《art of war》

下载本书

添加书签

art of war- 第33部分


按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页,按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页,按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!

main point in this passage is:  Whereas you kill the spy himself 

〃as a punishment for letting out the secret;〃  the object of 

killing the other man is only; as Ch‘en Hao puts it; 〃to stop his 

mouth〃  and prevent news leaking any further。  If it had already 

been repeated to others; this object would not be gained。  Either 

way;  Sun Tzu lays himself open to the charge of inhumanity; 

though Tu Mu tries to defend him by saying that the man deserves 

to be put to death; for the spy would certainly not have told the 

secret unless the other had been at pains to worm it out of 

him。〃'



     20。  Whether the object be to crush an army;  to storm a 

city; or to assassinate an individual; it is always necessary to 

begin by finding out the names of the attendants; the aides…de…

camp;



     'Literally  〃visitors〃;  is equivalent; as Tu Yu says;  to 

〃those whose duty it is to keep the general supplied with 

information;〃  which naturally necessitates frequent interviews 

with him。'



and door…keepers and sentries of the general in command。  Our 

spies must be commissioned to ascertain these。



     'As the first step; no doubt towards finding out if any of 

these important functionaries can be won over by bribery。'



     21。  The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be 

sought out; tempted with bribes; led away and comfortably housed。  

Thus they will become converted spies and available for our 

service。

     22。  It is through the information brought by the converted 

spy that we are able to acquire and employ local and inward 

spies。



     'Tu Yu says:  〃through conversion of the enemy's spies we 

learn the enemy's condition。〃  And Chang Yu says:  〃We must tempt 

the converted spy into our service; because it is he that knows 

which of the local inhabitants are greedy of gain; and which of 

the officials are open to corruption。〃'



     23。  It is owing to his information; again;  that we can 

cause the doomed spy to carry false tidings to the enemy。



     'Chang Yu says; 〃because the converted spy knows how the 

enemy can best be deceived。〃'



     24。 Lastly; it is by his information that the surviving spy 

can be used on appointed occasions。

     25。  The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is 

knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived; 

in the first instance; from the converted spy。



     'As explained in ss。 22…24。  He not only brings information 

himself;  but makes it possible to use the other kinds of spy to 

advantage。'



Hence it is essential that the converted spy be treated with the 

utmost liberality。

     26。 Of old; the rise of the Yin dynasty



     'Sun Tzu means the Shang dynasty; founded in 1766 B。C。  Its 

name was changed to Yin by P‘an Keng in 1401。



was due to I Chih



     'Better known as I Yin; the famous general and statesman 

who took part in Ch‘eng T‘ang's campaign against Chieh Kuei。'



who had served under the Hsia。  Likewise; the rise of the Chou 

dynasty was due to Lu Ya



     'Lu Shang rose to high office under the tyrant Chou Hsin; 

whom he afterwards helped to overthrow。  Popularly known as T‘ai 

Kung;  a title bestowed on him by Wen Wang; he is said to have 

composed a treatise on war; erroneously identified with the 

LIU T‘AO。'



who had served under the Yin。



     'There is less precision in the Chinese than I have thought 

it well to introduce into my translation; and the commentaries on 

the passage are by no means explicit。  But; having regard to the 

context;  we can hardly doubt that Sun Tzu is holding up I Chih 

and Lu Ya as illustrious examples of the converted spy;  or 

something closely analogous。  His suggestion is; that the Hsia 

and Yin dynasties were upset owing to the intimate knowledge of 

their weaknesses and shortcoming which these former ministers 

were able to impart to the other side。  Mei Yao…ch‘en appears to 

resent any such aspersion on these historic names:  〃I Yin and Lu 

Ya;〃  he says; 〃were not rebels against the Government。  Hsia 

could not employ the former; hence Yin employed him。  Yin could 

not employ the latter; hence Hou employed him。  Their great 

achievements were all for the good of the people。〃  Ho Shih is 

also indignant:  〃How should two divinely inspired men such as I 

and Lu have acted as common spies?  Sun Tzu's mention of them 

simply means that the proper use of the five classes of spies is 

a matter which requires men of the highest mental caliber like I 

and Lu; whose wisdom and capacity qualified them for the task。  

The above words only emphasize this point。〃  Ho Shih believes 

then that the two heroes are mentioned on account of their 

supposed skill in the use of spies。  But this is very weak。'



     27。  Hence it is only the enlightened ruler and the wise 

general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for 

purposes of spying and thereby they achieve great results。



     'Tu Mu closes with a note of warning:  〃Just as water; which 

carries a boat from bank to bank; may also be the means of 

sinking it; so reliance on spies; while production of great 

results; is oft…times the cause of utter destruction。〃'



Spies are a most important element in water; because on them 

depends an army's ability to move。



     'Chia Lin says that an army without spies is like a man with 

ears or eyes。'







'1'  〃Aids to Scouting;〃 p。 2。



'2'  〃Marshal Turenne;〃 p。 311。





End 
小提示:按 回车 [Enter] 键 返回书目,按 ← 键 返回上一页, 按 → 键 进入下一页。 赞一下 添加书签加入书架