Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War: The Oldest Military Treatise in the WorldSunzi, active 6th century B.C.
Philosophy
Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War: The Oldest Military Treatise in the World
Sunzi, active 6th century B.C.
Military art and science -- Early works to 1800; War -- Early works to 1800
There are two works, described in the _Ssu K‘u Ch‘üan Shu_[115] and no
doubt extremely rare, which I should much like to have seen. One is
entitled 孫子參同, in 5 _chüan_. It gives selections from four new
commentators, probably of the Ming dynasty, as well as from the eleven
known to us. The names of the four are 解元 Hsieh Yüan; 張鏊 Chang Ao;
李村 Li Ts‘ai; and 黃治徵 Huang Chih-chêng. The other work is 孫子彚徵
in 4 _chüan_, compiled by 鄭端 Chêng Tuan of the present dynasty. It is
a compendium of information on ancient warfare, with special reference
to Sun Tzŭ’s 13 chapters.
Appreciations of Sun Tzŭ.
Sun Tzŭ 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 韓信 Han Hsin (_d._
B.C. 196),[116] 馮異 Fêng I (d. A.D. 34),[117] 呂蒙 Lü Mêng (_d._
219),[118] and 岳飛 Yo Fei (1103–1141).[119] The opinion of Ts‘ao Kung,
who disputes with Han Hsin the highest place in Chinese military
annals, has already been recorded.[120] Still more remarkable, in one
way, is the testimony of purely literary men, such as 蘇洵 Su Hsün (the
father of Su Tung-p‘o), who wrote several essays on military topics,
all of which owe their chief inspiration to Sun Tzŭ. The following
short passage by him is preserved in the _Yü Hai:_[121]—
Sun Wu’s saying, that in war one cannot make certain of
conquering,[122] is very different indeed from what other books
tell us.[123] 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 Tzŭ’s work, where the
style is terse, but the meaning fully brought out.[124]
The 性理彚要, ch. 17, contains the following extract from the 藝圃折衷
“Impartial Judgments in the Garden of Literature” by 鄭厚 Chêng Hou:—
Sun Tzŭ’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 Yü_, the _I Ching_ and the great
Commentary,[125] as well as the writings of Mencius, Hsün K‘uang
and Yang Chu, all fall below the level of Sun Tzŭ.[126]
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.”[127]
Apologies for War.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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