The Use of Spies

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

4.9

Word count: 635 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Sun Tzu said: In general, when raising an army of one hundred thousand and marching a thousand li, the expenses of the common people and the outlays of the public treasury amount to a thousand pieces of gold a day. There is turmoil within and without; those exhausted on the roads and unable to attend to their work number seven hundred thousand households. They face each other for years in order to contend for victory on a single day, yet if one begrudges ranks and emoluments and a hundred pieces of gold and does not know the enemy's situation, this is the height of inhumanity. Such a person is no general for the people, no assistant to the ruler, no master of victory. Therefore, the enlightened ruler and the worthy general who move and overcome others, achieving success beyond the common run, are those who have foreknowledge. Foreknowledge cannot be obtained from ghosts or spirits, cannot be inferred from analogies to past events, cannot be verified by measuring the heavens. It must be obtained from people, from those who know the enemy's situation.

Editor's review

This book centers on the chapter "The Use of Spies" from The Art of War by Sun Tzu, presented in the 2024 edition by Ba-Shu Press. At its core is Sun Tzu's discussion of "foreknowledge": raising an army of one hundred thousand costs a thousand pieces of gold a day, and if one begrudges ranks, emoluments, and a hundred pieces of gold while failing to seek out the enemy's situation, one is inhumane, no general, no assistant, no master of victory. The text stresses that intelligence cannot be sought from ghosts or spirits, cannot be inferred by analogy from past events, cannot be verified by astrological measures; it must be obtained from people who know the enemy's situation. Its value lies in concentrating the ancient military thought on information, cost, and the use of people, compact in length yet dense in meaning. In reading, one sees Sun Tzu place intelligence at the center of wartime decision-making and use "begrudging ranks and emoluments and a hundred pieces of gold" to contrast the necessity of investing in spies; the language is concise and the logic advances layer by layer. It serves well as an entry point for close reading of The Art of War as a topic, and also for readers interested in classical strategy, organizational decision-making, and information judgment. The text is short and suited to repeated pondering; one should understand the relation between "the use of spies" and "foreknowledge" in context, and should not treat it as a modern management manual to apply directly.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in The Art of War and classical strategic thought
Students who need to closely read short classical Chinese texts and train textual analysis skills
Management readers concerned with information judgment and the cost of decision-making
General readers hoping to extract ways of thinking from traditional classics

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a modern guide to commercial espionage
Readers hoping for long stories or popular historical narratives
Readers without the patience for basic classical Chinese who seek light entertainment

Reading tips

Read the original text several times, mark key terms such as "foreknowledge," "the use of spies," and "begrudging ranks and emoluments and a hundred pieces of gold," and clarify the layers of argument.
Read alongside other chapters of The Art of War to understand the place of "the use of spies" in the book's overall strategic system.
After reading, retell in your own words Sun Tzu's judgment on the sources of intelligence to test whether you have truly understood it.
You may make brief notes in connection with real-life scenarios of information screening, but do not directly equate ancient military principles with modern management rules.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

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FAQ

What is the core argument of "The Use of Spies"?

The core is: enlightened rulers and worthy generals win because they have "foreknowledge" of the enemy's situation; foreknowledge cannot rely on ghosts or spirits, analogy, or astrological measures, but must be obtained from people who know the enemy's situation. Sun Tzu thus stresses the necessity of investing in intelligence and criticizes begrudging ranks and emoluments and a hundred pieces of gold while failing to seek out the enemy's situation.

Why is "begrudging ranks and emoluments and a hundred pieces of gold" called inhumane?

Sun Tzu first sets out the immense cost of raising an army of one hundred thousand, spending a thousand pieces of gold a day, and seven hundred thousand households unable to attend to their work, then points out that if one saves a small sum and fails to seek out the enemy's situation, causing the war to drag on or fail, the loss far exceeds the saving. "Inhumanity" is said from the perspective of the general's responsibility to the people and the state.

Is this book suitable for people with no foundation in classical Chinese?

The text is short but still classical Chinese; readers with no foundation may need annotations or a vernacular translation for support. If willing to read slowly and look up key terms, it can serve as close-reading material for short classical texts; if expecting easy reading, it is not very suitable.

What misunderstandings should be avoided when reading "The Use of Spies"?

One should not directly equate ancient military intelligence thought with modern commercial espionage methods, nor simply understand "the use of spies" as encouraging deception. It should be placed back in Sun Tzu's overall strategic context, with attention to his discussion of information, cost, and decision-making responsibility.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.