Chapter[ VIII. VARIATION IN TACTICS
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VIII. VARIATION IN TACTICS
[The heading means literally "The Nine Variations," but as
Sun Tzu does not appear to enumerate these, and as, indeed, he
has already told us (V SS. 6-11) that such deflections from the
ordinary course are practically innumerable, we have little
option but to follow Wang Hsi, who says that "Nine" stands for an
indefinitely large number. "All it means is that in warfare we
ought to very our tactics to the utmost degree.... I do not know
what Ts`ao Kung makes these Nine Variations out to be, but it has
been suggested that they are connected with the Nine Situations"
- of chapt. XI. This is the view adopted by Chang Yu. The only
other alternative is to suppose that something has been lost--a
supposition to which the unusual shortness of the chapter lends
some weight.]
Item[ 1. Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives his
commands from the sovereign, collects his army and concentrates
his forces.
[Repeated from VII. ss. 1, where it is certainly more in
place. It may have been interpolated here merely in order to
supply a beginning to the chapter.]
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