu remarks: "One may know the condition of a whole army from the behavior of a single man."]

The Art of War, passage 718

["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 _T’ung Tien_ reads, "If _the enemy_ crosses a river," etc. But in view of the next sentence, this is almost certainly an interpolation.]

The Art of War, passage 744

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.

The Art of War, passage 13

Dr. Giles produced a work primarily intended for scholars of the Chinese civilization and language. It contains the Chinese text of Sun Tzŭ, the English translation, and voluminous notes along with numerous footnotes. Unfortunately, some of his notes and footnotes contain Chinese characters; some are completely Chinese. Thus, a conversion to a Latin alphabet etext was difficult. I did the conversion in complete ignorance of Chinese (except for what I learned while doing the conversion).

The Art of War, passage 1007

31. Hence it is not enough to put one’s trust in the tethering of horses, and the burying of chariot wheels in the ground.

The Art of War, passage 594

[In the _T’ung Tien_ is added: "From this we may know the difficulty of manœuvering."]

The Art of War, passage 428

18. Measurement owes its existence to Earth; Estimation of quantity to Measurement; Calculation to Estimation of quantity; Balancing of chances to Calculation; and Victory to Balancing of chances.

The Art of War, passage 253

11. These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.

The Art of War, passage 72

There is every reason to suppose, then, that the 13 chapters existed in the time of Ssu-ma Ch’ien practically as we have them now. That the work was then well known he tells us in so many words. "Sun Tzŭ’s _13 Chapters_ and Wu Ch’i’s _Art of War_ are the two books that people commonly refer to on the subject of military matters. Both of them are widely distributed, so I will not discuss them here." But as we go further back, serious difficulties begin to arise.

The Art of War, passage 305

[That is, with rapidity. Only one who knows the disastrous effects of a long war can realize the supreme importance of rapidity in bringing it to a close. Only two commentators seem to favour this interpretation, but it fits well into the logic of the context, whereas the rendering, "He who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits," is distinctly pointless.]

The Art of War, passage 961

Besides, Ssu-ma I is sure not to come himself, and the generals that will be sent against us are not worth troubling about." The next letter, however, was filled with consternation: "Though only eight days have passed since I threw off my allegiance, an army is already at the city-gates. What miraculous rapidity is this!" A fortnight later, Hsin- ch’eng had fallen and Meng Ta had lost his head. [See _Chin Shu_, ch. 1, f.

The Art of War, passage 338

[Another sound piece of military theory. Had the Boers acted upon it in 1899, and refrained from dissipating their strength before Kimberley, Mafeking, or even Ladysmith, it is more than probable that they would have been masters of the situation before the British were ready seriously to oppose them.]

The Art of War, passage 242

3. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one’s deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.

The Art of War, passage 388

If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

The Art of War, passage 56

Teng Ming-shih informs us that the surname "Sun" was bestowed on Sun Wu’s grandfather by Duke Ching of Ch’i [547-490 B.C.]. Sun Wu’s father Sun P’ing, rose to be a Minister of State in Ch’i, and Sun Wu himself, whose style was Ch’ang-ch’ing, fled to Wu on account of the rebellion which was being fomented by the kindred of T’ien Pao. He had three sons, of whom the second, named Ming, was the father of Sun Pin. According to this account then, Pin was the grandson of Wu, 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 obtained by Teng Ming-shih I do not know, but of course no reliance whatever can be placed in them.

The Art of War, passage 1200

3. One who acts thus is no leader of men, no present help to his sovereign, no master of victory.

The Art of War, passage 321

[Tu Mu says: "Rewards are necessary in order to make the soldiers see the advantage of beating the enemy; thus, when you capture spoils from the enemy, they must be used as rewards, so that all your men may have a keen desire to fight, each on his own account."]

The Art of War, passage 768

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.

The Art of War, passage 45

About Sun Tzŭ 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, 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 Tzŭ, and in his preface we read: "Sun Tzŭ had his feet cut off and yet continued to discuss the art of war." [3] It seems likely, then, that "Pin" was a nickname bestowed on him after his mutilation, unless 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 in Chapter V. § 19, note.

The Art of War, passage 970

22. Carefully study the well-being of your men,

The Art of War, passage 10

The Giles’ edition of the _Art of War_, as stated above, was a scholarly work. Dr. Giles was a leading sinologue at the time and an assistant in the Department of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts in the British Museum. Apparently he wanted to produce a definitive edition, superior to anything else that existed and perhaps something that would become a standard translation. It was the best translation available for 50 years.

The Art of War, passage 984

[Literally, "without asking, you will get."]

The Art of War, passage 1083

55. Hence he does not strive to ally himself with all and sundry, nor does he foster the power of other states. He carries out his own secret designs, keeping his antagonists in awe.

The Art of War, passage 847

8. With regard to _narrow passes_, if you can occupy them first, let them be strongly garrisoned and await the advent of the enemy.

The Art of War, passage 1090

["In order to prevent treachery," says Wang Hsi. The general meaning is made clear by Ts’ao Kung’s quotation from the _Ssu-ma Fa:_ "Give instructions only on sighting the enemy; give rewards when you see deserving deeds." Ts’ao Kung’s paraphrase: "The final instructions you give to your army should not correspond with those that have been previously posted up." Chang Yu simplifies this into "your arrangements should not be divulged beforehand." And Chia Lin says: "there should be no fixity in your rules and arrangements." Not only is there danger in letting your plans be known, but war often necessitates the entire reversal of them at the last moment.]

The Art of War, passage 1088

[Wu Tzŭ (ch. 3) less wisely says: "Let advance be richly rewarded and retreat be heavily punished."]

The Art of War, passage 1110

[Always a great point with the Chinese.]

The Art of War, passage 228

42. It is interesting to note that M. Pelliot has recently discovered chapters 1, 4 and 5 of this lost work in the "Grottos of the Thousand Buddhas." See B.E.F.E.O., t. VIII, nos. 3-4, p. 525.

The Art of War, passage 1141

the fourth is to burn arsenals and magazines;

The Art of War, passage 444

A comment on the T’ang Emperor T’ai Tsung goes to the root of the matter: ‘A _ch’i_ manœuver may be _cheng_, if we make the enemy look upon it as _cheng_; then our real attack will be _ch’i_, and vice versa.

The Art of War, passage 1094

When the outlook is bright, bring it before their eyes; but tell them nothing when the situation is gloomy.

The Art of War, passage 1161

"But," he continues, "if the enemy is settled in a waste place littered with quantities of grass, or if he has pitched his camp in a position which can be burnt out, we must carry our fire against him at any seasonable opportunity, and not await on in hopes of an outbreak occurring within, for fear our opponents should themselves burn up the surrounding vegetation, and thus render our own attempts fruitless." The famous Li Ling once baffled the leader of the Hsiung-nu in this way.

The Art of War, passage 554

[_I.e._, everybody can see superficially how a battle is won; what they cannot see is the long series of plans and combinations which has preceded the battle.]

The Art of War, passage 191

8. _Wu Ch’i Ching_, in 1 _chuan_. Attributed to the legendary minister Feng Hou, with exegetical notes by Kung-sun Hung of the Han dynasty (_d_. 121 B.C.), and said to have been eulogized by the celebrated general Ma Lung (_d_. 300 A.D.). Yet the earliest mention of it is in the _Sung Chih_. Although a forgery, the work is well put together.

The Art of War, passage 649

Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.

The Art of War, passage 694

12. There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general: (1) Recklessness, which leads to destruction;