Part 35

After crossing a river, you should get far away from it.

“In order to tempt the enemy to cross after you,” according to Ts‘ao Kung, and also, says Chang Yü, “in order not to be impeded in your evolutions.” The T‘ung Tien reads 敵若絶水 “If the enemy crosses a river,” etc. But in view of the next sentence, this is almost certainly an interpolation.

4. 客絶水而來勿迎之於水內令半濟而擊之利

When an invading force crosses a river in its onward march, do not advance to meet it in mid-stream. It will be best to let half the army get across, and then deliver your attack.

The T‘ung Tien and Yü Lan read 度 for 濟, without change of meaning. Wu Tzŭ plagiarises this passage twice over:—ch. II ad fin., 涉水半渡可擊; ch. V, 敵若絶水半渡而擊. Li Ch‘üan alludes to the great victory won by Han Hsin over 龍且 Lung Chü at the 濰 Wei River. Turning to the Ch‘ien Han Shu, ch. 34, fol. 6 verso, we find the battle described as follows: “The two armies were drawn up on opposite sides of the river. In the night, Han Hsin ordered his men to take some ten thousand sacks filled with sand and construct a dam a little higher up. Then, leading half his army across, he attacked Lung Chü; but after a time, pretending to have failed in his attempt, he hastily withdrew to the other bank. Lung Chü was much elated by this unlooked-for success, and exclaiming: “I felt sure that Han Hsin was really a coward!” he pursued him and began crossing the river in his turn. Han Hsin now sent a party to cut open the sandbags, thus releasing a great volume of water, which swept down and prevented the greater portion of Lung Chü’s army from getting across. He then turned upon the force which had been cut off, and annihilated it, Lung Chü himself being amongst the slain. The rest of the army, on the further bank, also scattered and fled in all directions.”

5. 欲戰者無附於水而迎客

If you are anxious to fight, you should not go to meet the invader near a river which he has to cross.

For fear of preventing his crossing. Capt. Calthrop makes the injunction ridiculous by omitting 欲戰者.

6. 視生處高無迎水流此處水上之軍也

Moor your craft higher up than the enemy, and facing the sun.

See supra, § 2. The repetition of these words in connection with water is very awkward. Chang Yü has the note: 或岸邊爲陳或水上泊舟皆 須面陽而居高 “Said either of troops marshalled on the river-bank, or of boats anchored in the stream itself; in either case it is essential to be higher than the enemy and facing the sun.” The other commentators are not at all explicit. One is much tempted to reject their explanation of 視生 altogether, and understand it simply as “seeking safety.” [Cf. 必生 in VIII. § 12, and infra, § 9.] It is true that this involves taking 視 in an unusual, though not, I think, an impossible sense. Of course the earlier passage would then have to be translated in like manner.

Do not move up-stream to meet the enemy.

Tu Mu says: “As water flows downwards, we must not pitch our camp on the lower reaches of a river, for fear the enemy should open the sluices and sweep us away in a flood. This is implied above in the words 視生處高. Chu-ko Wu-hou has remarked that ‘in river warfare we must not advance against the stream,’ which is as much as to say that our fleet must not be anchored below that of the enemy, for then they would be able to take advantage of the current and make short work of us.” There is also the danger, noted by other commentators, that the enemy may throw poison on the water to be carried down to us. Capt. Calthrop’s first version was: “Do not cross rivers in the face of the stream”—a sapient piece of advice, which made one curious to know what the correct way of crossing rivers might be. He has now improved this into: “Do not fight when the enemy is between the army and the source of the river.”

So much for river warfare.

7. 絶斥澤惟亟去無留

In crossing salt-marshes, your sole concern should be to get over them quickly, without any delay.

Because of the lack of fresh water, the poor quality of the herbage, and last but not least, because they are low, flat, and exposed to attack.

8. 若交軍於斥澤之中必依水草而背衆樹此處斥澤之軍也

If forced to fight in a salt-marsh, you should have water and grass near you, and get your back to a clump of trees.

Li Ch‘üan remarks that the ground is less likely to be treacherous where there are trees, while Tu Yu says that they will serve to protect the rear. Capt. Calthrop, with a perfect genius for going wrong, says “in the neighbourhood of a marsh.” For 若 the T‘ung Tien and Yü Lan wrongly read 爲, and the latter also has 倍 instead of 背.

So much for operations in salt-marshes.

9. 平陸處易而右背高前死後生此處平陸之軍也

In dry, level country, take up an easily accessible position

This is doubtless the force of 易, its opposite being 險. Thus, Tu Mu explains it as 坦易平穩之處 “ground that is smooth and firm,” and therefore adapted for cavalry; Chang Yü as 坦易無坎陷之處 “level ground, free from depressions and hollows.” He adds later on that although Sun Tzŭ is discussing flat country, there will nevertheless be slight elevations and hillocks.

with rising ground to your right and on your rear,

The Yü Lan again reads 倍 for 背. Tu Mu quotes T‘ai Kung as saying: “An army should have a stream or a marsh on its left, and a hill or tumulus on its right.”

so that the danger may be in front, and safety lie behind.

Wang Hsi thinks that 後生 contradicts the saying 視生 in § 2, and therefore suspects a mistake in the text.