straightforward attack as one that is secretly designed, and vice versa; thus cheng may also be ch’i , and ch’i may also be cheng ." He instances the famous exploit of Han Hsin, who when marching ostensibly against Lin-chin (now Chao-i in Shensi), suddenly threw a large force across the Yellow River in wooden tubs, utterly disconcerting his opponent. [Ch’ien Han Shu, ch. 3.] Here, we are told, the march on Lin-chin was cheng , and the surprise manœuver was ch’i ." Chang Yu gives the following summary of opinions on the words: "Military writers do not agree with regard to the meaning of ch’i and cheng . Wei Liao Tzŭ [4th cent. B.C.] says: ‘Direct warfare favours frontal attacks, indirect warfare attacks from the rear.’ Ts’ao Kung says: ‘Going straight out to join battle is a direct operation; appearing on the enemy’s rear is an indirect manœuver.’ Li Wei-kung [6th and 7th cent. A.D.] says: ‘In war, to march straight ahead is cheng ; turning movements, on the other hand, are ch’i .’ These writers simply regard cheng as cheng , and ch’i as ch’i ; they do not note that the two are mutually interchangeable and run into each other like the two sides of a circle [see infra, § 11]. A comment on the T’ang Emperor T’ai Tsung goes to the root of the matter: ‘A ch’i manœuver may be cheng , if we make the enemy look upon it as cheng ; then our real attack will be ch’i , and vice versa. The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.’" To put it perhaps a little more clearly: any attack or other operation is cheng , on which the enemy has had his attention fixed; whereas that is ch’i ," which takes him by surprise or comes from an unexpected quarter. If the enemy perceives a movement which is meant to be ch’i ," it immediately becomes cheng ."]
- That the impact of your army may be like a grindstone dashed against an egg—this is effected by the science of weak points and strong.
- In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.