3. Attack by Stratagem
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Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. #
Li Ch`uan cites the case of Fu Chien, prince of Ch`in, who in 383 A.D. marched with a vast army against the Chin Emperor. When warned not to despise an enemy who could command the services of such men as Hsieh An and Huan Ch`ung, he boastfully replied: "I have the population of eight provinces at my back, infantry and horsemen to the number of one million; why, they could dam up the Yangtsze River itself by merely throwing their whips into the stream. What danger have I to fear?" Nevertheless, his forces were soon after disastrously routed at the Fei River, and he was obliged to beat a hasty retreat.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. #
Chang Yu said: "Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive." He adds: "Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack." It would be hard to find a better epitome of the root-principle of war.
Comments (Leave a comment)
Jorgen Fors said:
Applying this passage to the general thinking used when planning e.g. a project makes sence: First you survey and measure "the ground" i.e the context of the project. Then you estimate, that is take educated guesses based on your surveys, to find out the numbers needed to do actual calculations. Then you calculate, based on your guesses. So, the first two terms would relate to evaluating the enemy, solely, while the third one deal with assessing what you've found in relation to your own army (or in the case of project management, your own assignment). #
Dec 19, 2007