One said, "Know yourself and yourself" ("Planning and Attack"). This is a comprehensive view. We should know ourselves and ourselves, both of which are indispensable. This is a prominent proposition. Sun Tzu believes that to observe all wars, it is necessary to understand the two sides of the war and compare and analyze the "five things" and "seven plans" of both sides. This is the comprehensiveness of observing problems and the most basic and basic requirement of dialectical thinking.
Second: "Be prepared for danger in times of peace" (nine changes). It is a dialectic about change and invariance. Enemy-enemy confrontation is the unity of opposites. The enemy's situation is known, but it is difficult to change. I know my own conditions, but I can also be prepared. Therefore, Sun Tzu said, "In the past, those who were good at fighting were invincible first, waiting for the enemy to win. You can't win over yourself, you can win over the enemy. " This means that those who can fight in the past must first create conditions that will not be defeated by the enemy and wait for the opportunity to defeat the enemy. You may not be defeated, but defeating the enemy depends on whether the enemy makes mistakes. So victory is foreseeable, but it must not be forced. He stressed that the principle of using troops is: don't expect the enemy not to attack, but rely on yourself to have the invincible power of the enemy. ("Nine Changes") He emphasized that both strategically and tactically, it should be "making people not making people", that is, I can subdue the enemy, but the enemy cannot subdue me. This requires "being prepared", taking the initiative to attack, firmly leading the enemy by the nose, and ensuring that if I kill the enemy, the enemy cannot escape; The enemy can't hit me when he hits me.
Third: "Take it by surprise, take it by surprise" (chapter). This is a dialectic about attacking and defending with soldiers. Dialectics is about change and development. Attack, not just storm; Defend, you can't just defend. If you fight like a god, you must change your tactics. Take it by surprise, and be both offensive and defensive. This is the secret of winning by war, but war is ever-changing and must be used flexibly. To attack the enemy's key points, we must attack the enemy with overwhelming momentum and end the battle in lightning speed.
Fourth, victory over reality with emptiness, victory over the masses with less, victory over strength with weakness, waiting for work, and surprise victory. These are dialectics about the transformation of opposites. When the two armies confront each other, we should see the transformation of opposites in the battle. Sun Tzu is a very clever strategist in this respect. He said, "Soldiers are liars. Therefore, you can show what you can't do, use it without showing it, show it far and near, and show it near and far. Lure it, take it in disorder, prepare it, avoid it if you are strong, scratch it if you are angry, be arrogant if you are humble, work hard if you rest, and leave if you are near. " (Ji Pian) In other words, using troops is treacherous. So, if you can play, pretend you can't; Pretend not to fight if you want to fight; Close combat pretends to be a distant battle; Play far and pretend to play near; Seduce the enemy with small profits, confuse it and capture it. If the enemy is strong, it will be defensive, and if the enemy is strong, it will avoid decisive battle. Irritate the enemy, then retreat, humble weakness, and make the enemy proud. The enemy has a good rest, so we should try our best to make him tired; The enemy is peaceful, so we should try to alienate it. This is the secret of complementary opposites. Here we not only see the transformation of opposites, but also realize that we can create the conditions for transformation through subjective efforts. He also pointed out that "if you throw it underground, you will live, and if you are sleepy, you will die." In other words, even if you are in danger, you can turn the corner and turn defeat into victory as long as you command properly and boost your morale. Therefore, the war is a treacherous and changeable behavior, and the commander of the war should flexibly apply the principle of the transformation of opposites, especially to cause the enemy's mistakes, and emphasize the use of "manifesting" and "moving the enemy by surprise". As Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out when he gave play to Sun Tzu's thought in "Strategic Issues in the Revolutionary War in China": "We can artificially cause the enemy's mistakes, such as Sun Tzu's so-called' showing the shape' (showing the shape in the east and attacking the west, that is, the so-called eastward diversion)."
Five: the unity of opposites between winning more with less and winning more with less. This is the dialectics of strategy and tactics. Sun Tzu believes that strategically, we should win more with less, and tactically, we should win less with more. He said: "Therefore, the method of using troops is to encircle ten, attack five and divide into two; The enemy can fight it, a few people can escape it, if not, they can avoid it. Therefore, the strength of a small enemy is the qín (capture) of a big enemy. "That is to say, the law of fighting is alive in the battle. With ten times the enemy's strength, we can surround and annihilate them on all sides, with five times the enemy's strength, we can concentrate on attacking them, and with twice the enemy's strength, we can try to disperse them. Fight if you can win, escape if you can, and avoid if you can. Only in this way can we win without fighting, and avoid "uniting with less and attacking the strong with the weak" ("Topography") and becoming the captive of the enemy. This flexible strategy and tactics fully embodies the simple military dialectics.
Six words: look at the essence through the phenomenon. This is the dialectics in Sun Wu's military epistemology. He said: "If the enemy is close and quiet, then hold (rely on) its danger (dangerous terrain); Stay away from the challenger, you want people (attractive) to enter. " "Tree, to also; Those who have many obstacles in the grass are also suspicious. " "If the dust is high and sharp, the car will come; Those who are low (low) and wide will come. " ("March") This is the general situation of the enemy that Sun Tzu can learn through his long-term combat experience and observation of some phenomena. But also can get rid of its illusion and see the essence. Such as "those who are humble and beneficial to preparation, enter also; The strong go forward and retreat. " "If you ask for peace without an agreement, ask for it." "Those who are semi-advanced and semi-retired are also tempted." That is to say, the emissary sent by the enemy is humble but ready to attack; Tough, put forward, ready to retreat; Those who come to make peace without a date have other schemes; The enemy's half-advance and half-retreat is the cause of luring our army, and we must not be fooled by illusion. This involves the unity of opposites between phenomenon and essence.
Seven days: the dialectics of "miscellaneous interests" (nine changes). This means that in a series of contradictory movements of war, we must first grasp the contradiction of interests that runs through the whole process of war. Good militancy and belligerence depend on dialectical understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of war. Sun Tzu is a good strategist, but he is not a militant general. He said: "If you don't fully realize the harm of using troops, you can't fully realize the benefits of using troops." This means that if you can't see the harm of using troops, you can't see the benefits of using troops. He also said: "The worries of the wise will be mixed with interests." ("Nine Changes") He asked the generals to look at the problem in an all-round way, see the unfavorable aspects under favorable circumstances, and see the favorable aspects under unfavorable circumstances, so as to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages and nip in the bud. Here is the dialectics of benefit and harm. Sun Tzu believes that war is only a means, not an end. There are both advantages and disadvantages, so it is necessary to "follow the interests, and Fukashi is in the interests" (nine places). Therefore, it is better to protect the country without fighting and to govern the people without fighting. Therefore, he advocated: "Go to the army to plan first, then attack the enemy and then attack the city." The method of siege is the last resort. "That is to say, winning by political and diplomatic means is the best policy, and attacking the city by soldiers is the last resort. Therefore, people who are good at using troops do not lie in "defeating the enemy's soldiers", "pulling out the city" or "destroying the country", but in "using troops without delay" "In other words, a commander-in-chief who is good at fighting can defeat the enemy without fighting; If you don't attack, you can gain enemy cities; It won't take long to destroy the enemy country; It is to use strategy to protect combat power from harm, but the result can be obtained completely, or even won without fighting. Therefore, a wise general must give consideration to both advantages and disadvantages when considering problems. This is called "miscellaneous interest" dialectical thinking. If you encounter an enemy who is doomed to be defeated, you will not fight in order to concentrate your forces in other areas; Although there is competition, it is indisputable to win quickly; If the monarch's order is not conducive to the war, he can not accept it, he will be outside, and his order will not be obeyed, because both advantages and disadvantages should be considered.
8th: The changeable view of "the soldiers have no constant potential, but the water is impermanent" ("Virtual and Real Articles"). This is a view that people and things should be changed. "Being able to win because of the enemy's change is called God." In Sun Wu's view, "soldiers are shaped like water", and the flow direction of water is "avoiding heights and going down". Therefore, the method of using troops should flow from high to low like water, avoiding reality is empty, and attacking emptiness is real; The current will change direction because of the terrain, and the use of troops should also conform to the changes in the enemy's situation and defeat the enemy. Therefore, there is no fixed law in the use of troops, just like water, its flow direction changes because of the terrain; Like gold, fire, water and earth, they complement each other, no matter who wins or loses; Just like spring, summer, autumn and winter, alternating; It's like the days are long and the months are full and short. Therefore, we should use unconventional tactics, avoid reality and be empty, and change tactics at any time according to the enemy's situation. As long as you are good at mastering the law of change, you can turn the enemy's reality into reality and your own reality into reality, so "victory can be achieved." For example, Sun Wu bluffed with "I am the enemy's own enemy" to make the enemy unpredictable about our actual situation, so that we can concentrate our forces, while the enemy's forces are scattered. If we can't find our own main force, we can concentrate our superior forces to attack the enemy's scattered forces. Sun Wu's flexible view of directing war and his opposition to the unchangeable mechanical view reflect the progressive thought of the emerging landlord class. Representatives who fundamentally oppose the declining forces often look at the way of thinking of war from an isolated, static and one-sided metaphysical point of view.
Ninth: win the hearts of the people and win the hearts of the army, which is the foundation of victory. He said: "Taoism (politics) makes people consistent with the world, so they can die with the world, live with the world and be fearless." ("Ji pian") also said: "If you see a pawn like a baby, you can take it to Shen Xi; If you regard a pawn as a son, you can die with the pawn. " ("Topography") This means that only by loving soldiers can we unite officers and men and prevent "shame"; People who love this person may be annoying. "("Nine Changes ") That is to say, integrity is an example for soldiers, but honest generals should prevent being too lofty and unable to withstand insults; Love for the people is the foundation of success, but it is necessary to prevent short-term and partial love for the people from ignoring the long-term and overall strategic goals, and then being troubled by some atrocities of the enemy, so as to lose sight of one thing and one thing. This is very dialectical.
Of course, materialism and dialectics in Sun Tzu's Art of War are the essence of China's ancient philosophy, but they are still simple and primitive. Although the victory or defeat of the war depends on personnel, and the basis of personnel lies in the unity of the monarch and the people and the unity of officers and men, the role of generals is exaggerated, and it is considered that "those who know the soldiers are the command of the people and the master of national security." ("On War") but advocates the policy of stupid soldiers for the people and soldiers for the people. Sun Wu said: "A foolish soldier's eyes and ears make him ignorant", "The benefits can't be told", "I don't know what to do after driving a flock of sheep." ("Nine Places") That is to say, it is necessary to blind the eyes and ears of soldiers so that they know nothing about military plans; When driving soldiers to complete a task, only tell them the favorable side, not the dangerous side; For soldiers, it is like herding sheep, rushing over and over again, so that they don't know where to go. This is obviously not desirable. Moreover, Sun Wu was afraid that the soldiers would escape, and advocated that the soldiers should go to the "Death" in the hinterland of the enemy country to fight, so that they had no way to go, so as to stabilize the morale of the army, fight to the death and survive from death. Even think that the general's task is like climbing a ladder, so that soldiers can advance without retreating. These ideas all reflect the irreconcilable contradiction between the emerging landlord class and the people, which is manifested in the conflict of fundamental interests between generals and soldiers.
In addition, in the view of nature, Sun Wu believes that development and change are "endless", "coming back to life" and "endless", all of which contain the dross of idealism and metaphysical cycle theory. In operational principles, he also has some one-sided views, such as overemphasizing quick decisions and saying that "those who have been in the army for a long time are beneficial to the country." It is one-sided to regard quick decision as a general universal military principle, and it fails to correctly understand the dialectical unity relationship between quick decision and persistence.
In a word, on the whole, The Art of War has a great influence on the development of China's military thought. None of the generals in our country have read this kind of military book, and all the military talks are based on Sun Tzu's military thoughts. Sun Tzu's art of war also has a considerable position in philosophy. Han Fei once said during the Warring States Period: "All the soldiers in the territory have Sun Tzu and Wu Zhishu." ("dù") It can be seen that it was a household name as early as the Warring States period. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty read the ancient book of General Huo Qubing, "Taste the Art of War of Wu Sun who wants to teach." (See the Biography of Han Weiqing Huo Qubing) During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao once praised Sun Tzu's Art of War and said, "I have seen many strategies, and Sun Wu wrote them very profoundly." ("Cao Cao Ji Sun Zi Xu") Tang Taizong and Li Shimin also appreciated: "Looking at the art of war, there is no Sun Wu." ("Li asked the right question") Modern times even spoke highly of: "Sun Tzu's Art of War,' Know yourself and know yourself, and fight every battle' is a scientific truth." (on protracted war)
The influence of Sun Tzu's Art of War in the world can also be seen. The value of Sun Tzu's Art of War in the history of modern military thought is known as "the soldier of the world".