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art of war-第13部分

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you know yourself but not the enemy; for every victory gained you 

will also suffer a defeat。



     'Li Ch‘uan cites the case of Fu Chien; prince of Ch‘in;  who 

in 383 A。D。 marched with a vast army against the Chin Emperor。  

When warned not to despise an enemy who could command the 

services of such men as Hsieh An and Huan Ch‘ung; he boastfully 

replied:   〃I have the population of eight provinces at my back; 

infantry and horsemen to the number of one million;  why;  they 

could dam up the Yangtsze River itself by merely throwing their 

whips   into   the stream。  What danger have I   to   fear?〃  

Nevertheless;  his forces were soon after disastrously routed at 

the Fei River; and he was obliged to beat a hasty retreat。'



If you know neither the enemy nor yourself; you will succumb in 

every battle。



     'Chang Yu said:  〃Knowing the enemy enables you to take the 

offensive;   knowing yourself enables you to stand on   the 

defensive。〃  He adds:  〃Attack is the secret of defense;  defense 

is the planning of an attack。〃  It would be hard to find a better 

epitome of the root…principle of war。'







IV。  TACTICAL DISPOSITIONS





     '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 Tzu 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 ss。  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 defense 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 Tzu 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 the 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 skillful 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 thi
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