The Art of War (2nd Century BC) Sun Tzu

In 760 A.D. his writings were introduced to Japan. The three great samarui – Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugagawa Ieyasu – were well-versed in The Art of War and was fundamental in helping to lead Japan from feudal states to a unified nation.

---

I. LAYING PLANS

1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State.
2. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.
3. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one’s deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.
4. These factors are: 1) The Moral Law; 2) Heaven; 3) Earth; 4) The Commander; 5) Method and Discipline.

5, 6. The MORAL LAW causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.

1. HEAVEN signified night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.
2. EARTH comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.
3. The COMMANDER stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness.
4. By METHOD AND DISCIPLINE are to understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.
5. These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.
6. Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in these ways:

13.

1. Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral Law?
2. Which of the two generals has the most ability?
3. With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?
4. On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?
5. Which army is stronger?
6. On which side are officers and men more highly trained?
7. In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?
8. By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.
9. The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat: let such a one be dismissed!
10. All warfare is based on deception.
11. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.
12. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.
13. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him.
14. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.
15. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.
16. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.
17. These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.
18. Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought….

III. ATTACK BY STRATAGEM

1. Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.
2. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.
3. Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy’s plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy’s forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy’s army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.
4. The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided. The preparation of mantlets, movable shelters, and various implements of war, will take up three whole months; and the piling up of mounds over against the walls will take three months more.
5. The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants, with the result that one-third of his men are slain, while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege.
6. Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy’s troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.
7. With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will be complete. This is the method of attacking by stratagem.
8. It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy’s one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into two.
9. If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him.
10. Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force.
11. Now the general is the bulwark of the State; if the bulwark is complete at all points; the State will be strong; if the bulwark is defective, the State will be weak.
12. There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army:—
13. (1) By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army.
14. (2) By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier’s minds.
15. (3) By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers.
16. But when the army is restless and distrustful, trouble is sure to come from the other feudal princes. This is simply bringing anarchy into the army, and flinging victory away.
17. Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:
18. He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
19. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
20. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
21. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
22. He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.
23. Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

IV. TACTICAL DISPOSITIONS
…

1. There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general: 1) Recklessness, which leads to destruction; 2) cowardice, which leads to capture; 3) a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults; 4) a delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame; 5) over-solicitude for his mean, which exposes him to worry and trouble.
2. These are the five besetting sins of a general, ruinous to the conduct of war.
3. When an army is overthrown and its leader slain, the cause will surely be found among these five dangerous faults. Let them be the subject of meditation.

IX. THE ARMY ON THE MARCH
…

1. Humble words and increased preparations are signs that the enemy is about to advance. Violent language and driving forward as if to attack are signs that he will retreat.
2. When there is much running about and the soldiers fall into rank, it means that the critical moment has come.
3. When some are seen advancing and some retreating, it is a lure.
4. When the soldiers stand leaning on their spears, they are faint from lack of food.
5. If those who are sent to draw water begin by drinking themselves, the army is suffering from thirst.
6. If the enemy sees an advantage to be gained and makes no effort to secure it, the soldiers are exhausted.
7. If birds gather on any spot, it is unoccupied. Clamor by night betokens nervousness.
8. If there is disturbance in the camp, the general’s authority is weak. If the banners and flags are shifted about, sedition is afoot. If the officers are angry, it means that the men are weary.
9. When an army feeds its horses with grain and kills its cattle for food, and when the men do not hang their cooking pots over the campfires, showing that they will not return to their tents, you may know that they are determined to fight to the death.
10. The sight of men whispering together in small groups or speaking in subdued tones points to disaffection amongst the rank and file.
11. Too frequent rewards signify that the enemy is at the end of his resources; too many punishments betray a condition of dire distress.

[regarding treatment of one’s own army]

…

1. If soldiers are punished before they have grown attached to you, they will not prove submissive; and, unless submissive, then will be practically useless. If, when the soldiers have become attached to you, punishments are not enforced, they will still be useless.
2. Therefore soldiers must be treated in the first instance with humanity, but kept under control by means of iron discipline. This is a certain road to victory.
3. If in training soldiers commands are habitually enforced, the army will be well-disciplined; if not, its discipline will be bad.
4. If a general shows confidence in his men but always insists on his orders being obeyed, the gain will be mutual.

Please answer the following questions:

1. Describe the ideal general and ideal soldier according to the author. What do these characteristics tell us about the social structures of ancient China?
2. Describe the relationship of the military to the government or the “State” according to the author.
3. What function does discipline have according to Sun Tzu and what does this reveal about his perceptions of social behavior? Provide specific examples.
4. What conclusions, if any, can we draw about the nature of Chinese warfare during the period when this treatise was composed?
5. Compare and contrast the philosophy in The Art of War with the basic tenets of Confucianism. How are the two similar and how might these similarities have contributed to the success and popularity of Sun Tzu’s treatise?

Sample Solution