尉缭子 （四）

---中国古代军事著作

陈水明（1962届） 英译

Weiliaozi （4）

---An ancient Chinese work for military strategy and tactics

                
Translated by Chen Shuiming

第十一章         治本

凡治人者何？曰：非五谷无以充腹，非丝麻无以盖形。故充腹有粒，盖形有缕。夫在芸耨，妻在机杼，民无二事，则有储蓄。夫无雕文刻镂之事，女无绣饰篡组之作。木器液，金器腥。圣人饮于土，食于土，故埏埴以为器，天下无费。今也，金木之性，不寒而衣绣饰，马牛之性，食草饮水而给菽粟。是治失其本，而宜设之制也。春夏夫出于南亩，秋冬女练布帛，则民不困。今短褐不蔽形，糟糠不充腹，失其治也。古者，土无肥硗，人无勤惰，古人何得而今人何失邪？耕有不终亩，织有日断机，而奈何寒饥？盖古治之行，今治之治之止也。

夫谓治者，使民无私也。民无私，则天下为一家，而无私耕私织，共寒其寒，其饥其饥。故有子十人不加一饭，有子一人不损一饭。焉有喧呼耽酒以败善类乎！民相轻佻，则欲心与，争夺之患起矣。横生于一夫，则民私饭有储食，私用有储财，民一犯禁而拘以刑治，乌有以为人上也。善政执其制，使民无私。为下不敢私，则无为非者矣。反本缘理，出乎一道，则欲心去，争夺止，囹圄空，野充粟多，安民怀远，外无天下之难，内无暴乱之事，治之至也。

苍苍之天，莫知其极；帝王之君，谁为法则？往世不可及，来世不可待，求己者也。所谓天子四焉：一曰神明；二曰垂光；三曰洪叙；四曰无敌。此天子之事也。

野物不为牺牲，杂学不为通儒。今说者曰：“百里之海不能饮一夫，三尺之泉足以止三军渴。臣谓欲生于无度，邪生于无禁。太上神化，其次因物，其下在于夺民时。无损民财，夫禁必以武而成，赏必以文而成。

Chapter   11           Basic Way to the Management of the Country

What is the way to running the people? The answer is: Without all kinds of food crops the people cannot have enough. Without clothes the people cannot cover their bodies. Therefore, a country should produce enough food grains and clothing. If men can engage in farming in he fields, women can engage in spinning and weaving at home, the people are not interfered with miscellaneous affairs, then they’ll have surpluses to store for future use. So, men should not do the works for luxurious living, such as carving and painting; women should not do the odd jobs for dressing and making up, such as embroidering and silk weaving. Wooden household utensils easily ooze and metal household utensils easily give out smell of fish. Because drinking water comes from the earth, so do the food grains, the ancient sages made various kinds of utensils with earth and clay thus there was no much waste in the world. Nowadays, though by nature the metal and wooden utensils don’t know what is cold, yet they are covered with silks and satins; by nature oxen and horses eat grass and drink water, yet they are fed with fine good grains. Thus the basic rule for management of the country is given up. Therefore, necessary institution should be set up. If men perennially farm in the fields, women perennially spin and weave at home, then the people will not be poor. Now, the people even have no worn-out clothing to wear, no coarse food to eat. This is because the basic principles to manage the country have been given up. In ancient times, the soil was not more fertile than that of nowadays and the people then were not more diligent than those of nowadays either, but why could the ancient people be well fed and well clothed and the present people cannot? It is because the present men do not do farm work and women stop spinning and weaving. That is to say, the basic principles for the management of the country could be carried out then, but now they are given up.

In carrying out the basic principles for the management of the country, it is necessary to pay attention to making the people not strive for private profit. If everyone doesn’t play one’s own game, then the world will be like a big family where no man privately farms, no woman privately spins and weaves, everyone takes other people’s cold and hunger as one’s own. So, if one family has ten children, its burden isn’t increased; if one family has only one child, its burden isn’t decreased. Then how can there be bad customs such as quarrels, making noise, excessive drinking! If there is frivolity, selfish desire among the people, then the trouble of fighting for profit will follow after. If the lord of the kingdom pushes reactionary policies, then the people will privately keep food grain and values. Doing so, they will violate the tyrant’s prohibitions and be arrested for it. That’s surely not the thing a wise lord should do. Implementing the basic principles for the management of the country lies in carrying out legal system and making people not pursue private grains. When people dare not strive for private profit, there will not be any lawless ones. Returning the original duty of farming, spinning and weaving and following the selfless principles, people will get rid of the desire to strive for selfish profit, then naturally the actions to scrabble about for profit will stop and the jails get empty. The country can be well managed when common people diligently farm, food is enough, the rulers cherish the people at home and conciliate the people far away. Thus from outside no neighborhood invades, within the country no disturbance happens.

Vast is the heaven,, no one knows its bound. Among countless ancient emperors, who was the model that I can learn from? The past is gone forever and the feature I cannot wait for, what we should do is to help ourselves. The wise emperors, i.e. Heaven’s son, should have four kinds of virtuous characters: 1) the intelligence above all others; 2) bestowing favor to the world and the model that is well worth going down to posterity; 3) promoting and developing the principles of human relationships and dispensing reward and punishment impartially; 4) being heroic and invincible in the world. These are the duties that he should do.

Wild animals cannot be used as the sacrificial offerings. He who has disorderly knowledge cannot be called man of great scholarship. Nowadays, the politic-view-peddles often say: “The water in the vast sea isn’t enough for a rapacious people to drink; and the water from a shallow spring can quench the thirsty of men of the whole army.” I, your subject, hold that selfish desire comes from limitless ambition; the evil intention comes from no prohibition laws. The best way for running the country is to change people by moral uprightness; next way is to guide people according to circumstance; the lower way is neither to interfere with peasants’ farming time, nor to waste people’s money. Successfully carrying out prohibition laws must have the aid of armed force; fitly carrying out rewarding must be completed by the aid of civil way.

第十二章        战权

兵法曰：千人而成权，万人而成武。权先加人者，敌不力交；武先加人者敌无威接故兵贵先，胜于此则胜被矣，弗胜于此则弗胜被矣凡我往则被来，被来则我往，相为胜败，此战之理然也。
夫精诚在乎神明，战楹在乎道之所极。有者无之，无者有之，安所信之！先王之所传闻者，任正去诈，存其慈顺，决无留刑。故知道者，必先图不知止之败，恶在乎必往有功。轻进而求战，敌复图止我往而敌制胜矣。故兵法曰：求而从之，见而加之，主人不敢当而陵之，必丧其权。
凡夺者无气，恐者不守可，败者无人，兵无道也。意往而不疑则从之，夺敌而无败则加之，明视而高居则威之，兵道极矣。其言无谨，偷矣；其陵犯无节，被矣；水溃雷击，三军乱矣。必安其危，去其患，以智决之。高之以廊庙之谕，重之以受命之论，锐之以逾垠之论，则敌国可不战而服。

Chapter 12                  Military Tactics

The art of war goes: “The side that has relative weak armed forces must win by tactics and the side that has relative strong arm forces must win by power. With tactics one strikes on first, the enemy will be unable to resist even it has actual strength; with strong armed forces one strikes first the enemy will unable to meet head-on energetically even it has courage.” Therefore, it is precious in war to take preemptive measure. In this respect, he who takes action earlier will win; otherwise will fail. For military actions, attacking or counter-attacking, winning or losing a battle are common occurrences.
The way to using military forces lies in keeping sober minded and sharp sighted; the way to mastering the tactics of using armed forces lies in deeply understanding the enemy’s situation. In the war nothing is too deceitful. Sometimes the side that has many men pretends to have few and sometimes the side that has few pretends to have many. At any rate, how can you show your real situation to the enemy! But it is quite a different thing for you to manage the country. The reason why the former wise emperors were admired and praised lies in they could use the upright and clear out the wicked, placate the good and honest and punish the evil without any delay. So, he who knows the above ways is counted as knowing the virtuous way, thus he can anticipate the failure resulting from not stopping before going too far and hate the reckless action to gain quick victory without considering the leeway. If you rashly advance, the enemy will do their best to block you; under the condition of being easily trapped, you will be easily defeated. Therefore, the military art goes: “It certainly departs from the victorious stratagem: to immediately take up the enemy’s challenge; to immediately strike the moment meet the enemy; for the defenders to strike on the aggressors under the conditions of being cover powered by the enemy’s larger number.”

Generally, missing the stratagem will lead to the army’s low morale; the army that are seized with fear when meet the enemy cannot hold fast their position; failure without fight shows that in the army there is no man expert at military arts.”

Dispatch the army when plan to launch a strike and no man doubts; take the offensive when seize the enemy’s morale and put yourself in the invincible position; cow the enemy into submission when find the enemy ‘s situation and occupy the commanding position. He who can achieve the above may be called an expert at using military force.

That the soldiers speak carelessly and casually show they have the intention to seek temporary ease; those who counterstrike on the invaders but are not restrained with discipline will certainly be defeated; when the soldiers are impetuous and lax in discipline, the army will be route. Under such circumstances the commander must use his resourcefulness to take a turn for the better and be out of danger so as to eliminate the cause of ruin. For the country the political decision must wise; to appoint the military general and give authority to him must be in the solemn and earnest way; and the army that is going to battle must be irresistible. Doing so the country will be able to defeat the enemy without strike on them.

第十三章    重刑令

将自千人以上，有战而北，守而降，离地逃众，命曰国贼。身戮家残，去其籍，发其坟墓，暴其骨于市，男女公于官。

自百人以上，有战而逃，守而降，离地逃众，命曰军贼。身死家残，男女公于官。

使民内畏重刑，则外轻敌。故先王明制度于前，重威刑于后。刑重则内畏，内畏则外坚矣。

Chapter  13             Discipline on the Battle Field

When a military officer that commands over one thousand men fails in attacking, or surrenders while defending, or sneaks away at the critical juncture must be announced as a traitor to the country. The country must sentence him to death, strip him of his title and rank, deprive him of his family property, excavate his ancestral tombs, put his dead body before the public and put his family members into licensed slaves.

When a military officer that commands over one hundred men fails in attacking, or surrenders while defending, or sneaks away at the critical juncture must be announced as a military traitor. The country must sentence him to death, deprive him of his family property and put his family members into licensed slaves.

Thus all the officers and men will dread severe punishments domestically and disdain the enemy externally.

So all the wise emperors clearly publish the laws beforehand and carry out severe punishments afterwards.

Severe punishments make men shake with fear at home. Fearing at home men will be firm and brave to the enemy.

第十四章    伍制令

军中之制，五人为伍，伍相保也。十人为什，什相保也。五十人为属，属相保也。百人为闾，闾相保也。伍有干令犯禁者，揭之，免于罪；知而弗揭，全伍有诛。什有干令犯禁者，揭之，免于罪；知而弗揭，全什有诛。属有干令犯禁者，揭之，免于罪；知而弗揭，全属有诛。闾有干令犯禁者，揭之，免于罪；知而弗揭，全闾有诛。
吏自什长以上至左右将，上下皆相保也。有干令犯禁者，揭之，免于罪；知而弗揭者，皆与同罪。
夫什伍相结，上下相联无有不得之奸，无有不揭之罪。父不得以私其子，兄不得以私其弟，而况国人聚舍同食，乌能以干令相私者哉！

 Chapter 14              System of Sharing Crime

In the army, a wu-unit consists of 5 men; a shi consists of 10 men; a shu-unit consists of 50 men; a lvu-unit consists of 100 men. The men of the same unit must mutually guarantee one another from crime. If anyone of the same unit violates the military law the rest men must expose him. He who exposes the criminal suspect may be free of punishment and he who knows the suspect but does not expose him, then all the men of the unit must be punished.

The officers from shi-leader to left-general and right-general must also mutually guarantee one another against crimes. If anyone of them violates the military law or prohibitions, the rest officers must expose him. He who exposes him may be free of punishment. If he knows but does not expose, then he must be punished as he commits the same crime.

If the above are achieved, then there will be no evil man that cannot be arrested and no offence that cannot be exposed. If the punishments are carried out strictly and impartially, then even a father dares not side with his son and an elder brother dares not side with his younger brother, to say nothing of the countrymen that have no deep feeling and are organized together.

 第十五章   分塞令

中军，左右前后军，皆有地分，方之以行垣，而无通其交往。将有分地，帅有分地，伯有分地，皆营其沟域，而明其塞令，使非百人无得通。非其百人而入之，伯诛之；伯不诛，与之同罪。

军中纵横之道，百有二十步而立一府柱，量人与地。柱道相望，禁行清道。非将吏之符节，不得通行。采薪之牧者，皆成行伍；不成行伍者，不得通行。吏属无节，士无伍者，横门诛之。逾分干地者，诛之。故内无干令犯禁，则外无不获之奸。

Chapter 15               Garrison Area

Middle army, left army, right army, front army and rear army have their own garrison area respectively. Around the area, walls are built and no people are allowed to come and go through at will. The high- ranking commanders such as jiang-leader (general), shuai-leader (marshal), bo-leader, have respectively their own jurisdiction. Around every area are dug ditches. In every area are issued special prohibitions, which stipulate that he who does not belong to the same bo shouldn’t arbitrarily pass through the district; otherwise he should be punished by the bo-leader. If the bo-leader doesn’t punish him, then the bo-leader is counted as committing the same crime.
At the crisscross network of ways in the garrison area, between every 120 steps is built a observation tower for watching the walking people and the garrison area. The place where between the observation tower and the roads in the area must be watched by special men and no man should willfully pass through without the pass given by the commanders. Wooden cutters and herdsmen must form a line when they come in and go out of the area, otherwise they forbidden to pass through. The subordinates of the high commanders that pass the area without pass or do not form a line must be punished on the spot the moment they are found. Those who go out of their own garrison area and go into the neighbor’s must also be punished. Thus there will be no man that violates military prohibitions and no spy that cannot be unearthed. 

第十六章     束伍令

束伍之令曰：五人为伍，共一符，收于将吏之所。亡伍伍而得伍，当之。得伍而不亡，有赏。亡伍不得伍，身死家残。亡长得长，当之；得长不亡，有赏；亡长不得长，身死家残。亡将得将，当之；得将不亡，有赏；亡将不得将，坐离地遁逃之法。

战诛之法曰：什长得诛十人，伯长得诛什长；千人之将得诛百人之长，万人之将得诛千人之将，左右将军得诛万人之将，大将军无不得诛。

Chapter 16      Punishments and Rewards

The laws and decrees that restrain the army stipulate: A wu consists of 5 men, they jointly sign a mutual guaranty, which is filed in the headquarters. In the course of battle, if anyone of the wu-unit is killed, at the same time the survivors kill or capture the enemy man or men, then the survivors’ merit cancels their crime; if the survivors kill or capture the enemy man or men without losing themselves, then all the survivors are rewarded; if anyone of the wu-unit is killed and the survivors haven’t killed or captured the enemy man, then the survivors should be put to death and their families be also punished. If anyone of their shi-leaders or bo-leaders is wounded or killed and at the same time the survivors kill or capture the corresponding leader of the enemy’s, then the survivors’ merit conceals their crime; if the survivors kill or capture the corresponding leader of the enemy’s without losing themselves, then the survivors should be rewarded; but if the survivors haven’t done so, then all of the survivors should be punished strictly according to the law for punishing the man who sneaks away at the critical juncture .

The laws and decrees about the punishment on the battle field stipulates: The shi-leader has the authority to punish 10 men of his shi-unit; the bo-leader has the authority to punish every shi-leader of his bo-unit; the commander leading 1,000 men has the authority to punish bo-leader under his rule; the commander leading 10,000 men has the authority to punish every commander that leads 1,000 men; the left and the right generals have the authority to punish the commander that leads 10,000 men and the general-in-chief has the authority to punish anyone of the whole army.

--- 待续