Giles:
Goldwater:
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Pin Yin
benevolence, courage, discipline.
| 將 | 者， | ||
| General |
| 智， | 信， | 仁、 |
| wisdom, | trustworthiness, | benevolence, |
| 勇、 | 严 | 也。 |
| courage, | discipline | . |
(The) general (displays) wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, (and) discipline.
(The) general (embodies the virtues of) wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, (and) discipline.
The general embodies the virtues of wisdom, trustworthiness, benevolence, courage, and discipline.
Comments:
1. The first pair of subdivisions of the unity of the Dao gave rise to a second pair of subdivisions. Yin developed some Yang, and Yang developed some Yin. These distinctions are known as Yang within Yin and Yin within Yang.
2. The first of these, the next subdivision of the Dao, gave rise to 3. In Chinese, these 3 are most often symbolized as Heavens, Earth, and Mankind. Mankind is last, but it symbolizes Yang within Yin; after all, earth (Yin) gave rise to mankind, which lives above (Yang to) it. Mankind symbolizes what is referred to as Yang within Yin.
3. In the notion of the Dao, mankind refers to unity, and thus to all of mankind. Here, however, we have a book written for the ruler by a general, discussing the general. Therefore, in this case mankind refers to a single person, the general. The general interacts with the forces of the heavens and the earth. The general’s behavior reflects his ability to generate harmony within the Dao, harmony within nature. If the general behaves in a way that is in harmony with the Dao, the army will behave as one, unified, and in harmony. Good behavior represents good harmony, which predicts good results. Bad behavior predicts bad results.
4. In order to create harmony between mankind and nature, Confucianism promoted what are known in Chinese as the ‘5 Constants’ (五常, wǔ cháng), or in English by such names as the ‘5 Constant Virtues’. These Confucian virtues are benevolence (仁, rén), sense of right and wrong (义, yì), courtesy (礼, lǐ), wisdom (智, zhì), and trustworthiness (信, xìn). Sunzi changed the order slightly, due to the focus of the book on war, and also replaced two of the Confucian virtues with others more suited for war.
5. The idea is that when the general’s behavior displays these virtues, it will promote harmony and unity within the army, according to the nature of the Dao.