Military Ethics
297. From the point of morphology, the Chinese character for “military” is Wu 武, formed by using two words: “Stop”—Zhi 止, and “Dagger-axe”—Ge 戈. It was said that after King Wu defeated King Jie of the Shang dynasty, the Zhou people wrote the Hymn of Zhou which said: “Store the dagger-axe and put the arrows back in their quivers.” Therefore, military was used mainly to stop riots, end wars, maintain peace, establish meritorious achievements, bring peace to the people, maintain harmonious ties with other nations and to enrich resources. The hymn was recorded as a reminder for future generations to take note of this lesson.
Scroll 5: Chun Qiu Zuo Shi Zhuan, Vol. 2
298. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.
Scroll 33: Sun Zi Bing Fa
299. Wherever a benign army was stationed there would be stability and peace. Wherever it passed by people would be transformed. Like a rainfall that arrived at the right time and place, none would be displeased. Immediate neighbors admired their kindness and people from afar praised their virtues. They won the battle even without starting a war and gained the allegiance of those from far and near. When the attainment of virtues could be cultivated to such a high level, blessings would spread far and wide to the four corners of the kingdom.
Scroll 38: Sun Qing Zi
300. A sage-ruler would resort to military armaments not because he liked declaring wars, but to stop horrendous violence and rebellions. Crusading against evil by waging a righteous war is like breaking a dam and pouring water to extinguish a tiny speck of fire, or like pushing an object that is about to fall from the edge of a cliff. Victory is inevitable.
Scroll 40: San Lüe
301. However huge a country may be, if it goes on warmongering, it would eventually be destroyed; while peaceful as it may seem, a country that neglects readiness for war will face impending danger.
Scroll 18: Han Shu, Vol. 6
302. The saying that “After a war, bad times will follow” means that war will bring sorrow to the people and upset the harmonious balance between heaven and earth as well as the Yin and Yang energies. Although a war has been won, the country will still experience hardship, and disasters and abnormal phenomena would follow.
Scroll 19: Han Shu, Vol. 7