間 is really a vulgar form of 閒, and does not appear in the _Shuo
Wên_. In practice, however, it has gradually become a distinct
character with special meanings of its own, and I have therefore
followed my edition of the standard text in retaining this form
throughout the chapter. In VI. § 25, on the other hand, the
correct form 閒 will be found. The evolution of the meaning “spy”
is worth considering for a moment, provided it be understood that
this is very doubtful ground, and that any dogmatism is out of
place. The _Shuo Wên_ defines 閒 as 隟 (the old form of 隙) “a
crack” or “chink,” and on the whole we may accept 徐鍇 Hsü Ch‘ieh’s
analysis as not unduly fanciful: 夫門夜閉閉而見月光是有閒隟也 “At
night, a _door_ is shut; if, when it is shut, the light of the
_moon_ is visible, it must come through a _chink_.” From this
it is an easy step to the meaning “space between,” or simply
“between,” as for example in the phrase 往來閒諜 “to act as a
secret spy between enemies.” Here 諜 is the word which means “spy;”
but we may suppose that constant association so affected the
original force of 閒, that 諜 could at last be dropped altogether,
leaving 閒 to stand alone with the same signification. Another
possible theory is that the word may first have come to mean 覗 “to
peep” (see 博雅, quoted in _K‘ang Hsi_) which would naturally be
suggested by “crack” or “crevice,” and afterwards the man who
peeps, or spy.
1. 孫子曰凡興師十萬出兵千里百姓之費公家之奉日費千金內外騷動怠於道路不得操事者
七十萬家
Sun Tzŭ said: Raising a host of a hundred thousand men and marching
them great distances entails heavy loss on the people and a drain on
the resources of the State. The daily expenditure will amount to a
thousand ounces of silver.
Cf. II. §§ 1, 13, 14.
There will be commotion at home and abroad, and men will drop down
exhausted on the highways.
怠於道路, which is omitted by the _Yü Lan_, appears at first sight
to be explained by the words immediately following, so that the
obvious translation would be “(enforced) idleness along the line
of march.” [Cf. _Tao Tê Ching_, ch. 30: 師之所處荆棘生焉 “Where
troops have been quartered, brambles and thorns spring up.”] The
commentators, however, say that 怠 is here equivalent to 疲—a
meaning which is still retained in the phrase 倦怠. Tu Mu refers 怠
to those who are engaged in conveying provisions to the army. But
this can hardly be said to emerge clearly from Sun Tzŭ’s text.
Chang Yü has the note: “We may be reminded of the saying: ‘On
serious ground, gather in plunder’ [XI. § 13]. Why then should
carriage and transportation cause exhaustion on the highways?—The
answer is, that not victuals alone, but all sorts of munitions of
war have to be conveyed to the army. Besides, the injunction to
‘forage on the enemy’ only means that when an army is deeply
engaged in hostile territory, scarcity of food must be provided
against. Hence, without being solely dependent on the enemy for
corn, we must forage in order that there may be an uninterrupted
flow of supplies. Then, again, there are places like salt deserts
(磧鹵之地), where provisions being unobtainable, supplies from home
cannot be dispensed with.”
As many as seven hundred thousand families will be impeded in their
labour.
Mei Yao-ch‘ên says: 廢於耒耜 “Men will be lacking at the
plough-tail.” The allusion is to 井田 the system of dividing land
into nine parts, as shown in the character 井, each consisting
of a 夫 or 頃 (about 15 acres), the plot in the centre 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.] These groups of eight peasant proprietors were called
鄰. In time of war, one of the families had to serve in the army,
while the other seven contributed to its support (一家從軍七家奉弓).
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.