Chapter 11 The fourth section: Sun Bin, who is physically and mentally strong, and the bamboo slips "Sun Bin's Art of War"
Sun Bin was an outstanding military strategist in the mid-Warring States period.With the unearthing of the bamboo slips "Sun Bin's Art of War", the precious wealth he left to future generations shines again.
Sun Bin was a descendant of Sun Wu, a native of A (northeast of Yanggu, Shandong) and Juan (north of Juancheng, Shandong) in the middle of the Warring States period.The date of birth and death is unknown, but he was active in the late 4th century BC, roughly after Wu Qi, and at the same time as Shang Yang and Meng Ke.His life was full of ups and downs, and he didn't even leave his real name.According to the "Historical Records" Volume 65 "Biography of Sun Tzu Wu Qi", Sun Bin studied the art of war with Pang Juan in his early years.After Pang Juan completed his studies, he went to Wei State first and was appointed as a general by King Wei Hui.Pang Juan knew that his talents were not as good as Sun Bin's, and he was afraid that Sun Bin would be reused in the state of Qi, so he was jealous of the virtuous and detrimental to his ability. He secretly sent a special envoy to deceive Sun Bin from the state of Qi to the state of Wei. (Removing the kneecap), and tattooing his face with ink, making Sun Bin a "prisoner" who is despised by others.The name of Sun Bin came from this.One day, when the envoy of the State of Qi came to Daliang of the State of Wei (now Kaifeng, Henan), Sun Bin used ingenious tricks to deceive the public, and stated his experience and propositions to the envoy.The envoy was greatly moved, and secretly took Sun Bin back to the state of Qi in a cart.
General Tian Ji of Qi State was very friendly to Sun Bin and treated him with courtesy.Tian Ji often raced horses with King Wei of Qi, betting heavily on the outcome.Sun Bin saw that the horsepower of the two sides was similar, and they were divided into upper, middle and lower ranks, but Tian Ji lost to King Wei of Qi.Therefore, Sun Bin suggested that Tian Ji should use his inferior horses against his master’s superior horses, and his superior horses and his second-class horses against his son’s second-class horses and his third-class horses in horse races. Tian Ji won two to one and won a thousand pieces of gold. .Therefore, Tian Ji recommended Sun Bin to King Qi Wei.King Qi Wei discussed the art of war with Sun Bin and appointed him as a military adviser.
In the fifteenth year of King Xian of Zhou Dynasty (354 BC), Pang Juan led a Wei army of 80,000 to besiege Handan, the capital of Zhao.The next year, Zhao Guo asked Qi Guo to rescue him.King Wei of Qi took Tian Ji as his general and Sun Bin as his military adviser, commanding 80,000 troops to rescue Zhao.Sun Bin suggested: in the art of war, it is said that the use of troops should avoid the real and attack the weak. The Wei army has been attacking Zhao for a long time.Tian Ji adopted Sun Bin's strategy, and the Wei army really withdrew to rescue Daliang.Sun Bin judged that the Wei army must pass through Guiling (northwest of Changyuan, Henan) when returning to the army, that is, he led the main force to reach Guiling first. When Pang Juan led his troops through Guiling, he was suddenly intercepted by the Qi army and was defeated.This is the famous battle of Qi, Wei and Guiling in history, also known as the battle of "surrounding Wei and saving Zhao".
In the twenty-sixth year of King Xian of Zhou (343 BC), the Wei army attacked South Korea, and South Korea asked Qi for help.The next year, King Wei of Qi took Tian Ji as his general and Sun Bin as his military adviser, and used the tactics of "encircling Wei and saving Zhao" to lead his troops directly to Daliang, forcing the Wei army to return to rescue.King Wei Hui ordered Crown Prince Shen to be the general and Pang Juan to be the general, leading 100,000 troops to meet the Qi army.Sun Bin took advantage of the Wei army's despise of the Qi army and Pang Juan's eagerness to win, and deliberately avoided the battle to show weakness. A stove for 50,000 meals; when the troops retreated on the third day, the garrison left a stove for 30,000 meals.Pang Juan chased the Qi army for three days, and when he saw that the number of fires had diminished, he said happily, "I know the Qi army is cowardly. After entering our country, more than half of them fled away within three days."Based on the marching speed of the Wei army, Sun Bin estimated that after dark, he would reach Maling (now southwest of Huaxian County, Henan Province) with dense trees and narrow roads. He set up an ambush here, and carved "Pang Juan died at Under this tree" in large characters.When Pang Juan's troops chased to the area where the ambush was set up, the Qi army fired all crossbows, and the Wei army was in chaos. Pang Juan was ashamed and drew his sword to kill himself.The Qi army took advantage of the victory to attack, captured Prince Shen, wiped out the Wei army, and won the battle of Maling.From then on, the state of Wei fell into a slump, and Sun Bin became famous all over the world.
Sun Bin did not know where to end in his later years.All his life, he was not only good at using soldiers, but also endured humiliation and unyielding when he was persecuted, and wrote books angrily, and then continued to add them, leaving behind a brilliant art of war through the ages.
"Sun Bin's Art of War", also known as "Qi Sunzi", was written in the middle of the Warring States Period, and "Sun Bin's Art of War" has long been recorded in historical books. "Historical Records" Volume 65 "Biography of Sun Tzu Wu Qi" said: "His military art has been handed down from generation to generation." "Book·Jing Ji Zhi" has disappeared.So doubts abound, or say that Sun Bin is Sun Wu, or that "Sun Bin's Art of War" is "Sun Tzu's Art of War". In 1972, hundreds of bamboo slips were found in Yinqueshan Tomb No. 1 in Linyi, Shandong (belonging to the early Western Han Dynasty), namely "Sun Tzu's Art of War", "Sun Bin's Art of War" and other pre-Qin military books.This discovery made the millennium doubts suddenly cleared up, and the unsolved mystery was suddenly solved.It turns out that Sun Wu is the ancestor of Sun Bin, and "Sun Tzu's Art of War" and "Sun Bin's Art of War" are two self-contained military books.This discovery also produced a sensation in the world.
The newly discovered "Sun Bin's Art of War" has a total of 364 bamboo slips, with more than 11,000 characters, divided into upper and lower sections, each with 15 articles.The first part records Sun Bin's remarks and related deeds.There are many doubtful points in the content of the second edition, and the style of each article is different. It is not like Sun Bin's one-person writing at a time, and it may be added by his disciples. In 1985, when the Yinqueshan Bamboo Slips of the Han Tomb reorganized the "Bamboo Slips of the Han Tomb of Yinqueshan (1) Sun Bin's Art of War", for the sake of prudence, all the next editions were moved into the second series of "The Cong Remnants of Lost Books". And added the "Five Teachings".Redefine the bamboo slips "Sun Bin's Art of War" into 16 chapters, 222 slips, and 4891 characters.Although the bamboo slips are incomplete and the interpretation needs to be deepened, they basically reflect the essence of Sun Bin's theory of military affairs.
Like "Sima Fa", the bamboo slips "Sun Bin's Art of War" also put forward its own clear views on war issues, that is, the war concept of "victorious and strong", and "the happy soldier perishes".According to the situation of the seven heroes at that time, it listed "Shenrong (Nong) Tomahawk Sui, Huangdi fought Shulu (Zhuolu), Yao defeated Gonggong", Shun "merged three seedlings", "Tang Fang Jie, Wu Wang defeated Zhou" "The battle of Duke Zhou's Eastern Expedition shows that human society has used war to achieve its own ruling goals since the age of legends. It is just an attempt to eliminate war and preserve itself by "responsibility for benevolence and righteousness, ritual and music, and hanging clothes" and other methods. An unrealistic fantasy.If you want to "conquer the world" in the dispute between the seven heroes, you have to "raise your troops to bring them to justice" to achieve the goal of "victorious and strong", that is, the goal of reunification of the world.Otherwise, it will "cut the land and endanger the country", the people will suffer, and the country will not be peaceful.This view of war adapted to the requirements of the objective situation that the country was gradually uniting at that time, and had more positive significance in meeting the needs of the times than previous expositions.While Sun Bin put forward the idea of "conquering and becoming strong", he also strongly opposed the militarists who are happy with soldiers (warlike), believing that "those who are happy with soldiers will die", which is consistent with the "Sima Law" that "warrior must die". inherited.
The core of the military thinking in "Sun Bin's Art of War" is "strong soldiers".The foundation of a strong army is "the wealth of the country".In order to "conquer and stand strong" in the disputes of heroes, we must have a solid material foundation, that is, the country must be rich, and only "the country is rich" is "the one who is in a hurry to strengthen the army."And a strong soldier must have an army composed of selected good generals and soldiers.A good general must not only have the qualities of virtue, loyalty, trust, and respect, but also be good at mastering the way of "destroying a strong enemy and taking a strong general": "array", "power", "change", and "power", that is, good at deploying Battle formations create a favorable situation, flexibly change tactics, and grasp the initiative in war.Soldiers must go through strict selection and training, and they must be well-organized, rewards and punishments must be clearly defined, and they must "listen" and "believe" and prohibit orders.A strong army composed of such generals and soldiers can be invincible.
On the issue of war guidance, "Sun Bin's Art of War" emphasizes "knowing (the way to win)" and "only knowing" can "safety the country, expand the king, and protect the lives of the people".The "knowledge" it refers to means "to know the way of heaven from above, and to know the principles of earth from below. To gain the hearts of the people from within, to know the feelings of the enemy from outside, and to know the scriptures of the eight formations", that is, to be familiar with astronomy and geography. Important factors related to the outcome of a war, such as human relations, enemy conditions, and formations.In terms of tactics, it requires war directors to create a favorable situation, give full play to their own strengths, and try to avoid their own weaknesses.Such as avoiding the enemy's elite, punishing the weak; showing weakness to paralyze the enemy and lure him into battle; first "giving way" (retreat), and then controlling the enemy; If there is any enemy, use the method of leading the snake out of the hole and annihilate it in motion; if the enemy's defense is weak, attack it with all your strength; according to the different terrain and the characteristics of chariots, cavalry, and infantry, you must focus on using troops, "Easy is more For chariots, ride more if it is dangerous, and crossbows if you are in danger." That is to say, chariot soldiers can be used more in flat areas, cavalry can be used more in dangerous places, and infantry with strong bows and crossbows can be used more in mountain passes and valleys. such as the Battle of Maling).It can be seen that "Sun Bin's Art of War" advocates using troops according to circumstances, and opposes using a fixed method of warfare to deal with various enemies.
The bamboo slips "Sun Bin's Art of War" has many developments and original ideas on the basis of inheriting "Sun Tzu's Art of War" and other predecessors' art of war. Its re-publication has attracted widespread attention from Chinese and foreign scholars. Now there are translations of "Sun Bin's Art of War" in more than 10 languages come out.There are also many introductions and commentary articles on "Sun Bin's Art of War" in Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States, which shows that the research on its content is getting deeper and deeper in the world today.
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