Advancing to Battle

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaAug 2024

1.6

Word count: 407 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

This is a treatise on military strategy recorded in the ancient Chinese military text Hundred Strategies of Warfare, intended to explain under what conditions one may adopt an offensive mode of fighting. It holds that when it is clearly known that the enemy can be defeated, one should promptly and without losing the opportunity launch an attack on the enemy, and thus victory can be achieved. This chapter quotes the phrase "advance when possible" from the Zuo Zhuan, meaning that when one finds an opportunity to defeat the enemy, one should promptly launch an attack. The "possible" spoken of here has two meanings: one concerns the comparison of forces, the other the choice of timing. That is to say, when in the comparison of forces between the two sides one already possesses superior strength capable of defeating the enemy, one should choose the best time and without losing the opportunity launch an attack on the enemy. Clearly, this chapter takes "advance when possible" as its basis and, following "On Attack," further expounds from the angle of seizing the moment the guiding principle of offensive operations, which is undoubtedly correct.

Editor's review

This book is selected from the 2024 Bashu Shushe edition of Hundred Strategies of Warfare and is devoted specifically to the offensive principle of "advance when possible"; it is concise in length and concentrated in argument. Its value lies not in providing specific details of troop deployment but in thoroughly explaining the judgment of "when to fight": first, on the basis of the comparison of forces, confirm that one already possesses superiority sufficient to defeat the enemy; then move to the choice of timing, stressing that when an opportunity for victory is found, one must act swiftly and not miss the moment. The text quotes the Zuo Zhuan as its basis and echoes the chapter "On Attack," supplementing the guiding principles of offensive operations from the angle of seizing the moment, with a clear logical thread. In reading, one sees that the ancients discussed warfare with attention to the unity of "conditions" and "timing" rather than offering vague talk of courage and cowardice. For general readers today, it can also be read as a short text on decision-making: first judge whether conditions are ripe, then discuss whether action should be resolute. It is suitable for close reading paragraph by paragraph in quiet moments, together with other chapters of Hundred Strategies of Warfare for comparison.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in ancient Chinese military texts who wish to begin with short pieces to understand Hundred Strategies of Warfare
General readers who like to draw ideas about decision-making and timing from classical texts
Readers who need short classical Chinese readings for self-study or as teaching supplements
Beginning students of ancient military thought interested in formulations of offensive principles

Not a good fit for

Professional military readers expecting modern tactical details, combat cases, and practical plans
Readers with weak classical Chinese who do not wish to use annotations and hope for easy, quick reading

Reading tips

First read the original text and annotations to understand the two meanings of "possible" in "advance when possible": the comparison of forces and timing.
Read this chapter alongside "On Attack" to sort out how the two chapters connect in their principles of offense.
After reading, write a summary of about one hundred words in your own words to check whether you have grasped the main point of "act swiftly once conditions are ripe."

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.

版权信息
进战

FAQ

What exactly does "possible" in "advance when possible" mean?

The information points out that "possible" has two meanings: one concerns the comparison of forces, namely that our side already possesses superior strength sufficient to defeat the enemy; the other concerns the choice of timing, namely that one should choose the best time to launch an attack. Together, this means acting only when both conditions and timing are ripe.

What is the relationship between this chapter and "On Attack"?

This chapter follows "On Attack" and further expounds, from the angle of seizing the moment, the guiding principles of offensive operations. Both discuss offense, but this chapter focuses on answering "when may one advance," supplementing the principles of offense.

Which classic work does this military treatise mainly quote?

This chapter quotes the phrase "advance when possible" from the Zuo Zhuan as the basis for its entire argument, explaining that when one finds a possibility of defeating the enemy, one should promptly launch an attack.

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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.