[Ts’ao Kung explains the Chinese meaning of the words for the title of
this chapter: "marching and countermarching on the part of the two
armies with a view to discovering each other’s condition." Tu Mu says:
"It is through the dispositions of an army that its condition may be
discovered. Conceal your dispositions, and your condition will remain
secret, which leads to victory; show your dispositions, and your
condition will become patent, which leads to defeat." Wang Hsi remarks
that the good general can "secure success by modifying his tactics to
meet those of the enemy."]
1. Sun Tzŭ said: The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond
the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of
defeating the enemy.
2. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the
opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
[That is, of course, by a mistake on the enemy’s part.]
3. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat,
[Chang Yu says this is done, "By concealing the disposition of his
troops, covering up his tracks, and taking unremitting precautions."]
but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.
4. Hence the saying: One may _know_ how to conquer without being able
to _do_ it.
5. Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat
the enemy means taking the offensive.
[I retain the sense found in a similar passage in §§ 1-3, in spite of
the fact that the commentators are all against me. The meaning they
give, "He who cannot conquer takes the defensive," is plausible
enough.]
6. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength;
attacking, a superabundance of strength.
7. The general who is skilled in defence hides in the most secret
recesses of the earth;
[Literally, "hides under the ninth earth," which is a metaphor
indicating the utmost secrecy and concealment, so that the enemy may
not know his whereabouts."]
he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of
heaven.
[Another metaphor, implying that he falls on his adversary like a
thunderbolt, against which there is no time to prepare. This is the
opinion of most of the commentators.]
Thus on the one hand we have ability to protect ourselves; on the
other, a victory that is complete.
8. To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is
not the acme of excellence.
[As Ts’ao Kung remarks, "the thing is to see the plant before it has
germinated," to foresee the event before the action has begun. Li
Ch’uan alludes to the story of Han Hsin who, when about to attack the
vastly superior army of Chao, which was strongly entrenched in the city
of Ch’eng-an, said to his officers: "Gentlemen, we are going to
annihilate the enemy, and shall meet again at dinner." The officers
hardly took his words seriously, and gave a very dubious assent. But
Han Hsin had already worked out in his mind the details of a clever
stratagem, whereby, as he foresaw, he was able to capture the city and
inflict a crushing defeat on his adversary."]
9. Neither is it the acme of excellence if you fight and conquer and
the whole Empire says, "Well done!"
[True excellence being, as Tu Mu says: "To plan secretly, to move
surreptitiously, to foil the enemy’s intentions and balk his schemes,
so that at last the day may be won without shedding a drop of blood."
Sun Tzŭ reserves his approbation for things that
"the world’s coarse thumb
And finger fail to plumb."
10. To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength;
["Autumn hair" is explained as the fur of a hare, which is finest in
autumn, when it begins to grow afresh. The phrase is a very common one
in Chinese writers.]
to see sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of
thunder is no sign of a quick ear.
[Ho Shih gives as real instances of strength, sharp sight and quick
hearing: Wu Huo, who could lift a tripod weighing 250 stone; Li Chu,
who at a distance of a hundred paces could see objects no bigger than a
mustard seed; and Shih K’uang, a blind musician who could hear the
footsteps of a mosquito.]
11. What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins,
but excels in winning with ease.
[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."]
12. Hence his victories bring him neither reputation for wisdom nor
credit for courage.
[Tu Mu explains this very well: "Inasmuch as his victories are gained
over circumstances that have not come to light, the world as large
knows nothing of them, and he wins no reputation for wisdom; inasmuch
as the hostile state submits before there has been any bloodshed, he
receives no credit for courage."]
13. He wins his battles by making no mistakes.
[Ch’en Hao says: "He plans no superfluous marches, he devises no futile
attacks." The connection of ideas is thus explained by Chang Yu: "One
who seeks to conquer by sheer strength, clever though he may be at
winning pitched battles, is also liable on occasion to be vanquished;
whereas he who can look into the future and discern conditions that are
not yet manifest, will never make a blunder and therefore invariably
win."]
Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it
means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.
14. Hence the skilful fighter puts himself into a position which makes
defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating the
enemy.
[A "counsel of perfection" as Tu Mu truly observes. "Position" need not
be confined to the actual ground occupied by the troops. It includes
all the arrangements and preparations which a wise general will make to
increase the safety of his army.]
15. Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle
after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat
first fights and afterwards looks for victory.
[Ho Shih thus expounds the paradox: "In warfare, first lay plans which
will ensure victory, and then lead your army to battle; if you will not
begin with stratagem but rely on brute strength alone, victory will no
longer be assured."]
16. The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly
adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control
success.
17. In respect of military method, we have, firstly, Measurement;
secondly, Estimation of quantity; thirdly, Calculation; fourthly,
Balancing of chances; fifthly, Victory.
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.
[It is not easy to distinguish the four terms very clearly in the
Chinese. The first seems to be surveying and measurement of the ground,
which enable us to form an estimate of the enemy’s strength, and to
make calculations based on the data thus obtained; we are thus led to a
general weighing-up, or comparison of the enemy’s chances with our own;
if the latter turn the scale, then victory ensues. The chief difficulty
lies in third term, which in the Chinese some commentators take as a
calculation of _numbers_, thereby making it nearly synonymous with the
second term. Perhaps the second term should be thought of as a
consideration of the enemy’s general position or condition, while the
third term is the estimate of his numerical strength. On the other
hand, Tu Mu says: "The question of relative strength having been
settled, we can bring the varied resources of cunning into play." Ho
Shih seconds this interpretation, but weakens it. However, it points to
the third term as being a calculation of numbers.]
19. A victorious army opposed to a routed one, is as a pound’s weight
placed in the scale against a single grain.
[Literally, "a victorious army is like an _i_ (20 oz.) weighed against
a _shu_ (1/24 oz.); a routed army is a _shu_ weighed against an _i_."
The point is simply the enormous advantage which a disciplined force,
flushed with victory, has over one demoralized by defeat. Legge, in his
note on Mencius, I. 2. ix. 2, makes the _i_ to be 24 Chinese ounces,
and corrects Chu Hsi’s statement that it equaled 20 oz. only. But Li
Ch’uan of the T’ang dynasty here gives the same figure as Chu Hsi.]
20. The onrush of a conquering force is like the bursting of pent-up
waters into a chasm a thousand fathoms deep. So much for tactical
dispositions.