Ground the possession of which imports great advantage to either side,
is contentious ground.
I must apologise for using this word in a sense not known to the
dictionary, i.e. “to be contended for”—Tu Mu’s 必爭之地. Ts‘ao Kung
says: 可以少勝衆弱勝强 “ground on which the few and the weak can
defeat the many and the strong,” such as 阨喉 “the neck of a pass,”
instanced by Li Ch‘üan. Thus, Thermopylae was a 爭地, 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. _ad init._: 以一擊十莫善於阨 “For those who have
to fight in the ratio of one to ten, there is nothing better
than a narrow pass.” When 呂光 Lü Kuang was returning from his
triumphant expedition to Turkestan in 385 A.D., and had got as far
as 宜禾 I-ho, laden with spoils, 梁熙 Liang Hsi, administrator of
涼州 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. 楊翰 Yang Han, governor of 高昌 Kao-ch‘ang, counselled
him, saying: “Lü 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 高梧 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 伊吾 I-wu pass, which is
nearer. The cunning and resource of 子房 Tzŭ-fang himself [i.e.
張良] 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. [See 晉書, ch. 122,
fol. 3 _r_^o, and 歴代紀事年表, ch. 43, fol. 26.]