Abstract
This article questions a prevailing view that the Sunzi advocates the su strategy (seeking quick victory) and opposes the jiu strategy (gradually exhausting the enemy through protracted warfare) or, at the very least, advocates the su strategy and opposes the jiu strategy in the study of how best to make war on an enemy. By means of a study of the contents of the Sunzi and the war practice of the Sanguo (Three Kingdoms) period, the argument here is that the prevailing view is unconvincing. The Sunzi is in favor of neither the su nor the jiu strategy, but in fact values bian (“flexibility and adaptability”). A commander should flexibly select his strategies between su and jiu according to the varying situations. This principle was widely applied by top Sanguo commanders during their training for war.
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