Page:Sun Tzu on The art of war.djvu/44

 Shu and no doubt extremely rare, which I should much like to have seen. One is entitled, in 5 chüan. It gives selections from four new commentators, probably of the Ming dynasty, as well as from the eleven known to us. The names of the four are Hsieh Yüan;  Chang Ao;  Li Ts‘ai; and  Huang Chih-chêng. The other work is in 4 chüan, compiled by  Chêng Tuan of the present dynasty. It is a compendium of information on ancient warfare, with special reference to Sun Tzŭ’s 13 chapters.



Sun Tzŭ has exercised a potent fascination over the minds of some of China’s greatest men. Among the famous generals who are known to have studied his pages with enthusiasm may be mentioned Han Hsin (d. B.C. 196),  Fêng I (d. A.D. 34),  Lü Mêng (d. 219), and  Yo Fei (1103–1141). The opinion of Ts‘ao Kung, who disputes with Han Hsin the highest place in Chinese military annals, has already been recorded. Still more remarkable, in one way, is the testimony of purely literary men, such as Su Hsün (the father of Su Tung-p‘o), who wrote several essays on military topics, all of which owe their chief inspiration to Sun Tzŭ.

The following short passage by him is preserved in the Yü Hai: —