2010.05.28
Famous Military Strategist and General Sun Tzu composed The Art of War (Sun-tzu ping-fa) around 500BCE – immediately after a war among battling city-states of ancient China. After training a small army of only 10,000 men in the state of Wu, Sun Tzu was able to conquer the army of the Chu state with the resources of almost 30 times that of Wu. Shortly before Master Sun’s army conquered the state of Chu, he disappears fearing that the Emperor of Wu will become greedy for more territory – a position of which Sun Tzu does not want to be a part. In the years following his disappearance, Sun Tzu writes his wisdom of hundreds of bamboo sticks that were painstakingly stitched together to form his 13 chapter treatise. Known as one of the greatest military masterminds in history, Sun Tzu’s work was kept a secret for centuries – only accessible to a select few individuals. Now translated into English, The Art of War released the methods of Sun Tzu’s success. Limited not only to military and strategic planning, The Art of War helps understand not only the strategy of battle, but the roots of conflict and resolution.
Thomas Cleary takes the words of Master Sun and translates the ancient Chinese text into comprehensible English. However – even amongst Chinese interpreters – translations can be tricky. The language of the Chinese classics varies differently from dynasty to dynasty, even county to county. Not only are the ancient “slang” and use of words different, but the grammar structure and visual appearance characters have vastly changed in modern Chinese. As Cleary says in his Translator's Introduction:
It is only natural, therefore, that translations of ancient Chinese texts into modern Western languages, which differ so greatly from Chinese, should themselves exhibit a considerable range of variety. …There are many choices of techniques available to the translator for conveying the contents of classical Chinese writings to the reader in another language. In twenty years of translating, never have I (Thomas Cleary) seen or translated an Oriental classic that I did not find so rich as to be able to generate at least three possible translations.
Similar to a comparison to “Ye Olde English” and modern American slang, translator Thomas Cleary incorporates and modifies technical translations to dismiss ambiguity of Sun Tzu’s poetic wording. Cleary does a superb work of rewriting (or omitting) some of the references to local Chinese events or accounts of unpopular or unfamiliar content.
Not only has Cleary translated Master Sun’s work, The Art of War, but he has taken the liberty to translate the words of eleven separate interpreters to provide commentary on Sun Tzu. Many of these commentators were other military officials in throughout Chinese history that can clarify some of the metaphors used in The Art of War.
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Sun Tzu was summoned by King Helü of Wu sometime toward the end of the Spring and Autumn Period of ancient China. This period could also be corresponded to the first half of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. The eastern states of Wu and Chu have claimed independence from the rule of Zhou emperors (and thus the “Eastern Zhou Dynasty,” compared to the Western). However, tensions between the newly-founded Chu and Wu states begin to ascend. It is believed that land-locked Chu is planning an attack to conquer its smaller, neighboring state Wu (a coastal state) in order to gain access to the valuable resources (trade routes, fish, and greater territory). As friction increases among the two states, King Helü decides it is time to train a military army of its own. Chu is becoming a major threat. King Helü calls in military warrior Sun Tzu to test his talents before the king. Master Sun claims he can train anyone to become a warrior. Of course King Helü challenges Sun.
Helü asks Tzu if he can transform palace concubines into warriors. These palace concubines have been trained only in the art of luxury, pleasure, and royalty; they know nothing of the world beyond the palace walls. Since birth, these women of pleasure have no knowledge of the vast world that lies beyond a seemingly large royal courtyard. The palace is their home; the palace is their world. Never before have these concubines seen battle, weapons, or death. That is about to change.
King Helü gathers about two dozen of his concubines and allows Sun Tzu to prove his philosophy, to be able to train these spoiled, soft women to be a fighting force. As the king observes, Master Sun hands the two senior concubines swords and appoints them as platoon leaders. These senior of the group are to ensure discipline is in order. Sun Tzu demonstrates a basic command to assemble into a formation when the drum sounds. However, when he is ready to begin the exercise, all the women simply laugh.
Puzzled by the reaction, Master Sun rephrases the drill procedure in a more simple language: when the drums sound, line up in formation with your swords and stand at attention like soldiers. But when the concubines fail to heed Sun Tzu’s exercise instruction again, he not only quickly retires the senior platoon leaders but executes them on the spot. Sun Tzu appoints another two concubines to be platoon leaders and when the drums sounded again, they oblige without hesitation.
This was a simple demonstration of one of Sun Tzu’s principles in The Art of War. He says:
If instructions are not clear and commands not explicit, it is the commander's fault. If the instructions are clear and commands explicit, it is the subordinate officer's fault.
Now he has convinced the concubines that he is deadly serious. War is a matter of life and death in Sun Tzu’s philosophy. If this key principle is understood, everyone – from the highest commanding officer to the individual soldiers – will be motivated to win.
This is pretty stunning. I gotta read this.
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