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Word Gems
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War & Peace
Sun Tzu, The Art Of War
“Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment - that which they cannot anticipate.” Sun Tzu
Editor's note: The following synopsis of The Art Of War is from Wikipedia:
The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun", also spelled Sunzi), is composed of 13 chapters. Each one is devoted to an aspect of warfare and how it applies to military strategy and tactics. For almost 1,500 years it was the lead text in an anthology that would be formalised as the Seven Military Classics by Emperor Shenzong of Song in 1080. The Art of War remains the most influential strategy text in East Asian warfare and has influenced both Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, legal strategy, lifestyles and beyond. The book contained a detailed explanation and analysis of the Chinese military, from weapons and strategy to rank and discipline. Sun Tzu also stressed the importance of intelligence operatives and espionage to the war effort. Because Sun Tzu has long been considered to be one of history's finest military tacticians and analysts, his teachings and strategies formed the basis of advanced military training for centuries to come.
Editor's note: The following outline is from Wikipedia:
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Sun Tzu's Art Of War in 13 chapters |
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LAYING PLANS: Explores the five fundamental factors (the Way, seasons, terrain, leadership, and management) and seven elements that determine the outcomes of military engagements. By thinking, assessing and comparing these points, a commander can calculate his chances of victory. Habitual deviation from these calculations will ensure failure via improper action. The text stresses that war is a very grave matter for the state and must not be commenced without due consideration. |
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WAGING WAR: Explains how to understand the economy of warfare and how success requires winning decisive engagements quickly. This section advises that successful military campaigns require limiting the cost of competition and conflict. |
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ATTACK BY STRATAGEM: Defines the source of strength as unity, not size, and discusses the five factors that are needed to succeed in any war. In order of importance, these critical factors are: Attack, Strategy, Alliances, Army and Cities. |
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TACTICAL DISPOSITIONS: Explains the importance of defending existing positions until a commander is capable of advancing from those positions in safety. It teaches commanders the importance of recognizing strategic opportunities, and teaches not to create opportunities for the enemy. |
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USE OF ENERGY: Explains the use of creativity and timing in building an army's momentum. |
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WEAK POINTS AND STRONG: Explains how an army's opportunities come from the openings in the environment caused by the relative weakness of the enemy and how to respond to changes in the fluid battlefield over a given area. |
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ENGAGING THE FORCE: Explains the dangers of direct conflict and how to win those confrontations when they are forced upon the commander. |
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VARIATION OF TACTICS: Focuses on the need for flexibility in an army's responses. It explains how to respond to shifting circumstances successfully. |
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ARMY ON THE MARCH: Describes the different situations in which an army finds itself as it moves through new enemy territories, and how to respond to these situations. Much of this section focuses on evaluating the intentions of others. |
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SITUATIONAL POSITIONING: Looks at the three general areas of resistance (distance, dangers and barriers) and the six types of ground positions that arise from them. Each of these six field positions offers certain advantages and disadvantages. |
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NINE SITUATIONS: Describes the nine common situations (or stages) in a campaign, from scattering to deadly, and the specific focus that a commander will need in order to successfully navigate them. |
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ATTACK BY FIRE: Explains the general use of weapons and the specific use of the environment as a weapon. This section examines the five targets for attack, the five types of environmental attack and the appropriate responses to such attacks. |
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INTELLIGENCE: Focuses on the importance of developing good information sources, and specifies the five types of intelligence sources and how to best manage each of them. |
Editor's note: The following are quotations from The Art Of War:
“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
“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.”
“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
“Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.”
“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear 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.”
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win”
“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity”
“If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”
“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”
“To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.”
“Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate.”
“There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.”
“Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:
1 He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
2 He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
3 He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
4 He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
5 He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.”
“Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.”
“Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust.”
“Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.”
“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”
“The art of war is of vital importance to the State. 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.”
“When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.”
“There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard. There are not more than five primary colours, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen. There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of them yield more flavours than can ever be tasted.”
“When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move.”
“know yourself and you will win all battles”
“who wishes to fight must first count the cost”
“If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by.”
“So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.”
“To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.”
“Be extremely subtle even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.”
“When strong, avoid them. If of high morale, depress them. Seem humble to fill them with conceit. If at ease, exhaust them. If united, separate them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.”
“Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.”
“What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.”
“One may know how to conquer without being able to do it. ”
“The wise warrior avoids the battle.”
“The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.”
“Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots.”
“You have to believe in yourself. ”
“One mark of a great soldier is that he fight on his own terms or fights not at all.”
“If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things.”
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.”
“He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.”
“Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.”
“Thus the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him.”
“There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must not be attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must not be contested, commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.”
“If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.”
“When one treats people with benevolence, justice, and righteousness, and reposes confidence in them, the army will be united in mind and all will be happy to serve their leaders'.”
“Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.”
“Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”
“Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.”
“Great results can be achieved with small forces.”
“Convince your enemy that he will gain very little by attacking you; this will diminish his enthusiasm”
“If quick, I survive. If not quick, I am lost. This is death.”
“Ponder and deliberate before you make a move.”
“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 unless.”
“He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight”
“Ultimate excellence lies not in winning every battle, but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting.”
“Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive.”
“To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”
“The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.”
“Bravery without forethought causes a man to fight blindly and desperately like a mad bull. Such an opponent, must not be encountered with brute force, but may be lured into an ambush and slain.”
“If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.”
“Wheels of justice grind slow but grind fine”
“mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy”
“He will win who, having prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.”
“Never venture, never win!”
“The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Now the shuai-jan is a snake that is found in the Ch'ang mountains. Strike at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail; strike at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head; strike at its middle, and you will be attacked by head and tail both.”
“If his forces are united, separate them.”
“Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.”
“It is easy to love your friend, but sometimes the hardest lesson to learn is to love your enemy.”
“Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.”
“If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame. But, if orders are clear and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers.”
“Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will.”
“To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.”
“If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.”
“Be where your enemy is not.”
“Rewards for good service should not be deferred a single day.”
“Disorder came from order, fear came from courage, weakness came from strength.”
“who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits”
“Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster”
“It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for the purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results.”
“Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.”
“Every battle is won before it’s ever fought.”
“Hence a commander who advances without any thought of winning personal fame and withdraws in spite of certain punishment, whose only concern is to protect his people and promote the interests of his ruler, is the nation's treasure. Because he fusses over his men as if they were infants, they will accompany him into the deepest valleys; because he fusses over his men as if they were his own beloved sons, they will die by his side. If he is generous with them and yet they do not do as he tells them, if he loves them and yet they do not obey his commands, if he is so undisciplined with them that he cannot bring them into proper order, they will be like spoiled children who can be put to no good use at all.”
“In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack—the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers.”
“Conform to the enemy's tactics until a favorable opportunity offers; then come forth and engage in a battle that shall prove decisive.”
“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 men, which exposes him to worry and trouble.”
“Those skilled at making the enemy move do so by creating a situation to which he must conform; they entice him with something he is certain to take, and with lures of ostensible profit they await him in strength.”
“If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.”
“When your army has crossed the border, you should burn your boats and bridges, in order to make it clear to everybody that you have no hankering after home.”
“Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger.”
“Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.”
“Plan for what it is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small.”
“He who advances without seeking fame, Who retreats without escaping blame, He whose one aim is to protect his people and serve his lord, The man is a jewel of the Realm”
“Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from people, people who know the conditions of the enemy.”
“If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is weak. ”
“the worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation”
“Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions.”
“do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat”
“if you fight with all your might, there is a chance of life; whereas death is certain if you cling to your corner”
“Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose.”
“Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.”
“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.”
“The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived, in the first instance, from the converted spy. Hence it is essential that the converted spy be treated with the utmost liberality.”
“the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”
“Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy. Do not interfere with an army that is returning home.”
“You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.”
“When the outlook is bright, bring it before their eyes; but tell them nothing when the situation is gloomy.”
“The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points;”
“Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack.”
“We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors.”
“If those who are sent to draw water begin by drinking themselves, the army is suffering from thirst. [One may know the condition of a whole army from the behavior of a single man.]”
“The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers.”
“Deep knowledge is to be aware of disturbance before disturbance, to be aware of danger before danger, to be aware of destruction before destruction, to be aware of calamity before calamity. Strong action is training the body without being burdened by the body, exercising the mind without being used by the mind, working in the world without being affected by the world, carrying out tasks without being obstructed by tasks.”
“You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.”
“Whether in an advantageous position or a disadvantageous one, the opposite state should be always present to your mind.”
“There are not more than five primary colors (blue, yellow, red, white, and black), yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.”
“By reinforcing every part, he weakens every part.”
“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.”
“In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.”
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