Carl Joshua T.

Daodaoen Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics

Grade 12 - STEM

Art of War
[Summary]
“The art of war is of vital importance to the state”, as Sun Tzu stated. War is a matter of
life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Every war is fought to obtain something and the
outcome of the war governed by 5 fundamental factors which are the moral law, heaven, earth,
the commander, and method and discipline. The moral law represents unity and causes people to
be in complete harmony with their leaders. Heaven represents the atmosphere, signifies night and
day, cold and heat, and the four seasons. Earth represent different landscapes with its restrictions
and freedoms, danger and security, and distances. The commander signifies the five qualities of
an effective leader which are: wisdom, sincerity, courage, discipline, and benevolence. Method
and discipline highlights the strength of management, graduations of rank, and control in
expenditure. A general must be familiarized into this five fundamental factors. Sun Tzu one’s
said, he who knows them will be victorious. The key factor to win a war lies on the ability to
modify plans according to circumstances, to deceive the opponents and to pre-calculate
everything. As all warfare is based on deception. For Sun Tzu, the general who draws up plans
before the battle always wins unlike the general who has not planned. In addition to knowing
about war, you also need to know about yourself and the enemy, to be able to compare
yourselves.
Economy and warfare is extremely important so one should calculate each and every
expenditure involved in the process beforehand and lay out plans accordingly to limit costs. A
leader should have good decision making ability and his main goal should be victory and not too
long campaigns. Winning decisive engagements quickly and ensures success. War drain
sovereign’s wealth, therefore, it must be done at a supernatural speed with the victory as sole
objective. Try to capture and use enemy’s resources as soon as possible, that is, by winning the
battle and becoming stronger.
Complete destruction of the enemy should be avoided as it benefits no one. Winning
without destruction is excellence. Unity determines the strength of the army and not the size.
After considering the size of our own army and size of the enemy we should decide to surround
attack or flee the enemy. Knowing yourself as well as your enemy thoroughly is the key to win
wars. The one who wins also knows when to fight and when not to, how to handle large and
small forces, and keeping them united and consistent. Employing strategy without tactics can
cause slow victory. By using just tactics without strategy ensures defeat.
Good fighters are well-prepared and put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat
defending their existing positions and then wait for an opportunity to defeat the enemy. Making
no mistakes is what wins battles as it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated. There
are five main factors in warfare: measurements, estimation of quantity, calculations, balancing of
chances, and victory. Measurements are derived from earth. Quantities are estimated from
measurements. Calculation are derived from quantities. Chances balanced by calculations and
victory derived from chances.
A small force should also be controlled similarly to a larger force. As it is only a matter
of efficient organization. There are direct and indirect methods in war and should be used
together. Just like a few notes can create any number of melodies and primary colors can fuse to
form any shade. Direct and indirect attacks together can form an endless series of maneuvers.
Creativity and timing in war helps to build the Army’s momentum. In war we cannot feign
weakness without having strengths.
Attack places which are undefended and defend places that cannot be attacked. A clever
combatant knows the strengths and weaknesses of his enemy without revealing his strength and
weaknesses. Everyone in war can see the tactics but no one knows the strategy and so knowing
where, when, and how to fight beforehand, can make a huge difference. Nothing remains
constant on the battlefield and in the end it’s about how you can exploit your strengths and the
enemy’s weaknesses.
After planning in strategy comes from tactical maneuvering which is very difficult as it
includes turning devious attacks into direct ones and converting your adversities into
opportunities being deceptive, fast, and compact plays a huge role in winning a war. In order to
win we need to stay united which makes it difficult for the brave to move forward alone and for
the weak to retreat alone and thus there is a danger of the army losing its spirit or commander
losing his presence of mind.
There are five major faults which can affect a general. First, recklessness which leads to
destruction. Second, cowardice which leads to capture. Third, quick temper which is provoked
by insults. Fourth, heightened sense of honor which is sensitive to shame. And fifth, over
concern to his men this can make him worried. The cause of defeat of an army is always due to
one of these five reasons: reckless, coward, temper, shame, and over concern.
There are four types of basic grounds: mountains, rivers, salt marshes and plains. Each
type has its own natural advantages and disadvantages which should be utilized accordingly. By
observing the enemy and other factors such as animals, birds and trees, a wise person can figure
out the enemy’s tactics. A leader should always have faith in his men, who should be treated
with humanity but controlled with iron discipline.
There are six types of terrain: 1) Accessible ground which can be freely traversed by both
sides; 2) Entangling ground which cannot be reoccupied once abandoned; 3) Temporizing
ground which is inconvenient for both sides; 4) Narrow passage which should be occupied first
so as to be ready for the enemy; 5) Precipitous heights which should be occupied first or not at
all; 6) Great distance from the enemy, with the armies matching in size fighting would be to your
disadvantage. There are six calamities for which a general is responsible: flight, insubordination,
collapse, ruin, disorganization and rout.
 There are nine types of grounds in warfare. When fighting in one’s own territory, it is
dispersive ground. When penetrated a little into the hostile territory it is facile ground. The
ground which is favorable for either side is called contentious ground. The ground on which each
side has the liberty of movement is call open ground. The ground which forms the key to three
adjoining states is called the ground of intersecting highways. When the Army is deep into the
enemy territory it is call serious ground. Hard to traverse ground like mountains and marshes is
difficult ground. When the entrance is narrow and the exit circuitous it is hemmed in ground. The
ground in which we have to fight to survive is called desperate ground.
The five ways of attacking the fire are burning the camps, stores, baggage trains, arsenals
and dropping fire. Make wise use of the fire in the enemy camp and attack only when the time is
right. By using water the enemy can be intercepted but not robbed by his belongings.
The intelligence plays a very vital role as the information gathered about the enemy is
crucial for achieving what ordinary men couldn’t. There are five types of spies: a) local spies,
were inhabitants of the area; b) word spies, were enemy officials; c) converted spies, who are
enemy spies converted for our own good; d) doom spies, who are used to spread misinformation;
e) surviving spies, who report back with the information.
The rules of war do not change, and the good general is always ready for it. Studying war
skills, planning properly and knowing how to manage the troop are critical skills for a general. It
doesn’t matter what kind of battle you take. The rules remain the same. The enemies are still
enemies. The victory will still taste the same.
 Art of War
[REACTION]
Twenty-five hundred years ago, Sun Tzu wrote this classic book of military strategy
based on Chinese warfare and military thought. This book is composed of 13 chapters. Each
one is devoted to a distinct aspect of warfare and letting us to know on how they apply this
military strategy and tactics. Art of war can be useful in various fields such us business,
sports, philosophy, economics, and psychology.
Sun Tzu has a holistic philosophy that if you will follow correctly and study
thoroughly, you will be victorious. To be honest, I am not a really big fan of a military field.
At first I really thought that this book I am reading was tedious and kind of not interesting.
What was really surprised me was the fact that this book gives a lot of lessons and through
this book we can learn a lot of strategies that can be applied to everyday life. This book
makes me understand of how a war does really looks like and how it must be planned. A
great lesson I learned from this book is that a strategic mind derives from a complex
introspection. Introspection I mean is that when you examined your own conscious thought
and feelings. Through introspection, observation relies on. As we know observation is the
first key of planning. I learned that ‘favorable circumstances’ are those where the situation
suits particular tactics and strategies. I should not blindly follow an advice. I have to
understand how the jigsaw works and place the pieces where they fit. One that notes in my
mind is that “All warfare is based on deception”. One best example I can relate is the Trojan
War. Where Odysseus crafted a giant wooden horse filled it with thousands of armed men.
He told to Trojan leaders that his gift was an offering to the goddess Athena, whose temple
had been destroyed by the Greeks. The gift was accepted and as soon as the horse was safely
inside the city walls, Odysseus’s men jumped out and massacred the city. Through that war I
realized that deception appears at all levels, from faked strategic intent to the individual
feints. In order to gain victory, we all should be cautious and good at detecting deception.
Traps can be laid to every enemy but we have to be cautious and be aware to our enemies
that sees our deceptions. Because as we all know humans have a very powerful minds, they
may try to counter our trick with a better one. One powerful strategy I’ve learned is that
Divide and Conquer. It is truly that it is difficult to overcome concentrated armies as they can
be replaced immediately with reinforcements. By breaking them into parts, we may able to
remove their ability to reinforce. On this strategy I can apply this to a sports game such as
basketball. In every group there is an assigned leader or coach, the leader must divide the
roles of his team mates according to their strengths. If they have similar preferences, he
might need to take turns and see what works the best.
“Plans are nothing, but planning is everything.” I noted that in my mind. I foresee that
in planning, knowledge of the other side is critical. By knowing their strength, position and
intent helps us to make better calculations. I found out that we must always be prepared for
the unexpected. All plans are still tentative that is why all we need are back up plans. We
don’t know what will happen during a battle. That’s why the main plan never survives the
battle. When the enemy acts, we have to respond. Yet those back up plans may have an
advantage to help us and win the battle. The key point here is we have to critically think
about our own strategy to defeat the enemy. I have learned that in order to lessen the cost of
war and save the resources of your state is to take what your enemy have such all foods,
weapons, armors, and men. It is very strategic and very wise in competing a war.
In a war, I found out a wise General is needed. It is natural to learn from the past, that
is why the majority of military general engage and guide themselves according to their
traditional perspective, but for the final victory a more open approach is required that carries
greater risk. After reading this book I perceived that a qualified general chooses to fight only
when he knows victory is inevitable, never to be defeated and always to be feared, and by
knowing how to cheat your enemy and use territory in your favor are also essential. Essential
skills are required from a general and strategist. In pursuance of final victory, a strategist
must choose his battle carefully to win efficiently. In the book of Sun Tzu, he mentioned tips
on manipulating enemies and I learned a great lesson from them. He stated that as we
approach our enemy, make it seem as though we are far away. When we are ready to attack,
make it appear that we are not. This strategy mentioned by Sun Tzu is really amazing and
very logic. It is looks like we are playing with our enemy as a cat plays with a mouse. As Sun
Tzu state, “avoid what is wrong and strike at what is weak”. I agree that he is a strong
believer that winning the war with as little unnecessary combat as possible is the key to true
victory. In real life one of key to defeat the enemy is to pretend. One situation that can be
relate is if your opponent is arrogant you have to pretend to be weak so he will underestimate
you. If he was relaxing then there’s the chance to attack and give him no rest. By reading his
work, I understand that Sun Tzu essentially saying that if you know your opponent’s
weaknesses and how to exploit them you will never lose. Just like the war during the mid-
1960s between the North Vietnamese communists and the United States of America. Instead
of confronting the Americans head-on, the Vietcong had a different idea in mind. They used
unconventional guerrilla warfare tactics which included hit-and-run strategies. This proved
very effective against much larger military of the American. It’s more important to outthink
your enemy than to outfight him (Sun Tzu). North Vietnamese implanted some traps and
secret routes and tunnels and successfully escaped. At the end they still able to defeat
Americans as they truly understood Sun Tzu’s philosophy. In other words, he mean that in a
war it does not really focus on the number of men, armors and weapons you have but on how
wise and strategic you are in using these in engaging a war.
I have learned a great lesson to this book that unity is a must in order to be success in
every battle you take. As unity determines the strength of people and not the size. Unity is
the key whether it be in the workplace or on sport field, without it, it will be a total failure.
We can see unity even at the workplace, where team member together work in order to
complete the target. Sun Tzu made me realized that unity always supports and help. I can say
this because if any team member works alone there can be chances that person get defeated,
but if that person works as a team chances of success increases. We all must be aware of a
story where a father calls his four sons and gave one stick to all four of them and ask them to
break it, all four easily broke that stick but when he asked them to break 100 stick together
they failed to do so, hence at that time he said this is what happens when you stay together, if
you bother to fight with each other anyone can easily break you and can take advantage of
you but if you four stay together just like those 100 sticks, then no one can ever harm you
and can never break you. Just like in war the armies should be united as the general guide
them well, and from this point there would be a chance to win the war.
The ideas in the book can be applied in business which I think is the modern war. For
example, let’s say that you own a small restaurant and there’s a guy comes to you at 8
o’clock in the morning and asks for something to eat. He wants an omelet with some cheese
and hot chocolate but the waiter says that he can bring him only an omelet with no cheese
because its summer and hot chocolate and cheese is not available. It shouldn’t be like that
because that was one of the most reason why a restaurant fail. You are not prepared. You
must have your stock full even if you know that there is a small chance of someone will buy
a hot chocolate during summer. Now, if that person buys your hot chocolate he or she might
recommend your restaurant to his or her friend. As the art of war teaches us to rely not on the
likelihood of the enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him. In the book
Sun Tzu stated, “Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”
Now we all know that modern market is unstable and seeing that technology brings
something new to the table every day and it is very hard to make predictions. Someone may
invent a new app tomorrow and change the rules of the game. Going back to the restaurant
analogy let’s say you sell a hot chocolate and your competitors sells hot chocolate as well but
how can you at least come on top and beat your competitor? Well, you can do a single thing
like adding free marshmallow to your hot chocolate while keeping the same price, then the
following days you can evenly add a free cookies. You can also make an event like Hot
Choco plus free cookie week in order to attract more customer but remember that you must
always be unpredictable. In this way, you may get the chance to defeat your competitor.
“Know yourself as well as your enemy”. I noted this quotation to myself because it is
really a great lesson that can be applied into my everyday life. Upon knowing yourself first
as well as your enemy may have bigger chance to win the war. In other word, self-awareness.
I came up with the belief that if we really want to win we have to build a better habits. For
example, if you want to lose weight and your enemy is sugar. If you have a knowledge about
yourself when you eat sugar and why you can’t stop eating it? And if you know about sugar,
which food contain it, how can you reduce it, then you can win a war against obesity.
It is really interesting that Sun Tzu provided some points in avoiding the major fault
of every general. It is a great lesson that in every workplace or anywhere whenever dealing a
competency we shouldn’t be reckless, cowardice, a hasty temper, delicacy of honor, and over
solicitude to our ally because this may increase the greater chance to get defeated. Instead of
becoming like this we should be more careful, be courageous, learn to control our emotions,
don’t be sensitive, and don’t worry too much.
By reading all throughout this book, this give me some points to become a wise and a
good leader. It teaches me about leadership. I found out that in becoming a leader you cannot
be soft to the people you are leading, it is your job to make them understand who is in charge
with, and govern them by means of iron discipline. Discipline is important in a group
because if there is lack of discipline there would be decrease of productivity. It is also
important to treat your people in the first instance with humanity so with full respect. As a
leader it is important to have this qualities because this is the certain rule to victory.
The point to all these metaphorical stories are amazingly applicable to us all. It can be to
business trade, sport field, politics, and to our everyday life. I am very thankful that I have read
this book and learned out many lessons. This is one of the best and most powerful book I’ve ever
read. The greatest charm of this book is that it is not restricted only to the battle field. As many
people facing their own wars, whether it’s with alcohol, procrastination or their journey in
business, this book provides many principles which help us to accomplish our goal and lead us
all to a true taste of victory.