Part 54

like a shepherd driving a flock of sheep, he drives his men this way and that, and none knows whither he is going.

The T‘u Shu inserts another 驅 after 羊. Tu Mu says: 三軍但知進 退之命不知攻取之端也 “The army is only cognisant of orders to advance or retreat; it is ignorant of the ulterior ends of attacking and conquering.”

40. 聚三軍之衆投之於險此謂將軍之事也

To muster his host and bring it into danger:—this may be termed the business of the general.

Sun Tzŭ means that after mobilisation there should be no delay in aiming a blow at the enemy’s heart. With 投之於險 cf. supra, § 23: 投之無所往. Note how he returns again and again to this point. Among the warring states of ancient China, desertion was no doubt a much more present fear and serious evil than it is in the armies of to-day.

41. 九地之變屈伸之利人情之理不可不察也

The different measures suited to the nine varieties of ground;

Chang Yü says: 九地之法不可拘泥 “One must not be hide-bound in interpreting the rules for the nine varieties of ground.

the expediency of aggressive or defensive tactics;

The use of 屈伸 “contraction and expansion” may be illustrated by the saying 屈以求伸, which almost exactly corresponds to the French “il faut reculer pour mieux sauter.” Capt. Calthrop, more suo, avoids a real translation and has: “the suiting of the means to the occasion.”

and the fundamental laws of human nature: these are things that must most certainly be studied.

42. 凡爲客之道深則專淺則散

When invading hostile territory, the general principle is, that penetrating deeply brings cohesion; penetrating but a short way means dispersion.

Cf. supra, § 20.

43. 去國越境而師者絶地也四達者衢地也

When you leave your own country behind, and take your army across neighbouring territory,

Chang Yü’s paraphrase is 而用師者.

you find yourself on critical ground.

This “ground” is cursorily mentioned in VIII. § 2, but it does not figure among the Nine 地 of this chapter or the Six 地形 in chap. X. One’s first impulse would be to translate it “distant ground” (絶域 is commonly used in the sense of “distant lands”), but this, if we can trust the commentators, is precisely what is not meant here. Mei Yao-ch‘ên says it is 進不及輕退不及散在二地之間也 “a position not far enough advanced to be called ‘facile,’ and not near enough to home to be called ‘dispersive,’ but something between the two.” That, of course, does not explain the name 絶, which seems to imply that the general has severed his communications and temporarily cut himself off from his base. Thus, Wang Hsi says: “It is ground separated from home by an interjacent state, whose territory we have had to cross in order to reach it. Hence it is incumbent on us to settle our business there quickly.” He adds that this position is of rare occurrence, which is the reason why it is not included among the 九地. Capt. Calthrop gives but a poor rendering of this sentence: “To leave home and cross the borders is to be free from interference.”

When there are means of communication

The T‘u Shu reads 通 for 達.

on all four sides, the ground is one of intersecting highways.

From 四達 down to the end of § 45, we have some of the definitions of the early part of the chapter repeated in slightly different language. Capt. Calthrop omits these altogether.

44. 入深者重地也入淺者輕地也

When you penetrate deeply into a country, it is serious ground. When you penetrate but a little way, it is facile ground.

45. 背固前隘者圍地也無所往者死地也

When you have the enemy’s strongholds on your rear,

固 = 險固.