Warfare in China to 1600 by Peter Lorge

Author:Peter Lorge
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Routledge

His action, however, is effective, that is, in his self-interest, only if it ultimately preserves the primordial harmony of Heaven and Earth; for actions contrary to this universal axiom only perpetuate the luan which gave rise to the original martial circumstances. "If [the employment of] soldiers does not accord with [the Way of] Heaven, one cannot move [them to victory]; if [the employment of] an army is not modeled on [the Way of] Earth, one cannot carry out punitive expeditions; if [the employment of] attack methods does not match [the Way of] man, one cannot be successful" (TPYC, 2.3a). In order for conflict to be diminished, the ch'i which makes up the particular permutation of the Heaven-Earth-man relationship must be metamorphosed by the psychicity of the exceptional general in such a way that one's own concentration of ch'i is maximized while that of one's adversary is neutralized or directed against itself. The chief effort, therefore, is toward the conservation of preexisting or future-desired homeostasis. Spatially this harmony offerees is ideally attained through the least expenditure of one's ch'i; temporally it is achieved by canalizing ch'i at certain perceived "points of actuation" (chi ), i.e., opportunities when ch'i may be optimally applied for conflict resolution.

Although the "metaphysical" view of martiality receives neither widespread stress nor complete coverage in the TPYC,21 the ideas of potency and awesomeness, which inform all the military treatises and are at the core of the conservationist impetus of the "metaphysical" view, are quite evident throughout. In accord with the covert nature of martial philosophy, as Li saw it, potency precludes the continuous manifestation of force. He drew upon the Kuo yü to illustrate: "The former kings manifested their virtue, but did not display their weapons. If weapons are stored away and only used on timely occasions, then when they are used they will be awe-inspiring. But if they are displayed, then they will [tend to] be overused. And if they are overused, then they will hold no terror."22 Wu in latency is of greater value in sustaining ch'i in homeostasis than wu in constant prominence, for martial force has its greatest effect when applied only at selected chi.

This notion of potency is important because it led to, or at least reinforced, what Li saw to be the cardinal need for normative standards in the dispensing of martiality. Battle is entered into not merely to conserve the uninflected ch'i which constitutes man, but to achieve certain moral purposes. Adversaries are defined by the degree of virtue, righteousness, "public-mindedness" (kung ), or "private-mindedness" (ssu ) they possess, and therefore victory in war, besides being a function of shen-ch'i, was seen by Li and his intellectual ancestors as a consequence of moral intent. According to this "ethical" view, potency exists to intimidate the obstreperous, and when necessary it. is activated to maintain the purity of a morally preferable status quo. "To lead a state's host as general, if you do not execute the overbearing, how can you forge the potency of the army?" (TPYC, 1.

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