The Art of War

Liu T’ao
.]
who had served under the Yin.
[There is less precision in the Chinese than I have thought it well to introduce
into my translation, and the commentaries on the passage are by no means
explicit. But, having regard to the context, we can hardly doubt that Sun Tzu is
holding up I Chih and Lu Ya as illustrious examples of the converted spy, or
something closely analogous. His suggestion is, that the Hsia and Yin dynasties
were upset owing to the intimate knowledge of their weaknesses and
shortcoming which these former ministers were able to impart to the other side.
Mei Yao-ch’en appears to resent any such aspersion on these historic names: "I

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Yin and Lu Ya," he says, "were not rebels against the Government. Hsia could
not employ the former, hence Yin employed him. Yin could not employ the
latter, hence Hou employed him. Their great achievements were all for the good
of the people." Ho Shih is also indignant: "How should two divinely inspired
men such as I and Lu have acted as common spies? Sun Tzu's mention of them
simply means that the proper use of the five classes of spies is a matter which
requires men of the highest mental caliber like I and Lu, whose wisdom and
capacity qualified them for the task. The above words only emphasize this
point." Ho Shih believes then that the two heroes are mentioned on account of
their supposed skill in the use of spies. But this is very weak.]
27. Hence it is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who
will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying
and thereby they achieve great results.
[Tu Mu closes with a note of warning: "Just as water, which carries a boat
from bank to bank, may also be the means of sinking it, so reliance on spies,
while production of great results, is oft-times the cause of utter destruction."]
Spies are a most important element in war, because on them
depends an army's ability to move.
[Chia Lin says that an army without spies is like a man with ears or eyes.]
[1] "Aids to Scouting," p. 2.
[2] "Marshal Turenne," p. 311.
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