Part 62

But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being;

The Wu State was destined to be a melancholy example of this saying. See p. 50.

nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.

22. 故明君愼之良將警之此安國全軍之道也

Hence the enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full of caution.

警, which usually means “to warn,” is here equal to 戒. This is a good instance of how Chinese characters, which stand for ideas, refuse to be fettered by dictionary-made definitions. The T‘u Shu reads 故曰, as in § 16.

This is the way to keep a country at peace and an army intact.

It is odd that 全軍 should not have the same meaning here as in III. § 1, q.v. This has led me to consider whether it might not be possible to take the earlier passage thus: “to preserve your own army (country, regiment, etc.) intact is better than to destroy the enemy’s.” The two words do not appear in the T‘ung Tien or the Yü Lan. Capt. Calthrop misses the point by translating: “then is the state secure, and the army victorious in battle.”

XIII. 用間篇

THE USE OF SPIES.

間 is really a vulgar form of 閒, and does not appear in the Shuo Wên. In practice, however, it has gradually become a distinct character with special meanings of its own, and I have therefore followed my edition of the standard text in retaining this form throughout the chapter. In VI. § 25, on the other hand, the correct form 閒 will be found. The evolution of the meaning “spy” is worth considering for a moment, provided it be understood that this is very doubtful ground, and that any dogmatism is out of place. The Shuo Wên defines 閒 as 隟 (the old form of 隙) “a crack” or “chink,” and on the whole we may accept 徐鍇 Hsü Ch‘ieh’s analysis as not unduly fanciful: 夫門夜閉閉而見月光是有閒隟也 “At night, a door is shut; if, when it is shut, the light of the moon is visible, it must come through a chink.” From this it is an easy step to the meaning “space between,” or simply “between,” as for example in the phrase 往來閒諜 “to act as a secret spy between enemies.” Here 諜 is the word which means “spy;” but we may suppose that constant association so affected the original force of 閒, that 諜 could at last be dropped altogether, leaving 閒 to stand alone with the same signification. Another possible theory is that the word may first have come to mean 覗 “to peep” (see 博雅, quoted in K‘ang Hsi) which would naturally be suggested by “crack” or “crevice,” and afterwards the man who peeps, or spy.

1. 孫子曰凡興師十萬出兵千里百姓之費公家之奉日費千金內外騷動怠於道路不得操事者 七十萬家

Sun Tzŭ said: Raising a host of a hundred thousand men and marching them great distances entails heavy loss on the people and a drain on the resources of the State. The daily expenditure will amount to a thousand ounces of silver.

Cf. II. §§ 1, 13, 14.

There will be commotion at home and abroad, and men will drop down exhausted on the highways.

怠於道路, which is omitted by the Yü Lan, appears at first sight to be explained by the words immediately following, so that the obvious translation would be “(enforced) idleness along the line of march.” [Cf. Tao Tê Ching, ch. 30: 師之所處荆棘生焉 “Where troops have been quartered, brambles and thorns spring up.”] The commentators, however, say that 怠 is here equivalent to 疲—a meaning which is still retained in the phrase 倦怠. Tu Mu refers 怠 to those who are engaged in conveying provisions to the army. But this can hardly be said to emerge clearly from Sun Tzŭ’s text. Chang Yü has the note: “We may be reminded of the saying: ‘On serious ground, gather in plunder’ [XI. § 13]. Why then should carriage and transportation cause exhaustion on the highways?—The answer is, that not victuals alone, but all sorts of munitions of war have to be conveyed to the army. Besides, the injunction to ‘forage on the enemy’ only means that when an army is deeply engaged in hostile territory, scarcity of food must be provided against. Hence, without being solely dependent on the enemy for corn, we must forage in order that there may be an uninterrupted flow of supplies. Then, again, there are places like salt deserts (磧鹵之地), where provisions being unobtainable, supplies from home cannot be dispensed with.”

As many as seven hundred thousand families will be impeded in their labour.

Mei Yao-ch‘ên says: 廢於耒耜 “Men will be lacking at the plough-tail.” The allusion is to 井田 the system of dividing land into nine parts, as shown in the character 井, each consisting of a 夫 or 頃 (about 15 acres), the plot in the centre being cultivated on behalf of the State by the tenants of the other eight. It was here also, so Tu Mu tells us, that their cottages were built and a well sunk, to be used by all in common. [See II. § 12, note.] These groups of eight peasant proprietors were called 鄰. In time of war, one of the families had to serve in the army, while the other seven contributed to its support (一家從軍七家奉弓). Thus, by a levy of 100,000 men (reckoning one able-bodied soldier to each family) the husbandry of 700,000 families would be affected.

2. 相守數年以爭一日之勝而愛爵祿百金不知敵之情者不仁之至也

Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the victory which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain in ignorance of the enemy’s condition simply because one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honours and emoluments,

“For spies” is of course the meaning, though it would spoil the effect of this curiously elaborate exordium if spies were actually mentioned at this point.

is the height of inhumanity.

Sun Tzŭ’s argument is certainly ingenious. He begins by adverting to the frightful misery and vast expenditure of blood and treasure which war always brings in its train. Now, unless you are kept informed of the enemy’s condition, and are ready to strike at the right moment, a war may drag on for years. The only way to get this information is to employ spies, and it is impossible to obtain trustworthy spies unless they are properly paid for their services. But it is surely false economy to grudge a comparatively trifling amount for this purpose, when every day that the war lasts eats up an incalculably greater sum. This grievous burden falls on the shoulders of the poor, and hence Sun Tzŭ concludes that to neglect the use of spies is nothing less than a crime against humanity.

3. 非人之將也非主之佐也非勝之主也

One who acts thus is no leader of men, no present help to his sovereign,

An inferior reading for 主 is 仁, thus explained by Mei Yao-ch‘ên: 非以仁佐國者也.

no master of victory.

This idea, that the true object of war is peace, has its root in the national temperament of the Chinese. Even so far back as 597 B.C., these memorable words were uttered by Prince 莊 Chuang of the Ch‘u State: 夫文止戈爲武 ... 夫武禁暴戢兵保大定功安民和衆豐財者也 “The character for ‘prowess’ (武) is made up of 止 ‘to stay’ and 戈 ‘a spear’ (cessation of hostilities). Military prowess is seen in the repression of cruelty, the calling in of weapons, the preservation of the appointment of Heaven, the firm establishment of merit, the bestowal of happiness on the people, putting harmony between the princes, the diffusion of wealth.” [Tso Chuan, 宣公 XII. 3 ad fin.]