Ts‘ao Kung has the note: 欲戰必先算其費務 “He who wishes to fight
must first count the cost,” which prepares us for the discovery
that the subject of the chapter is not what we might expect from
the title, but is primarily a consideration of ways and means.
1. 孫子曰凡用兵之法馳車千駟革車千乘帶甲十萬千里饋糧則內外之費賓客之用膠漆之材
車甲之奉日費千金然後十萬之師舉矣
Sun Tzŭ said: In the operations of war, where there are in the field a
thousand swift chariots, as many heavy chariots, and a hundred
thousand mail-clad soldiers,
The 馳車 were lightly built and, according to Chang Yü, used for
the attack; the 革車 were heavier, and designed for purposes of
defence. Li Ch‘üan, it is true, says that the latter were light,
but this seems hardly probable. Capt. Calthrop translates
“chariots” and “supply wagons” respectively, but is not supported
by any commentator. It is interesting to note the analogies
between early Chinese warfare and that of the Homeric Greeks. In
each case, the war-chariot was the important factor, forming as it
did the nucleus round which was grouped a certain number of
foot-soldiers. With regard to the numbers given here, we are
informed that each swift chariot was accompanied by 75 footmen,
and each heavy chariot by 25 footmen, so that the whole army would
be divided up into a thousand battalions, each consisting of two
chariots and a hundred men.
with provisions enough to carry them a thousand _li_,
2.78 modern _li_ go to a mile. The length may have varied slightly
since Sun Tzŭ’s time.
the expenditure at home and at the front, including entertainment of
guests, small items such as glue and paint, and sums spent on chariots
and armour, will reach the total of a thousand ounces of silver per day.
則, which follows 糧 in the _textus receptus_, is important as
indicating the apodosis. In the text adopted by Capt. Calthrop it
is omitted, so that he is led to give this meaningless translation
of the opening sentence: “Now the requirements of War are such
that we need 1,000 chariots,” etc. The second 費, which is
redundant, is omitted in the _Yü Lan_. 千金, like 千里 above, is
meant to suggest a large but indefinite number. As the Chinese
have never possessed gold coins, it is incorrect to translate it
“1000 pieces of gold.”
Such is the cost of raising an army of 100,000 men.
Capt. Calthrop adds: “You have the instruments of victory,” which
he seems to get from the first five characters of the next sentence.