Military Strategy Classics of Ancient China

by Shawn Conners

  吴起与秦军作战，两军尚未交锋，有一人自恃其勇，独自冲向前去，斩获敌人两个首级回来。吴起要立刻杀他。军吏请求说：”这是个有本领的人，不可杀掉。”吴起说：”他诚然是有本领的，但他违背了我的命令。”结果还是把他杀了。

  Chapters 9 – 17

  Chapter 9 – General, as Officer of the Law

  Verse 1

  A general is an officer of law and punishment, the manager of all matters. He should not favor anyone. When he does not favor anyone, everything is within his control and he can control anything. The perfect man does not stop a criminal more than five paces away. Even though they may have shot at him with barbed arrows, he does not pursue past vengeance. He excels at discovering the nature of a criminal’s offense. Without relying on torture, he can obtain a complete understanding of the offender’s situation. If you flog a person’s back, brand his ribs, or break his fingers in order to question him about the nature of his offense, even a state hero could not withstand this cruelty and would falsely implicate himself.

  将帅是掌管刑法的官吏，也是一切事务的主宰者，不应偏袒任何人。正由于不偏袒任何人，所以任何事情发生，都能公平裁决，任何情况出现，都能正确处理。贤德的人总是亲自询问，详察案情，避免错误，秉公审理，即使犯人与自己有深仇宿怨，也不追究前仇。所以善于审案的人，不必施行拷打，也可以把案情全部掌握。如果依靠鞭打犯人脊背，烧灼犯人两胁，捆夹犯人手指等办法来审讯，就是豪杰之士，也会因经不起这种酷刑，而被屈打成招了。

  Verse 2

  There is a saying in our age: ‘One who has thousands of pieces of gold will not die; one who has hundreds of pieces of gold will not suffer corporal punishment.’ If you listen to my suggestion and try them in practice, then even a person with the wisdom of Yao or Shun (sage kings) will not be able to avert a word of the charge against him, nor one with 10,000 pieces of gold be able to use the smallest silver piece to escape punishment. At the present, those in prison awaiting judgment number no less than several dozens in the smallest jails, no less than several hundred in the middle-sized jails, and no less than several thousand in the largest prisons. Ten men involved 100 men in their affairs; 100 men drag in 1,000; and 1,000 trap 10,000. Those who have become entangled first are parents and brothers; next relatives; and next those who are acquaintances and old friends. For this reason, the farmers all leave their occupations in the fields, the merchants depart from their stores, and the officials leave their posts. These good people have all been dragged in because of the nature of our criminal proceedings. The ‘Art of War’ says: ‘When an army of 10,000 goes forth, its daily expense is a thousand pieces of gold.’ Now when there are 10,000 good people thus entangled and imprisoned, yet the ruler is unable to investigate the situation – I take it to be dangerous!

  现今的俗话说：”有千金的人，可以免死，有百金的人，可以免刑。”如能听取我的意见，采用我的办法，虽有尧舜的智慧，也不能关说一句通融的话，虽有万全的财富，也不能用一”铢”钱行贿。现今审理案件，小案拘禁不下数十人，中等案件拘禁不下数百人，大案拘禁不下数千人。而且往往是十人的事牵连百人，百人的事牵连千人，千人的事牵连万人。所牵连的人，首先是父母兄弟，其次是亲属，再次是熟识的朋友。被牵连的农民被迫离开土地，商人被迫离开店铺，士大夫被迫离开官府。象这样众多的良民被牵连而关进监狱，这就是当前拘禁囚犯的实际情况。兵法上说：”十万大军出征，一日托费千金。”现在十万良民被牵连入狱，而君王不能明察，我认为是很危险的。

  Chapter 10 – Officers and Rulers

  Verse 1

  Bureaucratic offices are the means to control affairs of state and are the foundation of state administration. Regulations on four groups derived according to their occupations are the parameters of administration. Honor, rank, riches and salaries must be appropriately determined by capabilities and character, for they are the embodiment of nobility and public service. Treating the good well and punishing the evil, rectifying the laws for organizing the people, and collecting taxes and penalties are implements for governing the people. Making land distributions equitable and restraining taxes and other impositions on the people provide measure to what is levied and bestowed. Regulating the artisans and preparing implements for use should be the contribution of the Master Artisans. Dividing the territory and occupying the strategic points is the work of eliminating any possible oddities and stopping potential chaos. Preserving the laws, investigating affairs and making decisions are the roles of subordinates. Illuminating the duties of the bureaucrats, setting responsibilities as light or heavy – these fall under the authority of the ministers and ruler. Making rewards and bestowals clear, being strict in executing and punishing are methods for stopping evil. Being cautious about what to undertake and what to give up, insisting on one united policy are the essentials of government. When information from below reaches up high, and the concerns of up high penetrate to below, this is the most ideal situation.

  设置各级官吏，主管各项事务，是治理国家的根本措施。各种官制，按职守分管士、农、工、商各个部门，这是治理国家的分工。〔天官冢宰主管]授予官爵俸禄必须与其德才相称，这是区别尊卑贵贱的体制。[地官司徒掌管]表扬好人，惩罚坏人，执行比法，以考核、统计人冒及其财产，均分土地，减轻赋税，以保障对民众取予的适度。[冬官司空掌管]分配工人的任务，供应物资器材，提高工作效率。[夏官司马主管]划分防区，守备要地，以防止和消灭各种变乱事件。执法严肃，处理果断，这是臣子的本分。制订法令，实行考核，这是君主的责任。明确属下的主管业务，区别政事的轻重缓急，这是各部大臣的职权。奖赏公正，惩罚严格，这是防止坏人活动的手段。研究应兴应革的事项，坚持统一的方针政策，这是治理国家的关键。下情上达，上情下通，这是全面了解情况的方法。

  Verse 2

  By knowing the extent of the state’s resources, you can plan to use the surplus. Knowing the weakness of others is the way to strengthening oneself; knowing the movements of others leads to calmness. Officers are divided into the civil and martial, because these are the two areas for which the ruler administers the state. The ceremonial vessels are all regulated, for they are being used by the Son of Heaven’s (the king’s) convocation. When itinerant persuaders and spies have no means to gain entrance, this is the technique for rectifying and preserving discussions. The feudal lords have their rites for honoring the Son of Heaven, and rulers and their people – generation after generation – continue to acknowledge the king’s mandate to rule. If someone changes or creates new rites, alters what is normal, or contravenes the king’s illustrious Virtue, then in accordance with the rites, the king can attack them. Officials with no affairs to administer, a ruler without rank or rewards that need to be bestowed, a populace without criminal cases or lawsuits, a state without traders or merchants – how perfected the king’s rule! What I have so clearly proposed, and the ruler should heed and take actions to move towards, is because of the ruler’s high morality.

  了解国家资财的多少，这是量入为出，节约开支的根据。了解敌方的薄弱环节，这是让自己变弱为强的依据。了解对方的动态，这是我方冷静才能看透。设置文武官吏，分管政治、军事，这是王者治理国家的两种手段。祭祀的制度有统一的规定，这是天子会合诸侯的仪式。不听信游士的邪说和间谍的诡计，这是贯彻正确主张的保证。诸侯谨守天子的礼法，君臣关系，世代相传，这是承受天子之命的前提。如果改换国号变更制度，违背天子的德政，按礼就可以进行讨伐。要做到社会安定，不须官吏去管理，万民勤奋不需上级去鼓励，民众没有纠纷，国家没有商贩
，造成最好的政治局面。我之所以坦率地陈述这些意见，也就是希望你能施行这种德政。

  Chapter 11 – Foundations of Governance

  Verse 1

  In general, what is the way to govern the populace? I say that without the five grains, you have nothing to fill their stomachs, without silk and hemp, nothing to cover their form. Thus to fill their stomachs, there are grains, and to cover their form there is thread. Husbands work at weeding and plowing, wives at weaving. If people do not have secondary occupations, then there will be goods accumulated in the storehouses. The men should not engrave nor make decorative carving; the women should not embroider nor do decorative stitching. Carved wooden vessels allow water to seep in; metal utensils have an offensive smell. The Sage drinks from an earthen vessel and eats from an earthen vessel. Thus when clay is formed to make utensils, there will be no waste.

  治理民众用什么办法呢？回答是，没有五谷人们就没有饭吃，没有丝麻人们就没有衣穿，所以吃饭有了粮食，穿衣有了丝麻，男子从事耕种，女子从事纺织，人们专事耕织不受其他事务的影响，国家就有储备了。提倡男子不要从事奢侈品的雕刻，女子不要从事装饰品的刺绣。木制的食器容易渗水，金属的食器带有腥味，圣人的饮食用具都是来源于土，因而制作陶土用具，这就可杜绝天下的浪费了。

  Verse 2

  Today, people think the nature of metal and wood is not ‘afraid’ of cold, thus they embroider their clothes with them. The original nature of horses and oxen is to eat grass and drink water, but people feed the animals beans and grains. This is governing which has lost its foundation, and it would be appropriate to establish regulations to control it. In spring and summer, the men go out to the southern fields, and in the fall and winter, the women work at weaving cloth: the people will not be impoverished. Today, when their short, coarse clothing does not even cover their bodies, nor the dregs of wine and husks of grain fill their stomachs, the foundation of government has been lost. Since antiquity, the land has not become more fertile or barren; the people have not become more diligent or lazy. How could have the ancients attained a state of being well fed and well clothed, how could we have lost it now? The men do not finish plowing their fields; the women do not finish weaving cloths, so how could they not be hungry and cold? Probably, the administration of the ancients was fully effected while that of today stops before thorough implementation.

  如今，金木本来是不知道寒冷的，却要给它披上锦绣，牛马本来是吃草炊水的，却要喂它粮食，这种做法完全违反了它们的本性，应该建立合理的制度才是。春、夏男子到田里耕种庄稼，秋、冬女子在家里染织布帛，这样人民就不会贫困了。现在人民穿的是粗布短衫，而且。还遮不住身体，吃的是粗劣食品，而且还填不饱肚子，这是没有把国家治理好的表现。古时候，土地的肥沃同今天没有两样，人民的勤惰同今天也没有两样，为什么古人丰衣足食，而今人缺吃少穿呀？主要是种田的人不能经常耕作，织布的人不能经常纺织，这怎能免于饥寒呢？总的来说，这是由于古代行之有效的耕织制度，到今天已经把它废止了的原故。

  Verse 3

  Now what is termed as good governance is causing the people not to have any selfish interests. If the people do not have selfish interests, then all will be one family. In the absence of private plowing and weaving, they will suffer the cold together, they will experience hunger together. Then, even if one has ten sons, they will not have the expense of even an extra bowl of rice, while if one has one son, their expenses will not be reduced by even one bowl. As such, would there be any clamoring and drunken indulgence ruining the good people? When the people stimulate each other to frivolity and extravagance, misfortunes, greed and competition spring up. When one person starts to hoard, then other people seek to selfishly accumulate some extra food and have some stored wealth. If this continues, crime will happen, arrests would then have to be made, and punishments have to be meted out. The ruler is then not fit to rule.

  所谓良好的政治，在于教育民众不要自私。如果民众不自私，天下就象一家人一样，而不必进行私耕私织，大家都把别人的寒冷当作自己的寒冷，把别人的饥饿当作自己的饥饿。因此，有十个孩子的人，也不加重他的生活负担，只有一个孩子的人，也不减轻他的社会责任，这样人们哪里还会喧喧嚷嚷嗜酒作乐，以致败坏良好的风尚呢？如果民众不安分，私欲就会产生，争权夺利的祸患就随之而起了。如果有一个人违背了这种无私的准则，别人也跟着他把粮食储藏起来自已吃，把财物储藏起来自己用，发展下去就会犯禁了，而民众一旦犯紫，就逮捕治罪，这怎能配得上为万民之首呢？

  Verse 4

  Those who excel at governing take hold of the regulations, causing the people not to have any selfish interests. When those below do not dare to be selfish, there will not be any who commit evil. Return to the foundation; accord with unselfish principles, have all issues move along the Way, and then the greedy mind will be eliminated. Also, competition will be stopped, the jails will be empty, the fields full, the grains plentiful; the lives of the populace will be stable. All surrounding tribes will feel that they are cared for. Then outside your borders there will not be any difficulty, while within the state there will be neither violence nor turbulence. This is the perfection of administration.

  好的政治，就是坚持法制，教育民众不要自私，大家不敢自私，就没有为非作歹的人了。如果人们恢复纯朴的本性，遵循无私的准则，那么，个人和私欲就会打消，争夺行为就会停止，监狱里就会没有囚犯，劳动的人就会遍布田野，生产的粮食就会增多，民众的生活就会安定，四方的民族也会受到关怀，国家没有外患，也没有内乱，这就可以称得上天下大治了。

  Verse 5

  The azure sky – no one know its extremity! Of the ancient emperors and Sage kings, who should be your model? Ages that have passed cannot be regained, future ages cannot be awaited. Seek them in yourself.

  蓝蓝的天空，谁知道它的边际？五帝三王的政治，谁的方式可供效法呢？过去的时代不可能重现，未来的理想也不能只靠等待，只有求之于自己的创造

  Verse 6

  There are four qualities for one referred to as the Son of Heaven: great intelligence, great benevolence, vast accomplishment and invincibility. These are the aspects of the Son of Heaven.

  能够称为天子的，要具备四个条件：一是智慧超人，二是恩布万民，三是功业宏伟，四是天下无敌。这都是天子应做到的事。

  Verse 7

  Wild animals are not used for sacrificial offerings; miscellaneous studies do not make a scholastic education.

  不能把野生的动物作为祭品，不能把杂凑的学说当成真才实学。

  Verse 8

  There is a saying: “The hundred miles of the sea cannot quench one man’s greed; a spring three feet deep can slake the thirst of the army.” I say: “Desire is born from lack of self-knowledge; perversity is born from lacking prohibitions.” The highest ruler transforms the spirit first, relies on trends as secondary, the third is not taking the people away from their seasonal work or seizing the people’s wealth. Now prohibitions must be completed through security forces, rewards must be completed through the civil.

  现今有人说：”百里宽的大海，不够一个贪得无厌的人喝，三尺深的小泉，却够三军之众解渴。”我认为私欲的产生由于没有节制，邪恶的产生由于禁止不力。所以，要解决这个问题，首先是精神感化，其次是因势利导，再次就是不误农时，不竭民财。禁止坏人坏事，必须使用强制手段才能成功；奖励好人好事，必须结合教育才能奏效。

  Chapter 12 – Tactical Balance of Power in Warfare

  Verse 1

  The ‘Art of War’ states: “1,000 men
provide the means to exercise the war tactics, 10,000 men provide the means to exercise martial prowess. If you apply the force of tactical power to the enemy first, he will not be able to commit in strength. If you apply martial prowess first, the enemy will not be able to withstand your attack.” Thus in warfare, it values the first to move the most. If one is able to understand and implement the principle, then it will conquer the enemy. If one is not able to understand and implement the principle, then it will not conquer them. Now when we attack, they will defend; when they attack, we will defend. These mutually produce victory and defeat. The pattern of battle is as such. Detailed planning comes from observing both the enemy and our side. Grabbing opportunities and advantages comes from being flexible in our plans. If you have something, pretend not to have it; if you lack something, appear to have it. Then how can the enemy trust appearances?

  兵法上说，兵力小的可用权谋取胜，兵力大的可用威力取胜。先敌使用权谋，敌人有力量也无法使用，先敌使用武力，敌人有力量也无法抗拒，所以用兵最好先发制 人。善于运用这一原则。就能战胜敌人，不善于运用这一原则，就不能战胜敌人。我去进攻敌人，敌人必然要反击，敌人来进攻我们，我们也必然要反击。不是我战胜敌人，就是敌人战胜我，这是战争的客观规律。精细周到的谋略在于明察敌我双方情况，机动权变的指挥在于灵活运用作战原则。有装做没有，没有却装做有，敌人怎么能摸清我们的真实情况呢？