前言
我在台灣讀書的時候，就知道有 [孫子兵法] 這本書，但從來沒有在書局中看到過。軍訓教官也只提到書名，不提內容。好像是武林密集，不輕易傳人。現在想起來，可能與 [孫子兵法] 開宗明義的一句話有關。 孫子曰，兵者，詭道也。與當時宣傳的國軍乃仁義之師，相去太遠。最近回台灣，看到一本叫 [商戰孫子] 的書，其目的是教導如何用 [孫子兵法] 經商。雖然有一些見解，但牽強附會太多，連 [行軍]，[地形]，[九地]，[火攻] 諸篇，都配上商業用途，有風馬牛不相及之感。但我第一次看到了 [孫子兵法] 全文。愛不忍釋。想不到我們的祖先能寫這麼好的文章。這樣的 realistic。開門見山，水清見底。兵者，詭道也。打仗使用陰謀詭計不丟人，連逃跑也不丟人，只有打敗仗才是丟人。 [孫子兵法] 不但內容精闢，而且文筆之流暢，用來作為高中的國文教材，比 [古文觀止] 上絕大多數的文章讀起來要舒暢得太多了。請看 [兵勢] 篇中的一段，
凡戰者，以正合，以奇勝。故善出奇者，無窮如天地，不竭如江河。終而復始，日月是也，死而復生，四時是也。聲不過五，五聲之變，不可勝聽也。色不過五，五色之變，不可勝觀也。味不過五，五味之變，不可勝嘗也。戰勝，不過奇正，奇正之變，不可勝窮也。奇正相生，如循環之無端，熟能窮之哉？
顯然孫子認為文學修養對一個將軍非常重要。不然他不會把這些與作戰無關的東西寫在兵法裡。
現在有人認為 [孫子兵法] 的原則到處可用。除了戰場，商場之外，情場，官場，選舉都用得上。我一輩子讀書，看看求學能不能也套上 [孫子兵法]。
始計第一
求學者，人生之大事，終生心血，舉家甘苦，不可不察也。
故經之以五事，校之以計，而索其情。一曰道，二曰時，三曰地，四曰師，五曰己。
道者，最終之目標也，題目當與天地同壽，日月同庚，朝聞之，夕可死也。披星載月，不畏難也。時者，天時也，知所先後，則近道矣。時未至而先攻者，徒勞而無所獲。地者，學校，設備，環境也。查無書，且問無友，事倍而功半。師者，智，信，名，錢，點也。己者，能力，興趣，背景也。
凡此五事，學者當聞，知之者成，不知之者敗。故曰，校之以計，而其索情。曰 道孰能申，師孰能啟，己孰能耐，錢孰能久。吾人以此知勝負矣。
學者，慎道也。知之為知之，不知為不知。近而慮之遠，遠而慮之近。不求小利，不貪近功。得之不驕，敗之不餒，思人之未見，攻人之不察。故學者之勝，不可先傳也。
夫未起步而廟算勝者，得算多也。未起步而廟算不勝者，得算少也。多算勝，少算不勝，而況無算呼？吾人以此觀之，成敗見矣。
後語
孫子有一個有名的故事，所謂 [孫武子演陣斬美姬]，也是成語 [三令五申] 的來歷。最近在網上有一部關於孫子的歷史小說，中間有一段，作者希望還原這段悲慘的事件。為什麼孫武會帶宮女練兵，殺死了吳王的愛妃之後，為什麼吳王沒有為愛妃報仇？想像得合情合理，也許您有興趣一看。
http://vip.book.sina.com.cn/book/catalog.php?book=48636
楊照崑
3 comments:
I didn't know you are so serious about the Art of War. This is a good book but you can't follow it word by word. After all, it is a book written almost 2,500 years ago, about the same time as 論語. However, it is like "道德經", filled with good ideas & thought. If you know how to dig in to get something you can use to your advantage, you will get wiser & richer. In the past 10 years, Sun Tze has getting popular in the US. Before that, the "Prince" by Michiavelli was a must read for MBA students in business schools. The prince is written for kings & emperors, naturally it is also applied to CEOs. The Art of War is written for generals, also applied to CEOs & COOs. No wonder the business schools like these books. It is like a fashion business, every five or ten years, they have to invent or discover something new, otherwise they run the risk of being out of jobs or becoming obsolete. I bet some years later, they will get "On War" by Carl von Clausewitz out for business schools. In Art of War, 始計第一 is the most important, but 火攻第十二 seems obsolete. 孫子 of course had no idea about hi-tech weapon technolgy at that time. We have to extend the fire power to atomic power & star war. I am glad you got a good try on a new version of 始計第一.
Bravo! "The way to study" by Yang Tzu. What a new way for modern students to go after their degrees.
When we were still at school, we were taught not only to absorb and preserve our great Chinese culture but to advance and broaden it. Mark Yang, you have just done that nicely.
And, Mark Lin speculated that someday soon someone would get "On war" into MBA curriculum with some twists toward tactics in business. I agree it's possible. After all, that would be another application of the Art of War, namely, winning by surprise. Isn't it? A new twist is a surprise.
Pearl Harber Day, 67th anniversary, just passed. Most people (except Japanese) think this is a sneak attack. But per 孫子, this is just the essence of the war, 兵者，詭道也. So why should we critisize Japanese for doing it? Think a little bit deeper, 兵雖不厭詐,但詐亦有道. The strategic error Japanese committed is that they did the attack before it formally declared the war. This sounds self-contradictory but it is not. Japanese can attack one minute after they declare the war without losing any effect of the surprise attack. Surprise attack is much better than Sneak attack. Since Japanese made this mistake, it enraged the American people & galvanized their will of fight. In other words, 激起美國人同仇敵愾,破釜沈舟,不惜背水一战. So if you use too much 詐 & don't have the power to wipe your enemy out, you will have a big problem ahead. Remember that movie Tora, Tora, Tora? After the attack of Pearl Harbor, 山本五十六 said the following to his staff: "I have intended to deal a fatal blow to the American fleet by attacking Pearl Harbor immediately after Japan's official declaration of war. But according to the american radio, Pearl Harbor was attacked 55 min. before our ultimatum was delivered in Washington. I can't imaging anything that would infuriate the Americans more. I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant & fill him with a terrible resolve." 山本五十六 was a Harvard graduate, he knew too well that it might be just the beginning of a long struggle toward a defeat.
It is interesting & completely fit to translate 孫子兵法 as The Art of War. You can't follow it word by word literarily. It is like an art, you have to take the whole thing in perspective & not to bog down in some minor details. After all, 兵不厭詐,詐亦有道.
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