Bingfa - The Arts Of War
"Being endowed with teeth and mounting horns, having claws in front and spurs in back, coming together when happy, fighting when angry, this is the way of Heaven, it cannot be stopped. Thus those that lack Heavenly weapons provide them themselves." --Sun Bin
One could reason that conflict is one of the key themes all over human civilization. On the soil that is now called "China", the rise and fall of dynasties has seen various interest groups fight for command of the land, people and assets for thousands of years. These battles have ranged from individual scheming to clashes of 100,000 men armies.
These battleground experiences and personal plots spawned a body of work that wanted to grasp the underlying principles of competition and appreciate the human combatants.
All the way throughtimes past these texts were loved, not only by armed forces and political leaders, but also by the intelligentsia.
The writings provided philosophy and tactics suitable for the combat zoneand also embodied philosophical truths and indispensable wisdom in relation to the human situation. The concepts within could be applied to various contexts—the front line, business, and the individual art of existence.
These bingfa [~BEENG-fah], or works of armed forces strategy, have been, and still are, useful for areas farther than armed conflict. They bestow not only certain military tactics but they also exemplify underlying principles and patterns of human deeds. Variations of the strategies can be implemented whenever you are dealing with humans.
Sunzi Bingfa—The Art of War is by far the most notoriousbingfa. It's remarkable to note that it is not just the most highly acclaimed bingfa in the West, it has the same level of respect in China and Asia. It was regarded to be the best of its kind in ancient times too. In fact, it features notably in one of the later bingfa, from around 600 A.D., Questions and Replies Between Tang Tai Zhong and Li Jing .
The opening passage of The Art of War states:
Warfare is the greatest affair of the state, the basis of life and death, the way of survival or extinction. It must be thoroughly pondered and analyzed.
With an abstracted view of "warfare" as "opposition," and the context tailored, the quote above reads:
Competition is the greatest affair of the individual, the basis of life and death, the way of survival or extinction. It must be thoroughly pondered and analyzed.
In addition to Sun Tzu, other strategists have suggested that war, and struggle by proxy, is nothing to take lightly. It is something to always keep in mind.
As mentioned in Sima Fa:
Even though a state may be vast, those who love warfare will inevitably perish. Even though calm may prevail under Heaven, those who forget warfare will certainly be endangered.
And in Sunbin's Military Methods, it says:
One who takes pleasure in the military will perish, and one who finds profit in victory will be insulted. The military is not something to take pleasure in, victory not something through which to profit.
The information in these bingfa can be viewed as a "mental" martial art. So, the same "rules" apply as with physical martial arts. Use the equal amount of discretion when employing the techniques you learn here.
Please keep in mindthat an "adversary" is conceptualized as somebody who wants to impair you. Accordingly, all "enemies" have to do withconflict, but not all conflicts involve enemies.
Now and then, the conflict is inside. You are "fighting" with yourself. Or you may get into conflicts with your acquaintances and folks about certain courses of action.
Perhaps you have differing opinions or it might be a case of miscommunication. While you might disagree with them, they probably are not trying to harm you, so this does not make them an "enemy".
Some of the strategies might not be fitting for all conflict. But the general process should be useful for nearly any circumstances.
About the Author
The author writes and blogs about The Art Of War, meditation, strategy and martial arts and teaches these subjects to students throughout Asia and the world.
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