Comparing: Understanding Intentions
The Art of War 9:4.1-6 Sometimes, the enemy is close by but remains calm.
This post continues our project explaining each stanza of Sun Tzu’s work. The English translation and Chinese transliterations are from my award-winning work, The Art of War and The Ancient Chinese Revealed.
The intentions explained in this article are from the beginning of Section Four of Chapter 9 of The Art of War. This chapter is entitled Armed March. Its general topic is making the competitive moves that advance our positions. It is one of the longest and most detailed chapters of the book. This section and the following one look at the ways we can discern people’s intentions from their actions. Together, these two sections are one of the longest discussions of a single topic in the work.
The Enemy
While many aspects of Sun Tzu’s strategy apply equally to both ourselves and our opposition, this section is about understanding that opposition. The point of this part of the book is identifying what others are thinking from their actions.
In the lines below, we summarize the Chinese characters in their original order, each with a single English word shown in < > brackets. This transliteration of the Chinese is followed by an English sentence translation.
<Enemy> <near> <and> <yet> <tranquil> <is>
Sometimes, the enemy is close by but remains calm.
The Chinese character translated as <Enemy>means “fellow nobleman.” By starting this section with this word, Sun Tzu sets the <enemy> as the context in which the section is written. In this context, being <near> indicates near to another person’s territory. This “nearness” could mean they are preparing to attack, or it could mean that they are inviting an attack from those nearby.
The clue to the intentions here is the person’s calm mood. When we are planning on moving into a new territory, we are not usually calm. The fact that this person is calm means that the situation is not quite what it appears. When we are trying to figure out what others are thinking, we look at unexpected behaviors, not the expected ones.
<Depend> <on> <this> <obstruction> <also>
Expect to find him in a natural stronghold.
Those who are calm have reasons for remaining calm. From their mood, we should suspect that they are protected in some way that we cannot see. They are likely in a barricaded position, one that is block from attack by obstacles of some type.
From the attitude alone, we know more about his situation than we could know from observations at a distance. Barricaded positions are good positions to defend, but they make advance difficult. The point is that his calmness has a cause. We should identify that cause before we decide how to respond to him.
<Distant> <and> <yet> <choose> <battle> <is>
Other times he remains at a distance but provokes battle.
This enemy is near, but his position is too distant for it to be an incursion onto our territory. By his nearness, his presence alone invites battle, that is, a comparison. However, the presence of an opponent in a nearby position doesn’t mean that we need to have a showdown, especially if he wants one.
We have already reasoned that he is in a barricade position and therefore safe from most forms of attack. If we do not see to win this barricaded position, others will not necessarily compare his position to our own. To others, the presence of an opponent on our border who does not attack demonstrates that our position is desirable and that it is not vulnerable.
<Want> <men> <’s> <advance> <also>
He wants you to attack him.
In Sun Tzu’s strategy, it is never the move itself that matters. It is how others respond to it that matters. We must always wonder what response an opponent hopes to elicite by his moves. When we think about the intentions of others when they take a certain position, we must think about what response they likely desire.
In this case, the proximity of this opponent and their patience indicate that they want us to make a move. We think that the moves of others require a response, but the best response is often no response at all. In this situation, this person wants to win a comparison, but this is because he feels safe from attack. He also feels that any comparison will damage our own positions in the minds of others more than it does his.
Changing Position
This specific example of an opponent’s attitude offers a more general lesson.
<This> <place> <reside> <change> <is>
He sometimes shifts the position of his camp.
We must always wonder why an opponent shift the positions of his resources. Each change of position indicates a change of thinking. This may tell us something about our opponent’s expected goals and about their intentions toward us.
Any change of position changes internal allocations of resources. This tells us something about their future intentions. People do not make such changes without a purpose. These changes usually mean a shift in how they plan to use their resources in the future. This information can often be useful.
<Advantage> <also>
He is looking for an advantageous position.
People only make changes to improve their existing conditions over time. We should only make changes to improve our existing positions. We are looking for advantages, opportunities that we may be missing. So are all of our competitors. We normally focus on our own opportunities, but, in this section of the book, we start thinking about the opportunities that others are seeking.
In trying to imagine these opportunities based upon the hints in their attitudes and their actions, we may find new opportunities for ourselves as well. In competition, we do not seek to block others from their pursuing their opportunities. That leads to unnecessary conflict. However, we always want to foresee them, especially when they are on the borders of our territory where we may have access to them as well.