The Art of War Challenge
To unwrap or reveal the information or wisdom contained in the Art of War, the reader must be able to mix and match maxims, not just in the singular but from different chapters.
Lionel Giles
3.18. Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
Captain E. F. Calthrop
It has been said a foretime that he who knows both sides has nothing to fear in a hundred fights; he who is ignorant of the enemy, and fixes his eyes only on his own side, conquers, and the next time is defeated; he who not only is ignorant of the enemy, but also of his own resources, is invariably defeated.
Lionel Giles
4. 2. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
4.3. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.
Captain E. F. Calthrop
Sun the Master said:—The ancient masters of war first made their armies invincible, then waited until the adversary could with certainty be defeated.
The causes of defeat come from within; victory is born in the enemy's camp.
3.18 is one of most well-known and quoted maxims, the challenge, if you accept it, is to relate maxim 3.18 to maxims 4.2 and 4.3.
The combination of 4.2 and 4.3 is far more insightful and definitively more practical. Once understood, there is no longer needed the hope that others or circumstance would be the protector. My safety is my concern and my first concern. The first part of any strategy or tactic was to put myself into the safest position possible for as long as possible. Don’t misunderstand, to achieve anything worthwhile you have to put yourself in some sort of danger. The whole point is minimise this danger. Dead men can’t fight.
The next part is to find weak points of my opponent. An opponent can have many weak points, the challenge is to find that one weakness or combination of weaknesses that can be acted upon. An enemys’ weakness that cannot be leveraged or acted upon is nothing more than information. Neither good nor bad. Neither useless nor useful.
It is amusing to listen to others loudly proclaim what they will do to their enemies while leaving themselves wide open for attack and defeat. More often than not they are defeated and have no idea why or how it could possibly have happened. 4.2 and 4.3 are the two sides of the same coin.
To truly understand the message, as most of the compacted maxims of Sun Tzu, the reader has to reword the maxim in the language of today. The author was a man of his times and wrote in the language of his time. This does not mean ancient Chinese, it means how they talked at that time in that layer of society using all the assumed knowledge of the times.
To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. Read this as ‘I was defeated because I did not protect myself effectively. I let my enemy find my weakness and use it to defeat me’. Ponder this statement carefully. It is not about you, it is all about your actions or lack thereof.
Without this understanding, deep understanding, one can’t use the rest of the knowledge in the book most effectively. Sun Tzu, again and again, tells us that a safety first approach is the only approach. Any other approach is reckless and irresponsible. A safety first approach is not cowardly and should not be in any way considered to be procrastination. Starting from a position of safety allows for the ability to study the enemy to find the weaknesses, create strategies and tactics to take full advantage of such weaknesses to achieve victory with the least amount of blood and destruction. Remember, the acme of a generals skill is to break the resistance of an enemy not decimate their armies or their possessions.
3.18 is merely an early introduction to a far more reaching maxim in chapter ten. It is an abbreviated version of the full idea or understanding to be decompressed.
Lionel Giles
10.31. Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.
Captain E. F. Calthrop
As has been said: “Know thyself; know the enemy; fear not for victory." Also, if the season and the opportunity be realized, and the ground known, complete victory is certain.