AssistantintheDepartmentofOrientalPrintedBooksandMSS.
intheBritishMuseumFirstPublishedin1910
TomybrotherCaptainValentineGiles，R.G.
inthehopethatawork2400yearsoldmayyetcontainlessonsworthconsiderationbythesoldieroftodaythistranslationisaffectionatelydedicated.
INTRODUCTION
SunWuandhisBook
Ssu—maCh`iengivesthefollowingbiographyofSunTzu：[1]
SunTzuWuwasanativeoftheCh`iState.HisARTOF
WARbroughthimtothenoticeofHoLu，[2]KingofWu.HoLusaidtohim："Ihavecarefullyperusedyour13chapters.
MayIsubmityourtheoryofmanagingsoldierstoaslighttest？"
SunTzureplied："Youmay."
HoLuasked："Maythetestbeappliedtowomen？"
Theanswerwasagainintheaffirmative，soarrangementsweremadetobring180ladiesoutofthePalace.SunTzudividedthemintotwocompanies，andplacedoneoftheKing’sfavoriteconcubinesattheheadofeach.Hethenbadethemalltakespearsintheirhands，andaddressedthemthus："I
presumeyouknowthedifferencebetweenfrontandback，righthandandlefthand？"
Thegirlsreplied：Yes.
SunTzuwenton："WhenIsay"Eyesfront，"youmustlookstraightahead.WhenIsay"Leftturn，"youmustfacetowardsyourlefthand.WhenIsay"Rightturn，"youmustfacetowardsyourrighthand.WhenIsay"Aboutturn，"youmustfacerightroundtowardsyourback."
Againthegirlsassented.Thewordsofcommandhavingbeenthusexplained，hesetupthehalberdsandbattle—axesinordertobeginthedrill.Then，tothesoundofdrums，hegavetheorder"Rightturn."Butthegirlsonlyburstoutlaughing.SunTzusaid："Ifwordsofcommandarenotclearanddistinct，ifordersarenotthoroughlyunderstood，thenthegeneralistoblame."
Sohestarteddrillingthemagain，andthistimegavetheorder"Leftturn，"whereuponthegirlsoncemoreburstintofitsoflaughter.SunTzu："Ifwordsofcommandarenotclearanddistinct，ifordersarenotthoroughlyunderstood，thegeneralistoblame.ButifhisordersARE
clear，andthesoldiersneverthelessdisobey，thenitisthefaultoftheirofficers."
Sosaying，heorderedtheleadersofthetwocompaniestobebeheaded.NowthekingofWuwaswatchingthescenefromthetopofaraisedpavilion;andwhenhesawthathisfavoriteconcubineswereabouttobeexecuted，hewasgreatlyalarmedandhurriedlysentdownthefollowingmessage："Wearenowquitesatisfiedastoourgeneral’sabilitytohandletroops.IfWearebereftofthesetwoconcubines，ourmeatanddrinkwilllosetheirsavor.Itisourwishthattheyshallnotbebeheaded."
SunTzureplied："HavingoncereceivedHisMajesty’scommissiontobethegeneralofhisforces，therearecertaincommandsofHisMajestywhich，actinginthatcapacity，Iamunabletoaccept."
Accordingly，hehadthetwoleadersbeheaded，andstraightwayinstalledthepairnextinorderasleadersintheirplace.Whenthishadbeendone，thedrumwassoundedforthedrilloncemore;andthegirlswentthroughalltheevolutions，turningtotherightortotheleft，marchingaheadorwheelingback，kneelingorstanding，withperfectaccuracyandprecision，notventuringtoutterasound.ThenSunTzusentamessengertotheKingsaying："Yoursoldiers，Sire，arenowproperlydrilledanddisciplined，andreadyforyourmajesty’sinspection.Theycanbeputtoanyusethattheirsovereignmaydesire;bidthemgothroughfireandwater，andtheywillnotdisobey."
ButtheKingreplied："Letourgeneralceasedrillingandreturntocamp.Asforus，Wehavenowishtocomedownandinspectthetroops."
ThereuponSunTzusaid："TheKingisonlyfondofwords，andcannottranslatethemintodeeds."
Afterthat，HoLusawthatSunTzuwasonewhoknewhowtohandleanarmy，andfinallyappointedhimgeneral.Inthewest，hedefeatedtheCh`uStateandforcedhiswayintoYing，thecapital;tothenorthheputfearintotheStatesofCh`iandChin，andspreadhisfameabroadamongstthefeudalprinces.AndSunTzusharedinthemightoftheKing.
AboutSunTzuhimselfthisisallthatSsu—maCh`ienhastotellusinthischapter.Butheproceedstogiveabiographyofhisdescendant，SunPin，bornaboutahundredyearsafterhisfamousancestor’sdeath，andalsotheoutstandingmilitarygeniusofhistime.ThehistorianspeaksofhimtooasSunTzu，andinhisprefaceweread："SunTzuhadhisfeetcutoffandyetcontinuedtodiscusstheartofwar."[3]Itseemslikely，then，that"Pin"wasanicknamebestowedonhimafterhismutilation，unlessthestorywasinventedinordertoaccountforthename.
Thecrowningincidentofhiscareer，thecrushingdefeatofhistreacherousrivalP`angChuan，willbefoundbrieflyrelatedinChapterV.ss.19，note.
ToreturntotheelderSunTzu.HeismentionedintwootherpassagesoftheSHIHCHI：——
Inthethirdyearofhisreign[512B.C.]HoLu，kingofWu，tookthefieldwithTzu—hsu[i.e.WuYuan]andPoP`ei，andattackedCh`u.HecapturedthetownofShuandslewthetwoprince’ssonswhohadformerlybeengeneralsofWu.HewasthenmeditatingadescentonYing[thecapital];butthegeneralSunWusaid："Thearmyisexhausted.Itisnotyetpossible.Wemustwait"[Afterfurthersuccessfulfighting，]"intheninthyear[506B.C.]，KingHoLuaddressedWuTzu—hsuandSunWu，saying："Formerly，youdeclaredthatitwasnotyetpossibleforustoenterYing.
Isthetimeripenow？"Thetwomenreplied："Ch`u’sgeneralTzu—ch`ang，[4]isgraspingandcovetous，andtheprincesofT`angandTs`aibothhaveagrudgeagainsthim.IfYourMajestyhasresolvedtomakeagrandattack，youmustwinoverT`angandTs`ai，andthenyoumaysucceed."HoLufollowedthisadvice，[beatCh`uinfivepitchedbattlesandmarchedintoYing.][5]
ThisisthelatestdateatwhichanythingisrecordedofSunWu.Hedoesnotappeartohavesurvivedhispatron，whodiedfromtheeffectsofawoundin496.
Inanotherchapterthereoccursthispassage：[6]
Fromthistimeonward，anumberoffamoussoldiersarose，oneaftertheother：Kao—fan，[7]whowasemployedbytheChinState;Wang—tzu，[8]intheserviceofCh`i;andSunWu，intheserviceofWu.Thesemendevelopedandthrewlightupontheprinciplesofwar.
ItisobviousenoughthatSsu—maCh`ienatleasthadnodoubtabouttherealityofSunWuasanhistoricalpersonage;andwithoneexception，tobenoticedpresently，heisbyfarthemostimportantauthorityontheperiodinquestion.Itwillnotbenecessary，therefore，tosaymuchofsuchaworkastheWU
YUEHCH`UNCH`IU，whichissupposedtohavebeenwrittenbyChaoYehofthe1stcenturyA.D.Theattributionissomewhatdoubtful;butevenifitwereotherwise，hisaccountwouldbeoflittlevalue，basedasitisontheSHIHCHIandexpandedwithromanticdetails.ThestoryofSunTzuwillbefound，forwhatitisworth，inchapter2.Theonlynewpointsinitworthnotingare：（1）SunTzuwasfirstrecommendedtoHoLubyWuTzu—hsu.（2）HeiscalledanativeofWu.（3）Hehadpreviouslylivedaretiredlife，andhiscontemporarieswereunawareofhisability.
ThefollowingpassageoccursintheHuai—nanTzu："Whensovereignandministersshowperversityofmind，itisimpossibleevenforaSunTzutoencounterthefoe."Assumingthatthisworkisgenuine（andhithertonodoubthasbeencastuponit），wehaveheretheearliestdirectreferenceforSunTzu，forHuai—nanTzudiedin122B.C.，manyyearsbeforetheSHIHCHIwasgiventotheworld.
LiuHsiang（80—9B.C.）says："ThereasonwhySunTzuattheheadof30，000menbeatCh`uwith200，000isthatthelatterwereundisciplined."
TengMing—shihinformsusthatthesurname"Sun"wasbestowedonSunWu’sgrandfatherbyDukeChingofCh`i[547—490
B.C.].SunWu’sfatherSunP`ing，rosetobeaMinisterofStateinCh`i，andSunWuhimself，whosestylewasCh`ang—ch`ing，fledtoWuonaccountoftherebellionwhichwasbeingfomentedbythekindredofT`ienPao.Hehadthreesons，ofwhomthesecond，namedMing，wasthefatherofSunPin.Accordingtothisaccountthen，PinwasthegrandsonofWu，which，consideringthatSunPin’svictoryoverWeiwasgainedin341B.C.，maybedismissedaschronologicalimpossible.WhencethesedatawereobtainedbyTengMing—shihIdonotknow，butofcoursenoreliancewhatevercanbeplacedinthem.
AninterestingdocumentwhichhassurvivedfromthecloseoftheHanperiodistheshortprefacewrittenbytheGreatTs`aoTs`ao，orWeiWuTi，forhiseditionofSunTzu.Ishallgiveitinfull：——
Ihaveheardthattheancientsusedbowsandarrowstotheiradvantage.[10]TheSHUCHUmentions"thearmy"amongthe"eightobjectsofgovernment."TheICHINGsays：
"’army’indicatesfirmnessandjustice;theexperiencedleaderwillhavegoodfortune."TheSHIHCHINGsays："TheKingrosemajesticinhiswrath，andhemarshaledhistroops."TheYellowEmperor，T`angtheCompleterandWuWangallusedspearsandbattle—axesinordertosuccortheirgeneration.TheSSU—MAFAsays："Ifonemanslayanotherofsetpurpose，hehimselfmayrightfullybeslain."Hewhoreliessolelyonwarlikemeasuresshallbeexterminated;hewhoreliessolelyonpeacefulmeasuresshallperish.
InstancesofthisareFuCh`ai[11]ontheonehandandYenWangontheother.[12]Inmilitarymatters，theSage’sruleisnormallytokeepthepeace，andtomovehisforcesonlywhenoccasionrequires.Hewillnotusearmedforceunlessdriventoitbynecessity.
ManybookshaveIreadonthesubjectofwarandfighting;buttheworkcomposedbySunWuistheprofoundestofthemall.[SunTzuwasanativeoftheCh`istate，hispersonalnamewasWu.HewrotetheARTOFWARin13chaptersforHoLu，KingofWu.Itsprinciplesweretestedonwomen，andhewassubsequentlymadeageneral.Heledanarmywestwards，crushedtheCh`ustateandenteredYingthecapital.Inthenorth，hekeptCh`iandChininawe.A
hundredyearsandmoreafterhistime，SunPinlived.HewasadescendantofWu.][13]Inhistreatmentofdeliberationandplanning，theimportanceofrapidityintakingthefield，[14]clearnessofconception，anddepthofdesign，SunTzustandsbeyondthereachofcarpingcriticism.Mycontemporaries，however，havefailedtograspthefullmeaningofhisinstructions，andwhileputtingintopracticethesmallerdetailsinwhichhisworkabounds，theyhaveoverlookeditsessentialpurport.Thatisthemotivewhichhasledmetooutlinearoughexplanationofthewhole.
Onethingtobenoticedintheaboveistheexplicitstatementthatthe13chapterswerespeciallycomposedforKingHoLu.ThisissupportedbytheinternalevidenceofI.ss.15，inwhichitseemsclearthatsomerulerisaddressed.
InthebibliographicsectionoftheHANSHU，thereisanentrywhichhasgivenrisetomuchdiscussion："TheworksofSunTzuofWuin82P`IEN（orchapters），withdiagramsin9CHUAN."
Itisevidentthatthiscannotbemerelythe13chaptersknowntoSsu—maCh`ien，orthosewepossesstoday.ChangShou—chiehreferstoaneditionofSunTzu’sARTOFWARofwhichthe"13
chapters"formedthefirstCHUAN，addingthatthereweretwootherCHUANbesides.Thishasbroughtforthatheory，thatthebulkofthese82chaptersconsistedofotherwritingsofSunTzu——weshouldcallthemapocryphal——similartotheWENTA，ofwhichaspecimendealingwiththeNineSituations[15]ispreservedintheT`UNGTIEN，andanotherinHoShin’scommentary.
ItissuggestedthatbeforehisinterviewwithHoLu，SunTzuhadonlywrittenthe13chapters，butafterwardscomposedasortofexegesisintheformofquestionandanswerbetweenhimselfandtheKing.PiI—hsun，theauthoroftheSUNTZUHSULU，backsthisupwithaquotationfromtheWUYUEHCH`UNCH`IU："TheKingofWusummonedSunTzu，andaskedhimquestionsabouttheartofwar.Eachtimehesetforthachapterofhiswork，theKingcouldnotfindwordsenoughtopraisehim."Ashepointsout，ifthewholeworkwasexpoundedonthesamescaleasintheabove—
mentionedfragments，thetotalnumberofchapterscouldnotfailtobeconsiderable.ThenthenumerousothertreatisesattributedtoSunTzumightbeincluded.ThefactthattheHANCHIH
mentionsnoworkofSunTzuexceptthe82P`IEN，whereastheSuiandT`angbibliographiesgivethetitlesofothersinadditiontothe"13chapters，"isgoodproof，PiI—hsunthinks，thatallofthesewerecontainedinthe82P`IEN.WithoutpinningourfaithtotheaccuracyofdetailssuppliedbytheWUYUEHCH`UNCH`IU，oradmittingthegenuinenessofanyofthetreatisescitedbyPiI—hsun，wemayseeinthistheoryaprobablesolutionofthemystery.BetweenSsu—maCh`ienandPanKutherewasplentyoftimeforaluxuriantcropofforgeriestohavegrownupunderthemagicnameofSunTzu，andthe82P`IENmayverywellrepresentacollectededitionoftheselumpedtogetherwiththeoriginalwork.Itisalsopossible，thoughlesslikely，thatsomeofthemexistedinthetimeoftheearlierhistorianandwerepurposelyignoredbyhim.[16]
TuMu’sconjectureseemstobebasedonapassagewhichstates："WeiWuTistrungtogetherSunWu’sArtofWar，"whichinturnmayhaveresultedfromamisunderstandingofthefinalwordsofTs`aoKing’spreface.This，asSunHsing—yenpointsout，isonlyamodestwayofsayingthathemadeanexplanatoryparaphrase，orinotherwords，wroteacommentaryonit.Onthewhole，thistheoryhasmetwithverylittleacceptance.Thus，theSSUK`UCH`UANSHUsays："Thementionofthe13chaptersintheSHIHCHIshowsthattheywereinexistencebeforetheHAN
CHIH，andthatlatteraccretionsarenottobeconsideredpartoftheoriginalwork.TuMu’sassertioncancertainlynotbetakenasproof."
Thereiseveryreasontosuppose，then，thatthe13chaptersexistedinthetimeofSsu—maCh`ienpracticallyaswehavethemnow.Thattheworkwasthenwellknownhetellsusinsomanywords."SunTzu’s13ChaptersandWuCh`i’sArtofWararethetwobooksthatpeoplecommonlyrefertoonthesubjectofmilitarymatters.Bothofthemarewidelydistributed，soIwillnotdiscussthemhere."Butaswegofurtherback，seriousdifficultiesbegintoarise.ThesalientfactwhichhastobefacedisthattheTSOCHUAN，thegreatestcontemporaryrecord，makesnomentionwhatsoeverofSunWu，eitherasageneralorasawriter.Itisnatural，inviewofthisawkwardcircumstance，thatmanyscholarsshouldnotonlycastdoubtonthestoryofSunWuasgivenintheSHIHCHI，butevenshowthemselvesfranklyskepticalastotheexistenceofthemanatall.ThemostpowerfulpresentmentofthissideofthecaseistobefoundinthefollowingdispositionbyYehShui—hsin：[17]——
ItisstatedinSsu—maCh`ien’shistorythatSunWuwasanativeoftheCh`iState，andemployedbyWu;andthatinthereignofHoLuhecrushedCh`u，enteredYing，andwasagreatgeneral.ButinTso’sCommentarynoSunWuappearsatall.ItistruethatTso’sCommentaryneednotcontainabsolutelyeverythingthatotherhistoriescontain.ButTsohasnotomittedtomentionvulgarplebeiansandhirelingruffianssuchasYingK`ao—shu，[18]Ts`aoKuei，[19]，ChuChih—wuandChuanShe—chu[20].InthecaseofSunWu，whosefameandachievementsweresobrilliant，theomissionismuchmoreglaring.Again，detailsaregiven，intheirdueorder，abouthiscontemporariesWuYuanandtheMinisterP`ei.[21]
IsitcrediblethatSunWualoneshouldhavebeenpassedover？
Inpointofliterarystyle，SunTzu’sworkbelongstothesameschoolasKUANTZU，[22]LIUT`AO，[23]andtheYUEH
YU[24]andmayhavebeentheproductionofsomeprivatescholarlivingtowardstheendofthe"SpringandAutumn"orthebeginningofthe"WarringStates"period.[25]ThestorythathispreceptswereactuallyappliedbytheWuState，ismerelytheoutcomeofbigtalkonthepartofhisfollowers.
FromtheflourishingperiodoftheChoudynasty[26]
downtothetimeofthe"SpringandAutumn，"allmilitarycommanderswerestatesmenaswell，andtheclassofprofessionalgenerals，forconductingexternalcampaigns，didnotthenexist.Itwasnotuntiltheperiodofthe"SixStates"[27]thatthiscustomchanged.NowalthoughWuwasanuncivilizedState，itisconceivablethatTsoshouldhaveleftunrecordedthefactthatSunWuwasagreatgeneralandyetheldnociviloffice？Whatwearetold，therefore，aboutJang—chu[28]andSunWu，isnotauthenticmatter，buttherecklessfabricationoftheorizingpundits.ThestoryofHoLu’sexperimentonthewomen，inparticular，isutterlypreposterousandincredible.
YehShui—hsinrepresentsSsu—maCh`ienashavingsaidthatSunWucrushedCh`uandenteredYing.Thisisnotquitecorrect.
Nodoubttheimpressionleftonthereader’smindisthatheatleastsharedintheseexploits.Thefactmayormaynotbesignificant;butitisnowhereexplicitlystatedintheSHIHCHI
eitherthatSunTzuwasgeneralontheoccasionofthetakingofYing，orthatheevenwentthereatall.Moreover，asweknowthatWuYuanandPoP`eibothtookpartintheexpedition，andalsothatitssuccesswaslargelyduetothedashandenterpriseofFuKai，HoLu’syoungerbrother，itisnoteasytoseehowyetanothergeneralcouldhaveplayedaveryprominentpartinthesamecampaign.
Ch`enChen—sunoftheSungdynastyhasthenote：——
MilitarywriterslookuponSunWuasthefatheroftheirart.ButthefactthathedoesnotappearintheTSOCHUAN，althoughheissaidtohaveservedunderHoLuKingofWu，makesituncertainwhatperiodhereallybelongedto.
Healsosays：——
TheworksofSunWuandWuCh`imaybeofgenuineantiquity.
ItisnoticeablethatbothYehShui—hsinandCh`enChen—sun，whilerejectingthepersonalityofSunWuashefiguresinSsu—maCh`ien’shistory，areinclinedtoacceptthedatetraditionallyassignedtotheworkwhichpassesunderhisname.TheauthoroftheHSULUfailstoappreciatethisdistinction，andconsequentlyhisbitterattackonCh`enChen—sunreallymissesitsmark.Hemakesoneoftwopoints，however，whichcertainlytellinfavorofthehighantiquityofour"13chapters.""SunTzu，"hesays，"musthavelivedintheageofChingWang[519—476]，becauseheisfrequentlyplagiarizedinsubsequentworksoftheChou，Ch`inandHandynasties."ThetwomostshamelessoffendersinthisrespectareWuCh`iandHuai—nanTzu，bothofthemimportanthistoricalpersonagesintheirday.TheformerlivedonlyacenturyaftertheallegeddateofSunTzu，andhisdeathisknowntohavetakenplacein381B.C.Itwastohim，accordingtoLiuHsiang，thatTsengShendeliveredtheTSOCHUAN，whichhadbeenentrustedtohimbyitsauthor.[29]NowthefactthatquotationsfromtheARTOFWAR，acknowledgedorotherwise，aretobefoundinsomanyauthorsofdifferentepochs，establishesaverystronganteriortothemall，——inotherwords，thatSunTzu’streatisewasalreadyinexistencetowardstheendofthe5thcenturyB.C.FurtherproofofSunTzu’santiquityisfurnishedbythearchaicorwhollyobsoletemeaningsattachingtoanumberofthewordsheuses.Alistofthese，whichmightperhapsbeextended，isgivenintheHSULU;andthoughsomeoftheinterpretationsaredoubtful，themainargumentishardlyaffectedthereby.Again，itmustnotbeforgottenthatYehShui—
hsin，ascholarandcriticofthefirstrank，deliberatelypronouncesthestyleofthe13chapterstobelongtotheearlypartofthefifthcentury.SeeingthatheisactuallyengagedinanattempttodisprovetheexistenceofSunWuhimself，wemaybesurethathewouldnothavehesitatedtoassigntheworktoalaterdatehadhenothonestlybelievedthecontrary.AnditispreciselyonsuchapointthatthejudgmentofaneducatedChinamanwillcarrymostweight.Otherinternalevidenceisnotfartoseek.ThusinXIII.ss.1，thereisanunmistakableallusiontotheancientsystemofland—tenurewhichhadalreadypassedawaybythetimeofMencius，whowasanxioustoseeitrevivedinamodifiedform.[30]TheonlywarfareSunTzuknowsisthatcarriedonbetweenthevariousfeudalprinces，inwhicharmoredchariotsplayalargepart.TheiruseseemstohaveentirelydiedoutbeforetheendoftheChoudynasty.HespeaksasamanofWu，astatewhichceasedtoexistasearlyas473
B.C.OnthisIshalltouchpresently.
Butoncerefertheworktothe5thcenturyorearlier，andthechancesofitsbeingotherthanabonafideproductionaresensiblydiminished.Thegreatageofforgeriesdidnotcomeuntillongafter.Thatitshouldhavebeenforgedintheperiodimmediatelyfollowing473isparticularlyunlikely，fornoone，asarule，hastenstoidentifyhimselfwithalostcause.AsforYehShui—hsin’stheory，thattheauthorwasaliteraryrecluse，thatseemstomequiteuntenable.IfonethingismoreapparentthananotherafterreadingthemaximsofSunTzu，itisthattheiressencehasbeendistilledfromalargestoreofpersonalobservationandexperience.Theyreflectthemindnotonlyofabornstrategist，giftedwithararefacultyofgeneralization，butalsoofapracticalsoldiercloselyacquaintedwiththemilitaryconditionsofhistime.TosaynothingofthefactthatthesesayingshavebeenacceptedandendorsedbyallthegreatestcaptainsofChinesehistory，theyofferacombinationoffreshnessandsincerity，acutenessandcommonsense，whichquiteexcludestheideathattheywereartificiallyconcoctedinthestudy.Ifweadmit，then，thatthe13chapterswerethegenuineproductionofamilitarymanlivingtowardstheendofthe"CH`UN
CH`IU"period，arewenotbound，inspiteofthesilenceoftheTSOCHUAN，toacceptSsu—maCh`ien’saccountinitsentirety？Inviewofhishighreputeasasoberhistorian，mustwenothesitatetoassumethattherecordshedrewuponforSunWu’sbiographywerefalseanduntrustworthy？Theanswer，Ifear，mustbeinthenegative.Thereisstillonegrave，ifnotfatal，objectiontothechronologyinvolvedinthestoryastoldintheSHIHCHI，which，sofarasIamaware，nobodyhasyetpointedout.TherearetwopassagesinSunTzuinwhichhealludestocontemporaryaffairs.ThefirstininVI.ss.21：——
ThoughaccordingtomyestimatethesoldiersofYuehexceedourowninnumber，thatshalladvantagethemnothinginthematterofvictory.Isaythenthatvictorycanbeachieved.
TheotherisinXI.ss.30：——
AskedifanarmycanbemadetoimitatetheSHUAI—JAN，I
shouldanswer，Yes.ForthemenofWuandthemenofYuehareenemies;yetiftheyarecrossingariverinthesameboatandarecaughtbyastorm，theywillcometoeachother’sassistancejustasthelefthandhelpstheright.
Thesetwoparagraphsareextremelyvaluableasevidenceofthedateofcomposition.TheyassigntheworktotheperiodofthestrugglebetweenWuandYueh.SomuchhasbeenobservedbyPiI—hsun.ButwhathashithertoescapednoticeisthattheyalsoseriouslyimpairthecredibilityofSsu—maCh`ien’snarrative.Aswehaveseenabove，thefirstpositivedategiveninconnectionwithSunWuis512B.C.Heisthenspokenofasageneral，actingasconfidentialadvisertoHoLu，sothathisallegedintroductiontothatmonarchhadalreadytakenplace，andofcoursethe13chaptersmusthavebeenwrittenearlierstill.
Butatthattime，andforseveralyearsafter，downtothecaptureofYingin506，Ch`uandnotYueh，wasthegreathereditaryenemyofWu.Thetwostates，Ch`uandWu，hadbeenconstantlyatwarforoverhalfacentury，[31]whereasthefirstwarbetweenWuandYuehwaswagedonlyin510，[32]andeventhenwasnomorethanashortinterludesandwichedinthemidstofthefiercestrugglewithCh`u.NowCh`uisnotmentionedinthe13
chaptersatall.ThenaturalinferenceisthattheywerewrittenatatimewhenYuehhadbecometheprimeantagonistofWu，thatis，afterCh`uhadsufferedthegreathumiliationof506.Atthispoint，atableofdatesmaybefounduseful.
B.C.
514AccessionofHoLu.
512HoLuattacksCh`u，butisdissuadedfromenteringYing，thecapital.SHICHImentionsSunWuasgeneral.
511AnotherattackonCh`u.
510WumakesasuccessfulattackonYueh.Thisisthefirstwarbetweenthetwostates.
509
orCh`uinvadesWu，butissignallydefeatedatYu—chang.
508
506HoLuattacksCh`uwiththeaidofT`angandTs`ai.
DecisivebattleofPo—chu，andcaptureofYing.LastmentionofSunWuinSHIHCHI.
505YuehmakesaraidonWuintheabsenceofitsarmy.WuisbeatenbyCh`inandevacuatesYing.
504HoLusendsFuCh`aitoattackCh`u.
497KouChienbecomesKingofYueh.
496WuattacksYueh，butisdefeatedbyKouChienatTsui—li.
HoLuiskilled.
494FuCh`aidefeatsKouChieninthegreatbattleofFu—
chaio，andentersthecapitalofYueh.
485
orKouChienrendershomagetoWu.DeathofWuTzu—hsu.
484
482KouChieninvadesWuintheabsenceofFuCh`ai.
478
toFurtherattacksbyYuehonWu.
476
475KouChienlayssiegetothecapitalofWu.
473FinaldefeatandextinctionofWu.
ThesentencequotedabovefromVI.ss.21hardlystrikesmeasonethatcouldhavebeenwritteninthefullflushofvictory.
Itseemsrathertoimplythat，forthemomentatleast，thetidehadturnedagainstWu，andthatshewasgettingtheworstofthestruggle.Hencewemayconcludethatourtreatisewasnotinexistencein505，beforewhichdateYuehdoesnotappeartohavescoredanynotablesuccessagainstWu.HoLudiedin496，sothatifthebookwaswrittenforhim，itmusthavebeenduringtheperiod505—496，whentherewasalullinthehostilities，WuhavingpresumablyexhaustedbyitssupremeeffortagainstCh`u.
Ontheotherhand，ifwechoosetodisregardthetraditionconnectingSunWu’snamewithHoLu，itmightequallywellhaveseenthelightbetween496and494，orpossiblyintheperiod482—473，whenYuehwasonceagainbecomingaveryseriousmenace.
[33]Wemayfeelfairlycertainthattheauthor，whoeverhemayhavebeen，wasnotamanofanygreateminenceinhisownday.
OnthispointthenegativetestimonyoftheTSOCHUANfaroutweighsanyshredofauthoritystillattachingtotheSHIHCHI，ifonceitsotherfactsarediscredited.SunHsing—yen，however，makesafeebleattempttoexplaintheomissionofhisnamefromthegreatcommentary.ItwasWuTzu—hsu，hesays，whogotallthecreditofSunWu’sexploits，becausethelatter（beinganalien）wasnotrewardedwithanofficeintheState.
HowthendidtheSunTzulegendoriginate？Itmaybethatthegrowingcelebrityofthebookimpartedbydegreesakindoffactitiousrenowntoitsauthor.Itwasfelttobeonlyrightandproperthatonesowellversedinthescienceofwarshouldhavesolidachievementstohiscreditaswell.NowthecaptureofYingwasundoubtedlythegreatestfeatofarmsinHoLu’sreign;itmadeadeepandlastingimpressiononallthesurroundingstates，andraisedWutotheshort—livedzenithofherpower.Hence，whatmorenatural，astimewenton，thanthattheacknowledgedmasterofstrategy，SunWu，shouldbepopularlyidentifiedwiththatcampaign，atfirstperhapsonlyinthesensethathisbrainconceivedandplannedit;afterwards，thatitwasactuallycarriedoutbyhiminconjunctionwithWuYuan，[34]PoP`eiandFuKai？
ItisobviousthatanyattempttoreconstructeventheoutlineofSunTzu’slifemustbebasedalmostwhollyonconjecture.Withthisnecessaryproviso，IshouldsaythatheprobablyenteredtheserviceofWuaboutthetimeofHoLu’saccession，andgatheredexperience，thoughonlyinthecapacityofasubordinateofficer，duringtheintensemilitaryactivitywhichmarkedthefirsthalfoftheprince’sreign.[35]Ifherosetobeageneralatall，hecertainlywasneveronanequalfootingwiththethreeabovementioned.HewasdoubtlesspresentattheinvestmentandoccupationofYing，andwitnessedWu’ssuddencollapseinthefollowingyear.Yueh’sattackatthiscriticaljuncture，whenherrivalwasembarrassedoneveryside，seemstohaveconvincedhimthatthisupstartkingdomwasthegreatenemyagainstwhomeveryeffortwouldhenceforthhavetobedirected.SunWuwasthusawell—seasonedwarriorwhenhesatdowntowritehisfamousbook，whichaccordingtomyreckoningmusthaveappearedtowardstheend，ratherthanthebeginningofHoLu’sreign.Thestoryofthewomenmaypossiblyhavegrownoutofsomerealincidentoccurringaboutthesametime.AswehearnomoreofSunWuafterthisfromanysource，heishardlylikelytohavesurvivedhispatronortohavetakenpartinthedeath—strugglewithYueh，whichbeganwiththedisasteratTsui—
li.
Iftheseinferencesareapproximatelycorrect，thereisacertainironyinthefatewhichdecreedthatChina’smostillustriousmanofpeaceshouldbecontemporarywithhergreatestwriteronwar.
TheTextofSunTzu
IhavefounditdifficulttogleanmuchaboutthehistoryofSunTzu’stext.Thequotationsthatoccurinearlyauthorsgotoshowthatthe"13chapters"ofwhichSsu—maCh`ienspeakswereessentiallythesameasthosenowextant.Wehavehiswordforitthattheywerewidelycirculatedinhisday，andcanonlyregretthatherefrainedfromdiscussingthemonthataccount.
SunHsing—yensaysinhispreface：——
DuringtheCh`inandHandynastiesSunTzu’sARTOFWAR
wasingeneraluseamongstmilitarycommanders，buttheyseemtohavetreateditasaworkofmysteriousimport，andwereunwillingtoexpounditforthebenefitofposterity.ThusitcameaboutthatWeiWuwasthefirsttowriteacommentaryonit.
Aswehavealreadyseen，thereisnoreasonablegroundtosupposethatTs`aoKungtamperedwiththetext.Butthetextitselfisoftensoobscure，andthenumberofeditionswhichappearedfromthattimeonwardsogreat，especiallyduringtheT`angandSungdynasties，thatitwouldbesurprisingifnumerouscorruptionshadnotmanagedtocreepin.TowardsthemiddleoftheSungperiod，bywhichtimeallthechiefcommentariesonSunTzuwereinexistence，acertainChiT`ien—paopublishedaworkin15CHUANentitled"SunTzuwiththecollectedcommentariesoftenwriters."Therewasanothertext，withvariantreadingsputforwardbyChuFuofTa—hsing，whichalsohadsupportersamongthescholarsofthatperiod;butintheMingeditions，SunHsing—
yentellsus，thesereadingswereforsomereasonorothernolongerputintocirculation.Thus，untiltheendofthe18thcentury，thetextinsolepossessionofthefieldwasonederivedfromChiT`ien—pao’sedition，althoughnoactualcopyofthatimportantworkwasknowntohavesurvived.That，therefore，isthetextofSunTzuwhichappearsintheWarsectionofthegreatImperialencyclopediaprintedin1726，theKUCHINT`USHUCHI
CH`ENG.Anothercopyatmydisposalofwhatispracticallythesametext，withslightvariations，isthatcontainedinthe"ElevenphilosophersoftheChouandCh`indynasties"[1758].
AndtheChineseprintedinCapt.Calthrop’sfirsteditionisevidentlyasimilarversionwhichhasfilteredthroughJapanesechannels.SothingsremaineduntilSunHsing—yen[1752—1818]，adistinguishedantiquarianandclassicalscholar，whoclaimedtobeanactualdescendantofSunWu，[36]accidentallydiscoveredacopyofChiT`ien—pao’slong—lostwork，whenonavisittothelibraryoftheHua—yintemple.[37]AppendedtoitwastheI
SHUOofChengYu—Hsien，mentionedintheT`UNGCHIH，andalsobelievedtohaveperished.ThisiswhatSunHsing—yendesignatesasthe"originaledition（ortext）"——arathermisleadingname，foritcannotbyanymeansclaimtosetbeforeusthetextofSunTzuinitspristinepurity.ChiT`ien—paowasacarelesscompiler，andappearstohavebeencontenttoreproducethesomewhatdebasedversioncurrentinhisday，withouttroublingtocollateitwiththeearliesteditionsthenavailable.
Fortunately，twoversionsofSunTzu，evenolderthanthenewlydiscoveredwork，werestillextant，oneburiedintheT`UNGTIEN，TuYu’sgreattreatiseontheConstitution，theothersimilarlyenshrinedintheT`AIP`INGYULANencyclopedia.Inboththecompletetextistobefound，thoughsplitupintofragments，intermixedwithothermatter，andscatteredpiecemealoveranumberofdifferentsections.ConsideringthattheYULANtakesusbacktotheyear983，andtheT`UNGTIENabout200yearsfurtherstill，tothemiddleoftheT`angdynasty，thevalueoftheseearlytranscriptsofSunTzucanhardlybeoverestimated.
YettheideaofutilizingthemdoesnotseemtohaveoccurredtoanyoneuntilSunHsing—yen，actingunderGovernmentinstructions，undertookathoroughrecensionofthetext.Thisishisownaccount：——
BecauseofthenumerousmistakesinthetextofSunTzuwhichhiseditorshadhandeddown，theGovernmentorderedthattheancientedition[ofChiT`ien—pao]shouldbeused，andthatthetextshouldberevisedandcorrectedthroughout.
IthappenedthatWuNien—hu，theGovernorPiKua，andHsi，agraduateoftheseconddegree，hadalldevotedthemselvestothisstudy，probablysurpassingmetherein.Accordingly，I
havehadthewholeworkcutonblocksasatextbookformilitarymen.
ThethreeindividualsherereferredtohadevidentlybeenoccupiedonthetextofSunTzupriortoSunHsing—yen’scommission，butweareleftindoubtastotheworktheyreallyaccomplished.Atanyrate，thenewedition，whenultimatelyproduced，appearedinthenamesofSunHsing—yenandonlyoneco—
editorWuJen—shi.Theytookthe"originaledition"astheirbasis，andbycarefulcomparisonwitholderversions，aswellastheextantcommentariesandothersourcesofinformationsuchastheISHUO，succeededinrestoringaverylargenumberofdoubtfulpassages，andturnedout，onthewhole，whatmustbeacceptedastheclosesapproximationweareeverlikelytogettoSunTzu’soriginalwork.Thisiswhatwillhereafterbedenominatedthe"standardtext."
ThecopywhichIhaveusedbelongstoareissuedated1877.
itisin6PEN，formingpartofawell—printedsetof23earlyphilosophicalworksin83PEN.[38]ItopenswithaprefacebySunHsing—yen（largelyquotedinthisintroduction），vindicatingthetraditionalviewofSunTzu’slifeandperformances，andsummingupinremarkablyconcisefashiontheevidenceinitsfavor.ThisisfollowedbyTs`aoKung’sprefacetohisedition，andthebiographyofSunTzufromtheSHIHCHI，bothtranslatedabove.Thencome，firstly，ChengYu—hsien’sISHUO，[39]withauthor’spreface，andnext，ashortmiscellanyofhistoricalandbibliographicalinformationentitledSUNTZUHSULU，compiledbyPiI—hsun.Asregardsthebodyofthework，eachseparatesentenceisfollowedbyanoteonthetext，ifrequired，andthenbythevariouscommentariesappertainingtoit，arrangedinchronologicalorder.Theseweshallnowproceedtodiscussbriefly，onebyone.
TheCommentators
SunTzucanboastanexceptionallylongdistinguishedrollofcommentators，whichwoulddohonortoanyclassic.Ou—yangHsiuremarksonthisfact，thoughhewrotebeforethetalewascomplete，andratheringeniouslyexplainsitbysayingthattheartificesofwar，beinginexhaustible，mustthereforebesusceptibleoftreatmentinagreatvarietyofways.
1.TS`AOTS`AOorTs`aoKung，afterwardsknownasWeiWuTi[A.D.155—220].ThereishardlyanyroomfordoubtthattheearliestcommentaryonSunTzuactuallycamefromthepenofthisextraordinaryman，whosebiographyintheSANKUOCHIHreadslikearomance.Oneofthegreatestmilitarygeniusesthattheworldhasseen，andNapoleonicinthescaleofhisoperations，hewasespeciallyfamedforthemarvelousrapidityofhismarches，whichhasfoundexpressionintheline"TalkofTs`aoTs`ao，andTs`aoTs`aowillappear."Ou—yangHsiusaysofhimthathewasagreatcaptainwho"measuredhisstrengthagainstTungCho，LuPuandthetwoYuan，fatherandson，andvanquishedthemall;whereuponhedividedtheEmpireofHanwithWuandShu，andmadehimselfking.ItisrecordedthatwheneveracouncilofwarwasheldbyWeiontheeveofafar—reachingcampaign，hehadallhiscalculationsready;thosegeneralswhomadeuseofthemdidnotloseonebattleinten;thosewhorancountertotheminanyparticularsawtheirarmiesincontinentlybeatenandputtoflight."Ts`aoKung’snotesonSunTzu，modelsofausterebrevity，aresothoroughlycharacteristicofthesterncommanderknowntohistory，thatitishardindeedtoconceiveofthemastheworkofamereLITTERATEUR.Sometimes，indeed，owingtoextremecompression，theyarescarcelyintelligibleandstandnolessinneedofacommentarythanthetextitself.[40]
2.MENGSHIH.Thecommentarywhichhascomedowntousunderthisnameiscomparativelymeager，andnothingabouttheauthorisknown.Evenhispersonalnamehasnotbeenrecorded.
ChiT`ien—pao’seditionplaceshimafterChiaLin，andCh`aoKung—
wualsoassignshimtotheT`angdynasty，[41]butthisisamistake.InSunHsing—yen’spreface，heappearsasMengShihoftheLiangdynasty[502—557].OtherswouldidentifyhimwithMengK`angofthe3rdcentury.Heisnamedinoneworkasthelastofthe"FiveCommentators，"theothersbeingWeiWuTi，TuMu，Ch`enHaoandChiaLin.
3.LICH`UANofthe8thcenturywasawell—knownwriteronmilitarytactics.Oneofhisworkshasbeeninconstantusedowntothepresentday.TheT`UNGCHIHmentions"LivesoffamousgeneralsfromtheChoutotheT`angdynasty"aswrittenbyhim.
[42]AccordingtoCh`aoKung—wuandtheT`IEN—I—KOcatalogue，hefollowedavariantofthetextofSunTzuwhichdiffersconsiderablyfromthosenowextant.Hisnotesaremostlyshortandtothepoint，andhefrequentlyillustrateshisremarksbyanecdotesfromChinesehistory.
4.TUYU（died812）didnotpublishaseparatecommentaryonSunTzu，hisnotesbeingtakenfromtheT`UNGTIEN，theencyclopedictreatiseontheConstitutionwhichwashislife—
work.TheyarelargelyrepetitionsofTs`aoKungandMengShih，besideswhichitisbelievedthathedrewontheancientcommentariesofWangLingandothers.OwingtothepeculiararrangementofT`UNGTIEN，hehastoexplaineachpassageonitsmerits，apartfromthecontext，andsometimeshisownexplanationdoesnotagreewiththatofTs`aoKung，whomhealwaysquotesfirst.Thoughnotstrictlytobereckonedasoneofthe"TenCommentators，"hewasaddedtotheirnumberbyChiT`ien—pao，beingwronglyplacedafterhisgrandsonTuMu.
5.TUMU（803—852）isperhapsthebestknownasapoet——abrightstareveninthegloriousgalaxyoftheT`angperiod.WelearnfromCh`aoKung—wuthatalthoughhehadnopracticalexperienceofwar，hewasextremelyfondofdiscussingthesubject，andwasmoreoverwellreadinthemilitaryhistoryoftheCH`UNCH`IUandCHANKUOeras.Hisnotes，therefore，arewellworthattention.Theyareverycopious，andrepletewithhistoricalparallels.ThegistofSunTzu’sworkisthussummarizedbyhim："Practicebenevolenceandjustice，butontheotherhandmakefulluseofartificeandmeasuresofexpediency."
HefurtherdeclaredthatallthemilitarytriumphsanddisastersofthethousandyearswhichhadelapsedsinceSunTzu’sdeathwould，uponexamination，befoundtoupholdandcorroborate，ineveryparticular，themaximscontainedinhisbook.TuMu’ssomewhatspitefulchargeagainstTs`aoKunghasalreadybeenconsideredelsewhere.
6.CH`ENHAOappearstohavebeenacontemporaryofTuMu.
Ch`aoKung—wusaysthathewasimpelledtowriteanewcommentaryonSunTzubecauseTs`aoKung’sontheonehandwastooobscureandsubtle，andthatofTuMuontheothertoolong—windedanddiffuse.Ou—yangHsiu，writinginthemiddleofthe11thcentury，callsTs`aoKung，TuMuandCh`enHaothethreechiefcommentatorsonSunTzu，andobservesthatCh`enHaoiscontinuallyattackingTuMu’sshortcomings.Hiscommentary，thoughnotlackinginmerit，mustrankbelowthoseofhispredecessors.
7.CHIALINisknowntohavelivedundertheT`angdynasty，forhiscommentaryonSunTzuismentionedintheT`angShuandwasafterwardsrepublishedbyChiHsiehofthesamedynastytogetherwiththoseofMengShihandTuYu.Itisofsomewhatscantytexture，andinpointofquality，too，perhapstheleastvaluableoftheeleven.
8.MEIYAO—CH`EN（1002—1060），commonlyknownbyhis"style"
asMeiSheng—yu，was，likeTuMu，apoetofdistinction.HiscommentarywaspublishedwithalaudatoryprefacebythegreatOu—yangHsiu，fromwhichwemaycullthefollowing：——
LaterscholarshavemisreadSunTzu，distortinghiswordsandtryingtomakethemsquarewiththeirownone—sidedviews.Thus，thoughcommentatorshavenotbeenlacking，onlyafewhaveprovedequaltothetask.MyfriendSheng—yuhasnotfallenintothismistake.InattemptingtoprovideacriticalcommentaryforSunTzu’swork，hedoesnotlosesightofthefactthatthesesayingswereintendedforstatesengagedininternecinewarfare;thattheauthorisnotconcernedwiththemilitaryconditionsprevailingunderthesovereignsofthethreeancientdynasties，[43]norwiththeninepunitivemeasuresprescribedtotheMinisterofWar.
[44]Again，SunWulovedbrevityofdiction，buthismeaningisalwaysdeep.Whetherthesubjectbemarchinganarmy，orhandlingsoldiers，orestimatingtheenemy，orcontrollingtheforcesofvictory，itisalwayssystematicallytreated;
thesayingsareboundtogetherinstrictlogicalsequence，thoughthishasbeenobscuredbycommentatorswhohaveprobablyfailedtograsptheirmeaning.Inhisowncommentary，MeiSheng—yuhasbrushedasidealltheobstinateprejudicesofthesecritics，andhastriedtobringoutthetruemeaningofSunTzuhimself.Inthisway，thecloudsofconfusionhavebeendispersedandthesayingsmadeclear.I
amconvincedthatthepresentworkdeservestobehandeddownsidebysidewiththethreegreatcommentaries;andforagreatdealthattheyfindinthesayings，cominggenerationswillhaveconstantreasontothankmyfriendSheng—yu.
Makingsomeallowancefortheexuberanceoffriendship，Iaminclinedtoendorsethisfavorablejudgment，andwouldcertainlyplacehimaboveCh`enHaoinorderofmerit.
9.WANGHSI，alsooftheSungdynasty，isdecidedlyoriginalinsomeofhisinterpretations，butmuchlessjudiciousthanMeiYao—ch`en，andonthewholenotaverytrustworthyguide.HeisfondofcomparinghisowncommentarywiththatofTs`aoKung，butthecomparisonisnotoftenflatteringtohim.
WelearnfromCh`aoKung—wuthatWangHsirevisedtheancienttextofSunTzu，fillinguplacunaeandcorrectingmistakes.[45]
10.HOYEN—HSIoftheSungdynasty.ThepersonalnameofthiscommentatorisgivenasabovebyChengCh`iaointheTUNG
CHIH，writtenaboutthemiddleofthetwelfthcentury，butheappearssimplyasHoShihintheYUHAI，andMaTuan—linquotesCh`aoKung—wuassayingthathispersonalnameisunknown.ThereseemstobenoreasontodoubtChengCh`iao’sstatement，otherwiseIshouldhavebeeninclinedtohazardaguessandidentifyhimwithoneHoCh`u—fei，theauthorofashorttreatiseonwar，wholivedinthelatterpartofthe11thcentury.HoShih’scommentary，inthewordsoftheT`IEN—I—KOcatalogue，"containshelpfuladditions"hereandthere，butischieflyremarkableforthecopiousextractstaken，inadaptedform，fromthedynastichistoriesandothersources.
11.CHANGYU.Thelistcloseswithacommentatorofnogreatoriginalityperhaps，butgiftedwithadmirablepowersoflucidexposition.HiscommentatorisbasedonthatofTs`aoKung，whosetersesentenceshecontrivestoexpandanddevelopinmasterlyfashion.WithoutChangYu，itissafetosaythatmuchofTs`aoKung’scommentarywouldhaveremainedcloakedinitspristineobscurityandthereforevalueless.HisworkisnotmentionedintheSunghistory，theT`UNGK`AO，ortheYUHAI，butitfindsanicheintheT`UNGCHIH，whichalsonameshimastheauthorofthe"LivesofFamousGenerals."[46]
Itisratherremarkablethatthelast—namedfourshouldallhaveflourishedwithinsoshortaspaceoftime.Ch`aoKung—wuaccountsforitbysaying："DuringtheearlyyearsoftheSungdynastytheEmpireenjoyedalongspellofpeace，andmenceasedtopracticetheartofwar.butwhen[Chao]Yuan—hao’srebellioncame[1038—42]andthefrontiergeneralsweredefeatedtimeaftertime，theCourtmadestrenuousinquiryformenskilledinwar，andmilitarytopicsbecamethevogueamongstallthehighofficials.HenceitisthatthecommentatorsofSunTzuinourdynastybelongmainlytothatperiod.[47]
Besidestheseelevencommentators，thereareseveralotherswhoseworkhasnotcomedowntous.TheSUISHUmentionsfour，namelyWangLing（oftenquotedbyTuYuasWangTzu）;ChangTzu—
shang;ChiaHsuofWei;[48]andShenYuofWu.TheT`ANGSHU
addsSunHao，andtheT`UNGCHIHHsiaoChi，whiletheT`USHU
mentionsaMingcommentator，HuangJun—yu.Itispossiblethatsomeofthesemayhavebeenmerelycollectorsandeditorsofothercommentaries，likeChiT`ien—paoandChiHsieh，mentionedabove.
AppreciationsofSunTzu—————
SunTzuhasexercisedapotentfascinationoverthemindsofsomeofChina’sgreatestmen.AmongthefamousgeneralswhoareknowntohavestudiedhispageswithenthusiasmmaybementionedHanHsin（d.196B.C.），[49]FengI（d.34A.D.），[50]LuMeng（d.219），[51]andYoFei（1103—1141）.[52]TheopinionofTs`aoKung，whodisputeswithHanHsinthehighestplaceinChinesemilitaryannals，hasalreadybeenrecorded.[53]Stillmoreremarkable，inoneway，isthetestimonyofpurelyliterarymen，suchasSuHsun（thefatherofSuTung—p`o），whowroteseveralessaysonmilitarytopics，allofwhichowetheirchiefinspirationtoSunTzu.ThefollowingshortpassagebyhimispreservedintheYUHAI：[54]——
SunWu’ssaying，thatinwaronecannotmakecertainofconquering，[55]isverydifferentindeedfromwhatotherbookstellus.[56]WuCh`iwasamanofthesamestampasSunWu：theybothwrotebooksonwar，andtheyarelinkedtogetherinpopularspeechas"SunandWu."ButWuCh`i’sremarksonwararelessweighty，hisrulesarerougherandmorecrudelystated，andthereisnotthesameunityofplanasinSunTzu’swork，wherethestyleisterse，butthemeaningfullybroughtout.
Thefollowingisanextractfromthe"ImpartialJudgmentsintheGardenofLiterature"byChengHou：——
SunTzu’s13chaptersarenotonlythestapleandbaseofallmilitarymen’straining，butalsocompelthemostcarefulattentionofscholarsandmenofletters.Hissayingsareterseyetelegant，simpleyetprofound，perspicuousandeminentlypractical.SuchworksastheLUN
YU，theICHINGandthegreatCommentary，[57]aswellasthewritingsofMencius，HsunK`uangandYangChu，allfallbelowthelevelofSunTzu.
ChuHsi，commentingonthis，fullyadmitsthefirstpartofthecriticism，althoughhedislikestheaudaciouscomparisonwiththeveneratedclassicalworks.Languageofthissort，hesays，"encouragesaruler’sbenttowardsunrelentingwarfareandrecklessmilitarism."
ApologiesforWar—
AccustomedaswearetothinkofChinaasthegreatestpeace—lovingnationonearth，weareinsomedangerofforgettingthatherexperienceofwarinallitsphaseshasalsobeensuchasnomodernStatecanparallel.Herlongmilitaryannalsstretchbacktoapointatwhichtheyarelostinthemistsoftime.ShehadbuilttheGreatWallandwasmaintainingahugestandingarmyalongherfrontiercenturiesbeforethefirstRomanlegionarywasseenontheDanube.WhatwiththeperpetualcollisionsoftheancientfeudalStates，thegrimconflictswithHuns，Turksandotherinvadersafterthecentralizationofgovernment，theterrificupheavalswhichaccompaniedtheoverthrowofsomanydynasties，besidesthecountlessrebellionsandminordisturbancesthathaveflamedupandflickeredoutagainonebyone，itishardlytoomuchtosaythattheclashofarmshasneverceasedtoresoundinoneportionoranotheroftheEmpire.
NolessremarkableisthesuccessionofillustriouscaptainstowhomChinacanpointwithpride.Asinallcountries，thegreatestarefondofemergingatthemostfatefulcrisesofherhistory.Thus，PoCh`istandsoutconspicuousintheperiodwhenCh`inwasenteringuponherfinalstrugglewiththeremainingindependentstates.Thestormyyearswhichfollowedthebreak—upoftheCh`indynastyareilluminatedbythetranscendentgeniusofHanHsin.WhentheHouseofHaninturnistotteringtoitsfall，thegreatandbalefulfigureofTs`aoTs`aodominatesthescene.AndintheestablishmentoftheT`angdynasty，oneofthemightiesttasksachievedbyman，thesuperhumanenergyofLiShih—min（afterwardstheEmperorT`aiTsung）wassecondedbythebrilliantstrategyofLiChing.NoneofthesegeneralsneedfearcomparisonwiththegreatestnamesinthemilitaryhistoryofEurope.
Inspiteofallthis，thegreatbodyofChinesesentiment，fromLaoTzudownwards，andespeciallyasreflectedinthestandardliteratureofConfucianism，hasbeenconsistentlypacificandintenselyopposedtomilitarisminanyform.Itissuchanuncommonthingtofindanyoftheliteratidefendingwarfareonprinciple，thatIhavethoughtitworthwhiletocollectandtranslateafewpassagesinwhichtheunorthodoxviewisupheld.Thefollowing，bySsu—maCh`ien，showsthatforallhisardentadmirationofConfucius，hewasyetnoadvocateofpeaceatanyprice：——
MilitaryweaponsarethemeansusedbytheSagetopunishviolenceandcruelty，togivepeacetotroubloustimes，toremovedifficultiesanddangers，andtosuccorthosewhoareinperil.Everyanimalwithbloodinitsveinsandhornsonitsheadwillfightwhenitisattacked.Howmuchmoresowillman，whocarriesinhisbreastthefacultiesofloveandhatred，joyandanger！Whenheispleased，afeelingofaffectionspringsupwithinhim;whenangry，hispoisonedstingisbroughtintoplay.ThatisthenaturallawwhichgovernshisbeingWhatthenshallbesaidofthosescholarsofourtime，blindtoallgreatissues，andwithoutanyappreciationofrelativevalues，whocanonlybarkouttheirstaleformulasabout"virtue"and"civilization，"condemningtheuseofmilitaryweapons？Theywillsurelybringourcountrytoimpotenceanddishonorandthelossofherrightfulheritage;or，attheveryleast，theywillbringaboutinvasionandrebellion，sacrificeofterritoryandgeneralenfeeblement.Yettheyobstinatelyrefusetomodifythepositiontheyhavetakenup.Thetruthisthat，justasinthefamilytheteachermustnotsparetherod，andpunishmentscannotbedispensedwithintheState，somilitarychastisementcanneverbeallowedtofallintoabeyanceintheEmpire.Allonecansayisthatthispowerwillbeexercisedwiselybysome，foolishlybyothers，andthatamongthosewhobeararmssomewillbeloyalandothersrebellious.[58]
ThenextpieceistakenfromTuMu’sprefacetohiscommentaryonSunTzu：——
Warmaybedefinedaspunishment，whichisoneofthefunctionsofgovernment.ItwastheprofessionofChungYuandJanCh`iu，bothdisciplesofConfucius.Nowadays，theholdingoftrialsandhearingoflitigation，theimprisonmentofoffendersandtheirexecutionbyflogginginthemarket—
place，arealldonebyofficials.Butthewieldingofhugearmies，thethrowingdownoffortifiedcities，thehaulingofwomenandchildrenintocaptivity，andthebeheadingoftraitors——thisisalsoworkwhichisdonebyofficials.
Theobjectsoftherackandofmilitaryweaponsareessentiallythesame.Thereisnointrinsicdifferencebetweenthepunishmentoffloggingandcuttingoffheadsinwar.Forthelesserinfractionsoflaw，whichareeasilydealtwith，onlyasmallamountofforceneedbeemployed：
hencetheuseofmilitaryweaponsandwholesaledecapitation.
Inbothcases，however，theendinviewistogetridofwickedpeople，andtogivecomfortandrelieftothegood
Chi—sunaskedJanYu，saying："Haveyou，Sir，acquiredyourmilitaryaptitudebystudy，orisitinnate？"JanYureplied："Ithasbeenacquiredbystudy."[59]"Howcanthatbeso，"saidChi—sun，"seeingthatyouareadiscipleofConfucius？""Itisafact，"repliedJanYu;"IwastaughtbyConfucius.ItisfittingthatthegreatSageshouldexercisebothcivilandmilitaryfunctions，thoughtobesuremyinstructionintheartoffightinghasnotyetgoneveryfar."
Now，whotheauthorwasofthisrigiddistinctionbetweenthe"civil"andthe"military，"andthelimitationofeachtoaseparatesphereofaction，orinwhatyearofwhichdynastyitwasfirstintroduced，ismorethanIcansay.