The influence of the art of traditional warfare campaigns of Mao Zedong
Appeared in the early '70s, Chess Mao's original The protracted Gamble (The game lasted) written by researcher Scott A. Boorman, suddenly roused the attention of some Sinologists and many scholars of military strategy that dealt with the affairs of China, and the lovers of strategy games in general. The work had, in fact, raised the concerns of some and the enthusiasm of others, not only because an ancient strategy game, as the wei-ch'i, looks similar to our chess, would be to basic military strategy and politics of a modern country, but because this approach has traditionally been ascribed to who was considered one of the greatest revolutionaries and iconoclasts of the twentieth century: Chairman Mao Zedong.
On the other hand, many and circumstantial evidence brought by the author in support of its argument, seemed to leave no doubt that a careful analysis of the Maoist military strategy effectively allowed to find many points of contact between the approach of strategic play most aristocratic of the East and the strategy and tactics utilized by the Chinese Communist Party to deal with, ring, capture the enemy, to seize large areas of land and to control other remote, just like a game of wei-ch'i.
probably depended on the grounds were very surprised by the ignorance of most Western analysts, little versed in Chinese strategic thinking, and their inability to understand the characteristics of the Maoist revolution, rather than an abnormal behavior of the Great Helmsman and its military cadres.
would be sufficient to refer to some tactical and strategic behavior of the Chinese army, as they emerge from a few short steps removed from the works of Mao, to understand as it is not possible apart from models of strategic behavior deeply rooted in traditional thinking: think of the typical tactic of the Maoist insurgency, according to which the enemy had to be pushed on their land, then divided into small groups, only to be attacked by superior force , or to create impregnable bases, difficult to attack by large regular forces, and compare with some of the concepts expressed in the work of Sun Zi, The Art of War.
According to Sun Zi, when someone attacks, you need only resist, to wear down the opponent because the attacker is exposed to the possibility of defeat, while the ideal is to win without fighting. As a military option, we must act with subtlety and cunning, dividing the enemy forces so they can be tackled with ease: "The enemy must not know where I'm going to battle, because if I want to know where battle is forced to prepare in many places. And when it is prepared in many places, those I'll have to beat in one place will be few. " (2)
Speaking of the enemy, he also argues that "if its forces are inferior to yours, you have to resist the attack; If they are higher, you have to avoid it. " And again: "Resistance is a defect attack, an excess," "Experts in the art of resistance lie in the most remote folds of the land," "Experts in the art of combat is set up impregnable ground, never misses a chance to conquer the enemy. "
Next, as regards the relationship with the people, Sun Zi is very clear: "The way is nell'incitare people to share ideas of the rulers so that they can assist them in death and in life, so it will not fear danger. " Use of the resources of the enemy: "An intelligent commander tries to steal food from the enemy. One container of food the enemy is equivalent to twenty of us; a single container of forage, twenty of our (...). During a battle wagon, reward the man who first captures ten or more. Change the flags and insignia of the wagons and include them [in your army]. " Finally, with regard to prisoners, puts it thus: "Be nice to the soldiers and prisoners Feed them."
Let's read what some of the shows Mao in his famous ten operational postulates (1947): (1) "strike first isolated and dispersed forces; attacked only after the bulk of enemy forces", (2) "Take the first small and medium-sized cities and large rural areas, only then take over the big cities "(5)" Do not fight no battle unprepared and do not fight no battle you are not sure of winning, make every effort to assure the victory in the given conditions "(4)" In every battle, concentrate an absolutely superior force (two, three, four and even five or six times the force of the enemy), encircled enemy troops completely (...). Strive to avoid battles of attrition in which we lose more than they earn, or we even defeated "(9)" Replace your strength with all weapons and most of the captured enemy personnel. The main sources of supply in materials and are effective in the face. "
Selected Writings of Mao
In this note we also find on the prisoners, which underlines the same principle of Sun Zi: "To effectively implement these thoughts we must proceed with a fundamental attitude ... respect for the human dignity of prisoners of war once which have lowered weapons. Wrong those who see this as a matter of technique and not as a basic attitude, and should correct their way of thinking "(Mao Zedong, selected writings, vol. II, p. 246). In the same volume of Selected Writings, we find the position to be taken by the militants of the Party to the people: "Our work should not consist merely in reciting to the people our political program, because no one would hear our words, we should instead tie the developments of the war and the lives of soldiers and the people, transforming the political mobilization in a smooth motion. "
Reference wei-ch'i
In the works of Mao are indeed often explicit or indirect references to the game and the strategy of wei-ch'i. In May 1938, in his essay "Problems of Strategy in the guerrilla war against Japan," Mao wrote, for example: "There are two forms of encirclement by the forces of the enemy and two forms of encirclement by us, just as in game of wei-ch'i. The campaigns and battles fought by both sides look like the capture of pieces of each and the displacement of fortresses from the enemy bases and guerrilla warfare on our part similar to the moves used to dominate spaces on the board. E 'in the matter of "dominate space" that proves the great role of the guerrilla bases located behind enemy lines. " A typical observation
wei-ch'i is instead reported in the following passage, which the author mentions in chapter III: "We can make a major campaign of encirclement and annihilation initiated by the enemy against us in a number of small and divided encirclement campaigns undertaken by us against the enemy. "
An education at the same time, modern and traditional
deny the important role of traditional training Mao means to want to forget that he, born to a peasant family of small business, after an initial phase in which the education was added to the daily work with his father, had decided to continue studying on their own, assisted by two tutors private, preferring the love of learning any other task. In fact, after leaving school at the age of thirteen in 1907 and worked full time in his father until 1910, Mao left Shaoshan, Hunan rural village where he was born in 1893 and moved to Xiantang , county seat will be here in polite letters - we would say today - modern and topical issues from a law student, and instruct a senior scholar in the classics, that Mao was able to study carefully and with deep interest. Following will be the story to attract her curiosity, so that, upon graduation, teach this discipline for a time at a middle school. Later, you will pay for editorial and journalistic activities, remaining in both literary and in the more important for him to politics and sociology. Throughout his life, finally, do not stop to compose verses in classical style, that would seem ill-suited to the impending revolution that has contributed decisively to overthrow the system of traditional China at the time of the Cultural Revolution.
Among the most studied and is known by Mao in the first place, The King, the masterpiece of divination - the classic Chinese philosophical thinking that underlies most of the later works of Chinese literature. Secondly, surely, the work of Sun Zi, The Art of War, mastered by all educated Chinese, and in a piecemeal fashion and in the form of maxims, even from the great mass of Chinese people. Not Finally, the corpus of Confucian writings (as, perhaps, negative) and, especially for some remarkable connections between the concept of inactivity Taoist and Chinese military thinking, the Taoist writings.
To better understand the thinking behind the work King, which could form the basis of the first traditional Chinese thought to strategic military base that speculation because of the tradition of wei-ch'i, we see what are the characteristics of the work and his philosophy. The
The King, the foundation of all I
The King (or Book of Changes) is a collection of oracles and explanations on how to deal with different life events, especially in the development and came to us in the comments attributed (especially in the West) to Confucius. The attribution to Confucius is very doubtful, not only because, in any case, we have not signed pieces or definitely attributed to him (if one can speak of Confucian school, with its own version of I impostasi King for political reasons ), but also because other major schools, such as Taoist, were (and are) directly involved in the commentary and the transmission of the teachings of the I King.
The work itself is divided into two sections: in one of the oracles are real, with information on divination with three bundles of coins or yarrow stalks, in the other, are given short explanatory sentences. The origins of the section on oracles probably get lost in prehistory, and are to be found in the practice of response based on a double chance to answer yes or no, perhaps written on a piece of string with a knot or two nodes. The positive response was also indicated with a horizontal line whole, while the negative one with a broken horizontal line in the middle by a space, or approached by two short horizontal lines (as if to say yes a hit or a stretch, no knock or two two sections). Soon (as some claim, probably correctly, from the beginning) the minimum starting structure was that consists of eight trigrams. Subsequently, the complexity of the issues must have given rise to the need for other lines (whole or broken), until reaching the current system, very complex, consisting of three horizontal lines of 8 characters each. These are doubled (six lines each) and combined to form a total of 64 figures.
The Western tradition, especially modern, is based on the concept of substance as a fundamental starting point of all speculation. The vision underlying the eastern part of the divination of the I King instead a vision of the existence of a mainly dynamic: what matters is only what is happening and what is being transformed. All reality is seen as a continuous transformation of a situation to another, so you can not establish, once and for all, what a thing is absolute, but only what it is at a given when and if it is changing - or not. This approach is possible because the material dimension of existence is nothing but a projection, or rather, the translation of a series of transformations that occur in intangible: there is another reality, made up of principles spiritual which is the basis of everything that happens in our dimension. After all, this is, in this second case, a setting very close to that of the old traditional thinking of the West (think Plato's Timaeus) and medieval history, which sees the material world, the final structure of the principles of other (mathematical relationships, geometric figures), which directly influence. The symbols of I then the King would be more direct translation, geometrically and tangible of these spiritual principles, of which they form the photo at the exact moment the oracle. Translated into political and military terms, this world view leads to the following concepts:
1. there is no absolute victory or absolute defeat, everything is constantly changing so what is apparently a defeat can be turned into a win and vice versa;
2. in terms of space, the center and the periphery have relative value: if the goal is the conquest of territory, what is central, apparently more important (city, industrial centers) has less space what is peripheral (large areas of the border, the enormous campaigns) on the basis of the foregoing, what is peripheral can then become more important than what is central
3. since the Yin and Yang are in each other and their quantity can affect the dynamics of things, increase the amount of a principle in the other may lead to a significant transformation of the events and introduce unit operating in the enemy camp (for example, enemy in the rear) can create imbalances that eventually may lead to reverse the polarity of the situation;
From a historical perspective, the Book of Changes is associated with five Traditional Chinese characters: the mythical Fu Xi, King Wen, his son, the Duke of Ch'ou, Lau Tzu and Confucius. Probably, the award to Fu Xi of the first characters of the I King aims to survey the antiquity. Next, we recall two collections of oracles, composed, probably, from basic features already linked together by Lian Shan, the Xia dynasty, and K'ue Cang, the Shang Dynasty. The edition with 64 signs is probably due to the King Wen, the signs that would integrate with short sentences of comment. More extensive comments regarding individual signs would then be added by the son of Wen, the Duke of Ch'ou. The great Chinese thinker Confucius I would have the King directly from one of the greatest Chinese philosophers of all time, Lau Zi, and you would be interested in commenting on these ancient texts, as reported by the Confucian school, in this bitterly fought by other schools, a part. There are known several other comments of a later period, however, only partially preserved.
A thesis defensible?
The careful analysis of the work of Boorman leads us to ask a fundamental question: the arguments advanced are still viable in light of recent studies on the history of the conquest of power by the Chinese Communist Party? I would answer in a provocative way: today Is it possible to doubt some views of the author not so much according to recent studies on modern strategy of Communist China, but on the basis of a study of its most famous Chinese classics. Works such as The King and the Art of War by Sun Zi allow us to understand that the similarities found between the game of wei-ch'i and the conquest of power by the Chinese Communist Party are not the result of a direct influence of game strategy and military policy pursued since 1927 to end the civil war, but the result of a cultural common ground, starting from I King, has given rise to both strands, and the strategic operations - such as military that of Sun Zi, is the strategic game of wei-ch'i.
We will be able to see more than the text of the interview released by the Chinese scholar Nan Jin Xi, a scholar of traditional Chinese medicine, deep knowledge of the I King, whose father had served as minister in the government of Mao Zedong from which it clear that it is not so much (or only) the wei-ch'i to influence contemporary Chinese military strategic thinking, just as all the classical Chinese civilization that created the rules of personal conduct, social, military and are in wei-ch'i, the highest form Coding abstract.
On the other hand, the wei-ch'i has been completed in a period of continuous warfare, so the common elements of the entire philosophical tradition, social, merged in ancient Chinese military strategy game considered the pastime your favorite strategists and generals. In this regard, it is indicative that the list of disciplines practiced by the educated class Chinese wei-ch'i was only after the music (the most important disciplines, able to move the mind and soul) and was followed calligraphy (union of thought and representation) and painting (the most intuitive interface between these disciplines accessible to more people). Unlike chess, either in Chinese than in Western Europe, the wei-ch'i was not a job where he could engage the general public, lots of wei-ch'i lasted, in fact, even whole days, and were therefore the prerogative of a class of nobility or military might have the necessary time.
Breaking a spear but also in favor of the author's thesis, let me conclude by presenting a brief mention of the utmost importance for understanding how the wei-ch'i, in its Japanese form (Go) were cultivated and studied mainly by the military class in the Far East. In the bibliography, Boorman reported that Stewart Culin, in his work of the late nineteenth century (Korean Games, with Notes on Corresponding Games of China and Japan, Philadelphia, 1895, reprinted in 1958), wrote: "The game of Go is extremely popular in Japan nowadays, and it is played by the military by profession who see it as an exercise in military tactics and very instructive for the art of war. "
(...)
Interview with Nan Xi Jin (3)
What is the meaning and importance of the game of wei-ch'i in traditional thinking Chinese?
"The wei-ch'i game is considered a fairly high level, suitable for people of a certain culture. The traditional system of China, were the four major disciplines covered by the high end of Chinese society: first, the music, which is not only a discipline related to hearing, but to sophisticated processes that regulate the vibration it is the practice of internal Qi. Thus, the wei-ch'i, writing and painting. The order of importance is decreasing, so we see how the wei-ch'i has an important role, coming second behind the music. His value was essentially didactic. The wei-ch'i
is considered far superior to the art of painting because it was considered too subjective and direct, accessible to all. Writing, however, performed with the brush, as well as having a notional, such as painting, should have a soul, a spiritual dimension. The figurative dimension is always present in the characters, some of which are still easily recognizable objects are represented: for example, through the ideogram shui, which means the water. The wei-ch'i is considered one of the most important lessons in it because there are the basic concepts of traditional Chinese thought, as the opposition between yin and yang, represented by the black and white pieces, as well as all the events that occur on the board. It represents the entire universe, both in space and in time: for example, the 361 intersections of the board symbolize the 361 days of the Chinese, while the rounded, semi-spherical, individual pieces of the universe takes the time , as was originally intended, as seen from our dimension. For these reasons, those who study the wei-ch'i know the Chinese philosophy in its entirety. There is also a sociological dimension, interpersonal the game of wei-ch'i: two are the contenders and the moves of one, the counter-match the other: how will the other choices I made? The study of warfare is based on the analysis then the psychology of both sides. "
When was the wei-ch'i, and such occasions?
"The wei-ch'i was born in a very troubled, marked by constant wars, and is based in particular on the study of strategy.
From this analysis it was shown how wars are won not only by the number of its soldiers, but, for example, according to the location that you had. The fundamental principles were those consisting of five key points that will be defined by Sun Zi: The Way (Tao), weather (t'ien), soil (ti) General (chiang), the tactic (ago) .
The game dates from the end of the dynasty Ch'ou (lasting from about the eleventh century BC to 256 BC). Around 475 BC the first period of the dynasty ends and another begins. Between 770 BC and 475 BC are located some of the greatest thinkers of Chinese thought (as Lau Zi, Confucius, Sun Zi). The work of Sun Zi (Sun Authoritative) is actually divided into two parts: one composed by an ancestor, another by his nephew (five generations later). As we know from history, this troubled period was marked by 500 years of wars, during which the game theorists were able to refine it and bring it to high levels of strategy. The first source of the thought of wei-ch'i, who was of a philosophical, in particular related to the E King, turned around this time in an exercise in military strategy. On the other hand, as always with Chinese dates, it is difficult to trace to the source before the wei-ch'i: even if some say you can place it around 4000 years ago, its development dates back to typical about 2500 years ago. " You can
argue that this traditional view and, in particular, that relating to the wei-ch'i, it is kept up to date, or something has changed?
"Compared to the ancient times there was a big change. The game is a lot of people fell into account. We passed the second most important discipline of classical training in a game, similar to that of chess. In the ancient world the wei-ch'i was fundamental to fill the role of minister, as governor of a region, it was necessary to have an excellent knowledge of the game. Nowadays there is no longer, as before, a real examination of wei-ch'i, it is nevertheless thought that it embodied. In this way, who wants to study this traditional thinking, should study this game.
Formerly the wei-ch'i was not widespread among the people and was the prerogative only of intellectuals. After the last dynasty of China and the proclamation of the Republic (1912), had fallen completely the need of the official teachings of the wei-ch'i, and no longer required the student to understand so thoroughly the game. The consequence is that his practice has moved to amateur enthusiasts who study and practice games with purpose. Under Mao, finally, it was come to classify the game of wei-ch'i as a sport, with the organization of tournaments, but eliminating it features more closely Military Strategy. "
The poor dissemination of knowledge of wei-ch'i is linked to a number of reasons: first, it is not a compulsory subject (as was in the past), and second, it takes a long time (even days and days), something that even in the past could afford only the monks, the rich, or ministers of a certain level. "
Formerly this practice was practiced primarily by strategic commanders, generals, people who belong in any case the upper class of Chinese society. He met by chance strategists, generals, politicians Chinese who have dedicated themselves with passion to this game?
am the daughter of a politician who has served as minister in the government of Mao, and I met a Maoist general of the gun that was believed to be one of the greatest masters of wei-ch'i. This means that even during the Communist period, there were strategy (however few) aware of the typical strategies of wei-ch'i. On the other hand, the first generation of Communists had been born and lived more in touch with traditional knowledge.
Scott A. Boorman, in his book Chess Mao says that the strategy followed by the Maoist revolution has been, in some way affected by the setting of strategic wei-ch'i. According to the author, not only there would be numerous references to the wei-ch'i in the writings of Chairman Mao, but there is also a practical translation of the strategy of wei-ch'i in numerous military campaigns and foreign policy in China at the . What is your opinion of them?
know the book but I have not had a chance to read it, so I can not give a specific opinion on it. But on this, just think that Mao had a classical education, then the game of wei-ch'i belonged to that type of teaching. Poetry and writing were considered by him - as well as the first generation of Communists - the best disciplines. As far as I know in my lifetime I can not confirm that the relationship between Mao and the wei-ch'i were very close. Even my grandfather, who was born in 1895 (two years after Mao) has never heard that Mao was a fan of this game or that he played with some minister who was very close to my father. The two arts he loved was his poetry and writing.
Regarding the strategies applied in its conquest of power, you can find many points of contact with The Art of War by Sun Zi. Thus, the common ground exists, but not directly, and there is no evidence that testify to a particular fondness for Mao's wei-ch'i, or the application of the typical strategies of the game for military operations. On the other hand, the best way to study the art of war is to practice the wei-ch'i: it is all over the battlefield, with rivers, mountains, soldiers, armies, movements, time, in great detail. I, however, confirm that Mao knew very well the King, and who knows The King has a thorough understanding of the art of war. The same Sun Zi has made use of the E King, and, because the King is the trunk of the whole Chinese culture, his work, The Art of War is only a branch of the same tree. In my opinion, for these reasons, Mao was much closer to the work of Sun Zi wei-ch'i, even if he knew the wei-ch'i and knew how to play. "
The last question I ask: apart from the works we have seen (The King, Sun Zi), what other important texts of the classical Chinese tradition continue to exert some influence on Chinese thought today, and how?
"All of these works, along with others, are now part of mainstream culture in China: for example, is typical of this culture also use the art of war in everyday things. The works do not are perhaps fully investigated or known by heart, but many proverbs, expressions of wisdom, everyday behavior, ultimately go back to this traditional knowledge. For example, "Who enjoys happy," is the translation of a thought right Lau Zi. Art of War by Sun Zi, usually, people do not know both the original text, believed to be difficult, but the content summary in so-called Thirty-six military strategies, often used in everyday life. Among these, the strategy I quote: "The flight is the best thing," something that was often practiced by Mao in the war while undermining opponents referring to concepts as diverse traditional Western art of war. The same thing happened to many Chinese general who had studied abroad (for example, in France, Belgium or the Netherlands) when they were in contact with the strategies of Mao remained completely baffled. It was not perhaps of profound strategic concepts, but of simple maxims military successfully applied in many theaters of war: China, Vietnam, Korea. Follow the course of your nature in that moment and in that space (typical traditional teaching), results in setting typical of traditional, often repeated by Mao: If we win, we fight, if you lose, retire. Another maximum derived from the Art of War di Sun Zi - e spesso utilizzata - è: vince chi conosce se stesso e chi conosce l'altro.
Oggi, il successo dell'Arte della Guerra (anche nel mondo occidentale) è dovuto soprattutto ai suoi risvolti in campo economico: molti economisti, finanzieri o commercianti, traggono non pochi insegnamenti dallo studio di alcune strategie dell'Arte della Guerra. Per esempio, come non è necessariamente vincente chi ha tanti soldati, ma chi sa usarli meglio, così nell'economia moderna non è vincente chi ha tanti soldi, ma chi li sa usare meglio. La formica può mangiare l'elefante, se sa giocare bene le proprie carte!". (4)
Notes 1) Introduction (apparent contradiction) work Scott A. Boorman, Chess Mao, Luni Editrice, Milano 2004 .
2) This and subsequent quotations are taken from the Art of War by: Sun Tzu, The Art of War, edited by Leonardo Vittorio Arena, BUR, Milano 1997.
3) Nan Jin Xi, born in Hebei (China) on 14.04.1948, married, two children. She has been trained in traditional Chinese medicine along with some of the leading exponents of traditional Chinese disciplines. Deep knowledge of the I King, operates as a popularizer of traditional Chinese thought in China and abroad. The father served as minister during the presidency of Mao Zedong.
4) Interview by Nan Jin Xi, with the participation of the child as a translator Jin, Milan, June 7, 2004.
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