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XI. The Nine Situations
1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war recognizes nine
varieties of ground: (1) Dispersive ground; (2) facile
ground; (3) contentious ground; (4) open ground; (5)
ground of intersecting highways; (6) serious ground;
(7) difficult ground; (8) hemmed-in ground; (9)
desperate ground.
2. When a chieftain is fighting in his own territory, it is
dispersive ground.
[So called because the soldiers, being near to their
homes and anxious to see their wives and children, are likely
to seize the opportunity afforded by a battle and scatter in
every direction. "In their advance," observes Tu Mu, "they
will lack the valor of desperation, and when they retreat,
they will find harbors of refuge."]
3. When he has penetrated into hostile territory, but to
no great distance, it is facile ground.
[Li Ch`uan and Ho Shih say "because of the facility for
retreating," and the other commentators give similar
explanations. Tu Mu remarks: "When your army has crossed
the border, you should burn your boats and bridges, in order
to make it clear to everybody that you have no hankering
after home."]
4. Ground the possession of which imports great
advantage to either side, is contentious ground.
[Tu Mu defines the ground as ground "to be contended
for." Ts`ao Kung says: "ground on which the few and the
weak can defeat the many and the strong," such as "the
neck of a pass," instanced by Li Ch`uan. Thus, Thermopylae
was of this classification because the possession of it, even
for a few days only, meant holding the entire invading army
in check and thus gaining invaluable time. Cf. Wu Tzu, ch. V.
ad init.: "For those who have to fight in the ratio of one to
ten, there is nothing better than a narrow pass." When Lu
Kuang was returning from his triumphant expedition to
Turkestan in 385 A.D., and had got as far as I-ho, laden with
spoils, Liang Hsi, administrator of Liang-chou, taking
The Art of War by Sun Tzu 115
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advantage of the death of Fu Chien, King of Ch`in, plotted
against him and was for barring his way into the province.
Yang Han, governor of Kao-ch`ang, counseled him, saying:
"Lu Kuang is fresh from his victories in the west, and his
soldiers are vigorous and mettlesome. If we oppose him in
the shifting sands of the desert, we shall be no match for
him, and we must therefore try a different plan. Let us
hasten to occupy the defile at the mouth of the Kao-wu pass,
thus cutting him off from supplies of water, and when his
troops are prostrated with thirst, we can dictate our own
terms without moving. Or if you think that the pass I mention
is too far off, we could make a stand against him at the I-wu
pass, which is nearer. The cunning and resource of Tzu-fang
himself would be expended in vain against the enormous
strength of these two positions." Liang Hsi, refusing to act on
this advice, was overwhelmed and swept away by the
invader.]
5. Ground on which each side has liberty of movement
is open ground.
[There are various interpretations of the Chinese
adjective for this type of ground. Ts`ao Kung says it means
"ground covered with a network of roads," like a chessboard.
Ho Shih suggested: "ground on which intercommunication is
easy."]
6. Ground which forms the key to three contiguous
states,
[Ts`au Kung defines this as: "Our country adjoining the
enemy's and a third country conterminous with both." Meng
Shih instances the small principality of Cheng, which was
bounded on the north-east by Ch`i, on the west by Chin, and
on the south by Ch`u.]
so that he who occupies it first has most of the
Empire at his command,
[The belligerent who holds this dominating position can
constrain most of them to become his allies.]
is a ground of intersecting highways.
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7. When an army has penetrated into the heart of a
hostile country, leaving a number of fortified cities
in its rear, it is serious ground.
[Wang Hsi explains the name by saying that "when an
army has reached such a point, its situation is serious."]
8. Mountain forests,
[Or simply "forests."]
rugged steeps, marshes and fens all country that is
hard to traverse: this is difficult ground.
9. Ground which is reached through narrow gorges, and
from which we can only retire by tortuous paths, so
that a small number of the enemy would suffice to
crush a large body of our men: this is hemmed in
ground.
10. Ground on which we can only be saved from
destruction by fighting without delay, is desperate
ground.
[The situation, as pictured by Ts`ao Kung, is very similar
to the "hemmed-in ground" except that here escape is no [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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