More Wisdom from Sun Tzu

Planning a Siege
- So it is said that if you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
- Therefore those who win every battle are not really skillful--those who render other's armies helpless without fighting are the best of all.

Nine Grounds
The question may be asked, can a military force be made to e like this swift snake? The answer is that it can. Even people who dislike each other, if in the same boat, will help each other out in trouble.

The Chinese Way (from an Indian perspective)

The following 2007 Indian Defense Review article is a long, but detailed analysis of China's modern growth and potential future ambitions under Communist leadership.
http://www.indiandefencereview.com/2007/01/the-chinese-way.html

Here are two interesting points.

• A nation's global strategy can be captured in a formula.
  “Global objectives + means to be taken to achieve the objectives”
  (strength × guiding principle or policy)
• Deng Xiaoping advised future Chinese leaders to lean heavily on Sun Tzu's principles, including the following.
  Tao guang yang hui (lit. hide brightness, nourish obscurity) that actually means “to hide one’s capacity and bide one’s time.” The word tao also means ‘the art of war.’ Taolüe, literally ‘the strategy of concealing’ means ‘military strategy.’
  
  Bu chu tou (lit. don’t stick your head out) implies ‘never be the leader.’ That means China should keep a low profile, hiding its true features and intentions.
  

Ancient wisdom from Sun Tzu

Let's start this blog off with some ancient wisdom from Sun Tzu's The Art of War.

Strategic Assessments
- Military action is important to the nation--it is the ground of death and life, the path of survival and destruction, so it is imperative to study it.

- Attack when they are unprepared, make your move when they do not expect it.

Emptiness and Fullness
- Those who are first on the battlefield and await the opponents are at ease; those who are last on the battlefield and head into battle get worn out.

- What causes opponents to come of their own accord is the prospect of gain. What discourages opponents from coming is the prospect of harm.

- Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.