Wisdom of Sun Tzu

On Deploying the army...

2008-01-18T08:02:00.000-05:00

The Master said...

If the enemy is close and yet quiet,

He occupies a strategic position;

If he is at distance and yet acts provocatively;

He wants us to advance.

Where he has positioned himself on level ground,

He is harboring some Advantage;

JCL

Well Im back...

2008-01-06T11:26:00.000-05:00

The blog admins thought this blog was a spam trap because of the international traffic hitting it... they finally looked at it and have unlocked it so I will resume the wisdom of the master...

I hope that this coming year finds all of you well... in the Chinese calendar 2008 is the year of the Rat and the Chinese new Year will come in on February 7th.

So looking forward to more Sun Tzu in 2008.....

JCL

Deploying The Army #2

2007-12-20T05:45:00.000-05:00

The Master Said...

Crossing water , you must move to distance yourself from it. When the invading army crosses water in his advance, do not meet him in the water. It is to your advantage to let him get halfway across and then attack him. Wanting to join the enemy in battle, do not meet his invading force near water. Take up a position on high ground facing the sunny side that is not downstream from the enemy. this is positioning the army when near water.

JCL

Deploying The Army #1

2007-12-19T05:57:00.001-05:00

The Master Said...

In positioning your armies and assessing the enemy;

Pass through the mountains keeping to the valleys; pitch camp on high ground facing the sunny side; and joining battle in the hills, do not ascend to engage the enemy. This is positioning an army in the mountains.

Adapting to the Nine Contingecies (Pien) #9

2007-12-17T20:16:00.000-05:00

The Master said....

These five traits are generally faults in a commander, and can prove disastrous in the conduct of war. Since an army's being routed and its commander slain is invariably the consequence the consequence of these five dangerous traits, they must be given careful consideration.

JCL

My Apologies...

2007-12-17T20:14:00.000-05:00

I admit I have not been posting as I should have but its been a bit hectic!....

JCL

Adapting to the Nine Contingecies (Pien) #8

2007-12-15T09:07:00.000-05:00

The Master Said...

There are five traits in a commander: If he has reckless disregard for life, he can be killed; if he is determined to live at all costs, he can be captured; if he has a volatile temper, he can be provoked; if he is a man of uncompromising honor, he is open to insult; if he loves his people, he can easily troubled and upset.....

JCL

Adapting to the Nine Contingecies (Pien) #7

2007-12-12T06:03:00.000-05:00

The Master said...

The art of using troops is this:

Do not depend on the enemy not coming; depend rather on being ready for him. Do not depend on the enemy not attacking; depend rather on having a position that cannot be attacked....

Adapting to the Nine Contingecies (Pien) #6

2007-12-11T05:44:00.000-05:00

The Master Said....

For this reason, to subjugate neighboring states, use the threat of injury; to keep them in service, drive them on; to lure them out, use the prospect of gain...

JCL

Adapting to the nine contingencies (Pien) #5

2007-12-10T07:02:00.000-05:00

The Master said...

For this reason, the deliberations of the wise commander are sure to asses jointly both advantages and disadvantages. In taking full account of what is advantageous. he can fulfill his responsibilities; in taking full account of what is disadvantageous, his difficulties become resolvable. ...

JCL

Adapting to the nine contingecies (Pien) #4

2007-12-07T05:59:00.000-05:00

The Master Said...

One who commands troops without knowing the art of adapting to these nine contingencies, even if he knows the five advantages, will not be able to get the most from his men.....

JCL

Adapting to the nine contingecies (Pien) #3

2007-12-06T06:03:00.000-05:00

The Master Said...

Thus, a commander fully conversant with the advantages to be gained in adapting to these nine contingencies will know how to employ troops; a commander who is not, even if he knows the lay of the land, will not be able to use it to his advantage.....

JCL

Adapting to the Nine Contingecies (Pien) #2

2007-12-04T21:57:00.000-05:00

The Master said...

There are roadways not to be traveled, armies not to be attacked, walled cities not to be assaulted, territory not to be contested, and commands from the ruler not to be obeyed...

JCL

Adapting to the Nine Contingecies (Pien)

2007-12-04T05:36:00.000-05:00

The Master said....

The art of using troops is this;
When the commader receives his orders from the ruler, assembles hi armies, and mobilizes the population for war, he should not make camp on difficult terrain; he should join with his allies on strategically vital intersections; he should not linger on cutoff terrain; he should have contingency plans on terrain vulnerable to ambush; and hhe should take the fight to the enemy on terrain from which there is no way out.

JCL

The art of using troops....

2007-12-03T05:41:00.000-05:00

The Master said....

The art of using troops is this:

Do not attack the enemy who has the high ground; do not go against an enemy who has his back to a hill; do not follow an enemy that feigns retreat; do not attack the enemy's finest; do not swallow the enemy's bait; do not obstruct an enemy returning home; in surrounding the enemy, leave him a way out; do not press an enemy that is cornered.

JCL

The way to manage changing conditions....

2007-12-01T10:14:00.000-05:00

The Master has said....

Do not intercept an enemy that is perfectly uniform in its array of banners; do not launch the attack on an enemy that is full and disciplined in its formations.

This is the way to manage changing conditions.

JCL

Managing Strength...

2007-11-29T05:40:00.000-05:00

The Master Said....

Use your closeness to the battlefield to await the far-off enemy; use your well-rested troops to await the fatigued; use your well-fed troops to await his hungry. This is the way to manage strength.

JCL

Managing heart and mind...

2007-11-28T05:34:00.000-05:00

The Master said...

Use your proper order to await the enemy's disorder; use your calmness to await his clamor. This is the way to manage the heart - and - mind.

JCL

The able Commander does not resist change...

2007-11-26T05:43:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been away....

The Master has said....

Thus, the expert at warfare can infer the enemy's weakness from observing his strengths, and can infer his surpluses from observing hias deficiencies. He can see the victory as clearly as the sun or moon and can grasp it as certainly as water douses fire.

JCL

active rather than reactive....

2007-11-22T07:18:00.000-05:00

The Master said....

Don not depend on the enemy not coming; depend rather on being ready for him. Do not depend on the enemy not attacking; depend rather on having a position that cannot be attacked.

JCL

Security by revising and redefining ones own strength

2007-11-21T05:34:00.000-05:00

The Master said...

Thus an army does not have fixed strategic advantages (shih) or an invariable position (hsing). To be able to take the victory by varying one's posistion according to the enemy's is called being inscrutable (shen). Thus of the five phases (wu hsing), none is the constant victor; of the four seasons, none occupies a constant position; the days are both short and long; the moon waxes and wanes.

JCL

On Harmony

2007-11-20T04:55:00.000-05:00

The Master has said...

Disorder is born from order; cowardice from courage; weakness from strength. The line between disorder and order lies in logistics (shu); between cowardice and courage, in strategic advantage (shih); and between weakness and strength, in strategic positioning (hsing).

A distaste of war....

2007-11-19T05:34:00.001-05:00

The Master has said...

If one is not fully cognizant of the evils of waging war, he cannot be fully cognizant either of how to turn it to best account.

JCL

Taking up a strategic posistion (hsing)

2007-11-18T09:05:00.000-05:00

The Master said.....

The ultimate skill in taking up a strategic position (hsing) is too have no form (hsing). If your position is formless (hsing) , the most carefully concealed spies will not be able to get a look at it, and the wisest counselors will not be able to lay plans against it. I present the rank and file with victories gained through (yin) strategic positioning (hsing), yet they are not able to understand them. Everyone knows the position (hsing) that has won me victory, yet none fathom how I came to settle on this winning position (hsing). Thus one's victories in battle cannot be repeated - they take their from (hsing) in response to inexhaustibly changing circumstances.

JCL

On Terrain; and the Psychology of the soldier

2007-11-17T07:07:00.000-05:00

The Master said...

Therefore, on terrain where the troops are easily scattered. I would keep the troops together; on contested terrain I would pick up the pace of our rear divisions, on intermediate terrain, I would pay particular attention to defense; at a strategically vital intersection, I would make sure of my alliances; on critical terrain, I would maintain a continuous line of provisions; on difficult terrain, I would continue the advance along the road; on terrain vulnerable to ambush, I would block off the paths of access and retreat; on terrain from which there is no way out, I would show our troops my resolve to fight to the death.

Thus the psychology of the soldier is;

Resist when surrounded,

Fight when you have to,

And obey orders explicitly when in danger.

JCL

On deceit...

2007-11-16T06:26:00.000-05:00

The Master said...

Warfare is the art of (tao) of deceit. Therefore, when able, seem to be unable; when ready seem unready; when nearby; seem far away; and when far away seem near.

JCL

The three basic strategies....

2007-11-15T06:12:00.000-05:00

Master Sun said....

The expert in using the military has three basic strategies that he applies;

The best strategy is to attack the enemy at the level of wisdom and experience;

the second is to expose the injustice of the enemy's claims;

and the last is to attack the enemy's battle position (shih)

JCL

When surronded by a hostile force...

2007-11-14T05:31:00.000-05:00

To fail to think fast when surrounded by the enemy is to have your back pressed to the wall;

And to fail to take the battle to the enemy when your back is to the wall is to perish.

Comments?

JCL

On Contested Terrain

2007-11-13T05:35:00.000-05:00

Master Sun has said....

The principle governing contested terrain is that if you let the enemy have it, you can get it, but if you try to get it you will lose it. If the enemy has occupied the contested terrain, move carefully and do not attack him. Feign retreat and withdraw. Set up flags and sound the drums, hasten to the enemy's most vital points. Drag brush behind the troops raise the dust to confuse the ears and eyes of the enemy. Separate off our best troops and lay them secretly in ambush. The enemy must come out to the rescue What he wants we give him. and what he abandons we take. This is the way of contested terrain.

JCL

Know thyself...

2007-11-12T05:36:00.000-05:00

Master Sun Said...

Know the other, know thyself

And the victory will not be at risk;

Know thy ground, know the natural Conditions,

And the victory can be total.

JCL

On Movement and deception....

2007-11-11T09:14:00.000-05:00

The Master said....

Therefore, in warfare rely on deceptive maneuvers to establish your ground, calculate advantages in deciding your movements, and divide up and consolidate your forces to make strategic advantages.

Thus advancing at a pace, such an army is like the wind; slow and majestic, it is like a forest; invading and unpredictable, it is like a shadow; moving, it is like lightning and thunder.

JCL

The Five Factors or way of anticipating victory (tao)

2007-11-10T08:47:00.000-05:00

The master has said....

He who knows the enemy and himself
Will never in a hundred battles be at risk;

He who does not know the enemy but knows himself
will sometimes win and sometimes lose;

He who knows neither the enemy nor himself will be at risk in ever battle

The exemplary commander (Person chun tzu)

2007-11-10T08:42:00.000-05:00

Master Sun has said....

A commander who advances without any thought of winning personal fame and withdraws in spite of certain punishment, whose only concern is to protect his people and promote the interests of his ruler, is the nations' treasure.

JCL

The way (Tao)

2007-11-08T21:24:00.000-05:00

Master Sun Said...

Thus, if the way (tao) of battle guarantees you victory, it is right for you to insist on fighting even if the ruler has said not to;

Where the way (tao) of battle does not allow victory, it is right for you to refuse to fight even if the ruler has said you must.

JCL

Where at all possible....

2007-11-07T19:27:00.000-05:00

Master Sun Said...

Where at all possible the commander attempts to defeat the enemy with this careful planning rather than military might;

.....the best military policy is to attack strategies: the next to attack alliances; the next to attack soldiers; and the worst to assault walled cities.

JCL
11/08/07

The art of warfare is this....

2007-11-06T20:13:00.000-05:00

Master Sun Said....

It is best to keep one's own state intact; to crush the enemy's state is only second best. It is best to keep one's own army, battalion, company, or five man squad intact; to crush the enemy's army, battalion, company, or five man squad intact is only a second best. So to win a hundred victories in a hundred battles is not the highest excellence; the highest excellence is to subdue the enemy's army without fighting at all.

JCL

Who and Why

2007-11-06T19:46:00.000-05:00

Who was Sun Tzu??

A man shaped by his lifes' experiences as well as the time he lived in cira ~ 500 B.C. Author of... "The Art of Warfare"

Why?
I have found much help and guidance from the wise humans of old, Aristotle, Plato, Nietzche, etc. Most have very generous representation on the web today But Master Tzu seem to have been forgotten or never known.

Life is a constant state of siege certainly our modern life, as such Master Tzus' advice is timeless.

I started out emailing a quote of the day to a hand full of friends but now will blog an up date for them as well as anybody else.

"Do what is right to do... Draw from your past but let the past not draw from you! "
John C. Luf 11/06/07