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Chinese philosophy

Chinese philosophy is one of the oldest on the planet, its origin dates back
to tens of thousands of years, was transmitted by oral tradition and whose
historical written records date back to the 12th century B.C. with the I Ching, the
Book of Changes. One of the most accepted classifications is divided into four
large periods:

1. Shang dynasty: about the cyclical.

2. Period of classical Chinese philosophy: there arose Confucianism,
Taoism, Moism, Legism and the School of Names.
3. Qin Dynasty: which adopts legism as a philosophy pursuing and
criminalizing other practices.
4. Han Dynasty: which adopts Confucianism and Taoism as official doctrines,
its influence will continue to the present.

General concepts of Chinese philosophy:

• Tao (The way, or its doctrine)

• Of (virtue, energy)

• Li (beginning)

• Qi (Energy or vital force of matter)

• Taiji (Great divine axis) forms a unit, from which 2 concepts arise, the Yin and
the Yang.

• The name (míng 名) and what things really are （shí 實）

The big questions of Chinese philosophy are:

• The relationship between principle and matter.

• The method to discover the truth.

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• Human nature.

The great things in common of the different Chinese

philosophical doctrines are:

• Epistemological optimism: The belief that big questions have an answer even if
they cannot be answered now.

• The tendency to see man as part of nature.

• The tendency not to invoke a unified and personified supranatural force. The
questions about the nature and existence of God, which have so deeply
influenced Western philosophy, is hardly important in Chinese philosophy.

• The belief that the purpose of philosophy is to serve as a practical and moral
guide.

• Dealing with politics.

Of all this magnificent contribution to humanity this essay will focus on one
of his best-known books The Art of War by General and Strategist Sun Tzu who
lived approximately 2,500 years ago in ancient China, is one of the first treatises
on of war and military tactics as a science, its foundation is Taoist doctrine.

It states that war must be understood as a mechanism to achieve or protect

something of our interest, these being life, our people, our nation; likewise when
there is a conflict of interest between two or more parties at that time the war will
have started even if there has been no battle in the conventional way. This point
is important as it allows us to be alert and think clearly.

This treatise explains the nature of the conflicts by analyzing the best
alternatives of solution, minimizing the impact of the same, idealizing the way to
win without using force, that is, submitting your enemy through deception and
other alternatives, other important elements are defending the advantages, seize
opportunities, have clear goals, use of solid leadership.
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This document is divided into thirteen parts or chapters where the various
aspects and scenarios in which the conflict can occur are treated, as well as the
circumstances in which we find ourselves, some of these aspects are the
organization, planning, logistics (weapons and food) since these are
determinants in battle.

An interesting aspect of this document is that it gives importance to winning

by avoiding the battle, using strategy (high planning), for this Sun Tzu
recommends among some elements:

 Dismantle the plans of the enemy nations.

 Dissolve their alliances seeking their weakening.
 And finally if the above fails to attack his army.

To achieve the goals set, the author indicates that it is necessary to know
himself and the enemy, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of both sides we
will know what aspects to take, leading to invincibility. The treaty also exposes
the need to be flexible and adapt to the highly changed circumstances on the
battle stage, being attentive to the subtleties that arise.

Regarding the points that the author recognizes as vital to achieve success
we have: the terrain and weather conditions, the direction of the war, the
maneuver, the marches and the forms of attack.

From what is intuited that war is not an improvised event, that is, it must be
prepared for it, that is why analysis, planning and strategy are the most important
aspects, these elements are more important than an attack improvised, although
this is strong and aggressive can lead to failure, particularly the army of the 300
soldiers of Sparta, highly trained physically and intellectually for battle.

Sun Tzu’s Art of the War and its historical influence.

The first king to use this document in practice was Helu de Wu (514-495
BC), in his memoirs of record that “I use a text called the Art of War of one such
Sun Master of the State of Qi”, being Celebrate the anecdote of the training of
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the ladies of the palace for the defense of the palace, this based on an extreme
discipline.

This document was introduced in Japan in 760 a.C. achieving great

acceptance among the military of that country, it is estimated that his postulates
were used to achieve the General reunification such as Oda Nobunaga (1534-
1582), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) and Tokugawa Leyasu (1543-1616), its
was also employed by Admiral Togo Heihachiro (1848-1934) famous for
defeating Russia in the Japanese Russian War (194-1905).

This document was taken to the West by the Jesuit Joseph Marie Amiot
with the title “Chinese Military Arts”, in 1905 an officer British Everard Fergunson
made a partial translation into English under the title of “Book of War” and it was
only in 1910 when Lionel Giles published The first complete edition. In Europe
the influence of Sun Tzu is so clear that Napoleon Bonaparte wrote notes on his
personal book that is now studied in the most prestigious Military Academies of
the World, other generals influenced by Sun were the frenchman Antonie Jomini
who wrote books about the campaigns of Frederick the Great, the French
Revolution and Napoleons wars even published a text called "The Art of War" in
1838, the German Carl Von Clausewitz with his "Of The War" who tried to take
the war to the level of a science exact.

In the First World War (WWI) the british general Basil Liddel turned to Sun
Tzu and not the traditional Jomini and Clausewitz, in simple terms the strategy
consisted of direct attack and concentration of forces, which gave new impetus
to the already good reputation of the Chinese master.

Again in China the leader Mao Zedong attributed the victory over his
enemies thanks to the teachings of Sun, and in turn influenced the writings like
“Guerrilla War”, ideas that penetrated all the communists of the world. In Vietnam,
General Vo Nguyen Giap, the military brain after the victories, the invaders of
France and the United States of America was a public and well-known reader of
Chinese philosophy, especially the Art of the War of Sun, a defeat that attracted
so much to the American army. the attention that is now mandatory reading for
officers and is included in the training program of the Marine Corps of that nation.
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During the first gulf war (1990-1991) American generals Norman

Shwarzkopf and Collin Powell put into practice the principles of the Art of War
such as deception, speed, attack on the enemy's weak points. Mark McNeilly in
his book Sun Tzu and the Art of Modern Warfare states that the modern
interpretation of Sun Tzu and its importance in the development of China is vital
to understand why this nation is now the superpower of the 21st century.

The importance of this book lies in its timelessness since it adapts to all
times and the changes of means used to subdue the enemy, for example,
terrorism, the cold war and cyber wars, now more than ever that the problem is
settle more than ever in the field of deception, manipulation and misinformation,
because even Master Sun has applicability in the era of Fake News and
postmodernity.

Other applications of the Art of War by Sun Tzu

Although the book is intended to be applied in military conflicts, it can be

applied in other aspects of human society. For this, it is necessary to apply their
postulates not literally but in an analogous way through an abstraction.

Economy: from the text is extracted "the proximity of an army increases prices
and high prices deplete the substance of the people", which can be a very clear
antecedent of the economic laws of Adam Smith.

In business the following lessons are extracted:

 Win not only the best but who dominates the technique.
 Who knows how to fight and when not.
 Deliberately reflect before making a move.
 That your plans are dark, that is to say that others do not know.
 If you send reinforcements to all parties, you will be weak everywhere.
 Without venturing, you will never win

Chinese philosophy has made important contributions for millennia and the
Art of War is just a small appendix of it, China has contributed in this area -
philosophy - from social construction, religiosity, spirituality, the growth of
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wisdom. When you study you can see that they have positively influenced all
humanity in Christianity, the legalism of Hans Kelsen who arrived in Europe only
in the twentieth century and had already passed through China more than 2,000
years ago.

“If you know the enemy well and you know yourself well, you
don't have to fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know
yourself well, but not the enemy, for every victory you reach you
will also suffer a defeat. If you do not know the enemy or know
yourself, you will succumb in each battle.”