The aphorism "Whoever wants peace must prepare for war" became famous. And although the war itself is an ungrateful and bloody affair, sometimes it alone makes it possible to get what the country really needs. One of the first to understand and describe this is the ancient Chinese thinker Sun Tzu.
Historical evidence
In the 7-4 centuries BC, China was divided into many kingdoms. In the center they were more developed, and on the coast barbaric. This time is traditionally called the "Spring and Autumn" period. At its end is the exaltation of the kingdoms of Yue and U. It is at this stage that we find evidence of the martial art of the talented commander and philosopher Sun Tzu. He was not popular at court, but when danger arose from the neighboring "insidious" Chu, the ruler was offered a preventive war. The problem was the lack of trust in those generals who served in the court of the overlord. Therefore, one of the ministers recommended inviting to the court someone who could organize an army and make a successful military campaign with it. This military leader was Sun Tzu.
First test
Helyu-van, ruler of W, interviewed a visiting warlord. Sun Tzu answered all his questions about strategy with quotations from his treatise. They were so comprehensive that it was impossible to see a single flaw. But the overlord wanted to see
military strategy in practice. And then the commander proposed as a model the Harelu-wan harem, consisting of 300 concubines. They were divided into 2 detachments led by the two beloved women of the prince, given uniforms and explained the essence of orders. But the beauties only laughed and did not follow the orders of the commander. Then, according to the laws of war, Sun Tzu decided to execute the squad leaders. Despite the protests of the ruler, he personally carried out the sentence. After that, the female fighters implicitly and absolutely accurately followed all the orders. Halyu-van received an army ready for action, but the loss of his beloved concubines overshadowed the prince's life. Nevertheless, he had to entrust the creation of the troops of his kingdom Sun Tzu, he also led it on campaigns.
Military success
Among the many books proclaiming certain postulates, those whose authors were able to prove in practice the validity of their doctrines are of particular value. In this regard, the Sun Tzu treatise is impeccable. The army of 30 thousand soldiers created by him was able to capture the treacherous kingdom of Chu, to reach the territory of Jin. Further, sending his troops to the north, the commander frightened the powerful states of Qi and Jin. The specific princes trembled before his strength, skills and wisdom. Thanks to these campaigns, the lord Helyu-van became a hegemon over the princes. But after the end of hostilities, Sun Tzu retired from the noisy courtyard, because his lot was the war, and not the court diplomatic games and intrigues. The ruler and his descendants were left with the specially written book "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu.
Dialectic of war
The philosophical, ideological basis of the "Art of War" is the eclecticism of Confucianism, Taoism and Moism. Such a synthesis managed to show the war in its contradiction. On the one hand, war is a path of development, the soil of death and life, representing the great affairs of the state and ruler. On the other hand, this is the path of lies and deception. The war must be determined by five basic principles:
- unity of goals of the governing upper classes and people;
- timeliness (Tao of heaven);
- correspondence to space, place (Tao of the earth);
- the presence of a commander who can fully combine such qualities as nobility, trustworthiness and high skills;
- organization and discipline of the troops, strict adherence to existing laws.
At the same time, one should not forget that the main goal of the war, paradoxically as it sounds, is the prosperity of the population, the protection of people's trust in their overlord. Therefore, military action must be fast, mobile and extremely effective. Starting from espionage and ending directly with a military campaign - everything must be thought out and subordinated to a great goal. A common expression is: "The ideal is victory achieved without military action."
The relevance of the Sun Tzu war strategy
Despite the fact that more than two thousand years have separated us from the time of writing the Sun Tzu treatise, books by modern Eastern authors, not only in the field of international politics, but also in the field of doing business, are saturated with his ideas. Business teachers believe that the laws of warfare have not changed, moving from the battlefield to offices, courts and meeting rooms. Ideas to quickly achieve goals and effectiveness are at the core of modern business strategies. Their main ones are: victory without a fight or at the beginning of a battle, softness and speed as elements of strength and the possibility of their application. Any, not only economic, competition requires the use of well-established tactics and strategies, so acquaintance with the treatise "The Art of War" will be interesting and useful for a wide range of readers - everyone who wants to achieve success in life.