by An Liu
For this reason,
if superiors view inferiors as sons,
inferiors will view superiors as fathers.
If superiors view inferiors as younger brothers.
inferiors will view superiors as older brothers.
If superiors view inferiors as sons, they will surely be king over the Four Seas;
if inferiors view superiors as fathers, they will surely rectify the world.
If superiors are intimate with inferiors as with younger brothers, then [the inferiors] will not [find it] difficult to die for [their superiors].
If inferiors see their superiors as older brothers, then [the superiors] will not [find it] difficult to perish [for their inferiors].
For this reason, one cannot fight with opponents who are [as close as] fathers, sons, older brothers, and younger brothers because of the goodwill accumulated over previous generations.
Thus,
if the four horses were not in harmony, [even] Zaofu would not be able to travel far;
if bow and arrow were not in harmony, [even] Yi would not be able to always hit the mark;
if ruler and minister were of separate minds, [even] Sunzi48 would not be able to face the enemy.
Thus,
within, [the ruler] cultivates his governance in accumulating Potency;
without, he stops up resentment [by causing people to] submit to his awesomeness. [15/151/6–10]
15.22
Investigate the [soldiers’] labor and ease so as to be aware of their fullness and hunger, so when the day of battle arrives, they will view death as a homecoming. The commander must share the troops’ sweetness and bitterness, matching their hunger and cold. Thus he can win their [loyalty unto] death, even to the last man.
Thus in antiquity, skillful commanders were sure to personally take the lead.
In the heat, they did not spread a canopy;
in the cold, they did not don furs,
so as to equal [the soldiers’] heat and cold.
In narrow defiles they would not ride;
going uphill they would always dismount,49
so as to match [the soldiers’] fatigue and ease.
When the army’s food was cooked, only then did they dare eat;
when the army’s well had been bored, only then did they dare drink,
so as to share [the soldiers’] hunger and thirst.
When battle was joined, they would stand where the arrows and stones were arriving, so as to partake of [the soldiers’] safety and danger.
Thus the good commander’s use of soldiers constantly
struck accumulated resentment with accumulated Potency,
struck accumulated hatred with accumulated love.
Why would he not triumph? [15/151/10–15]
What the ruler asks of the people is twofold:
He asks the people to labor for him;
he wants the people to die for him.
What the people hope of the ruler is threefold:
That if they are hungry, he will feed them;
that if they are fatigued, he will rest them;
that if they have merit, he will be able to reward them.
If the people fulfill their two duties and the ruler disappoints their three hopes, though the kingdom is large and the people numerous, the military will be weak.
The embittered must attain what they take joy in;
the belabored must attain what they find profit in.
The merit of “cutting heads” must be fully [remunerated];
service unto death must be posthumously rewarded.
If in these four, one keeps faith with the people, even if the ruler
shoots at birds in the clouds, angles for fish in the deep abyss,
plucks the qin and se, listens to bells and pipes,
plays liubo or tosses “high pots,”50
the military will still be strong;
orders will still be carried out.
For this reason, if superiors are worthy of reverence, inferiors may be used; if one’s Potency is worthy of admiration, one’s awesomeness may be established. [15/151/17–22]
15.23
The commander must have three guides, four ethics, five conducts, and ten disciplines.
What are called the three guides
above understand the Way of Heaven,
below study the shape of the terrain,
among them investigate the feelings of the people.
What are called the four ethics? [They are]
to benefit the kingdom without favoring the military,
to serve the ruler without thought for yourself,
to face difficulty without fearing death, and
to decide doubts without avoiding punishment.
What are called the five conducts? [They are]
to be soft but unable to be rolled up;
to be hard but unable to be snapped;
to be humane but unable to be insulted;
to be faithful but unable to be cheated; and
to be brave but unable to be overcome.
What are called the ten disciplines?
Your spirit is pure and cannot be sullied;
your plans are far-reaching and cannot be anticipated;
your training is firm and cannot be moved;
your awareness is lucid and cannot be blocked;
you are not greedy51 for wealth;
you are not corrupted by things;
you are not taken in by disputation;
you are not moved by [occult] arts;
you cannot be pleased;
you cannot be angered.
This is called the perfect model. Obscure! Mysterious! Who understands his feelings? [The ideal commander’s]
initiatives surely accord with the heft;52
his words surely correspond to the measure;
his actions surely comply with the seasons; .
his resolutions surely hit the [correct] pattern.
he comprehends the activation of motion and stillness;
he is enlightened to the rhythm of opening and closing;
he has investigated the benefit and harm of removing and deploying, so that [they are] as if merging two halves of a tally.
He is swift like a cocked crossbow;
his force is like that of a released arrow,
Now a dragon, now a snake;
his movements have no constant shape.
None sees his middle;
none know his end.
When he attacks, there is no defense;
when he defends, he cannot be attacked. [15/151/24–15/152/2]
It has been said that one who is skilled at the use of arms must first cultivate it in himself [and] only afterward seek it in other people. He must first make himself invincible and only then seek out victory.
To [look for] self-cultivation from others and beg victory from the enemy, not yet being able to order oneself and yet attacking another’s disorder; these are like
extinguishing fire with [more] fire,
responding to a flood with [more] water.
What can it accomplish?
Now if a potter were to be transformed into clay, he could not fashion plates and pots.
If a weaver girl were to be transformed into silk, she could not weave patterned cloth.
Like [things] do not suffice to control one another, thus only [something] different can be extraordinary. If two sparrows are fighting with each other, the arrival of a falcon or a hawk will break them apart because they are of a different sort.
Thus stillness is extraordinary to agitation, [and] order is extraordinary to chaos;
fullness is extraordinary to hunger, [and] ease is extraordinary to labor.
The mutual response of the extraordinary and the usual are like [the way that] water, fire, metal, and wood take turns being servant and master.
The one who is skilled at the use of arms maintains the five lethal [conducts] in responding, so he can complete his victory. The one
who is clumsy abides in the five fatal [failings] and overreaches, so when he moves he becomes another’s captive.53 [15/152/4–9]
15.24
The military values plans being unfathomable and formations being concealed.
Emerge where one is not expected, so [the enemy] cannot prepare a defense.
If plans are seen, they will fail;
if formations are seen, they will be controlled.
Thus one who is skilled at using arms,
above hides them in Heaven,
below hides them in Earth,
between hides them among people.
One who hides them in Heaven can control anything. What is called “hiding them in Heaven”? It is to alter in accordance with
great cold, profound heat,
swift wind, violent rain,
heavy fog, or dark night.
What is called “hiding it in Earth”? It is being able to conceal one’s formations amid
mountains, hills,
forests, and valleys.
What is called “hiding it among people”?
Blocking their view in front,
facing them in the rear.
While producing an unexpected [maneuver] or moving a formation,
breaking forth like thunder,
rushing like the wind and rain.
Furling the great banners, silencing the loud drums so that one’s coming and going has no traces; none knows their beginning or end. [15/152/11–15]
When front and rear are correctly aligned, the four corners are as if bound together;
when coming and going, disengaging and continuing do not interfere with one another;
when light [troops] are at the wings and crack [soldiers] are at the flanks, some forward and some at the rear;
when in parting and merging, dispersing and concentrating, companies and squads are not broken up;
this is to be skilled at deploying moving formations.
When one is clear as to freak occurrences and anomalies, yin and yang, recision and accretion, the Five Phases, the observance of qi, astrology,54 and spirit supplication,55 this is to be skillful at the Way of Heaven.
When one establishes plans, places ambushes,
uses fire and water,56 produces anomalies.
When one has the army shout and drum so as to confuse [the enemy’s] ears and drags bundled sticks to kick up dust and confuse [the enemy’s] eyes; all these are being skilled at deception and dissimulation.
When the chun57 sounds resolutely,
when one’s will is firm58 and not easily frightened,
when one cannot be lured by force or advantage,
when one cannot be shaken by death or defeat,
these are to be skilled at bolstering strength.
When one is agile and quick to strike,
when one is brave and scorns the enemy,
when one is swift as [a horse at] the gallop,
these are to be skilled at using speed and creating surprise.
When one assesses the shape of the terrain,
when one lodges at rest camps,
when one fixes walls and fortifications,
when one is careful of depressions59 and salt marshes,
when one occupies the high ground,
when one avoids exposed positions,
these are to be skilled at using the shape of the terrain.
When one relies on [the enemy’s] hunger, thirst, cold and heat,
when one belabors his fatigue and aggravates his disorder,
when one deepens his fear and hampers his steps,
when one hits him with elite troops,
when one strikes him at night,
these are to be skilled at according with the seasons and responding to alterations.
When one uses chariots on easy [terrain],
when one uses mounted horsemen on obstructed [terrain],
when one uses more bowmen while crossing water,
when one uses more crossbowmen in a narrow pass,
when one uses more flags by day,
when one uses more fires by night,
when one uses more drums at dusk,
these are to be skilled in logistics.
One cannot lack even one of these eight, even though they are not what is most valuable to the military. [15/152/17–26]
15.25
The commander must see singularly and know singularly.
Seeing singularly is to see what is not seen.
Knowing singularly is to know what is not known.
To see what others do not is called “enlightenment.”
To know what others do not is called “spiritlike.”
The spiritlike and enlightened is one who triumphs in advance. He who triumphs in advance
cannot be attacked when he defends,
cannot be defeated in battle,
cannot be defended against when he attacks.
This is because of emptiness and fullness.
When there is a gap between superiors and inferiors, when the commander and officials do not cooperate, when what one upholds is not straight, when the minds of the soldiers accumulate insubordination, this is called “emptiness.”
When the ruler is enlightened and the commander competent, when superiors and inferiors are of the same mind, when [the soldiers’] qi and intentions both are aroused, this is called “fullness.”
It is like throwing water at fire:
What it lands on squarely will collapse;
what it hits sparsely will be moved.
Hard and soft do not interpenetrate,
victory and defeat60 are alien to each other.
This speaks of emptiness and fullness.
Being skilled at battle does not reside in the few;
being skilled at defense does not reside in the small;
victory resides in attaining awesomeness;
defeat resides in losing qi. [15/152/27–15/153/4]
The full should fight, the empty should run;
the thriving should be strong, the declining should flee.
The territory of King Fuchai of Wu was two thousand li square, and he had seventy thousand armored warriors.
To the south he fought with Yue and routed them at Kuaiji.
To the north he fought with Qi and broke them at Ailing.
To the west he met the Duke of Jin and captured him at Huangchi.61
This is to use the people’s qi when it is full. Afterward
he became arrogant and gave free rein to his desires;
he scorned admonition and took delight in slander;
he was violent and followed erroneous [advice];
he could not be spoken to honestly.
The great officials were resentful;
the people were insubordinate.
The king of Yue and three thousand elite troops captured [Fuchai] at Gansui.62 This was taking advantage of his emptiness.
That qi has empty and full [phases] is like the darkness following the light. Thus,
a victorious military is not always full;
a defeated military is not always empty.
He who is skilled can fill his people’s qi while awaiting others’ emptiness.
He who is incapable empties his people’s qi while awaiting others’ fullness.
Thus the qi of emptiness and fullness are what is most valued by the military. [15/153/6–11]
15.26
Whenever the kingdom has difficulty, from the palace the ruler summons the commander, charging him: “The fate of the altars of the soil and grain are on your person. The kingdom faces a crisis, I wish you to take command and respond to it.”
When the commander has accepted his mandate, [the ruler] orders the Supplicator and Great Diviner to fast, sequestered for three days. Going to the Great Temple, they consult the Magic Tortoise to divine a lucky day for receiving the drums and flags.
The ruler enters the temple portal, faces west, and stands. The commander enters the temple p
ortal, rushes to the foot of the platform, faces north, and stands.
The sovereign personally grasps the yue ax. Holding it by the head, he offers the commander its handle, saying, “From here up to Heaven is controlled by [you,] the commander.” [The ruler] again grasps the fu ax. Holding it by the head, he offers the commander its handle, saying, “From here down to the Abyss is controlled by [you,] the commander.”63
When the commander has accepted the fu and yue axes, he replies,
“[Just as] the kingdom cannot be governed from without,
the army cannot be ruled from within.64
[Just as] one cannot serve the ruler with two minds,
one cannot respond to the enemy with a doubtful will.
Since [I,] your minister, have received control from you, I exclusively [wield] the authority of the drums, flags, and fu and yue axes. I ask nothing in return. I [only] hope that Your Highness likewise will not hand down one word of command to me.
If Your Highness does not agree, I dare not take command.
If Your Highness agrees, I will take my leave and set out.”
[The commander] then trims his fingernails,65 dons funeral garb, and exits through the “ill-augured” portal.66 He mounts the commander’s chariot and arrays the banners and axes, tied as if not [yet] victorious. On meeting the enemy and committing to battle,
he pays no heed to certain death;
he does not have two minds.
For this reason,
he has no Heaven above;
he has no Earth below;
he has no enemy in front;
he has no ruler behind;
he does not seek fame in advancing;
he does not avoid punishment in retreating;
he [seeks] only to protect the people;
his benefit is united with that of the ruler.
This is the treasure of the kingdom, the Way of the superior commander.
If he is like this,
the clever will plan for him;
the brave will fight for him;
their qi will scrape the azure clouds;
they will be swift as galloping [steeds].
Thus before weapons have clashed, the enemy is terrified.
If the battle is victorious and the enemy flees, [the commander] thoroughly dispenses rewards for merit. He reassigns his officers, increasing their rank and emolument. He sets aside land and apportions it, making sure it is outside the feudal mound.67 Last, he judges punishments within the army.
Turning back, he returns to the kingdom, lowering his banners and storing the fu and yue axes. He makes his final report to the ruler, saying, “I have no further control over the army.” He then dons coarse silk and enters seclusion.