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Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance tothe State. The nucleus of
this work is probably genuine, though largeadditions have been made by later
hands.
Yet the earliestmention of it is in the SUNG CHIH. Confucius ordered
ceremonies and regulated music.
In this way, the clouds of confusion have been
dispersed and the sayings made clear. I can suggest no otherexplanation of the
passage. They attached strings to wood to make bows, and sharpenedwood to make
arrows.
According as circumstances are favorable, one shouldmodify ones plans.
No less remarkable is the succession of illustrious captainsto whom China can
point with pride.
Every animal with blood in its veins and horns on its head
will fight when it is attacked. One of his works has been in constant use
downto the present day.
HEAVEN signifies night and day, cold and heat, times
andseasons. Hence the remark added by Confucius: If I fight, I conquer. CH`EN
HAO appears to have been a contemporary of Tu Mu.
Further details on T`ai Kung
willbe found in the SHIH CHI, ch. It is more natural to suppose that Sun Tzuis
still illustrating the uses of deception in war. But here again,the style is
not that of works dating from the Ch`in or Hanperiod.
Likewise, the CHUNG YUNG
is credited with 49 chapters, though nowonly in one only.
We have seen that the
great Chu Hsi held Sun Tzu in highesteem. He was finally defeated andoverthrown
by Kou chien, King of Yueh, in 473 B.
The objects of the rack and of military
weapons are essentially the same. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow
arrogant. Even his personal name has not been recorded.
As Mei Yao-ch`en puts
it,freely rendered, ESPIRIT DE CORPS and big battalions.
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