Battle at Ease

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJul 2024

3.8

Word count: 113 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

In any battle against the enemy, one must not grow lax because of one's own victory; rather, one should be all the more strict and vigilant in awaiting the enemy—relaxed yet still laboring. As the maxim says: Preparedness averts peril.

Editor's review

"On Relaxation in War" addresses an easily overlooked question: what to do after winning a battle. The original text explicitly opposes slackening one's vigilance because of victory, arguing that the more favorable one's position, the more one must tighten precautions—resting while awaiting the enemy yet never truly at ease. It closes by citing "preparedness averts peril," drawing the dialectic of rest and toil back to the awareness of readiness. The value of this passage lies not in offering concrete tactics but in reminding readers that victory itself can become the starting point of complacency, and that maintaining vigilance is the precondition of enduring security. Its expression is concise and its logic clear, making it suitable as extended reading alongside ancient military maxims and as a lens for thinking about "post-victory management" in everyday decisions. The Bashu Publishing House edition makes the original text accessible to readers. Note that the passage is brief and offers only a principled warning without concrete defensive measures; readers should not apply it simplistically to complex real-world situations.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in ancient military thought and traditional maxims
Students of literature and history seeking short classical Chinese texts for close-reading practice
Readers concerned with post-victory mindset and risk prevention who enjoy aphoristic reflection

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking concrete defensive measures and operational steps
Readers who prefer lengthy exposition and require support from a complete system

Reading tips

First identify the contrast in the original between "growing lax because of victory" and "being all the more strict," and understand what the author's warning is directed at.
Place "relaxed yet still laboring" alongside "preparedness averts peril" and, in your own words, summarize the relationship between them.
After reading, recall an experience of "slackening after victory" and test the boundaries of this principle's applicability in life.

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
逸战

FAQ

What is the core argument of "On Relaxation in War"?

The core argument is that one must not relax vigilance because of victory. The original text holds that even after defeating the enemy in battle, one should treat the enemy with even greater severity, achieving "relaxed yet still laboring," and concludes with "preparedness averts peril."

How should "relaxed yet still laboring" be understood?

It can be understood as: even when in a relatively comfortable and favorable position, one must maintain a state of diligent vigilance and not slacken because circumstances have improved. It emphasizes a mental refusal to relax, not literal physical exertion.

Is this material suitable as an introduction to classical Chinese?

It can serve as short close-reading material, but the original is extremely brief and lacks context; beginners would do best to use it alongside annotations and a translation. Its advantage is that the sentences are short and the key terms stand out, making the contrasts easy to grasp.

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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.