Chapter 5: Energy - Page 2

interchangeable and run into each other like the two sides of a
circle [see infra, ss. 11]. A comment on the T'ang Emperor T'ai
Tsung goes to the root of the matter: 'A CH'I maneuver may be
CHENG, if we make the enemy look upon it as CHENG; then our real
attack will be CH'I, and vice versa. The whole secret lies in
confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.'"
To put it perhaps a little more clearly: any attack or other
operation is CHENG, on which the enemy has had his attention
fixed; whereas that is CH'I," which takes him by surprise or
comes from an unexpected quarter. If the enemy perceives a
movement which is meant to be CH'I," it immediately becomes
CHENG."]

4. That the impact of your army may be like a grindstone
dashed against an egg - this is effected by the science of weak
points and strong.
5. In all fighting, the direct method may be used for
joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to
secure victory.

[Chang Yu says: "Steadily develop indirect tactics, either
by pounding the enemy's flanks or falling on his rear." A
brilliant example of "indirect tactics" which decided the
fortunes of a campaign was Lord Roberts' night march round the
Peiwar Kotal in the second Afghan war. [1]

6. Indirect tactics, efficiently applied, are inexhausible
as Heaven and Earth, unending as the flow of rivers and streams;
like the sun and moon, they end but to begin anew; like the four
seasons, they pass away to return once more.

[Tu Yu and Chang Yu understand this of the permutations of
CH'I and CHENG." But at present Sun Tzu is not speaking of CHENG
at all, unless, indeed, we suppose with Cheng Yu-hsien that a
clause relating to it has fallen out of the text. Of course, as
has already been pointed out, the two are so inextricably
interwoven in all military operations, that they cannot really be
considered apart. Here we simply have an expression, in
figurative language, of the almost infinite resource of a great
leader.]

7. There are not more than five musical notes, yet the
combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can
ever be heard.
8. There are not more than five primary colors (blue,
yellow, red, white, and black), yet in combination they produce
more hues than can ever been seen.
9 There are not more than five cardinal tastes (sour,
acrid, salt, sweet, bitter), yet combinations of them yield more
flavors than can ever be tasted.
10. In battle, there are not more than two methods of
attack - the direct and the indirect; yet these two in
combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers.
11. The direct and the indirect lead on to each other in
turn. It is like moving in a circle -