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MYSTERY OF ORIGIN
OF SUN ZI'S ART OF WAR
The Mystery
Recently discovered ancient historical documents
show that the strategies of Sun Zi's Art Of War were used by
Yellow Emperor Huang Di (2685 B.C.), Tang, founder of the Shang
dynasty (1700 B.C.), and Wu Wang, founder of the Chou dynasty
(1126 B.C.). The origin of Sun Zi's Srt of War thus went back
far before Sun Zi himself (circa 507 B.C.), for these documents
show that Yellow Emperor Huang Di was the original author of Sun
Zi's Art Of War.
The reference to the fact that Wu Wang used the
strategies of Sun Zi's Art Of War leads to implications that
there is a close link between Sun Zi's Art Of War and the I
Ching. The one breakthrough is the astonishing finding that
Duke Chou's lines to the two hexagrams 51, Chen, and 52, Ken, of
the I Ching, are paralleled by Sections 1 to 12 of Sun Zi's Art
Of War. Sun Zi's Art Of War offers an objective method to begin
decoding the meanings of the hexagrams of the I Ching and this
could facilitate the objective understanding of both ancient
texts.
Appendix 3:
"Yellow Emperor Attacks
Red Emperor"
In 1972, 4,942 bamboo slats were dug out from an
ancient Han tomb site at Linyi (Huang 1993 p.21). These include
some two hundred slats with twenty four hundred characters which
were the remnants of an ancient version of Sun Zi's Art Of War,
dating between the Chin and Han dynasties. These ancient slats,
although containing only one third of the current modern
edition, confirm that the current thirteen sections format of
the war manual was correct. The Linyi text also contains five
appendices related to the war manual:
- Appendix 1: King Wu's Queries
Appendix 2: Four Adaptations
Appendix 3: Yellow Emperor Attacks Red Emperor
Appendix 4: Terrain II
Appendix 5: Audience with King of Wu
One of the appendices, Appendix 3: "Yellow Emperor
Attacks Red Emperor", is interesting, as it indicates the real
origins and potency of the strategic style of Sun Zi's Art Of
War. Why was there the Appendix 3: "Yellow Emperor Attacks Red
Emperor"? It must have a significant link with the war manual
Sun Zi's Art Of War. The appendix text, which is fragmentary, is
given below (after Huang 1993 p.266):
- Sun Zi said... [The Yellow Emperor
attacked the Red Emperor in the south. He reached]... The
battle occurred on the Banshan plain. He positioned to the
right of the lowlands, had perpendicular arrays, and had a main
route to his back. He annihilated and conquered the enemy.
Over... [years] relieved the people from public labor...
developed agriculture, and pardoned prisoners.
Then he attacked the ... [Green] Emperor in
the east. He arrived at Xiangping. They fought at Bing... [He
positioned to the right of the lowland, had perpendicular
arrays, and had a main route to his back. He annihilated ...
[and conquered the enemy]. Over... years he relieved the people
from public labor, developed agriculture, and pardoned prisoners.
Then he attacked the Black Emperor in the
north. He arrived in Wusui... [They fought at].... [He
positioned to the right of the lowlands, had perpendicular
arrays, and had a main route to his back. He annihilated and
conquered the enemy. Over... [years] relieved the people from
public labor... developed agriculture, and pardoned prisoners].
[Then he] attacked the White Emperor in the
west. He arrived at Wugang. They fought at .... [He positioned
to the right of the lowlands, had perpendicular arrays, and had
a main route to his back. He annihilated and conquered the
enemy]...
... [He] had defeated four emperors and had
conquered all of China. The tyrants... brought progress to
China, and all of China obeyed him in every land.
Tang [the Emperor of the Shang] attacked
Jie [the King of Hsia] ... [He arrived in].. They fought at
Botian. He positioned to the right of the lowlands, had
perpendicular arrays, and had a main route to his back. He
annihilated and conquered the enemy.
Wu Wang [of the Chou] attacked Zhou the
King of the Shang]. He arrived at Chinsui. They fought on the
field of Mu... [He positioned] to the right of the lowlands, had
perpendicular arrays, and had a main route to his back. He
annihilated and conquered the enemy. This one emperor and the
two emperors all knew [how to] take advantage of the way of
Heaven.. of... and the people's needs, therefore...
What the Appendix 3 indicates is that the
strategies of Sun Zi's Art Of War went back long before Sun Zi
himself and were already used by Yellow Emperor Huang Di, circa
2685 B.C. It indicates that Yellow Emperor Huang Di was the
original creator of the strategies of Sun Zi's Art Of War, a
deduction supported by the internal evidence of Section 9 of Sun
Zi's Art Of War:
-
These are the four useful methods of positioning armies
used by the Yellow Emperor when he conquered the four
neighbouring countries. Sun Zi 9:10.
The Appendix 3 also shows that the strategies of
Sun Zi's Art Of War were used by founding Shang Emperor Tang,
circa 1700 B.C., and founding Chou Emperor Wu Wang, circa 1126
B.C., to establish their dynasties. The last section, Section
13, of Sun Zi's Art Of War refers to the strategic mechanisms by
which Tang and Wu Wang won their empires:
-
Of old, when Yin succeeded in power due to I Chih
who as Chief Minister of Hsia was responsible for the State's
affair. Chou succeeded due to Lu Ya, the former Minister of Yin
Sun Zi 13:26.
HUANG DI FACTOR
IN ORIGIN OF
SUN ZI'S ART OF WAR FROM I
CHING
The Sun Zi's Art Of War Appendix 3: "Yellow
Emperor Attacks Red Emperor" describes the positioning of the
colours which show that the great war strategy of Huang Di
adopted the Mutual Destruction Relationship of the Five Elements
and was also used by Tang and Wu Wang. This indicates that
Huang Di was the real author of the strategies in Sun Zi's Art
Of War. The Mutual Destruction Relationship of the Five
Elements was also the basis of King Wen I Ching. Thus, it
appears that Sun Zi's Art Of War belongs to the same common
traditions as King Wen I Ching.
The first two hexagrams of King Wen I Ching refer
to the fourth Moon followed by the fifth Moon, that is the King
Wen I Ching starts with the Summer Solstice. Appendix 4:
"Terrain 2" indicates the events of Sun Zi's Art Of War also
started with the Summer Solstice (Huang 1993 p.268):
-
... the fifth lunar month to cross... land, the
seventh lunar month... the armies set their battle arrays
regardless of the morning or the evening...
The events and struggles in both King Wen I Ching
and Sun Zi's Art Of War concern the Summer Solstice. The Summer
Solstice, the longest day in the year when darkness begins to
increase, symbolises the most evil period of the year, when the
power of goodness is on the wane and the power of evil is on the
ascendancy. Hence, both King Wen I Ching and Sun Zi's Art Of
War had to address the philosophy of war. The strategies of
both the King Wen I Ching and Sun Zi's Art Of War are of the
most potent types, for they were designed to destroy this great
evil of the Summer Solstice, which is an evil of the most
powerful and malevolent kind.
There are some implications about the
relationships between King Wen I Ching and Sun Zi's Art Of War:
- Huang Di was involved in the origins of
both King Wen I Ching and Sun Zi's Art Of War.
- The real author of Sun Zi's Art Of War is not Sun
Zi but the Yellow Emperor Huang Di. Sun Zi's family preserved
at least part of that common tradition originating from Huang
Di. It was Sun Zi who finally compiled the current thirteen
sections of Sun Zi's Art Of War. Some of the appendices were
also from Huang Di.
- Huang Di, through his creation of the Mutual
Destruction relationship of the Five Elements, was involved in
the origins of King Wen I Ching.
- Both the King Wen I Ching, and Sun Zi's Art Of War
share several significant features:
- Cultural symbolism of the Yin Yang, Five Elements,
Four Cardinal Directions.
- The struggles in both texts started in the Summer
Solstice.
- It is evident that King Wen I Ching, and Sun Zi's
Art Of War are of the same pool of traditions. The ancient
Chinese traditions depict the I Ching as the source of all
Chinese wisdom. As Sun Zi's Art Of War was a later document
than King Wen I Ching, it is likely that Sun Zi's Art Of War
originated from King Wen I Ching!
- As we shall see later, two of the sixty four
hexagrams of King Wen's I Ching could be shown to illustrate the
step by step strategies of Sun Zi's Art Of War!
The evidence indicates that the origins of both
the King Wen I Ching and the strategies of Sun Zi's Art Of War
involve the same mind, that of Yellow Emperor Huang Di. The I
Ching encompasses a much wider range of themes than Sun Zi's Art
Of War. As the I Ching is regarded as the source of all wisdom,
it could well mean that, through Huang Di, parts of the I Ching
could form the real sources of the strategies of Sun Zi's Art Of
War!
LINK BETWEEN
SUN ZI'S ART OF WAR AND I CHING.
The Appendix 3: "Yellow Emperor Attacks Red
Emperor" not only shows that Sun Zi's Art Of War has origins
from Yellow Emperor Huang Di, but also that the strategies of
Sun Zi's Art Of War were used by Tang to establish the Shang
dynasty (circa 1700 B.C.) and then later by Wu Wang to establish
the Chou dynasty (circa 1126 B.C.).
The father of Wu Wang happened to be King
Wen, the author of the King Wen I Ching. Father and son must
have shared the same family heritage of philosophy and
strategies. Thus, there must be some family based links between
Sun Zi's Art Of War and King Wen I Ching.
It is quite clear that
both King Wen and his son Wu Wang were familiar with both Sun
Zi's Art Of War and King Wen I Ching!
Sun Zi's Art Of War had different versions down
the ages, for the Appendix 3: "Yellow Emperor Attacks Red
Emperor" indicates that the Sun Zi strategies were used by Tang
who founded the Shang dynasty and by Wu Wang who founded the
Chou dynasty, and then by Yellow Emperor Huang Di. The present
Sun Zi's Art Of War was compiled by Sun Zi in the later half of
the Chou dynasty. Thus, this Sun Zi's Art Of War would most
likely draw from the Chou version of the pool of I Ching
traditions.
Part 2
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