Chapter 37 Section 5. Characteristics of Military Books of Past Dynasties

In the course of its development, Chinese military books of all dynasties have formed their own characteristics. Generally speaking, there are roughly the following aspects. The origin of Chinese military books is relatively early. Counting from "Junzhi" and "Military Affairs", it has a history of more than 2,700 years, and "Sun Tzu's Art of War" has a history of more than 2,500 years, which is unmatched by other countries in the world."History" (also translated as "Greek-Persian War History") written by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (about 484-425 BC) is the earliest military history work in Europe. The date of completion of the book is not only much later than "Military Records" and "Military Affairs", but also later than "Sun Tzu's Art of War".Later, the History of the Peloponnesian War written by Thucydides (about 460-395 BC) of ancient Greece, Xenophon (about 430-354 BC) The "Gallic Wars" written by G. Julius Caesar (102-44 BC) in ancient Rome and the "Gallic Wars" have come out one after another, and their writing time is obviously later than "Sun Tzu's Art of War".In Asia, Kautilya, a minister of the founding emperor of the Mauryan Dynasty in India, wrote a "On Political Affairs" with military content in about the 4th century BC, which was written long after "Sun Tzu's Art of War". In 476, the Western Roman Empire fell, and until the beginning of the 17th century, Europe was in the dark ages of the Middle Ages, during which very few valuable military works were handed down.China is different. From the 6th century BC to the beginning of the 17th century, there were two climaxes of military books writing, and hundreds or even thousands of military books with their own characteristics came out. Even in the low period between the two climaxes, There are also some famous military books handed down to this day. From the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century, although the writings of Chinese military books suffered setbacks, there were also famous military books handed down from generation to generation.In the late 19th century, under the impact of Western military science and culture, China shifted from the traditional method of writing to the method of paying equal attention to translation and writing of new military books, and the third climax of the development of military books appeared.It can be seen that the development of Chinese art of war in the past dynasties has a long and continuous history.It is neither like ancient Greece, Rome, and India, which disappeared after a flash; nor is it like some countries, which were unknown in military forums before the advent of capitalism.

The above-mentioned military works of ancient Greece and Rome are not discussed in the logical order of military theories, but are based on time sequence and region and country. In the description of historical facts and legends of gods and monsters, there are mixed discussions about war and army building. The understanding of the problem generally belongs to the writings of military history.The ancient Indian "Politics Treatise" is a book on the strategy of governing the country and state security. The book discusses the methods of national defense construction and the art of military struggle in more space, while the color of military theory is weak.This is not the case with military books of all dynasties in China. Since its inception, it has a strong military theory color, even the fragmented expositions of "Military Records" and "Military Affairs" scattered in other works. Almost every statement is highly The crystallization of condensed military theory.The art of war works since "Sun Tzu's Art of War" have different perspectives, but they all follow the internal logical structure of the military theory system, set up chapters, and discuss layer by layer.When discussing, he paid attention to grasping the overall situation of the war, focusing on the use of strategies, abstract thinking and generalization of universal laws, which provided a theoretical basis and reference for future generations.Therefore, the original theoretical achievements obtained by the famous military books of all dynasties in China have been integrated into the ocean of military theory to form a complete military theory system with Chinese characteristics.

Although Chinese military books of all dynasties are not monographs on philosophy or military philosophy, the thoughts of simple materialism and dialectics are shining between the lines. The first is materialist thinking about preparing for and conducting war.The vast majority of military books believe that the resources, material and financial resources, such as manpower, land, products, food, and supplies owned by the country, are the objective material basis for war. Factors such as the number and level of training, the smooth implementation of laws and regulations, and the fair implementation of rewards and punishments are the objective conditions for whether a war can be won.With a solid material foundation and the fulfillment of objective conditions, wars can be waged and won.

Second is the idea of ​​materialist epistemology about waging war.They believe that in order to win the war, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive analysis and comparison of the material basis and objective conditions of the war between the two sides, so as to fully grasp the advantages and disadvantages of both the enemy and ourselves.Knowing yourself but not the enemy, or knowing the enemy but not yourself will not work. Only by knowing the enemy and yourself can you win a hundred battles.If you want to know the enemy and yourself, you should not pray to ghosts and gods, you should not rely on analogies and speculations, and you should not use the degrees of the sun and the moon to verify good or bad luck. To understand the enemy's situation.Only in this way can we truly know each other.For war directors, it is necessary to be familiar with the overall situation of the war and the various development stages of the war, and grasp the ever-changing war situation in order to control the war and ensure victory.

The third is the simple dialectical thinking about conducting war.They focus on the analysis of various contradictions and opposites in war, such as enemy and self, subject and object, chaos, separation and reunion, sloth, reward and punishment, rich and poor, movement, advance and retreat, offensive and defensive, fast and long, illness, victory and defeat, False reality, solid and flawed, strange and upright, light and heavy, avoidance, encirclement, specialization, advantage and disadvantage, good and bad, brave and cowardly, hard and soft, wise and foolish, safety and danger, life and death, dangerous and easy, wide and narrow, far and near, numerous, strong and weak, Work and rest, full hunger, etc., and through this analysis, we can fully understand and skillfully use the growth and decline and transformation of these contradictory parties to grasp the opportunity and win the victory.

The fourth is to emphasize giving full play to the subjective initiative of people in war.Through the exertion of subjective initiative, one can turn inferiority into superiority, pursue advantages and avoid disadvantages, develop strengths and avoid weaknesses; reduce the enemy's advantages and aggravate its disadvantages, enlarge the enemy's disadvantages and narrow its advantages, weaken the enemy's strengths and expose its weaknesses . "Sun Tzu's Art of War: Emptiness and Reality", "Those who are good at fighting will harm others but not others"; "Those who can make the enemy attack themselves will benefit them; To work, to be full, to be hungry, to be safe, to move"; in "Ji Pian", "to lure it with profit, to take it from chaos, to prepare it for reality, to avoid it when it is strong, to scratch it when angry, to be humble and arrogant, Lose and work for him, close relatives leave him" and so on, are all wonderful expositions about the subjective efforts of war directors to promote the transformation of the war situation to one that is beneficial to oneself and not conducive to the enemy.Therefore, Mr. Feng Youlan said in "New History of Chinese Philosophy" on page 192 of the first volume: "Sun Tzu's Art of War" "is an excellent military book in ancient times, and it is also an excellent philosophical work." There are also many expositions in other military books.

Looking at military books of all dynasties, it can be seen that in the field of Chinese military affairs, simple materialism and dialectical thought have developed earlier and faster, and with their unique forms and methods, they have influenced and enriched the ancient Chinese simple materialism and dialectical thought. develop.