The lecture begins now. Almost everyone knows the name Sun Tzu's Art of War. Many of its maxims, that is, military maxims, can be recited by everyone, or they can be said casually, such as "Know yourself and know yourself, and fight in every battle", "Go to the army to fight", "Defeat the enemy without fighting" and "avoid reality and be empty". Worst of all, we even equate the 36 strategies with the Art of War, and all the tricks that hurt people seem to come from the Art of War. What seems to be in Sun Tzu's Art of War? What does this mean? A title that shows Sun Tzu's Art of War is so big that all China's schemes are attributed to it. But I have to tell you that this understanding is not comprehensive and vague. Sun Tzu's Art of War is about cunning, and "soldiers are cunning", but it is far from that simple. If Sun Tzu's Art of War is equated with 36 strategies, what impression will it give us? Sun Tzu's art of war is just a trick of some villains, not a philosophy of a gentleman. In fact, on the surface, it is a praise for Sun Tzu's Art of War, but actually it reduces the value of Sun Tzu's Art of War.
Then, Sun Tzu's Art of War, as an art of war, is a very comprehensive and complete system. Then, the most fundamental feature of Sun Tzu's Art of War is to observe the phenomenon of war from the philosophical level, explore and reveal the general laws of war, and put forward a series of specific methods to guide war. This book is not long, only more than 5900 words, and has its own logical system. It has thirteen articles, and it is impossible to have one more and one less. It is a kind of thing that has been strictly cut by academics. You see, its first article is "Ji", which should be counted as pre-war, so "Ji" is put in the first article; The second article is "Fighting". This battle is not the current battle, but the preparation for war. You see, he will be prepared after the calculation. Of course, when it is fully prepared, it must seek and attack. Later, you can see that its "line", "potential", "reality", "military and political affairs" and "nine changes" all talked about some specific operational essentials, so at the end, we talked about terrain, marching, fire attack and so on, and some specific tactical problems were more detailed. Finally, article 13 talks about the use of space, because Sun Tzu's art of war pays special attention to "knowing ourselves and ourselves", using space and using spies. In order to understand and master the information, we went around and around again. China's culture is a big cycle, which keeps going, but each cycle is a negation of negation, and it is a higher level of development and sublimation. Sun Tzu's Art of War itself has an internal logic system.
Then, if analyzed according to the system of modern military science today, Sun Tzu's Art of War contains at least four levels: the first is its view of war. A strategist and a military thinker must first have a basic attitude towards war, whether it is affirmative or negative, what is the relationship between war and politics, what is the state of war and popular support, and what is the relationship between victory and defeat. Then, whether a war is just or unjust must have a basic view. Sun Tzu's view of war, his main core, is to "fight cautiously" and treat war cautiously. He did not deny war, because at that time, war was an inevitable historical phenomenon and the country needed reunification, so he did not deny war, but he also opposed militaristic tactics and regarded war as the best way to treat all diseases. This is Sun Tzu's basic attitude towards war. This is his view of war, and it is simply his cautious thinking of war.
The second level is his strategic thought. First, he advocated the strategy of "defeating the enemy without fighting", that is to say, he pursued perfection and achieved the greatest victory at the least cost; The second thing that stands out is his strategic thinking. He advocates preemptive strike. He believes that war cannot be fought passively, but must be attacked actively. Thirdly, he believes that the war should be quick and decisive, and it is necessary to attack as well as attack, so as to achieve the greatest results and achieve the purpose of the war in the shortest time. This is a basic situation of his strategic thought.
The third level of his military thought is the third level in the military science system, his tactical thought and the main part and core of Sun Tzu's entire military science system. Sun Tzu's art of war is actually the method of using soldiers, so he actually focused on the discussion of the method of using soldiers. He put forward many important principles, including his idea of striving for initiative in war-"make people not make people." Although this sentence is very simple, it contains the most important core meaning of all wars, that is, mobilizing others, not being mobilized by others. Is to take the initiative in your own hands. The second thing he said was "know yourself and know yourself", which was said at the beginning just now. You can't fight without knowing the situation, and you can't fight without fully understanding the situation. You should not only know yourself and yourself, but also keep abreast of the situation. If it is out of date, it will become the past. Another one is what we often say-"avoid reality and be empty." You can't confront others, but you should use your own advantages to attack others' weaknesses. This is a key aspect.
The fourth and final level is the theory of running the army and a basic concept of running the army and building the army, that is, the army is composed of ordinary people. Without training, training, discipline and rules and regulations, this army cannot form combat effectiveness. Therefore, Sun Tzu also attached great importance to this issue and put forward a series of specific methods for running the army. So there are many other methods, including the use of generals, what kind of people generals use, the training of troops, the rewards and punishments of troops, that is, how to reward and punish them, and so on. His core is a sentence, which is called "using words to control it, using things to control it", that is, educating the army with political education, material management and spiritual encouragement, so that they can form the basic idea of fighting for whom, which is equivalent to our political and ideological education today; To "turn war into friendship" is to use strict military discipline and law. Whoever makes a mistake must be resolute and ruthless and will be punished. This is the basic level of the four thoughts in the Art of War, which can be sorted according to the category of modern military art.
In fact, Sun Tzu's Art of War was born quite early, which had a very, very great influence on later generations.
Li Shimin in the Tang Dynasty said, "There are hundreds of art books, but none is better than the Art of War". Wang Anshi said that one or two words from Sun Tzu can achieve fame. There is a saying in the Ming Dynasty, which was said by Mao Dui. I think his positioning of Sun Tzu's Art of War is the most accurate and best. He said, "The Former Sun Tzu" is a military book earlier than "Sun Tzu", and "Sun Tzu will not fall behind", the essence of which is contained in Sun Tzu's Art of War. "Sun Tzu", some military books published 2,500 years later by Sun Tzu, "Don't leave a grandson", just can't go beyond the basic category of Sun Tzu. In fact, this sentence has already set the position of the grandson. Then in foreign countries, the influence of Sun Tzu's Art of War is also considerable. Look at Nixon, who wrote a book, 1999 Win without a fight, which quoted many quotations from Sun Tzu's Art of War. Several famous strategists in the 20th century in the West, such as Jomini, liddell hart, Collins, etc., all came from Britain and the United States, and they all highly praised Sun Tzu's Art of War.
Let me talk about the second question. I don't think the significance of Sun Tzu's Art of War lies entirely in its art of war itself. We have to say now, why do we still want to study, pay attention to and even use a 2500-year-old art book today? It has something to think about in itself. We know there are two forms of culture or civilization, one of which we attach great importance to now, that is, it was brilliant and valuable at that time. For example, China's Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Shang Dynasty's writing are definitely what some people want today. Of course, few people want to study these characters. But studying these characters doesn't mean that we are writing computer input methods, such as founder input method, which will not be invented and unnecessary, because it is dead. We can use it to understand the history of Shang Dynasty and the evolutionary history of characters, but this is an expert's research, and it has nothing to do with ordinary people and ordinary people. It has something to do with calligraphers at most. He wrote a Oracle Bone Inscriptions, wrote a couplet and hung it there. Everyone couldn't understand it, but everyone said it was amazing. He said that the calligrapher wanted to write a love letter. If he wants everyone to know, he can write a love letter with Oracle Bone Inscriptions. This phenomenon exists, but it is extremely rare and cannot represent a universal phenomenon. This is a situation.
The second form of civilization, such as Zhouyi, Laozi, Sun Tzu's Art of War and Analects of Confucius, is still alive. It is endless and can inspire people today. Then Sun Tzu's Art of War belongs to the second kind, which is a cultural accumulation related to our present life. Then Sun Tzu's Art of War always reminds everyone: How to deal with the problem? How to seize the opportunity of war? How to win the war? It reminds you, it constantly reminds people, constantly makes people think, and constantly leaves room for exploration. Then, I have studied the Art of War for more than ten years, and I have been thinking about some problems myself. I think Sun Tzu's art of war actually puts forward a contradictory view of unity of opposites at ten levels, which is not only for us today, but also for the whole war form. Because solving any problem plays a role in the interaction, opposition and unity of contradictions. The key of Sun Tzu's Art of War revolves around ten questions and ten pairs of contradictions, which is the value and enlightening significance for us to continue thinking today.
The first relationship, I think, is the relationship between justice and benefit. In other words, war is definitely not fun, and people will die. From the sense of morality and humanitarianism, war should not exist, but from the perspective of historical development and practical interests, war is indispensable. Then the problem that Sun Tzu wants to solve, a puzzle of his thoughts, or the problem that he tries to solve is how to make morality and utility reach a balance point, find a combination point and unify them. We always thought that Sun Zi-guang talked about utility, but Sun Zi particularly emphasized profit. From the beginning, he said that "soldiers were tricked into using their advantages to move", that is to say, when the army fought, it decided whether to fight or not and how to fight according to the size of the interests. Then when he said "no profit, no movement", he meant no war, no profit, no danger. His first concern is profit. When he said "move smoothly", that is to say, it is in line with the interests and the interests are consistent, and the army will fight; Don't fight if it's not good. He is really a utilitarian. But isn't grandson immoral? Sun Tzu is very moral. Sun Tzu's "going out to war" is to achieve the greatest war effect with the least loss. He is a humane practice in itself. He wants to advocate "cutting tactics" and "cutting diplomacy", that is to say, he wants to fight a foreign war to defeat the enemy strategically, while opposing "cutting troops" is an open battle. He is most opposed to "siege" and thinks that siege is the worst policy, so he also considers casualties and wants to reduce them. He also has moral meaning in it. So, this means that he is looking for a balance, not just talking about morality. What does it actually give us? In other words, the game should have rules and morality should have a bottom line. I think we should give consideration to both benefit and righteousness in everything, and morality and utility should be organically unified. This is Sun Tzu's first pair of contradictions. He kept exploring and put forward his own views. You can disagree with him, but you have to admit the profundity of his thoughts and grasp the profundity of the problem. This is the first aspect.
The second unity is the unity of strength and strategy, that is, the unity of strength and strategy. Sun Tzu's Art of War is said to be about strategy, that's right. But Sun Tzu's Art of War is not only about strategy, but also attaches great importance to strength. The biggest difference between Sun Tzu's Art of War and Thirty-six Tactics is that Thirty-six Tactics is playing karate and doing things honestly. Sun Tzu's Art of War says that although your strategy is good, it must be based on strength. Without strength, your strategy is useless, but without strategy, your strength is empty and useless, and the two should be organically unified.
For example, he said, "measure life, measure life, measure life, measure victory." He said that a certain land area can produce a certain amount of material resources, a certain amount of material resources can produce a certain number of troops, and a certain number of troops constitute the contrast of power, so the contrast of power determines the final ownership of the victory or defeat of the war, so he attaches great importance to power. Then we can also think today that we should not only talk about skills and strategies, but also talk about strength. Of course, different people have different understandings of this power. For example, if we are students, a diploma is a strength, a foreign language is a strength, and computers are also a strength. Modern people who can open things are themselves a kind of strength. But you have these advantages, no one appreciates you, or you don't give full play to your subjective initiative to create opportunities, so you should always be angry and complain about the unfair fate. Yes, no one has found you, no one values you, but when you have the best plan, you have no power and you get nothing. When recruiting, if you can't get a double degree or a master's degree, you won't even have a chance to speak, and your strategy is useless at all. Therefore, an important feature of Sun Tzu's Art of War is the unity of strength and strategy, which is his second unity.
The third unity is the unity of constancy and variability. Sun Tzu paid special attention to the general principle of military science, that is, "unchangeable", stable and relatively stable things, which has become an experience. These experiences were all exchanged with blood and life, and were put forward through war practice. He thinks he should pay attention to these things. He also talked a lot about this. For example, he said that some basic principles still inspire us today. He said, "Don't push the enemy when he is desperate", which means that others-cornered enemies-don't push too hard. It's too difficult. He was desperate. He is desperate to fight you. To surround the enemy, there must be a gap, "encirclement of the division is inevitable." These are all experiences gained from countless wars. So Sun Tzu attached great importance to these basic experiences. But Sun Tzu believes that it is more important to "change" when using soldiers. He said that "the army has no constant potential, and the water is unpredictable", which is the specific method of military operations, but like running water, it has no fixed shape. Where the running water flows, it flows. Then he thinks that change is improvisation, which is the highest state of fighting. Therefore, they should not only abide by objective laws or general military principles, but also creatively apply these principles, and they should be unified. This is his third unity.
The fourth unity is the unity of things and me, the unity of respecting objective laws and giving full play to subjective initiative. On the surface, some words in Sun Tzu are very contradictory. He said, "victory lies in knowing and not doing it", which cannot be forced or created. Victory is foreseeable, but it cannot be forced to create or force; However, in the "Virtual and Real Articles", he talked about "winning without arrogance and losing with grace", and here he removed the word "no". This is not a misunderstanding in writing, but how can he write it? "Although there are many enemies, we must fight", that is, although there are many soldiers, we must fight and fight. His words, at first glance, are also the Art of War. How can there be two completely different versions of more than 5,000 words? In fact, it contains profound philosophical thinking. He believes that, on the one hand, war is an objective phenomenon, so you must seek truth from facts and respect the objective reality, and you can't fight when the objective conditions are not mature. But at the same time, as a commander, in the face of war, you should not be passive or passive, but should be active. You should actively create conditions, give full play to your subjective initiative, and let victory come early. So they respect objectivity and give full play to their subjective initiative. They are not antagonistic, and even think that they are unified. This is his fourth contradiction of unity of opposites, and he constantly provides people with an ideological enlightenment.
The fifth is the unity of virtuality and reality. The so-called "upward movement and downward effect" is his banner, which is the purpose of using troops and the most ideal realm. This is a banner that says how to type and so on. It is concrete, and sometimes what is said on the surface is not uniform with what is done. In fact, Sun Tzu believed that inner unity and a good foundation could eventually achieve lofty goals. Everyone here today can imagine that in ten years, I will be the kind of person who makes a fortune and drives a BMW with Bill Gates. The goal can be set very high, but the specific thing is that you have to complete the credits first, take out your diploma first, start at 35 thousand, and then make a monthly salary of 10.8 thousand. That's two different things, so it is unified step by step with his lofty goal. Sun Tzu has been thinking about this problem, so this is another contradictory unity in his military science.
Then his sixth unity is the unity of benefit and harm. He believes that everything, like war, has both advantages and disadvantages. You want to accept the war, you just want to gain, but don't think about its harm, which is unrealistic. Just like liking a person, you like his advantages, but at the same time you have to accept his shortcomings. Without his shortcomings, his advantages do not exist at the same time. So Sun Tzu talked a lot about it. His most incisive sentence is "be considerate of the wise", that is, the understanding of the wise is "more powerful than miscellaneous", that is to say, put the advantages and disadvantages together and treat them dialectically. Only when you do something, while considering the benefits, will you think of possible harm; When you are hurt, you should also think of the positive side. This is called "a blessing in disguise, but it is a blessing in disguise", because bad and good are kept in the same thing and are constantly changing, which I think is very important.
Seventh, his unification is pedantic and honest and frank's unification. In other words, we now say that the straight line between two points is the shortest distance. If you have a curve, you must go around it. On the surface, it must be a long way. Actually, the problem is not that simple. Sun Tzu particularly emphasized this point, that is to say, you can't come straight to the point, or directly engage in military affairs and conflicts, but you should achieve efficiency through tortuous roads and achieve the efficiency you want. For example, write a letter now and want to ask a classmate for a book. He borrowed it from me last time. I am familiar with it, and I am embarrassed to ask for it. I can write a letter: "Recently, we had dinner together and we talked about you. Zhang San has found a beautiful girl now and is very happy now. Li Si has a good job and a high income. Then everyone misses you. Ladies and gentlemen, when will you come to Beijing? On the surface, it is actually a roundabout way. The last sentence of this letter has been written for a long time, above any sentence, not the previous one. This is called "detour straight", which is what Sun Tzu said "detour straight, exchange is beneficial". In fact, it seems far away, but it is actually very short. That's what Sun Tzu thinks. This is a very important way of thinking.
Then the eighth unity is the unity of things and festivals, that is to say, in doing everything, Sun Tzu particularly emphasized the doctrine of the mean. There is no mention of the word "golden mean" in the book. The word "golden mean" is Confucian, but their principle is the same. The doctrine of the mean is to grasp the appropriate limits. This scale is very important. This degree is a very important principle. You "go too far", you go too far, and you can't do the same thing. How did it just happen? Sun Tzu has a deep understanding of this issue, and he will judge it as a contradiction. In "Nine Changes", he talked about five kinds of mistakes and dangers that will be displayed: the first kind of danger is "death", you must not be afraid of sacrifice before you can "kill" and you will be killed by the enemy; "You have to live". How do you want to save yourself? If you want to save yourself, "you must be born and can be captured", then you are a prisoner of others. So the "anger technique" is that you get angry with someone. This man has a bad temper and is easily insulted by others. Then you are "honest", you have a good reputation, and people can make you uncomfortable; The last one, called "loving the people", is originally concerned about the people, which is a good thing. He said "annoying", which can disturb him. In fact, what he is talking about here is the question of degree of assurance. In fact, we all know that not being afraid of sacrifice, being good at preservation, loving honor, sharing weal and woe, and caring for the people are all good virtues, but the problem is that there is an extra word called "hui" on it, and if you overdo it, you will go to the opposite side of things. In my opinion, this is a big limitation for us to do anything.
The ninth is the unity of the whole and the part. In his speech, he talked about total victory and "self-protection total victory", that is to say, he pursued the perfection of victory, without defects, and pursued that foolproof strategy. But Sun Tzu also saw that "integrity" is sometimes a problem. Why? Sometimes things go wrong. He once said a famous saying, "Be prepared for everything", that is, you should be prepared everywhere and "be omnipotent", which is a principle of fighting. If your troops are on alert everywhere, then your front will be lengthened and your troops will not be enough. The two should be unified, and we should pursue all solutions, but an all-round solution is a beautiful ideal after all. In fact, sometimes it is really what Sun Tzu said, that is, concentrating forces, making key breakthroughs, grasping priorities, distinguishing priorities and focusing on development. If you don't have a focus, it's hopeless to grab your eyebrows and beard.
The final unity is the unity of knowing and doing. He particularly emphasized that you should be good at learning, but pay more attention to practice. Without study, knowledge accumulation and theoretical guidance, your practice is blind. But there is no practice. Your theory is an empty decoration. The radish flowers on your side dishes and the cold dishes we ate are useless. So he has always emphasized the unity and coordination of the two. I feel that I have been reading Sun Tzu's Art of War until now, and I just summed up the unity of these ten opposites. The unity of opposites actually provides us with a concept: it is the real art of fighting and the great wisdom of life. Then, it actually contains a lot of contradictions and unity of opposites, a group of contradictions, a group of categories, and finally sublimates into great wisdom of life. This is the second part I want to say.
The last part is how to understand. How to understand and apply Sun Tzu's Art of War? There are four problems in the research and application of Sun Tzu's Art of War.
The first is to distort the original intention, right? It's just that Sun Tzu didn't mean it. You screwed it up and gave it completely. Then why do you want Sun Tzu's Art of War? Just make yourself a new thing. For example, Sun Tzu's "Defeating the enemy without fighting" is a Japanese Sun Tzu researcher named fengcun, whose views are still very popular in China today. He said that Sun Tzu's Art of War is not a war, but a pacifist and a pacifist. I want to ask: Was Sun Tzu unlucky when he wrote The Art of War? Grandson is luckier. If he were alive today, the Peace Prize would be awarded to him first. This is totally against Sun Tzu's original intention. Sun Tzu said not to fight, but to be peaceful. Why did he write the Art of War? Why do you write Sun Tzu's Art of War in such detail, so superb and admirable? This in itself illustrates a problem, which is a distortion of the original intention and the original intention of Sun Tzu's Art of War.
Second, bias and simplification. Take some, not as good as the rest. We talked about this from the beginning, that is to say, in Sun Tzu's Art of War, there is only one word in everyone's mind: all is fair in war and cunning. We just analyzed this. Sun Tzu did talk about deception, but deception is a part of Sun Tzu and does not represent all of Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu is a comprehensive system and an organic system. Militarily, it is not just cheating, and even its military is not just military, but a comprehensive consideration of military politics.
What is the last two studies? It's just copying mechanically and labeling indiscriminately. Some time ago, we went to the street to have a look. Sun Tzu's The Art of War Before the War was also published. It means that some military principles completely correspond to business and management. This is the label sign. Now we can't easily connect Sun Tzu's art of war with anything in management. This thing is worth studying, but there is one thing that can be applied. Sun Tzu's Art of War is about the method of using troops, which is an art of struggle on the battlefield. In war, it is to destroy the enemy and save yourself. The basic purpose of war is this. What is business about? Business should be honest and win-win. War is a win-win situation. There is no win-win situation in military affairs, but it is a win-win situation in business. This is an interactive relationship. You can't apply the tactics of Sun Tzu's Art of War to business operations. Some of them can be used and some can't be used.
The last kind of prejudice is called exaggerating myths and boasting. It appeared during the Gulf War. George H.W. Bush, not George W. Bush now, said that there were two books at his bedside during the Gulf War, one of which was The Art of War, and he often read several pages. It seems to be Bush's orderly or this bodyguard. It's weird. How can he say that? Then it is said that the US Marine Corps has a copy of Sun Tzu's Art of War for everyone. This description seems vivid and vivid. What is the basis for this? There is no basis, it is all my own imagination. However, rumors spread and fallacies spread. There is a professor Li Ling in Peking University who also studies the art of war. Li Ling, a student of Chinese Department of Peking University, wrote an article in Reading, which demonstrated the falsity of this thing. He said that he was suspicious at the time, but now he really understands it in contact with American officers. He said that these American officers just mentioned the West Point Military Academy, and Sun Tzu's Art of War is indeed one of the courses, just like reading Sirowitz's On War. The situation is the same, ancient military classics and western classics. Of course, there are also a few people who are particularly interested in China culture, such as one in ten thousand. They really want to keep one. This is what an American officer said himself. The art of war is not mysterious. In other words, the above four unhealthy tendencies do exist in Sun Tzu's research. In the Song Dynasty, there was a man named He Qufei. He is a doctor of martial arts, and he wrote a book called "Comments on Dr. He". He talked about a passage in Dr. He's Preparation, which I think is very enlightening for us to understand and apply Sun Tzu's Art of War today, including grasping the opportunities and taking the initiative in modern social competition. What did he say? That is, "don't stick to the law", don't stick to dogma, "but use it" and use it flexibly; "Law can always be born from law" and law is born from law. In principle, new principles, new tactics, keep pace with the times, and new brilliant ways are born; On the surface, what you do seems to be far from the principle. In fact, your spiritual core is legal and seemingly detached, but it is actually the same. This is the highest level of using, understanding and applying the Art of War. In other words, Sun Tzu's Art of War should be regarded as an ancient philosophical principle, not a dogma or label. My speech today takes up a lot of your time. Thank you.
Professor Huang Pumin, Department of History, Renmin University of China; He has been engaged in the study of the Art of War for a long time. His major works include: Military History in the Spring and Autumn Period, Harmony between Man and Nature, Teaching Theory of China's Traditional Military Culture, and Sun Tzu's Art of War.