Sun Tzu: The Art of War
‘The art of war is of vital importance tothe State.
It is a matter of life and death, a road eitherto safety or to ruin.
Hence, it is a subject of inquiry which canon no account be neglected’ These are the first sentences of the SunziBingfa, known in the West as The Art of War, one of the oldest treatises on strategy andwarfare and for sure, the most quoted across the Globe.
Its 13 chapters offer high level strategicadvice to rulers and generals, focusing on a series of key principles which should alwaysbe kept in mind, lest one takes the road to ruin.
Some of its commandments are very specificto warfare in the ancient world, for example chapter 12 is entirely dedicated to Attackby Fire.
But most of its teachings can be extrapolatedto a variety of situations outside of the military environment, including politics, finance, marketing or even sports.
But what do we know about its author, thelegendary Sun Tzu, also known as Sunzi? Surprisingly little, for a man whose workhas had such an enduring influence on the politics and History of China at first andthen the whole World.
But in today’s Biographics we will attemptto clear at least some of the mist shrouding the life of Master Sun.
The Seven Kingdoms To fully understand the man Sun and the profoundlegacy of his work, we first need to look at the historical context in which they appeared.
The years between 770BC and 476BC are knownas “The Spring and Autumn Period of China”.
Over these three centuries, the land was ruledby the Zhou dinasty.
The Zhous applied a feudal-like system, withlarge swathes of land administered by local lords.
If a disagreement broke out, the lords wouldsettle them by means of small scale military engagements, waged using bronze weapons, ridingon top of richly decorated chariots.
These battles, which actually were more likelarge duels, were regulated by a code of honour and valour, based on the philosophy of Confucianism, which values strict adherence to a system of traditions and social rules.
Here is an example, narrated by historianRobert Griffiths: “In ancient China war had been regardedas a knightly contest.
As such, it had been governed by a code towhich both sides generally adhered.
Many illustrations of this are found…Forexample, in 632 BC the Chin commander, after defeating Ch’u at Ch’eng P’u, gave thevanquished enemy three days’ supply of food.
This courtesy was later reciprocated by aCh’u army victorious at Pi” This chivalrous approach to war was made possibleby the small size of the armies and the low stakes at play.
But the Zhou dynasty was on the decline untilthey were removed from power and things changed for the worse.
A vacuum at the top normally causes the emergenceof regional powers, all vying for supremacy.
And this is what happened in China duringthe so-called Period of the Warring States.
Seven main Kingdoms, Jin, Chu, Qin, Qi, Wei, Yue and Wu, alongside their vassal states, were at war for much of the VIth and Vth centuryBC.
Think Westeros after King Robert’s death.
Or Westeros, after King Joffrey’s death.
Or Westeros, after King Tonmen’s – yougot the idea.
Obviously this constant state of conflicthad a massive impact on society.
The rulers of the Seven Kingdoms could notafford to go to war on fancy bronze chariots, but most of all they could not afford to lose.
And so bronze weapons were replaced by iron, cheaper but deadlier.
Chariots were discarded, in favour of cavalryand infantry units.
The warriors, aristocrats and heroes who rodeinto battle during the Spring and Autumn, gave way to large armies of conscripts numberingin the tens, even hundreds of thousands.
And large numbers of well-equipped, well-fedmen require tons of money.
Who’s going to pay? As usual, the peasants, the merchants, ordinaryfolk, hard hit by taxation that depletes the land and sows dissent.
The Kings of the Warring States need someexpert advice: not only on how to overcome their foes, but how to do it efficiently andquickly.
But who can provide it? Enter the MasterSun Wu, later known as Sun Tzu, or ‘Master Sun’ was born in 544BC in the northern stateof Ch’i, modern day province of Shandong.
But please don’t take this date too seriously:the exact Century in which the Master live is disputed, let alone the year.
But let’s settle for 544.
He was obviously literate, he knew one ortwo things about war and leadership and he travelled across the Warring States, whichleads us to infer that he was a shih, or a member of the landless aristocracy.
The shih’s were traditionally travellingacademics, but Sun Wu was more likely a travelling mercenary.
It was this particular trade that took himto travel from his birth state of Ch’i to the southern kingdom of Wu, sometime around510BC.
The state of Wu was at that time a sort of‘underdog’ in the Chinese Game of Thrones.
This kingdom is located in what is now theShanghai province and back at that time it was smaller and less populated then its rivals, especially the large, neighbouring state of Chu.
That is why, the ruler King He-Lu, was lookingfor a top-notch military advisor to organise and lead his army in war.
According to some accounts, at this stageMaster Sun had already written the Art of War, leading to He-Lu summoning him to court.
According to others, Sun Wu was only a lowranking officer in He-Lu’s army at this point, but his skills in unconventional tacticssuch as ambushes, espionage and counter-espionage, surprise attacks on enemy camps, had raisedthe attention of the King.
But what everybody agrees on is how he gotthe General job.
King He-Lu challenged Sun Wu to demonstratehis military skills by organising some war manoeuvres, not with soldiers, but with thecourt concubines.
Sun Wu accepted the challenge, on two conditions:no interference from the King and absolute obedience from the concubines.
Sun then proceeded to created two platoonsof 70 or 80 concubines each, appointing as platoon leaders the two favourites of theKing.
He then instructed the concubines on how toperform a series of marching orders in coordination with a drum beat.
But when the drums sounded, the two lead concubinesburst out laughing and the two platoons did not obey the orders.
Sun Wu was like ‘OK, that’s cool, it canhappen.
If at first the officers and the soldiersdo not perform correctly, it is the General’s fault, my fault, for not being clear enough’.
And again Sun gave the marching orders tothe concubines, making it very simple and clear what is it they had to do.
And again, the drums went off … and againthe two favourites just couldn’t stop giggling.
How fun, right? Not exactly.
At this point Sun Wu commented that he, theGeneral, had done his duty, it was now the fault of the officers if they were not executingthe orders.
To show that he meant business he orderedtwo guardsmen armed with axes to apprehend the two concubines.
He-Lu, watching at a distance with his court, dispatched a message asking him to stop.
“Please Sun Wu, do not chop these ladies’heads off.
My life would be so not fun without them”To which Master Sun replied that when a General is in charge his orders must be carried out.
The axemen decapitated the two squad leaders.
The deputy-lead concubines were put in chargeof the platoons and the manoeuvres were carried out perfectly.
I guess threat of decapitation is a powerfulincentive.
King He-Lu in the end was kind of cool withall that … so much so that he appointed Master Sun as lead General of his army.
Now a couple of points if I may.
Point one: we all have a lot to learn fromMaster Sun and his book.
But I would not take his advice when it comesto job interviews.
Chopping the head off the CEO’s life partnerswill not get you that dream job.
Point two: I personally find it difficultto believe this to be a true story, and XIth century scholar Yeh Cheng-Tse agrees withme.
This sounds more like a parable to illustratesome key lessons which appear again and again in the Art of War.
What are the lessons? Absolute obedience to the officers and theGenerals.
Discipline.
Coordination among ranks.
Independence of the Military from politicalpower in war time.
These are the values that make an army ofmen into an army of heroes.
One Sun, two Suns, three Suns … ?But what exactly was so revolutionary about Sun Tzu’s approach to warfare? His main contribution was to apply Taoistprinciples to the conduct of military campaigns.
Unlike the adherence to tradition supportedby Confucianism, Taoism emphasizes adaptability to the natural flow of things.
Moreover, the Tao-Te-Ching reflects a horrorof war and yearning for peace.
By combining these two principles, you obtainthe foundations of Sun Tzu’s military doctrine: Follow the natural path to victory ratherthan adhering to contemporary conventional wisdomIf possible, avoid war.
The greatest victory lies in defeating theenemy even before a war has begun But if a war begins, the best way to achievepeace is through a swift victory.
These precepts of Sun Tzu’s were soon putthe test in one of the many conflicts opposing the kingdoms of Wu and Chu.
At the decisive Battle of Boju, Sun-Tzu issaid to have led the Wu forces along with King He-Lu’s brother Fugai, and defeatedthe numerically superior Chu army through use of his tactics.
In The Art of War, Sun-Tzu writes:“Though according to my estimate, the soldiers of Chu exceed our own in number, that shalladvantage them nothing in the matter of victory.
I say then that victory can be achieved.
Though the enemy be stronger in numbers, wemay prevent him from fighting.
” In other words: take the initiative; attackfirst; attack fast; attack where the enemy is weak and prevent him from concentratinghis forces.
This is exactly what happened at Boju.
Despite He-Lu’s protestations, Fugai listenedto Sun Tzu’s advice and charged the Chu army, defeating them in a series of five furtherengagements, which culminated with the capture of the enemy capital, Ying.
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