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1. Art of War
3. Art of War: 5 Points of Analysis
5. Furinkazan
6. Hunt Foxes with Stealth, Hunt Wolves in the Open
7. Know Thy Enemy, Know Thyself
8. Maintain An Army For 1000 Days, Use It For An Hour
9. Sun Tzu: Regard Your Soldiers as Children
military strategy, tactics, and procedure
孫子兵法 is the full title of the most famous book of military proverbs about warfare.
The English title is “Sun Tzu's The Art of War.”
The last two characters have come to be known in the west as “The Art of War,” but a better translation would be “military strategy and tactics,” “military skills” or “army procedures.”
Note: Sometimes the author's name is Romanized as “Sun Zi” or “Sunzi.”
It's written the same in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and Korean Hanja.
道天地將法 is a list of five key points to analyzing your situation from the first chapter of Sun Tzu's Art of War.
This reads like a 5-part military proverb. Sun Tzu says that to sharpen your skills, you must plan. To plan well, you must know your situation. Therefore, you must consider and discuss the following:
1. Philosophy and Politics: Make sure your way or your policy is agreeable among all of your troops (and the citizens of your kingdom as well). For when your soldiers believe in you and your way, they will follow you to their deaths without hesitation and will not question your orders.
2. Heaven/Sky: Consider climate / weather. This can also mean considering whether God is smiling upon you. In the modern military, this could be waiting for clear skies so that you can have air support for an amphibious landing.
3. Ground/Earth: Consider the terrain in which the battle will take place. This includes analyzing defensible positions, and exit routes, while using varying elevations to your advantage. When you plan an ambush, you must know your terrain and the best location from which to stage that ambush. This knowledge will also help you avoid being ambushed, as you will know where the likely places in which to expect an ambush from your enemy.
4. Leadership: This applies to you as the general and your lieutenants. A leader should be smart and be able to develop good strategies. Leaders should keep their word, and if they break a promise, they should punish themselves as harshly as they would punish subordinates. Leaders should be benevolent to their troops, with almost a fatherly love for them. Leaders must have the ability to make brave and fast decisions. Leaders must have steadfast principles.
5. [Military] Methods: This can also mean laws, rules, principles, models, or systems. You must have an efficient organization in place to manage both your troops and supplies. In the modern military, this would be a combination of how your unit is organized and your SOP (Standard Operating Procedure).
Notes: This is a simplistic translation and explanation. Much more is suggested in the actual text of the Art of War (Bing Fa). It would take a lot of study to master all of these aspects. In fact, these five characters can be compared to the modern military acronyms such as BAMCIS or SMEAC.
CJK notes: I have included the Japanese and Korean pronunciations but in Chinese, Korean and Japanese, this does not make a typical phrase (with subject, verb, and object) it is a list that only someone familiar with Sun Tzu’s writings would understand.
生活法 is a Japanese and Chinese title meaning “art of living” or “way of life.”
This can also be translated in a few other ways, such as “rule of life” and “the act of living.”
The “art” title kind of comes from the fact that the last character is the same as the book, “The Art of War.” So when you write your book, this is the title for “The Art of Life,” in Chinese and Japanese.
military strategy
風林火山 is the battle strategy and proverb of Japanese feudal lord Takeda Shingen (1521-1573 AD).
This came from the Art of War by Chinese strategist and tactician Sun Tzu (Sunzi).
You can think of this as an abbreviation to remind officers and troops how to conduct battle.
風林火山 is a word list: Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain.
The more expanded meaning is supposed to be...
“Swift as the wind, quiet as the forest, fierce as fire, and immovable as a mountain”
“As fast as the wind, as quiet as the forest, as daring as fire, and immovable as the mountain”
“Move as swift as the wind, stay as silent as a forest, attack as fierce as fire, undefeatable defense like a mountain”
“Move swiftly like the wind, stay silent like the forest, attack fiercely like fire, take a tactical position on the mountain”
闇打狐狸明打狼 is a Chinese proverb that translates as: Hunt foxes stealthily, [and] hunt wolves openly [just as they do].
Figuratively, this means:
Different opponents require different appropriate strategies.
This is a suggestion that you should know your enemy and know that each enemy is different, therefore requires a specialized approach (attack).
This proverb is from Sun Tzu's (Sunzi's) Art of War.
It means that if you know and understand the enemy, you also know yourself. Four secondary characters come after this in the Art of War (not included here) which suggests you cannot lose a battle when you follow this philosophy.
In a very literal and somewhat-boring way, this can also be translated as “Estimate correctly one's strength as well as that of one's opponent.”
Nothing could be more true. When I was in the Marine Corps, we trained for years for combat that often lasts only hours.
養兵千日用兵一時 is a Chinese proverb that, also reminds me of a common phrase used in the military to describe combat: “Weeks of total boredom, punctuated with five minutes of sheer terror.”
This may have some roots in Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Though I can not find this passage in his writings.
On the subject of the Art of War, if you have a favorite passage, we can create a custom calligraphy scroll with that phrase.
視卒如嬰兒故可以與之赴深溪視卒如愛子故可與之俱死 is an entry from the 10th section within the Earth/Terrain chapter of Sun Tzu's Art of War.
This is often translated as “Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys. Look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.”
知彼知己百戰不殆 is from Sun Tzu's (Sunzi's) Art of War. It means that if you know and understand the enemy, you also know yourself, and thus with this complete understanding, you cannot lose.
This proverb is often somewhat directly translated as “Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat.”
It can also be translated as “If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can come out of hundreds of battles without danger,” or “Know your enemy, know yourself, and your victory will not be threatened.”
虚実 is a Japanese word that means “falsehood [and] truth” or “fiction [and] fact.”
This concept is used in warfare, gameplay, and martial arts strategies. 虚実 can be a strategy of real and/or deceptive moves. This gets to some Sun Tzu Art of War stuff where in warfare a strategic move is either a real and serious move or it is a deceptive blow.
Let's explore each character in more depth:
虚 was originally written 虛 (there is a very subtle difference in the strokes at the bottom of the character) and means unpreparedness, falsehood, emptiness, void, abstract theory, empty or unoccupied, diffident or timid, false, humble or modest, virtual, or in vain.
In the Buddhist context, 虛 represents the Pali/Sanskrit word “śūnya,” meaning empty, vacant, unreal, unsubstantial, untrue, space, humble, or in vain.
In ancient Eastern/Chinese astronomy, 虛 represents the “Emptiness” constellation (one of the 28 mansions in the sky).
実 was originally 實 in Chinese (they currently write it as 实 in Simplified Chinese) with the meaning, truth, reality, sincerity, honesty, fidelity, and substance.
The Buddhist context is similar, adding real, true, honest, really, solid, definitely, sincere, solid, fixed, full, to fill, fruit, kernel, verily, in fact, the supreme fact, or ultimate reality to the definition.
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The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Art of War | 兵法 | hyou hou / hyouhou / hyo ho | bīng fǎ / bing1 fa3 / bing fa / bingfa | ping fa / pingfa |
Sun Tzu - Art of War | 孫子兵法 孙子兵法 | son shi hyou hou sonshihyouhou son shi hyo ho | sūn zǐ bīng fǎ sun1 zi3 bing1 fa3 sun zi bing fa sunzibingfa | sun tzu ping fa suntzupingfa |
Art of War: 5 Points of Analysis | 道天地將法 道天地将法 | dou ten chi shou hou doutenchishouhou do ten chi sho ho | dào tiān dì jiàng fǎ dao4 tian1 di4 jiang4 fa3 dao tian di jiang fa daotiandijiangfa | tao t`ien ti chiang fa taotientichiangfa tao tien ti chiang fa |
Way of Life Art of Life | 生活法 | seikatsuhou seikatsuho | shēng huó fǎ sheng1 huo2 fa3 sheng huo fa shenghuofa | |
Furinkazan | 風林火山 风林火山 | fuu rin ka zan fuurinkazan fu rin ka zan | fēng lín huǒ shān feng1 lin2 huo3 shan1 feng lin huo shan fenglinhuoshan | |
Hunt Foxes with Stealth, Hunt Wolves in the Open | 闇打狐狸明打狼 暗打狐狸明打狼 | àn dǎ hú li míng dǎ láng an4 da3 hu2 li ming2 da3 lang2 an da hu li ming da lang andahulimingdalang | an ta hu li ming ta lang antahulimingtalang |
|
Know Thy Enemy, Know Thyself | 知彼知己 | zhí bǐ zhí jī zhi2 bi3 zhi2 ji1 zhi bi zhi ji zhibizhiji | chih pi chih chi chihpichihchi |
|
Maintain An Army For 1000 Days, Use It For An Hour | 養兵千日用兵一時 养兵千日用兵一时 | yǎng bīng qiān rì, yàng bīng yì shí yang3 bing1 qian1 ri4 yang4 bing1 yi4 shi2 yang bing qian ri yang bing yi shi | yang ping ch`ien jih yang ping i shih yang ping chien jih yang ping i shih |
|
Sun Tzu: Regard Your Soldiers as Children | 視卒如嬰兒故可以與之赴深溪視卒如愛子故可與之俱死 视卒如婴儿故可以与之赴深溪视卒如爱子故可与之俱死 | shì cù rú yīng ér gù kě yǐ yú zhī fù shēn xī shì cù rú ài zǐ gù kě yú zhī jū sǐ shi4 cu4 ru2 ying1 er2 gu4 ke3 yi3 yu2 zhi1 fu4 shen1 xi1 shi4 cu4 ru2 ai4 zi3 gu4 ke3 yu2 zhi1 ju1 si3 shi cu ru ying er gu ke yi yu zhi fu shen xi shi cu ru ai zi gu ke yu zhi ju si | shih ts`u ju ying erh ku k`o i yü chih fu shen hsi shih ts`u ju ai tzu ku k`o yü chih chü ssu shih tsu ju ying erh ku ko i yü chih fu shen hsi shih tsu ju ai tzu ku ko yü chih chü ssu |
|
Know Your Enemy, Know Yourself, and You Cannot Lose | 知彼知己百戰不殆 知彼知己百战不殆 | zhí bǐ zhí jī bǎi zhàn bú dài zhi2 bi3 zhi2 ji1 bai3 zhan4 bu2 dai4 zhi bi zhi ji bai zhan bu dai zhibizhijibaizhanbudai | chih pi chih chi pai chan pu tai | |
Kyojitsu: Falsehood and Truth | 虚実 | kyo jitsu / kyojitsu | ||
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. |
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When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
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Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
Some people may refer to this entry as Art of War Kanji, Art of War Characters, Art of War in Mandarin Chinese, Art of War Characters, Art of War in Chinese Writing, Art of War in Japanese Writing, Art of War in Asian Writing, Art of War Ideograms, Chinese Art of War symbols, Art of War Hieroglyphics, Art of War Glyphs, Art of War in Chinese Letters, Art of War Hanzi, Art of War in Japanese Kanji, Art of War Pictograms, Art of War in the Chinese Written-Language, or Art of War in the Japanese Written-Language.
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