Thursday, July 21, 2005

BingFa - "Art of War"

Bing Fa (pronounced as "bing fa3" in Mandarin Chinese language): roughly translated to mean "Art of War". Yes, this blog is all about thoughts, ideas and knowledge on war and military strategies, tactics, methods, etc.

You will find my point of views and writings on the 7 Military Classics of Ancient China:
  • Jiang Tai Gong Liu Tao (Tai Kung's 6 Strategies of War)
  • Si Ma Bing Fa (Ssu-Ma's Art of War)
  • Sun Zi Bing Fa (Sun Tzu's Art of War)
  • Wu Zi Bing Fa (Wu Tzu's Art of War)
  • Wei Liao Zi Bing Fa (Wei Liao-Tzu's Art of War)
  • Huang Shi Gong San Lue (The 3 Strategies of Huang Shih-Kung)
  • Tang Tai Zong, Li Wei Gong Wen Da Lu (Q&A Between Emperor Tai Tsung of the Tang Dynasty and Duke Li of Wei)
Other Chinese war treatises:
  • San Shi Liu Ji (36 Strategies)
  • Sun Bin Bing Fa (Sun Pin's Art of War)
  • Zhu Ge Liang Bing Fa (Zhu-Ge Liang's Art of War)
  • Mao Ze Dong Bing Fa (Mao Tze-Dong's Art of War)
And not forgetting other famous books on war strategies:
  • The Book of 5 Rings by Miyamoto Musashi
  • The Prince & The Art of War by Niccolo Machiavelli
And last but not least:
  • Hou Hei Xue (Thick Face, Black Heart Theory) by Li Zhong Wu & Chu Chin-Ning
  • Warrior of the Light by Paolo Coelho
  • Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chogyam Trungpa
  • Hagakure Kikigaki (葉隠-In the Shadow of Leaves) by Yamamoto Tsunetomo
  • On War ("Vom Kriege" in German) is a book on military strategy and tactics by Prussian general Karl von Clausewitz
Yep, the best way to prevent war is to understand em. As the famous war strategist of Ancient China (2000 years ago) said:
"Know your enemy, know yourself ... 100 battles, 100 victories".
- Sun Wu (Sun Zi)

And
"To defeat your enemy in every battle is good. But the sweetest victory is to subdue your enemy without going to war and without the loss of even one single life!"
- Sun Wu (Sun Zi)

I do not advocate nor do I support war. Why? Because war damages everyone involved. It is a Lose/Lose situation. Resources are depleted and wasted. Hundreds and thousands of lives are lost. Peoples suffer. Countries suffer. The whole WORLD suffer.

But I also believe that in order to PREVENT or AVERT war, we have to know about war. Understand war. Comprehend the minds behind why people choose conflict or negotiations. Know war strategies in order to counter em. And sometimes, the best defence is offence.

One should not go to war for any reason. One should not start a war for any reason. But should one be attacked, one should be ready.

http://BingFa.BlogSpot.Com
by CityHunterGatherer

ps. here's a nice list of military writers.