The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-11-18

The News
Bv JAMES n ,u,,,-

tains grave implications f. 10 CON-
human being. but where . esef,
fighting among the Chinese il N wa
cerned, thus far, the snok (. ' on
ceeds the actual fire. e%
Any Chinese civil war i, H.,
understood against the b ssN
ground of deep-seated cbir a.N
ideas on war itself. ''eSe
These boil down to the r,;.,
pie that it's silly to expend ' no.
power and get people killed it ' W..
can win by intelligence and wv rua
neuver. ND
These ideas were written dor,.
500 years before Christ BY 4 rb %a
csc militarist named Sun Tn !.
"the art of war" :"
They are still so fresh and vi,;,
that the Military Service publiss
ing Co. of Harrisburg, Pa. h.,
published condensed version -,
the Lionel Giles translation Of ST.,
Tzu, in a series which includ..
Won Clausewitz. Napoleon and
Frederick the Great.
Here are some quotations ,ror,
one chapter of Sun Tzu which in
dictate the Chinese communists
at least, have not forgotten him,
"By persistently hanging on ths
enemy's flank, We shall succeed
in the long run in killing the com.
mander in chief. This is called
ability to accomplish a thing bv
sheer cunning.
ION the day you assume com.
mand, block frontier passes, void
the official passports, and stop
the passage of all emissaries.
''Be stern to the council cham.
err, so that you may control the
situation.
If the enemy leaves a door
open, you must rush in.
"Forrestal your opponent by seiz.
ing what he holds dear, and subtly
contrive to time his arrival on the
ground "
(The communists have blocked
frontier, rushed in and seized
Chang Kaii-shek's railways, de.
layed his arrival in North China,
temporized, appeared weak and
exhibited surprising strength, and
have been notably stern In the
council chambers in Chungking)
Victory Is Object
Sun Tzu said: "An warfare is
based on deception let your
great object be victory, not leng.
thy campaigns hold out bats
to the enemy. Feign disorder and
crush him." Both the communists
and Chang Kai-shek followed
such principles in their first
against the Japanese.
ITO fight and conquer in all
your battles is not supreme excel
lence," declared Sun Tzu $500
years ago. Supreme excellence
consists in breaking the enemy's
resistance without fighting &,
what the ancient called clever
fighter is one who not only wins
but who excels in winning with
ease.''
Sun Tzu's reference to "the an
cients'' indicates that he said moth
ing really new to the Chinese Of
his day; he merely systematized it
perhaps-something that still may
be- fundamental to Chinese military
reasoning today.
Sun Tzu warns: 'When you sur
round an army leave an Quite
free. Do not press desperate
foe too hard soldiers when IL
desperate straits lose the sense o
fear. If there is no place of refuge
they will stand firm. If they are
in the heart of hostile country
they will show a stubborn front
If there is no help for it, they
will fight hard.'
That warning may be especlally
significant today. Both sides are
iockeying for position behlna
screens of secrecy and propasan'
da. They appear weak IN one
place, invincible in another we
| can't really tell what goes on b.'
if Sun Tzu still dominates mill
tary thinking in China both sodeS
are in general avoiding pltcheo
battles and trying to win therl
otherwise. But there is danger Of d
desperate war. MS,
On the vital question Of attack,
Sun Tzu says: &c. Attack place.
VIII CHI cannot be defended YOU
can assure the safety of your oe.
tense if you hold only posi'lo..
that cannot be attacked HenO ,
the general is skillful in a ,o,',
whose opponent does not hr4J
what to defend and ne is shl,ii..
in defense whose opponens oo''
not know what to attack, ~
Sun Tzu's punch lines ~ .