Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Sun Tzu, c.500–320. B.C., name used by the unknown Chinese authors of the sophisticated treatise on philosophy, logistics, espionage, and strategy and tactics known as The Art of War. It includes many commentaries by later Chinese philosophers. The core text was probably written by one person during a time of expanding feudal conflicts, but the exact century is uncertain. Most authorities now support a date early in the Warring States period (c.453–221 B.C.). (from Columbia Encyclopedia, 2001)

Chapter I. Laying Plans

Sun Tzu said: 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.  And so it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

The art of war is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions existing in the field.  These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline. 

The MORAL LAW causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger. 

HEAVEN signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons. 

EARTH comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.

The COMMANDER stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness. 

By METHOD AND DISCIPLINE are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.

These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.

Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this way: -- 

(a) Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral Law?

(b) Which of the two generals has most ability? 

(c) With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?

(d) On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced? 

(e) Which army is stronger?

(f) On which side are officers and men more highly trained? 

(g) In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.....But remember: While heading the profit of my counsel, avail yourself also of any helpful circumstances over and beyond the ordinary rules.  According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans. 

All warfare is based on deception.  Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem 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.  Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.  If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him.  If your opponent is prone to anger, 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.  Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. 

Chapter II. Waging War

Sun Tzu said: In the operations of war, where there are in the field a thousand swift chariots, as many heavy chariots, and a hundred thousand mail-clad soldiers, with provisions enough to carry them a thousand LI,  the expenditure at home and at the front, including entertainment of guests, small items such as glue and paint, and sums spent on chariots and armor, will reach the total of a thousand ounces of silver per day. Such is the cost of raising an army of 100 ,000 men. 

When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.  Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain.  Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your desperation. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue. 

Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.  There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.  It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on. 

The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy, neither are his supply-wagons loaded more than twice.  Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy. Thus the army will have food enough for its needs.

In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.  Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril. 

Chapter III. ATTACK BY STRATAGEM

Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.  Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting. 

Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.  With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will be complete. 

This is the method of attacking by stratagem of using the sheathed sword.

It is the rule in war:  a) If our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him;  b) If five to one, to attack him;  c) If twice as numerous, to divide our army into two, one to meet the enemy in front, and one to fall upon his r ear. d) If equally matched, we can offer battle;  e) If slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy;  f) If quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him.  Though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force.

Now the general is the bulwark of the State; if the bulwark is complete at all points; the State will be strong; if the bulwark is defective, the State will be weak.

 There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army:

 a) By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army. 

b) By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier's minds.  Humanity and justice are the principles on which to govern a state, but not an army; opportunism and flexibility, on the other hand, are military rather than civil virtues.

c) By employing the officers of his army without discrimination.

Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory:  a) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.  b) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.  c) He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.  d) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.  e) He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.  

Chapter IV. TACTICS

To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.  Nor is it the acme of excellence if you fight and conquer and the whole empire says “Well done!”  True excellence is to plan secretly, to move surreptitiously, to foil the enemy's intentions and balk his schemes, so that at last the day may be won without shedding a drop of blood.

What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.  Hence his victories bring him neither reputation for wisdom nor credit for courage.  Inasmuch as his victories are gained over circumstances that have not come to light, the world as large knows nothing of them, and he wins no reputation for wisdom; inasmuch as the hostile state submits before there has been any bloodshed, he receives no credit for courage.

The skillful fighter puts himself into a position which makes defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating the enemy.  Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory. 

Translation by Lionel Giles, adapted from http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/taoism/suntext.htm

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Chinese Accounts of the Roman Empire

Since the Han, each Chinese dynasty has had its own history, compiled from its court chronicles, the Jih-li (lit. "Daily Chronicles”).  Pan Ku, with his sister Chao, compiled the Ch'ien-han-shu [ "History of the Former Han Dynasty,"] and  died 92 C.E.  The Hou-han-shu, compiled by Fan Yeh of the earlier Sung Dynasty (420-477 C.E.), is the first authority that gives us a certain number of details regarding Rome.

From the Ch'ien-han-shu, ch. 96A, (written c. 90 C.E.), for 91 B.C.E.:

When the emperor Wu-ti [140-86 B.C.E.] first sent an embassy to Ar-hsi [Arsacids, or Parthia], the king ordered a general to meet him on the eastern frontier with twenty thousand cavalry. The eastern frontier was several thousand li distant from the king's capital. Proceeding to the north one came across several tens of cities, the inhabitants of which were allied with that country. As they sent forth an embassy to follow the Han [Chinese] embassy, they came to see the country of Zhongguo [China]. They offered to the Han court large birds'-eggs, and jugglers from Li-kan [Syria], at which His Majesty was highly pleased. The king of the country of Ar-hsi rules at the city of P'an-tou [Parthuva, or Hekatompylos]; its distance from Ch'ang-an is 11,600 li. The country is not subject to a tu-hu [governor]. It bounds north on K'ang-chu, east on Wu-i-shan-li, west on T'iao-chih [Babylonia]. The soil, climate, products, and popular customs are the same as those of Wu-i and Chi-pin. They also make coins of silver, which have the king's face on the obverse, and the face of his consort on the reverse. When the king dies, they cast new coins. They have the ta-ma-ch'uo [ostrich]. Several hundred small and large cities are subject to it, and the country is several thousand li in extent, that is, a very large country. It lies on the banks of the Kuei-shui [Oxus River]. The carts and ships of their merchants go to the neighboring countries. They write on parchment, and draw up documents in rows running sideways. In the east of Ar-hsi are the Ta-yueh-chih.

From the Hou-Han-Shu, chs. 86, 88 (written 5th Century C.E.), for 25 - 220 C.E.:

During the 1st year of Yung-ning [120 C.E.] the king of the country of Shan (Armenia), named Yung-yu-tiao, again sent an embassy who, being received to His Majesty's presence, offered musicians and jugglers. The latter could conjure, spit fire, bind and release their limbs without assistance, change the heads of cows and horses, and were clever at dancing with up to a thousand balls. They said themselves: "We are men from the west of the sea; the west of the sea is the same as Ta-ts'in [Roman Syria].  In the south-west of the country of Shan one passes through to Ta-ts'in." At the beginning of the following year they played music at court before An-ti [Emperor, 107-126 C.E.].

In this country (Ta-ts’in) there are many of the precious and rare things of the western sea [Red Sea/Indian Ocean]. The country of Ta-ts'in is also called Li-kan and, as being situated on the western part of the sea, Hai-hsi-kuo [i.e., "country of the western part of the sea"]. Its territory amounts to several thousand li; it contains over four hundred cities, and of dependent states there are several times ten. The defences of cities are made of stone. The postal stations and mile-stones on the roads are covered with plaster. There are pine and cypress trees and all kinds of other trees and plants. The people are much bent on agriculture, and practice the planting of trees and the rearing of silk-worms. They cut the hair of their heads, wear embroidered clothing, and drive in small carriages covered with white canopies; when going in or out they beat drums, and hoist flags, banners, and pennants. The precincts of the walled city in which they live measure over a hundred li in circumference. In the city there are five palaces, ten li distant from each other. In the palace buildings they use crystal [glass?] to make pillars; vessels used in taking meals are also so made. The king goes to one palace a day to hear cases. After five days he has completed his round. As a rule, they let a man with a bag follow the king's carriage. Those who have some matter to submit, throw a petition into the bag. When the king arrives at the palace, he examines into the rights and wrongs of the matter. The official documents are under the control of thirty-six chiang [generals?] who conjointly discuss government affairs. Their kings are not permanent rulers, but they appoint men of merit. When a severe calamity visits the country, or untimely rain-storms, the king is deposed and replaced by another. The one relieved from his duties submits to his degradation without a murmur. The inhabitants of that country are tall and well-proportioned, somewhat like the Han [Chinese], whence they are called Ta-ts'in. The country contains much gold, silver, and rare precious stones, especially the "jewel that shines at night," "the moonshine pearl," the hsieh-chi-hsi, corals, amber, glass, lang-kan [a kind of coral], chu-tan [cinnabar ?], green jadestone [ching-pi], gold-embroidered rugs and thin silk-cloth of various colors. They make gold-colored cloth and asbestos cloth. They further have "fine cloth," also called Shui-yang-ts'ui [i.e., down of the water-sheep]; it is made from the cocoons of wild silk-worms. They collect all kinds of fragrant substances, the juice of which they boil into su-ho [storax]. All the rare gems of other foreign countries come from there. They make coins of gold and silver. Ten units of silver are worth one of gold. They traffic by sea with Ar-his (Parthia – the Persian Empire) and T'ien-chu [India], the profit of which trade is ten-fold. They are honest in their transactions, and there are no double prices. Cereals are always cheap. The budget is based on a well-filled treasury. When the embassies of neighboring countries come to their frontier, they are driven by post to the capital, and, on arrival, are presented with golden money. Their kings always desired to send embassies to Zhongguo [China], but the Ar-hsi wished to carry on trade with them in Han silks, and it is for this reason that they were cut off from communication. This lasted till the ninth year of the Yen-hsi period during the emperor Huan-ti's reign [166 C.E.] when the king of Ta-ts'in, An-tun [Marcus Aurelius Antoninus], sent an embassy who, from the frontier of Jih-nan [Annam] offered ivory, rhinoceros horns, and tortoise shell. From that time dates the direct intercourse with this country. The list of their tribute contained no jewels whatever, which fact throws doubt on the tradition. It is said by some that in the west of this country there is the Jo-shui ["weak water"--probably the Dead Sea] and the Liu-sha ["flying sands, desert"] near the residence of the Hsi-wang-mu ["mother of the western king"], where the sun sets. The Ch'ien-han-shu says: "From T'iao-chih [Babylonia] west, going over 200 days, one is near the place where the sun sets"; this does not agree with the present book. Former embassies from Zhongguo all returned from Wu-i; there were none who came as far as T'iao-chih. It is further said that, coming from the land-road of Ar-hsi, you make a round at sea and, taking a northern turn, come out from the western part of the sea, whence you proceed to Ta-ts'in.

The country is densely populated; every ten li [of a road] are marked by a t'ing; thirty li by a chih [resting-place]. One is not alarmed by robbers, but the road becomes unsafe by fierce tigers and lions who will attack passengers, and unless these be travelling in caravans of a hundred men or more, or be protected by military equipment, they may be devoured by those beasts. They also say there is a flying bridge [the bridge over the Euphrates at Zeugma] of several hundred li, by which one may cross to the countries north of the sea. The articles made of rare precious stones produced in this country are sham curiosities and mostly not genuine, whence they are not here mentioned.

Source:  http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/GeogHist/histories/histdocts/Biblio17/A17/Chinese/romchin1.html

From: F. Hirth, China and the Roman Orient: Researches into their Ancient and Mediaeval Relations as Represented in Old Chinese Records (Shanghai & Hong Kong, 1885), pp. 35-96.

Scanned and edited by Dr. Jerome S. Arkenberg, Department of History, California State University Fullerton. The text has been modified by Dr. Arkenberg. [Any modernization © 2000 Jerome S. Arkenberg.]