Comparing: Introducing the Empty Self

The Art of War 6:3:1-9

This article continues our project explaining each line of Sun Tzu’s work. The English and Chinese are from my award-winning translation, The Art of War and The Ancient Chinese Revealed. Start here for the book’s opening lines.

The lines that begin this third Section of Chapter 6 of The Art of War apply the lessons of emptiness and fullness to how we see ourselves and how others see us, especially when we are introducing ourselves into new competitive situations. This chapter is about “weakness” and “strength,” which Sun Tzu describes as “emptiness” and “fullness.” This pair of complementary opposites explain many aspects of his strategic method. The lines here focus on the early stages of establishing a position, when we first enter a new strategic arena or engage in new competitive challenges. Sun Tzu, surprisingly, does not champion an early display of strength. We would think that such a display would make logical sense given that our goal is to encourage support and discourage opposition. Good strategy is, however, often counter intuitive.

This section is about what I have always called our “exterior theater,” that is, the image of ourselves that we project to others. The image that others hold of us is a central idea in Sun Tzu. He calls it our “position,” my translation of the character meaning <form> in Chinese. Sun Tzu separates our true selves from our positions in human society, which is built more on “appearance,” or “deception” (see this article) that reality.

Making Ourselves Small

• (In the quotations below, we summarize each Chinese character as a single English word shown in < > brackets. A sentence from my English translation follows.)

<Tiny> <Tiny>
Be subtle! Be subtle!

To advance our position in the minds of others, we start by making ourselves smaller, less noticeable, and humble. This attitude is part of everything that we do initially. Jesus put this lesson in the form of taking the less honored seats at a dinner table. Making ourselves small is a way of embracing the power of emptiness.

We can never alienate others by making less of ourselves, especially when it makes more of them. People see opportunity in our emptiness, not a threat. No one rewards us by the value that we put on ourselves. To be rewarded, others must see our value and ask us to move up at the table.

This is often a matter of controlling expectations. We must remember the lessons about surprise and momentum from the previous chapter. If we create overblown expectations, even doing the most excellent things will not be a surprise. Only low expectations are fertile ground for surprise and creating momentum.

Making Ourselves Open

<Arrive> <to> <without> <form>
Arrive without any clear formation.

We also have to empty ourselves of our plans, pretenses, and poses when we enter a new area. Instead, we must focus on adapting to our situation. We deserve nothing. No one owes us anything. Our life experience doesn’t necessarily prepare us for what we now face. Our first job is seeing reality without preconceptions about what should exist.

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