by An Liu
squeezing them where they are spread thin,
these are called “the force of circumstance.”
Skillfully using spies,
carefully laying plans,
establishing ambushes,
concealing their form,
emerging where he does not expect, [thus] giving the enemy’s soldiers no suitable defense: these are called “the heft of knowledge.”
[When]
the formations of soldiers are correct,
the front rank is elite,
they advance and retreat together;
the units and squads [maintain] tight [formation];
the front and the rear do not restrain each other;
the left and the right do not interfere with each other.
[When] the blows received are few,
the enemy wounded are many:
these are called “the heft of training.”
[When]
advantage and force are surely formed,
officers and soldiers are concentrated and excellent,
the able are chosen and the talented employed;
each office finds its [right] person.
[When]
plans are set and strategies decided,
death and life are clear.
[When] taking and releasing attain their [proper] time [and] none are not aroused and alert, then
before the assault [employs] the battering ram or siege ladder, the city is taken;
before in battle weapons cross or edges meet, the enemy is broken.
This is to be enlightened about the arts of certain victory.
Thus,
if arms are not sure to be victorious, one does not rashly cross blades;
if the assault is not sure to take [its object], one does not rashly launch [it].
Only after victory is certain does one give battle;
only after the scales36 have weighed does one move.
Thus,
the masses form up and do not vainly scatter;
the soldiers set out and do not fruitlessly return. [15/148/1–11]
15.14
On moving, only one who is devoid of a single movement scrapes the sky and shakes the earth.
Lifting Mount Tai,
blocking the Four Seas,
moving and shifting ghosts and spirits,
alarming and startling birds and beasts,
[when] one is like this,
in the countryside there are none who study arms;
throughout the kingdom there are no defended cities.
Meet agitation with stillness,
match chaos with order,
be without form and control what has form,
be without purpose and respond to alterations,
though this will not yet make you able to gain victory over the enemy, it will allow the enemy no path to victory.
When the enemy moves before me, then from this I see his form.
When he is agitated and I am still, then with this I can obstruct his strength.
When his form is seen, then victory may be fashioned.
When his strength is obstructed, [my] might may be established.
View his purposes and transform in accord with them,
observe his deviancy and straightness and thereby control his fate,
feed him what he desires and thereby stop up his contentment.
If he has a fissure,
quickly rush into the crack.
Compass his alterations and bind him,
plumb his rhythms and unbalance37 him.
If the enemy returns to stillness, produce something unexpected for him;
if he does not respond, unilaterally extinguish his [sense of] security.
If I move and he responds, I can see his purposes;
if he holds back, push him to move him;
if he has accumulated something, there must be something that he lacks.
If his best troops turn left, trap his right flank;
if the enemy breaks and runs, his rear may definitely be moved.
[When] the enemy is pressed and does not move, this is called “lingering.”
Strike him like thunder;
cut him like grass or trees;
burn him like fire or lightning.
You must hurry fast
[so that] his men have no time to run,
his carts have no time to roll,
his weapons are like wooden plants,
his crossbows are like sheep horns.
Though his men are numerous, [your] force is such that he dare not strike. [15/148/11–21]
15.15
Of all things that have an image, there is not [one] that cannot be defeated;
of all things that have form, there is none for which there is no response.
This is why the sage lodges in Nothingness and lets his mind roam in Emptiness.
Wind and rain can be blocked and screened,
but cold and heat cannot be shut out;
it is because they have no form. What can suffuse the essentially subtle,
pierce metal and stone,
reach the farthest distance,
rise above the Nine Heavens,
[and] coil below the Yellow Springs
is only the Formless.
One who is skilled at using arms
should attack [the enemy’s] disorder
[but] should not assault his order.
Do not attack well-dressed ranks;
do not assault upright flags.
If his demeanor cannot yet be seen, match him with equal numbers. If he has the form of death, follow and control him. If the enemy holds [superior] numbers, stay hidden while moving. If you meet fullness with deficiency, you surely will be captured by him.
If tigers and leopards did not move, they would not enter the pit.
If deer and elk did not move, they would not be taken by nets.
If flying birds did not move, they would not be caught in snares.
If fish and turtles did not move, they would not be grabbed by lips and beaks.
Among things there is none that is not controlled by its motion. For this reason, the sage values stillness.
He is still and thus can respond to agitation;
he follows and thus can respond to one who leads;
he is artful and can thus defeat one who is coarse;
he is broad-reaching and can thus capture one who is deficient. [15/148/21–15/149/5]
15.16
Thus, for the good commander’s use of soldiers,
he merges their minds;
he unites their strength;
the brave cannot advance alone;
the cowardly cannot retreat alone.
At rest like hills and mountains,
unleashed like the wind and rain,
what they hit surely breaks; nothing is not destroyed or drenched. They move as a single body; none can respond to or defend against [them].
The five fingers tapping in turn are not as good as the whole hand rolled into a fist;
ten thousand men advancing in turn are not as good as one hundred men arriving together.
Tigers and leopards have better speed;
bears and grizzlies have more strength;
yet people eat their meat and make mats of their hides because they are not able to communicate their knowledge and unite their strength.38
The force of water overcomes fire, [but] if the Zhanghua Tower39 caught fire, if one sought to save it by dousing it with ladles and spoons, though one emptied a well and drained a pond, it would be no use. [But] if one picked up pots, urns, bowls, and basins and drenched it, [the fire’s] being extinguished would only be a matter of time.
Now humans with respect to [other] humans do not have the advantage of water over fire, and if they wish to match the many with the few, they will clearly not achieve their aim. One of the military traditions has a saying: “The few can match the many.” This refers to what one commands, not with
which one gives battle. Some command many but use only a few, thus their force is not on a par [with their numbers]. One who commands a few but uses many [of them] increases his functional strength. If people employ their talents to the fullest and completely use their strength, it has never been heard of from antiquity to the current day that the few have defeated the many. [15/149/7–15]
15.17
There is no spirit nobler than Heaven;
there is no force more versatile than Earth;
there is no motion more swift than time;
there is no resource more advantageous than people.
These four are the pillars and trunks of the military, yet they must rely on the Way to operate because [the Way] can unite their functions.
The advantage of terrain overcomes Heaven and time;
clever tactics overcome the advantage of terrain;
force overcomes people.
Thus,
one who relies on Heaven can be led astray;
one who relies on Earth can be trapped;
one who relies on time can be pressured;
one who relies on people can be fooled.
Humaneness, courage, trustworthiness, and incorruptibility are the most excellent qualities among people. However,
the brave can be lured;
the humane can be robbed;
the trustworthy are easily cheated;
the incorruptible are easily schemed against.
If the commander of a host has even one of these [flaws], he will be taken captive.
Seen from this perspective, it also is clear that victory in arms is produced by the Pattern of the Way, not by the worthiness of human character.
Thus, deer and elk can be seized by snares;
fish and turtle can be taken by nets;
geese and swans can be collected with the dart and line.
Only to the Formless may nothing be done. For this reason, the sage
lodges in the Sourceless, so his feelings cannot be grasped and observed;
moves in the Formless, so his formations cannot be attained and traced.
He has no model and no protocol;
he does what is appropriate [for what] arrives;
he has no name and no shape;
he fashions [a new] image for [each] alteration.
How deep!
How distant!
Through winter and summer,
through spring and fall,
above reaching the highest branch,
below fathoming the deepest depth,
altering and transforming,
never hesitating or halting,
he sets his mind in the Field of Profound Mystery
and lodges his will in the Spring of the Nine Returns.40
Though one has acute eyes, who can detect his feelings? [15/149/15–24]
15.18
What soldiers discuss secretly is the Way of Heaven;
what they chart and draw is the terrain;
what they speak of openly is human affairs;
what decides victory for them is heft and force.
Thus the superior commander’s use of soldiers:
Above reaches the Way of Heaven,
below reaches the benefit of the terrain;
between [these], he reaches the minds of the people. He then moves them at the fulcral moment and launches them [replete] with force. This is why he never has broken armies or defeated soldiers.
Coming to the mediocre commander:
Above he does not understand the Way of Heaven;
below he does not understand the benefit of the terrain;
he exclusively uses people and force. Though he will not be perfectly [successful], his balance will mostly be victories.
About the inferior commander’s use of soldiers:
He is broadly informed yet is himself disordered;
he has much knowledge yet doubts himself;
at rest he is afraid;
setting forth he hesitates.
For this reason, when he moves he becomes another’s captive. [15/149/26–30]
Now let two people cross blades. If their skill or clumsiness is no different, the braver warrior will certainly win. Why is this? It is because of the sincerity of his actions. If you use a great ax on logs and firewood, you need not wait for a beneficial time or a good day to chop it. If you put the ax on top of the logs and firewood without the aid of human effort, though you accord with the “far-flight” asterism41 and have hold of recision and accretion,42 you will not chop it because there is no force.
Thus,
when water is agitated, it dries up;
when an arrow is agitated, it flies far.
The end of an arrow made of Qiwei bamboo43 and capped with silver and tin could not on its own pierce even a vest of thin silk or a shield of rotten leaves. If you lend it the strength of sinew and bone, the force of bow or crossbow, then it will pierce rhino[-hide] armor and pass through a leather shield!
The speed of the wind can reach the point of blowing away roofs or breaking trees, [but] if an empty carriage reaches a great thoroughfare from atop a high hill, a person has pushed it.44 For this reason, the force of one who is skilled at using arms is
like releasing amassed water from a thousand-ren [-high] dike,
like rolling round stones into a ten-thousand-zhang [-deep] gorge.45
When the world sees that my soldiers will certainly be effective, then who will dare offer me battle? Thus one hundred men who are sure to die are worth more than ten thousand men who are sure to flee; how much more is the multitude of the three armies who will enter fire and water without turning tail! Even if I challenged the entire world to cross blades, who would dare step up first? [15/150/1–9]
15.19
[These are] what are called the “divisions of Heaven”:
The Bluegreen Dragon to the left, the White Tiger to the right,
the Vermilion Bird in front, the Dark Warrior behind.46
What is called the “advantages of Earth”?
Life behind and death in front,
valleys on the left and hills on the right.
What is called “human affairs”?
Rewards being trustworthy and punishments sure,
movement and stillness being timely,
withdrawal and emplacement being swift.
These are what the ages have passed down as models and signs, [and] they are venerable.47 But they are not that by which one survives. [True] models and signs are those that alter and transform in accordance with the times. Thus,
One stands in the shade of the upper hall and knows the progress of the sun and moon;
one sees the ice at the bottom of the jar and knows the cold and hot [seasons] of the world.
That by which things give form to one another is subtle; only the sage fathoms its utmost. Thus,
though the drum is not among the five tones, it is the master of the five tones;
though water is not among the five flavors, it blends the five flavors;
though the commander is not among the five officers, he controls the five officers.
[The drum] can harmonize the five tones because it is not among the five tones;
[water] can blend the five flavors because it is not among the five flavors;
[the commander] can order the affairs of the five officers because he [himself] cannot be surveyed or measured.
For this reason, the mind of the commander is
warm like the spring, hot like the summer,
cool like the fall, cold like the winter.
He
accords with conditions and transforms with them,
follows the seasons and shifts with them. [15/150/11–19]
15.20
A shadow cannot be crooked if the thing [itself] is straight;
an echo cannot be a high note if the sound [itself] is a low note.
Observe what he sends and respond to each with what defeats it. For this reason,
> hold up Rightness and move, promote order and set forth;
conceal your nodal points, and discard your injuries;
rely on your strengths, and complete your objective.
Make him
know your coming out but not know your going in;
know your withdrawing but not know your amassing.
Be at first like a fox or a raccoon dog,
then he will advance at ease.
On meeting, be like a rhino or a tiger,
then the enemy will take flight.
When a soaring bird strikes, it pulls in its head;
when a ferocious beast attacks, it conceals its claws.
The tiger and leopard do not let their fangs show;
biting dogs do not show their teeth.
Thus the Way of using arms is to
show them softness and meet them with hardness,
show them weakness and ride them with strength,
make [as if] contracting and respond to them by expanding.
When the commander wants to go west, he shows them east.
At first he stands aloof, yet after he engages,
in front he is dark yet behind he is bright.
Like ghosts, leaving no tracks;
like water, bearing no scars.
Thus
where he tends toward is not where he arrives;
what he reveals is not what he plans.
Taking, giving, moving, resting, none can recognize him. Like the stroke of thunder, one cannot prepare for him. He does not repeat [any tactic] he uses, so he can always be victorious. He communicates with the Mysterious Brilliance; none knows his portals. This is known as the Supremely Spiritlike. [15/150/21–28]
15.21
What makes the military strong is being set on death.
What makes the people set on death is Rightness.
What makes Rightness able to be practiced is awesomeness.
For this reason,
gather them with civility;
order them with martiality.
This is called “sure attainment.” When awesomeness and Rightness are practiced together, this is known as “supreme strength.”
What people take joy in is life,
and what they hate is death.
Even so,
at high walls and deep moats,
when arrows and stones fall like rain;
on flat plains and broad marshes,
where naked blades cross and meet,
soldiers will compete to advance and engage [the enemy]. It is not that they scorn death and take joy in injury; it is because rewards are trustworthy and punishments are clear. [15/151/1–4]