136. Compare with the ceremony described in Chapter 21 of the Six Secret Teachings, "Appointing the General," and see textual note 41 for an explanation of the axes.
137. See the similar description in Chapter 51,"Dispersing and Assembling," of the Six Secret Teachings.
138. The term translated as "vanguard," chung chun, has traditionally been understood as designating a rear guard force, an army that "follows in the rear" (WLTCC WCCS, II:8B; WLT CCCY, pp. 226-232). This explanation was based on chung meaning the "heel of the foot" and "to follow in the footsteps of." However, modern commentators understand it as referring to a "vanguard" because this chapter speaks of it as following behind the advance army (cf. WLT CC, p. 65; WLT CY, pp. 67-68; WLT CS, pp. 146-147).
139. Understanding piao as a type of command pennant (cf. WLT CC, p. 65). The chapter refers to these pennants several times, and various explanations are offered by the commentators. One is that flags or pennants were emplaced at the assembly point or on the designated battlefields and that the various forces then marched to them. Others suggest they were a sort of marker post that functioned similarly (cf. WLTCC WCCS, II: 8B-9A). Still another view is that piao refers to a prearranged schedule and that actions should be taken in accord with it (cf. WLT CY, p. 68). Finally, some feel that they conveyed a prearranged signal or command and were possibly a pennant or flag of some type (cf. WLT CS, p. 136). In the latter case, ho piao might refer to uniting the halves of the command, thereby authenticating it.
140. Raised, or possibly presented to the commander.
141. The soldiers are not just fed but are ceremoniously feasted to raise their morale for battle.
142. This sentence is thought by some commentators to be a misplaced fragment because it bears little relation to the context. The explanations for the four unorthodox forces include the main army, advance army, vanguard, and the division of troops. (The latter is clearly forced, as is the whole explanation. Any force can be used in unorthodox tactics; they are not inherently unorthodox despite a force perhaps having special training.) Others suggest they are four main types of battle array (WLT CC, pp. 65-66) or corner positions on the formation (WLT CS, pp. 9-10.)
143. The commentators differ on the meaning of hsiang tsan; some take it as "to participate in planning military affairs," others as "to investigate and check each other," and still others as translated. (Cf. WLT CCCY, p. 232; WLT CS, pp. 146-147; WLT CC, p. 66.)
144. Although the text is ambiguous, clearly both the squad leader-who is responsible for the behavior and attainments of his men-and the instructor will be liable to punishment.
145. The term translated as "falls ill" is variously understood-from leaving formation and thus not participating in the drills to falling down, lying on the ground. In the latter case the soldier would obviously not need to report his illness himself. (Cf. WLT CY, p. 70; WLT CC, p. 68; and WLT CS, p. 151.) Liu Yin suggests that the term is not clear but may mean "commit an offense" (WLTCC WCCS, II:11B; also see WLT CCCY, p. 236).
146. As discussed in Chapter 17, "Orders for Regulating the Troops."
147. A mid-echelon officer apparently in charge of eight hundred men (WLT CS, p. 151).
148. Following the commentators who gloss chueh as to engage in archery or weapons practice rather than as a term designating foot-speed measure (WLT CC, p. 69; WLT CY, p. 70).
149. No doubt the rewards-which would be based strictly on objectively quantifiable battlefield achievements such as the number of heads, prisoners, and flags captured-also included the awarding of flags of rank. Thus everyone would be able to observe the basis for such awards and also the promotions themselves.
150. The commentators generally understand lu Ii as "uniting strength," probably based on a Kuo yu gloss. However, in this case the meaning of the original character"kill," "slay in war," "massacre"-would perhaps be more appropriate. The sentence would then read "Establishing awesomeness lies in [attaining] killing power."
151. Following WLT CY, p. 70; WLT CC, p. 69.
152. Certain variant texts have "army" for "chariots." However, the passage is more comprehensible if it refers to the three chariot officers and the squads of five, reflecting the stage of growing chariot and infantry cooperation (WLT CC, p. 71).
153. These terms have been encountered previously with a different meaning. See note 19, the text of chapter 3, and note 112.
154. Or possibly to stop in the sense of encamping. (Cf. WLTCC WCCS, II:16A; WLT CC, p. 71; and WLT CS, p. 154.)
155. As in ascend a wall, mount a parapet.
156. Emending "first" to "causes," as Liu Yin's commentary suggests (WLTCC WCCS, II:16B).
157. Apparently the aim is to make the formation as dense as possible, with the spears almost touching (cf. WLTCC WCCS, 11:1 7A). Some have understood this as referring to their deployment when encamped, but it need not be so restricted (cf. WLT CY, p. 75).
158. The Sung edition has "strong" rather than wise. However, because the chariot also served as a command platform, "strong" is not invariably correct.
159. Emending "their" to "flags," following the Sung edition.
160. This passage is similar to those found in several texts describing the commitments required of generals being commissioned.
161. Following the Sung edition rather than the Ming, although both can mean "within a short period." (Liu Yin explains the Ming text as "a few spies," which seems rather inappropriate to the context [WLTCC WCCS, II:19A].)
162. This presumably refers to the ruler in his implementation of the system of rewards and punishments.
163. Based on the context, these two sentences could also be understood as referring to those who presumed to interfere with the implementation of the law. Thus, "If someone should be punished, execute anyone who requests that he be spared. If someone should be rewarded, execute anyone who requests that he not be rewarded."
164. Their internal changes, deviations from the ideal and the proper. The sentences that follow suggest using probing stimuli to elicit changes, similar to the techniques used by the T'ai Kung in evaluating men discussed in Chapters 6 and 20.
165. A principle espoused in Chapter 40 of the Six Secret Teachings, "Occupying Enemy Territory." The prospect of achieving an opening or some other advantage will presumably lead them to commit their forces to the enterprise, thereby wearing them down without throwing them into such a completely hopeless situation that they will fight a desperate, pitched battle. (Much of the earlier material in the chapter on attacking cities while sparing the people also reflects Chapter 40.)
166. They are thinking of leaving, escaping.
167. Literally, "their minds have been lost," to which Liu Yin adds the interesting comment that when they have "lost their minds, how can they possibly make plans?" This explains the problem of "distorted plans," noted in the chapter's last sentence.
168. Either this chapter has been deliberately condensed during the course of transmission, or significant portions have simply been lost. The Ch'un-shu chih-yao and the bamboo slips supplement the received Ming (Sung) text in numerous places but do not represent sufficiently radical changes to necessitate revising the latter in view of our objective of translating the integral Sung/Ming text. However, for the convenience of readers interested in this material, rather than appending a confusing array of sentences section by section, we provide a tentative complete translation after the notes for this chapter. (The translation follows the reconstructed text found in the WLT CS, pp. 159-160.)
169. A saying from the Tao Te Ching previously encountered in this and other military classics.
170. Some commentators suggest that "trunk" should be understood as "pillars" and "seed" as "foundation" (cf. WLT CY, p. 79).
171. The translation follows Liu Yin's division of the text. However, some commentators understand this sentence as referring to integrating and unifying the martial and civil, continuing the thread of the previous sentence. (See WLT CY, p. 79; and also the RT translation b
elow.)
172. Following the Ming text, which asserts the principle that an advance front should be dispersed in order to be effective. (Cf. WLTCC WCCS, II:22B and the slightly different view in WLT CY, p. 79.) Other commentators understand ta, which can mean "to penetrate" in the passive sense-as "be penetrated"-so that being dispersed would be harmful. (This is apparently based on the absence of "advance front" in the RT, for which see the translation below.) Also recall this statement from Book III of the Ssu-ma Fa: "When advancing, the most important thing for the ranks is to be dispersed; when engaged in battle, to be dense."
173. Following Liu Yin's suggestion that the sentence refers to the general and the troops, respectively (WLTCC WCCS, II:23A).
Translation of the reconstructed text: "Weapons are inauspicious implements; combat is a contrary Virtue; conflict is the last of affairs. The true king attacks the brutal and chaotic to settle benevolence and righteousness. They are the means by which the warring states establish their awesomeness and encroach on their enemies, what weak states are unable to abandon.
"The military takes the martial as its ridge beam and takes the civil as its pillars. It takes the martial as the exterior, and takes the civil as the interior. It makes the martial the external, and makes the civil the internal. One who can investigate and fathom these three will then know the means to victory and defeat. The martial is the means to insult an enemy, to determine life and death. The civil is the means to discern benefit and harm, examine security and danger. The martial is the means to contravene an enemy, the civil is the means to defend. The military's employment of the civil and martial is like an echo responding to a sound, like a shadow following a body.
"An army is victorious through being unified and defeated through being beset by dissension. Through tightness formations are inevitably solid; when dispersed they are porous. A general who has awesomeness will survive; one who loses his awesomeness will die. One who has awesomeness will be victorious; one without awesomeness will be defeated. When the troops have a general, then they will fight; when they are without a general, then they will flee. When they have a general, they will die; when without a general, they will be disgraced. What is meant by awesomeness is rewards and punishments. One whose troops fear their general more than the enemy will be victorious in battle. One whose troops fear the enemy more than their general will flee from battle. Thus to know who will be victorious, who defeated, before engaging in battle, definitely weigh your general with the enemy. The enemy and your general are like a steelyard and balance.
"The army is ordered through being settled and quiet, and becomes chaotic through brutality and haste. Sending troops forth and deploying the army definitely have constant orders; the dispersal and density of the lines and squads definitely have constant methods; and arraying the rows from front to rear has its appropriateness and suitability. Constant orders are not for pursuing a fleeing enemy or suddenly striking a city. If the front and rear are disordered, then [the army] loses [its integrity]. If the front loses [their order], the rear beheads them.
"As for the army's constant formations, there are those which face toward the enemy; those which are internally oriented; standing formations; and sitting formations. Formations which face toward the enemy provide the means to prepare against external threats. Internally oriented ones are the means to preserve the center. Standing formations are the means to move, sitting formations the means to stop. Mixed formations-with some soldiers standing, others sitting-respond to each other in accord with the need to advance or stop, the general being in the middle. The weapons of the seated soldiers are the sword and ax; the weapons of the standing soldiers are the spear-tipped halberd and crossbow; the general also occupies the middle.
"Those who excel at repulsing the enemy first join battle with orthodox troops, then [use unorthodox ones] to control them. This is the technique for certain victory.
"Generals and their troops do not have the closeness of fathers and sons, nor the intimacy of blood relationship nor the personal connections of the six degrees of family relationship. Yet, although before them there is a thousand-fathom-deep valley or the abyss of a precipitous mountain gorge, when they see the enemy they race at them as if returning home, and when they see the enemy entering water or fire they follow them in, it is because before them they see the clarity of rewards and preservation, while behind them they see the punishment of certain death. If in front of them the general is not able to make clear his [rewards and behind them he is not able to make his punishments severe], then it defeats the army, causes the death of the general and the capture of the troops. The general who is able to control his officers and troops, [both] within the encampment and when practicing formations, makes his corporeal punishments and fines severe, and makes his various rewards clear. Then, when they issue forth they will realize complete achievement.
"Array the fu and yueh axes [for punishment], make a display of the emblems and flags [used as rewards]. Those who have merit must be rewarded; those who contravene orders must die. When the point is reached that the two enemies are confronting each other, the deployed formations are pressing close upon each other, and the general takes up the drumsticks and drums the advance, then surviving and perishing, life and death, lie in the tips of the drumsticks. Even though there are those under Heaven who excel at commanding armies, [no one] will be able to repulse them after the great drumming. When the troops have gone forth, the armies have been deployed, and the arrayed formations see the enemy-looking across at each other's emblems and flags, before the arrows have been shot and cross in flight, before the long blades have clashed-those who yell out first are termed `vacuous,' those who yell out afterward are termed `substantial,' and those who do not yell are termed `secretive.' `Vacuous,' `substantial,' and `secretive' are the embodiment of warfare."
174. As with "Army Orders I," a tentative translation of the RT found in the WLT CS (pp. 160-161) follows the chapter notes below.
175. The punishment for men involved in such flight is thus an extended three-year tour of duty on the border, in contrast to the earlier-mentioned single year's obligation.
176. The double expenditure is generally understood as referring either to the rations for an empty position plus those consumed by a man at home or, more likely, to two rations covering only a single man at the front. (Cf. WLT CS, p. 165; WLT CY, p. 83; WLT CCCY, p. 291.)
177. Although the text seems straightforward, this sentence has caused considerable discussion over the centuries. As mentioned in note 22 to the translator's introduction, it has frequently been taken as referring to administering capital punishment to the troops, apparently to put them in greater awe of their own commander than of the enemy. More likely, it should be understood as translated: "The general is able to bear having half of his men killed to achieve victory." (See Hsu Yung's lengthy discussion in the WLT CS, pp. 166-175.)
Translation of the reconstructed text: "Districts which are a hundred li from the army should all make preparations for defense and for repelling [the enemy] just as a city which lies on the borders. When there is an order to mobilize the army, the commanding officers should receive their drums and flags, halberds and armor. On the day for issuing forth, anyone who goes out across the district borders after his commanding officer shall be liable for the law for late arrival for border duty.
"After serving on border duty for a year, anyone who subsequently deserts and does not follow the commanding officer's orders shall be punished analogously to the law for deserting the army. If his parents, wife, or children know about it, they will share the crime with him. If they do not know about it, pardon them.
"If a soldier arrives at the headquarters of the Grand General a day after his commanding officer, his parents, wife, and children should all share the crime with him. If a soldier abandons his post to return home for a day and his parents, wife, or children do not arrest him, hold him, or report it, they will also share the crime with him.
"If
they should lose their commanding officer in battle, or if their commanding officer should be killed in battle and the troops flee by themselves and return [to the rear], they deserve to all be beheaded. If a commanding officer should command his troops in a retreat, anyone who beheads him and seizes his troops should be rewarded. Anyone [among them] in the army who has not achieved merit must serve three years at the border.
"If the army engages in a major battle and the Grand General dies, all the subordinate officers commanding units of more than five hundred men who were not able to fight to the death with the enemy deserve to be beheaded. All the troops near the commanding general, on the left and right in [protective] formation, deserve to be beheaded. As for the remaining officers and men, those who have achieved military merit should be reduced one grade of merit. Those who have not achieved military merit should be rescripted to three years' border duty.
"If the squad of five loses a man in battle, or if a squad member dies in battle but they do not retrieve his corpse, then take away all the merit of all his squad members. [Those without military merit] should be rescripted to three years' border duty. If they retrieve his corpse, then their crimes should be pardoned.
"If the troops escape and return home ... it is a great harm to the army and a great waste to the state. If the generals are unable to stop it, this is the way to become internally weak of oneself.
"The army's advantage and disadvantage lie with name and substance in the state. Today if a person's name appears on the military [rolls] but in reality he is at home, then the [army] has not gained the substance [of his presence], and the household has not gained the [registration of] his name. When troops are assembled to compose an army, it will have an empty name and no substance. Outside the state it will be inadequate to repel enemies, while within the borders it will be inadequate to defend the state. This is the way in which the army becomes insufficient, in which the general has his awesomeness taken away.
The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China Page 64