The Art of War · Chapter
The Commentators explained
This chapter provides a detailed historical overview of the many commentators who have annotated Sun Tzǔ's 'The Art of War', from Tsʽao Kung in the 2nd century AD through the Sung dynasty.
What happens
This chapter provides a detailed historical overview of the many commentators who have annotated Sun Tzǔ's 'The Art of War', from Tsʽao Kung in the 2nd century AD through the Sung dynasty. It discusses the contributions, styles, and reputations of key figures such as Tu Mu, Chʽên Hao, Mei Yao-chʽên, and Chang Yü, as well as lesser-known commentators, and notes the circumstances that led to a flourishing of commentary during the Sung period.
Themes in this chapter
Self-Knowledge and Preparation
The chapter emphasizes how commentators like Tsʽao Kung and Mei Yao-chʽên sought to clarify Sun Tzǔ's principles, reflecting the importance of deep understanding and preparation in applying military strategy.
Leadership and Discipline
Tsʽao Kung's commentary, known for its austere brevity, mirrors his stern command and discipline as a general, illustrating the theme of leadership in military thought.
Characters to notice
- Tsʽao Tsʽao
Credited as the earliest commentator on Sun Tzǔ; his notes are models of austere brevity and reflect his reputation as a great military genius.
- Tu Mu
A famous Tʽang poet and commentator whose notes are copious and replete with historical parallels; he summarized Sun Tzǔ's work as practicing benevolence and justice while using artifice.
- Mei Yao-chʽên
A poet of the Sung dynasty whose commentary was praised by Ou-yang Hsiu for clarifying Sun Tzǔ's true meaning and dispersing confusion.
- Chang Yü
The last of the eleven commentators listed; his commentary expands and develops Tsʽao Kung's terse sentences in masterly fashion, making them more accessible.
- Ou-yang Hsiu
A scholar who wrote a laudatory preface for Mei Yao-chʽên's commentary and remarked on the long roll of Sun Tzǔ's commentators.
- Chʽên Hao
A contemporary of Tu Mu who wrote a new commentary because Tsʽao Kung's was too obscure and Tu Mu's too diffuse; he often attacked Tu Mu's shortcomings.
- Chia Lin
A Tʽang dynasty commentator whose work is of scanty texture and perhaps the least valuable of the eleven.
- Wang Hsi
A Sung dynasty commentator who revised the ancient text of Sun Tzǔ, filling up lacunae and correcting mistakes, though his interpretations are less judicious than Mei Yao-chʽên's.
Key passages
“Practice benevolence and justice, but on the other hand make full use of artifice and measures of expediency.”
Combine moral principles with strategic cunning.
Tu Mu's summary of the gist of Sun Tzǔ's work.
“Later scholars have misread Sun Tzǔ, distorting his words and trying to make them square with their own one-sided views.”
Many later scholars have misinterpreted Sun Tzǔ by forcing his words to fit their own biased perspectives.
From Ou-yang Hsiu's preface to Mei Yao-chʽên's commentary.