Ssǔ-ma Jang-chü, whose family name was 田 Tʽien, lived in the latter half of the 6th century BC, and is also believed to have written a work on war. See Shih Chi, ch. 64, and the entry for Ssǔ-ma Fa, infra. ↩
自周之盛至春秋凡將兵者必與聞國政未有特將於外者六國時此制始改吳雖蠻夷而孫武為大將乃不為命卿而左氏無傅焉可乎故凡謂穰苴孫武者皆辯士妄相標指非事實其言闔閭試以婦人尤為奇險不足信. ↩
See the end of the passage quoted from the Shih Chi earlier in this section. ↩
In the 書錄解題, a classified catalogue of his family library. ↩
See Wên Hsien Tʽung Kʽao, ch. 221, f. 9 ro: 世之言兵者祖孫武然孫武事吳闔閭而不見於左傳不知果何時人也. ↩
See Hsü Lu, f. 14 ro: 孫吳或是古書. ↩
按孫子生於敬王之代故周秦兩漢諸書皆多襲用其文. Here is a list of the passages in Sun Tzǔ from which either the substance or the actual words have been appropriated by early authors:
From the 戰國策:
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Chapter I “Attack him where is unprepared …”
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Chapter VII “If you march fifty li …”
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Chapter IX “If in the neighborhood of your camp …”
From the 吳子:
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Chapter III “If you know the enemy and know yourself …”
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Chapter V “The control of a large force …”
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Chapter VII “Gongs and drums, banners and flags …”, “In night-fighting, then, make much use …”, “To be near the goal …”
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Chapter IX “We come now to the question of encamping …”, “After crossing a river …”, “When an invading force crosses a river …” (bis), “In crossing salt-marshes …”, “Country in which there are precipitous cliffs …”, “When there is dust rising …”
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Chapter XI “Place your army in deadly peril …”
From the 尉繚子:
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Chapter III “It is the rule in war …”
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Chapter IV “The general who is skilled in defence …”
From the 鶡冠子:
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Chapter III “Hence to fight and conquer in all …”
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Chapter VII “Let your plans be dark …”
From the 史記 (Two of the below are given as quotations).
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Chapter I “Hence, when able to attack …”
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Chapter III “It is the rule in war …”
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Chapter VI “Whoever is first in the field …”
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Chapter X “With regard to precipitous heights …”
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Chapter XI “When a chieftain is fighting in his own territory …”, “Place your army in deadly peril …”
From the 呂氏春秋:
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Chapter IV “To secure ourselves against defeat …”
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Chapter V “The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop …”
From the 淮南子:
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Chapter V “That the impact of your army may be like a grindstone …”, “Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow …”, “Thus the energy developed by good fighting men …”
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Chapter VI “If the enemy is taking his ease …”, “You can be sure of succeeding …”
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Chapter VII “Let your plans be dark and impenetrable …”, “The host thus forming a single united body …”, “In night-fighting, then, make much use …”, “To refrain from intercepting …”
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Chapter VIII “The art of war teaches us to rely not …”
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Chapter IX “All armies prefer high ground to low …”, “If you are careful of your men …”, “Therefore soldiers must be treated in the first instance …”
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Chapter XI “Asked if an army can be made to imitate …”, “He burns his boats and breaks his cooking-pots …”
From the 太元經:
From the 潛夫論:
See Legge’s Classics, vol. V, Prolegomena p. 27. Legge thinks that the Tso Chuan must have been written in the 5th century, but not before 424 BC. ↩
The instances quoted are:
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Chapter III “By attempting to govern an army …” and “By employing the officers of his army …”: 同 is said to be equivalent to 冒
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Chapter II “Now in order to kill the enemy …”:
