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art of war-第6部分

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  not fallen into this mistake。  In attempting to provide a 

  critical commentary for Sun Tzu's work; he does not lose 

  sight of the fact that these sayings were intended for states 

  engaged in internecine warfare; that the author is not 

  concerned with the military conditions prevailing under the 

  sovereigns of the three ancient dynasties; '43' nor with the 

  nine punitive measures prescribed to the Minister of War。 

  '44'  Again; Sun Wu loved brevity of diction; but his meaning 

  is always deep。  Whether the subject be marching an army;  or 

  handling soldiers; or estimating the enemy;  or controlling 

  the forces of victory; it is always systematically treated; 

  the sayings are bound together in strict logical sequence; 

  though this has been obscured by commentators who have 

  probably   failed to grasp their meaning。  In his   own 

  commentary; Mei Sheng…yu has brushed aside all the obstinate 

  prejudices of these critics; and has tried to bring out the 

  true meaning of Sun Tzu himself。  In this way; the clouds of 

  confusion have been dispersed and the sayings made clear。  I 

  am convinced that the present work deserves to be handed down 

  side by side with the three great commentaries; and for a 

  great deal that they find in the sayings; coming generations 

  will have constant reason to thank my friend Sheng…yu。



     Making some allowance for the exuberance of friendship; I am 

inclined to endorse this favorable judgment; and would certainly 

place him above Ch‘en Hao in order of merit。



     9。  WANG HSI;  also of the Sung dynasty;  is decidedly 

original in some of his interpretations; but much less judicious 

than Mei Yao…ch‘en;  and on the whole not a very trustworthy 

guide。  He is fond of comparing his own commentary with that of 

Ts‘ao Kung; but the comparison is not often flattering to him。  

We learn from Ch‘ao Kung…wu that Wang Hsi revised the ancient 

text of Sun Tzu; filling up lacunae and correcting mistakes。 '45'



     10。  HO YEN…HSI of the Sung dynasty。  The personal name of 

this commentator is given as above by Cheng Ch‘iao in the TUNG 

CHIH;  written about the middle of the twelfth century;  but he 

appears simply as Ho Shih in the YU HAI; and Ma Tuan…lin quotes 

Ch‘ao Kung…wu as saying that his personal name is unknown。  There 

seems to be no reason to doubt Cheng Ch‘iao's statement; 

otherwise I should have been inclined to hazard a guess and 

identify him with one Ho Ch‘u…fei; the author of a short treatise 

on war;  who lived in the latter part of the 11th century。  Ho 

Shih's commentary;  in the words of the T‘IEN…I…KO catalogue; 

〃contains helpful additions〃  here and there;  but is chiefly 

remarkable for the copious extracts taken; in adapted form;  from 

the dynastic histories and other sources。



     11。  CHANG YU。  The list closes with a commentator of no 

great originality perhaps; but gifted with admirable powers of 

lucid exposition。  His commentator is based on that of Ts‘ao 

Kung; whose terse sentences he contrives to expand and develop in 

masterly fashion。  Without Chang Yu; it is safe to say that much 

of Ts‘ao Kung's commentary would have remained cloaked in its 

pristine obscurity and therefore valueless。  His work is not 

mentioned in the Sung history; the T‘UNG K‘AO; or the YU HAI; but 

it finds a niche in the T‘UNG CHIH; which also names him as the 

author of the 〃Lives of Famous Generals。〃 '46'

     It is rather remarkable that the last…named four should all 

have flourished within so short a space of time。  Ch‘ao Kung…wu 

accounts for it by saying:  〃During the early years of the Sung 

dynasty the Empire enjoyed a long spell of peace; and men ceased 

to practice the art of war。  but when 'Chao' Yuan…hao's rebellion 

came '1038…42' and the frontier generals were defeated time after 

time;  the Court made strenuous inquiry for men skilled in war; 

and military topics became the vogue amongst all the high 

officials。  Hence it is that the commentators of Sun Tzu in our 

dynasty belong mainly to that period。 '47'



     Besides these eleven commentators; there are several others 

whose work has not come down to us。  The SUI SHU mentions four; 

namely Wang Ling (often quoted by Tu Yu as Wang Tzu); Chang Tzu…

shang;  Chia Hsu of Wei; '48' and Shen Yu of Wu。  The T‘ANG SHU 

adds Sun Hao; and the T‘UNG CHIH Hsiao Chi; while the T‘U SHU 

mentions a Ming commentator; Huang Jun…yu。  It is possible that 

some of these may have been merely collectors and editors of 

other commentaries; like Chi T‘ien…pao and Chi Hsieh;  mentioned 

above。





Appreciations of Sun Tzu







     Sun Tzu has exercised a potent fascination over the minds of 

some of China's greatest men。  Among the famous generals who are 

known to have studied his pages with enthusiasm may be mentioned 

Han Hsin (d。 196 B。C。); '49' Feng I (d。 34 A。D。); '50'  Lu Meng 

(d。 219); '51' and Yo Fei (1103…1141)。 '52'  The opinion of Ts‘ao 

Kung;  who disputes with Han Hsin the highest place in Chinese 

military annals;  has already been recorded。  '53'   Still more 

remarkable; in one way; is the testimony of purely literary men; 

such as Su Hsun (the father of Su Tung…p‘o); who wrote several 

essays on military topics;  all of which owe their   chief 

inspiration to Sun Tzu。  The following short passage by him is 

preserved in the YU HAI: '54' 



       Sun Wu's saying; that in war one cannot make certain of 

  conquering;  '55'  is very different indeed from what other 

  books tell us。 '56'  Wu Ch‘i was a man of the same stamp as 

  Sun Wu:  they both wrote books on war; and they are linked 

  together in popular speech as 〃Sun and Wu。〃  But Wu Ch‘i's 

  remarks on war are less weighty; his rules are rougher and 

  more crudely stated; and there is not the same unity of plan 

  as in Sun Tzu's work; where the style is terse;  but the 

  meaning fully brought out。



     The following is an extract from the 〃Impartial Judgments in 

the Garden of Literature〃 by Cheng Hou: 



       Sun Tzu's 13 chapters are not only the staple and base 

  of all military men's training; but also compel the most 

  careful attention of scholars and men of letters。  His 

  sayings   are terse yet elegant;  simple   yet   profound; 

  perspicuous and eminently practical。  Such works as the LUN 

  YU; the I CHING and the great Commentary; '57' as well as the 

  writings of Mencius; Hsun K‘uang and Yang Chu; all fall below 

  the level of Sun Tzu。



     Chu Hsi; commenting on this; fully admits the first part of 

the criticism; although he dislikes the audacious comparison with 

the venerated classical works。  Language of this sort; he says; 

〃encourages a ruler's bent towards unrelenting warfare and 

reckless militarism。〃





Apologies for War







     Accustomed as we are to think of China as the greatest 

peace…loving nation on earth; we are in some danger of forgetting 

that her experience of war in all its phases has also been such 

as no modern State can parallel。  Her long military annals 

stretch back to a point at which they are lost in the mists of 

time。  She had built the Great Wall and was maintaining a huge 

standing army along her frontier centuries before the first Roman 

legionary was seen on the Danube。  What with the perpetual 

collisions of the ancient feudal States; the grim conflicts with 

Huns;  Turks and other invaders after the centralization of 

government;   the terrific upheavals which   accompanied   the 

overthrow of so many dynasties; besides the countless rebellions 

and minor disturbances that have flamed up and flickered out 

again one by one; it is hardly too much to say that the clash of 

arms has never ceased to resound in one portion or another of the 

Empire。

     No less remarkable is the succession of illustrious captains 

to whom China can point with pride。  As in all countries;  the 

greatest are fond of emerging at the most fateful crises of her 

history。  Thus; Po Ch‘i stands out conspicuous in the period when 

Ch‘in was entering upon her final struggle with the remaining 

independent states。  The stormy years which followed the break…up 

of the Ch‘in dynasty are illuminated by the transcendent genius 

of Han Hsin。  When the House of Han in turn is tottering to its 

fall;  the great and baleful figure of Ts‘ao Ts‘ao dominates the 

scene。  And in the establishment of the T‘ang dynasty;one of the 

mightiest tasks achieved by man; the superhuman energy of Li 

Shih…min (afterwards the Emperor T‘ai Tsung) was seconded by the 

brilliant strategy of Li Ching。  None of these generals need fear 

comparison with the greatest names in the military history of 

Europe。

     In spite of all this; the great body of Chinese sentiment; 

from Lao Tzu downwards; and especially as reflected in the 

standard literature of Confucianism;  h
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