Heard something intriguing on the radio yesterday: book stores have had a sudden run on The Art of War, Sun Tzu's masterful military analysis. Though it was intended for the weapons and tactics of China in the 5th century B.C., most of the work addresses broad strategic truths which have endured the revolutions of iron, gunpowder, rifled artillery, mechanized warfare, and air forces.
A brief excerpt captures the spirit of the book. This is from Samuel B. Griffith's translation, minus the secondary commentary:
All warfare is based on deception. When capable, feign incapacity; when active, inactivity. When near, make it appear that you are far away; when far away, that you are near. Offer the enemy bait to lure him; feign disorder and strike him. When he concentrates, prepare against him; where he is strong, avoid him. Anger his general and confuse him. Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance. Keep him under a strain and wear him down. When he is united, divide him. Attack where he is unprepared; sally out when he does not expect you. These are the strategist's keys to victory.
Fight dirty. Attack where the enemy is weak; avoid him where he is strong. Use spies and scouts. Know the terrain, and use it. Know the enemy, and manipulate him. This all seems self-evident, but it was a blockbuster when it first appeared, an era when warfare was chivalrous and generals gentlemanly. Generations of generals have forgotten and rediscovered these lessons innumerable times, and will no doubt continue to do so.
What I've quoted is the second half of the first chapter; there are twenty-seven chapters in all. Together, they are an invaluable primer on military theory, literally the best there was for millennia. Though the best of Western generals understood Sun Tzu quite well without reading him or even suspecting his existence ? consider Hannibal at Trasimene, or Lee at Fredericksburg ? no text in the West even came close until the MOSSCOMES* doctrine developed around the First World War.
So general and so valuable were Sun Tzu's ideas that there have been attempts to apply them to other fields of conflict, such as the campaign trail, the diplomatic table, the boardroom, and even Wrestlemania. I don't entirely trust such interpretations; the metaphor gets stretched too far to be reliable. Rules on the uses of hilly, swampy, or open ground, for example, don't have any meaning for the stock exchange, and trying force the issue is sloppy thinking. Still, there is useful ore to be mined from the work for a careful reader.
Which brings me to my original point. Apparently, someone feels Sun Tzu has valuable advice even for Mafiosi, because the book has appeared prominently in the Sopranos on television. Suddenly, everyone has to have a copy, to learn what's in. Well, good. It's nice to see popular culture spark an interest in the classics once in a while. As long as it's the real McCoy, and not some hideous hybrid like ?Hooked on Classics.? Three cheers for Star Wars, Harry Potter, and the Sopranos!
* The MOSSCOMES doctrine is an acronym for nine principles of war, the basic doctrine of today's US military, and another praiseworthy distillation of theory. J. F. C. Fuller first articulated seven principles, these were later slightly redefined and expanded to nine: mass, offensive, surprise, security, command unity, objective, maneuver, economy of force, simplicity. Sun Tzu addresses all but simplicity. In his era, armies did not reach tens of millions of men, nor battlefields stretch hundreds of miles. The modern fog of war and variety of units intensify the need for a reminder to keep strategic objectives simple.