Thanks to the editorial board of "The Art of War" for the manuscript
This article was originally published in The Art of War, No. 2, 2024
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Review and reflection on the study of The Art of War
Text / Zhong Shaoyi
Former researcher of the Institute of War Studies of the Academy of Military Sciences of the Chinese People's Liberation Army
I began my research on the Art of War in 1996 when I was transferred to the Strategic Research Office of the Chinese Dynasties of the Strategic Department of the Academy of Military Sciences. I would like to talk about my experience and thoughts on the study of the Art of War in the Military Science Department.
First, the talent is full of passing on the torch
In 1996, I was transferred to the Chinese Historical Strategy Research Office of the Strategic Department of the Academy of Military Sciences. Yu Rubo is the director, Huang Pumin is the deputy director, and Mr. Huo Yinzhang, Pi Mingyong, Liu Qing, Ren Li, etc. are all working in the room, and they are all senior teachers.
At that time, there was an advantage that many views and understandings of the predecessors, Wu Lao's and Wu Lao's inheritance, including some of the previous understandings of General Guo Huaruo, as well as the research experience and academic views of Director Yu, Mr. Huo, Huang Pumin, Pi Mingyong, Liu Qing, Ren Li, etc., could be exchanged together. At that time, there were several topics in the room, such as "The History of the Study of the Art of War", "Summary of Sun Tzu's Literature", "Course of Chinese Military Thought in Past Dynasties", "Course of Strategic Thought in Chinese Dynasties", etc., and they were often discussed together when doing these topics. They are all scholars who really have in-depth research, rigorous academic norms and excellent academic styles, each with their own insights, and often argues, and this kind of exchange is very enlightening. In such a strong academic atmosphere, I began to systematically study and research the Art of War. Then he led graduate students by himself, first with a master's degree, and then with a doctorate, and he gave lectures to students for more than 20 years. In 1996, due to the leadership of the director, Director Wu talked about important topics from time to time, and Director Yu, Mr. Huo, Huang Pumin, Pi Mingyong, Liu Qing, Ren Li, etc., respectively talked about their own specialized content, and later transitioned to Liu Qing and Ren Li to take the lead. From 2013 to 2017, I took the lead and several young researchers in the room gave a big lecture together.
2. Reflections on the structure of the Art of War
In my opinion, the first "Strategy" is the general outline of the whole book "The Art of War", in which Sun Tzu gives a programmatic exposition of the two themes that he will discuss and solve: the careful and careful planning of war and the mobile and flexible use of troops.
The second to fourth chapters, "Operations," "Attack," and "Form," mainly discuss the first theme, that is, the overall planning and planning of the war. For example, the idea of "winning a soldier is expensive, but not a long time" in the "Battle Chapter"; the idea of "winning a total victory" in the "Seeking Attack" and "a soldier who surrenders without a fight" and "Fighting and plotting to fight a relationship"; and the idea of "winning first and then seeking war" and "cultivating the way and protecting the law" in the "Form Chapter". Why do we say that these ideas are grand strategic ideas? When the "Combat Chapter" talks about a quick victory in a war, Sun Tzu said that "those who have a long time in the army and the country will benefit from it." This obviously refers to the overall issue of the rapid and protracted war that affects the overall interests of the country, rather than a matter of a specific campaign or battle level; when the "Chapters on Seeking Attack" talks about such ideas as "winning a total victory," "a soldier who surrenders without a fight," and "fighting and plotting to fight for diplomatic relations," Sun Tzu said that "we must fight for the whole world." It can be seen that this is a grand strategy for fighting for the whole world, and Nixon used the phrase "winning without a fight" As the title of the book, it is correct to explain his strategy of confrontation in the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union; the "Chapters of Form" talks about the idea of "winning first" and stresses the need to cultivate the strength of the country and the army through "cultivating the Tao and protecting the law," that is, through fundamental means such as politics and the legal system, so as to first establish oneself in an invincible position, and then grasp the opportunity of the opponent's decline and defeat the enemy.
I think the idea of "winning first" in the "Form Chapter" is the most important. Sun Tzu also called "winning first" as "easy victory", because you have managed the country and the army well and become a strong one, and the opponent is not well managed, the country and the army have decayed, and you have become a weak one, and there is a huge disparity between the strong and the weak, then you can easily defeat the enemy by seizing the opportunity to make a move, which is "winning first" - "those who are good at fighting are invincible first, so that the enemy can win", that is, "easy victory" - "those who are good at fighting are better than easy victory". Sun Tzu made an analogy, "win first" and "win easily" is like "weigh the baht with eridium". Eridium is twenty-four taels, and the baht is one-twenty-fourth tael, and one twenty-fourth tael (baht) is placed at one end of the balance scale, and twenty-four taels (eridium) is pressed on the other end, and the result can be imagined. With such a disparity in power, then whether you are "defeating without losing the enemy" and quickly defeating the enemy, or "surrendering without a fight" forcing the enemy to submit and the initiative is completely under your control. Therefore, it can be said that "winning first" is the basis of "quick victory" and "total victory"; without the strength foundation of "winning first," there will be no quick victory, let alone a soldier who surrenders without a fight, and everything is nothing; with the strength foundation of "winning first," everything is possible, and how to choose the complete initiative.
Later generations once compared Sun Tzu with Sun Bin, saying that Sun Tzu was "Shang Zhi" and Sun Bin was "noble". Sun Tzu said in the "Form Chapter" that "the victory of the good fighter is also the victory, there is no wisdom and no courage." Because you don't see the reputation of wisdom or bravery in this kind of victory, he honestly runs his country and his army from the ground up, and when the enemy is defeated, it is easy to win as soon as he strikes. After I read the "Form Chapter", the thoughts that I admired most for Sun Tzu were "victory first", "easy victory", and "victory without wisdom and fame, without bravery".
Starting from the "Momentum Chapter", we will move on to the second theme, that is, the issue of the use of troops in combat under the guidance of the thesis that "soldiers are also sophistry." In this article, Sun Tzu first proposes two important concepts. The first concept is the "situation" (combat situation) that is the title of this article. The reason why the stones are difficult to stop rolling down the mountain is that the steep mountain with the help of the huge drop of the mountain, and the rapids are able to wash away the stones, and it is also because of the strong impact of the drop. Sun Tzu believed that in conducting war, it is also necessary to make the army form a precipitous situation like a stone on the top of a high mountain or a rapids on a cliff, and be able to exert its full energy violently. The second concept is the "knot" (rhythm of action). The eagle can accurately and effectively fight birds and beasts with one blow, not only by the fierce momentum of the high-altitude dive, but also by the rapid speed and short rhythm of the attack. Sun Tzu believed that after the army had formed a precipitous combat situation and had gathered all its energy, its sortie should also be like an eagle's predation, swift and short, violently bursting with energy in a short period of time, so that the enemy had no time to react and dodge.
A precipitous combat situation, a short pace of action. This is an important method of warfare proposed by Sun Tzu. To illustrate the problem, Sun Tzu used the analogy of the crossbow, the most powerful shooting weapon of his time. He said: "Those who are good at fighting are dangerous and short. The momentum is like a crossbow, and the knots are like a start. (A man who is good at commanding battles, he creates an extremely dangerous combat situation, and his action is very short-paced.) This combat posture is like a crossbow ready to fire, and this rhythm of action is like pulling the trigger of a crossbow)
For this analogy, we can completely change the expression of the firearm that modern people are more familiar with: the grim combat situation is like a loaded gun, accumulating all its energy, and the short rhythm of action is like pulling the trigger of a gun, which is about to fire and kill people in an instant. Let's look at it from another angle. When a crossbow or loaded gun is pointed at you, you will feel great danger, which is the power of a dangerous combat situation, and when you pull the trigger of a crossbow or gun, it only takes a small movement, and the arrow or bullet will immediately fly out, and you will not be able to avoid it, which is the effect of a short rhythm of action.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liu Bocheng served as the first president of the Military Academy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, personally teaching the "Battle Law" to the advanced class. In the lecture, he combined his life experience and combat practice to vividly describe Sun Tzu's exposition on the issue of combat situation and rhythm of action:
There is also a small flying bird called the kingfisher (also known as the fishing lang), with green feathers, about 15 centimeters long, a large, small head, and a pointed beak like a nail. When it flies on the surface of the water, it finds a fish in the water, and when it folds its wings, it relies on the strength of its whole body to fall from the sky, like a sharp arrow into the water, and rushes straight at its fish. Sometimes it can catch fish that are bigger than itself. The "Potential" mentioned in the "Potential Chapter" is "its potential is dangerous, and its knots are short", just like this bird, which rushes down very violently (danger), but the time is very short (short knots).
In the "Potential Chapter", Sun Tzu also proposed a very important pair of categories - "positive" and "strange". "Zheng," or "Zhengbing," refers to conventional or unexpected methods of warfare, while "odd," or "odd," refers to unconventional or unexpected methods of warfare.
Liu Bo admits that anyone who fights with regular combat methods can be called regular soldiers. Those who use stratagems, attack their unpreparedness, take them by surprise, and adopt wonderful methods to fight can all be called surprise soldiers.
3. The essence of "The Art of War": Qizheng dialectical thought
Sun Tzu's Qizheng thought is full of dialectic.
First of all, he believed that the odd sum of soldiers was relative and could be transformed into each other. For example, if it is a conventional method of warfare, but the enemy thinks that you cannot use such a method of warfare, and you use it, then it is a kind of strange, and vice versa, it is an unconventional method of warfare, but if the enemy expects you to use it, it is not surprising. For this mutual transformation of odd and positive, Sun Tzu called it "strange and positive symbiosis".
Second, he believed that there was no end to the strange and positive changes in the methods of warfare. Theoretically, it does. The methods of warfare in any era are limited, but the odd and positive changes in their application can be infinite. One method, in this case, is positive, and in the other case, it may be odd, positive becomes odd, odd becomes positive, and the cycle repeats, theoretically there is indeed no end. The use of troops in combat means taking advantage of the strange and positive changes in combat methods to constantly win by surprise, and this can also be endless. Therefore, Sun Tzu said: "Therefore, those who are good and surprising are as infinite as heaven and earth, and inexhaustible as rivers." ”
However, we must also realize that the surprising victory in the tactics depends on the creativity of the commanders, and that no one's intelligence is limited; moreover, war is the art of confrontation, and changes in the tactics of either side will be constrained by the other side. Therefore, in the history of world warfare, there is no genius general who can win by surprise forever or uninterruptedly, and there is no victorious general in the world. The significance of Sun Tzu's above-mentioned thought lies in the fact that it reveals the infinite possibilities of strange and positive changes in tactics, and guides and motivates commanders to pursue surprise and victory with the greatest subjective initiative, and constantly explore and create.
Liu Bo admits that being a regular soldier and a strange soldier is a dialectical unity, and it is an important law that must be mastered by generals. This notion prompted him to always strive for a surprising way to win in the practice of war. In October 1937, he commanded the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army to fight the invading Japanese army in the Taihang Mountains, first ambushing and annihilating the Japanese baggage troops in Qiqian Village, Pingding County, Shanxi Province, and then setting up an ambush again at the same place only two days later. According to the routine of "no more troops", the Japanese army thought that the Eighth Route Army would no longer ambush here, and was annihilated again. Liu Bocheng accurately grasped the psychology of the Japanese army, and thus succeeded in using the method of repetition to achieve a surprising victory.
Fourth, the core of "The Art of War": the major affairs of the soldier's country and the sophistry of the soldier
It is very important to study "The Art of War" and grasp the two judgment sentences in the "Book of Plans": "Soldiers, the major affairs of the country" and "Soldiers, sophistry".
In the opening volume of the book, Sun Tzu first put forward the first famous thesis - "soldiers, the major affairs of the country". He then pointed out the five basic factors that determine the outcome of a war—the Tao, the heavens, the earth, the generals, and the law. These five factors are also manifested in the specific situation of seven aspects: "The Lord has the way, the will has the ability, the heaven and the earth have the power, the law is enforced, the soldiers are strong, the soldiers are trained, and the rewards and punishments are clear." Sun Tzu believed that the outcome of a war was determined by a combination of these aspects, not by military power alone. Therefore, he advocated that before a country engages in a war, it must first compare and calculate the situation of the enemy and us in these aspects in order to judge the situation of victory or defeat, and then make a prudent decision. To this end, he especially put forward the concept of "temple calculation". "Temple" refers to the court of the ancient emperors to discuss politics, and "count" means to calculate. The so-called "temple calculation" - the calculation in the court refers to the strategic analysis and evaluation of the state's high-level. Sun Tzu believed that before a country goes to war, the ruler must first make such a strategic assessment and make a prudent decision on this basis, which is "calculation before war". These contents belong to war planning and war planning. Sun Tzu's thinking is to make overall planning and planning for the war from the perspective of "national affairs." Immediately following the assertion that "the soldier is also treacherous", Sun Tzu listed 12 specific methods for using soldiers in battle: "If you can show that you can't, you can't use it, you can show it if you can't use it, you can show it if you are near, you can show it from afar, you can take it from the distance, you can take it from you, you can take it from you, you can avoid it, you can avoid it with anger, you can use it with arrogance, you can use it without it, you can show it if you can't use it, you can show it if you can't use it, you can show it if you can't use it, you can show it if you can't use it, you can show it if you can't use it, you can show it if you can't use it, you can show it if you can't do it, you can show it if you can't do it, you can get away from it." In the end, Sun Tzu summed up these methods into one principle: "Attack the unprepared, surprise the unexpected." These elements all fall under the category of operational problems. In sharp contrast to the grand strategic vision and rational and prudent attitude of discussing "soldiers, major national affairs," it has demonstrated an extremely mobile and flexible operational guiding ideology.
I believe that the two famous assertions of "soldiers, the great affairs of the country" and "soldiers, sophistry" are the core of the book. Proceeding from the first thesis, Sun Tzu put forward the basic factors that determine the outcome of a war and emphasized the principle of "settling accounts before fighting." Proceeding from the second thesis, he enumerated a number of specific methods for using troops in combat and put forward the principle of "attacking an unprepared enemy and taking it by surprise." The former belongs to war planning and war planning, and the latter belongs to operational thinking and combat methods, and these two aspects are the basic contents of the book "The Art of War" that are discussed the most. Therefore, it can be said that the main themes of "The Art of War" are: first, the overall planning and planning of the war; second, the issue of operations, "the soldier is also the major affairs of the country" and "the soldier is also treacherous." Proceeding from the first thesis, Sun Tzu emphasized the need to plan and plan war operations from the perspective of the country as a whole; and from the second thesis, Sun Tzu emphasized the guiding ideology of mobile and flexible operations. These two well-known assertions are the main points of the book.
5. The operational thinking of "The Art of War".
Starting with the "Momentum Chapter", from the 5th to the 12th chapters -- "Potential", "Virtual and Reality", "Military Struggle", "Nine Changes", "March", "Terrain", "Nine Places", and "Fire Attack", all of them mainly discuss operational issues.
On the whole, the expositions have changed from general to concrete, from universal to special, and the first two articles mainly talk about general and universal ideas and principles, and as the articles progress, the operational issues involved have become more and more concrete. Among them, the sixth article, "Fiction and Reality," puts forward Sun Tzu's core operational thinking, which has two basic points: one is initiative, which "causes others but not others"; and the other is flexibility, which "wins because of the enemy." The other articles deal extensively with a range of operational principles and methods. The "Military Struggle" mainly deals with the issue of seizing the advantage of gaining the first opportunity in combat, the "Nine Changes" mainly deals with the problem of maneuvering and changing in operations, the "Marching Chapter" mainly discusses the issue of the army's mobility and presence in the light of the terrain, the "Topography Chapter" deals specifically with the issue of military topography, the "Nine Places Chapter" mainly discusses the issue of offensive operations against the enemy country in the light of military geography, and the "Chapter" of "Fire Attack" deals specifically with the issue of attacking the enemy with fire. The operational issues discussed in these articles are more specific and specific than the other. In short, these eight articles are both general and specific, and together constitute Sun Tzu's operational theory.
Whether discussing war planning or operational issues, Sun Tzu repeatedly emphasized "knowledge." Sun Tzu undoubtedly regarded "informed" as the basis of all wars and military operations. Therefore, the final "Usage Chapter" has a certain summarization. The Art of War established a great system of military theories with distinctive characteristics.
Finally, I would like to emphasize that, like other pre-Qin ancient texts, the Art of War also has a certain degree of confusion in the process of circulation in later generations. But the "Art of War" that we see today still maintains the internal logic of Sun Tzu's thought relatively completely, which is Sun Tzu's system. When the philosophers created their thoughts, they were most concerned with whether their ideas could have an effect on the reality of the time, rather than what kind of system their ideas could form.
In this sense, I think every learner can establish their own understanding of the ideological system of "The Art of War".
(Editor in charge: Hou Angyu)
1. Song Dynasty History Research Information 1
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