510　　｜　　Wu　makes　a　successful　attack　on　Yueh。　　This　is　the　first
  ｜　　　　war　between　the　two　states。
  509　　｜
  or　　｜　　Ch‘u　invades　Wu；　but　is　signally　defeated　at　Yu…chang。
  508　　｜
  506　　｜　　Ho　Lu　attacks　Ch‘u　with　the　aid　of　T‘ang　and　Ts‘ai。
  ｜　　　　Decisive　battle　of　Po…chu；　and　capture　of　Ying。　　Last
  ｜　　　　mention　of　Sun　Wu　in　SHIH　CHI。
  505　　｜　　Yueh　makes　a　raid　on　Wu　in　the　absence　of　its　army。　　Wu
  ｜　　　　is　beaten　by　Ch‘in　and　evacuates　Ying。
  504　　｜　　Ho　Lu　sends　Fu　Ch‘ai　to　attack　Ch‘u。
  497　　｜　　Kou　Chien　becomes　King　of　Yueh。
  496　　｜　　Wu　attacks　Yueh；　but　is　defeated　by　Kou　Chien　at　Tsui…li。
  ｜　　　　Ho　Lu　is　killed。
  494　　｜　　Fu　Ch‘ai　defeats　Kou　Chien　in　the　great　battle　of　Fu…
  ｜　　　　chaio；　and　enters　the　capital　of　Yueh。
  485　　｜
  or　　｜　　Kou　Chien　renders　homage　to　Wu。　　Death　of　Wu　Tzu…hsu。
  484　　｜
  482　　｜　　Kou　Chien　invades　Wu　in　the　absence　of　Fu　Ch‘ai。
  478　　｜
  to　　｜　　Further　attacks　by　Yueh　on　Wu。
  476　　｜
  475　　｜　　Kou　Chien　lays　siege　to　the　capital　of　Wu。
  473　　｜　　Final　defeat　and　extinction　of　Wu。
  The　sentence　quoted　above　from　VI。　ss。　21　hardly　strikes　me
  as　one　that　could　have　been　written　in　the　full　flush　of　victory。
  It　seems　rather　to　imply　that；　for　the　moment　at　least；　the　tide
  had　turned　against　Wu；　and　that　she　was　getting　the　worst　of　the
  struggle。　　Hence　we　may　conclude　that　our　treatise　was　not　in
  existence　in　505；　before　which　date　Yueh　does　not　appear　to　have
  scored　any　notable　success　against　Wu。　　Ho　Lu　died　in　496；　　so
  that　if　the　book　was　written　for　him；　it　must　have　been　during
  the　period　505…496；　when　there　was　a　lull　in　the　hostilities；　　Wu
  having　presumably　exhausted　by　its　supreme　effort　against　Ch‘u。
  On　the　other　hand；　if　we　choose　to　disregard　the　tradition
  connecting　Sun　Wu's　name　with　Ho　Lu；　it　might　equally　well　have
  seen　the　light　between　496　and　494；　or　possibly　in　the　period
  482…473；　when　Yueh　was　once　again　becoming　a　very　serious　menace。
  ＇33＇　　We　may　feel　fairly　certain　that　the　author；　whoever　he　may
  have　been；　was　not　a　man　of　any　great　eminence　in　his　own　day。
  On　this　point　the　negative　testimony　of　the　TSO　CHUAN　far
  outweighs　any　shred　of　authority　still　attaching　to　the　SHIH　CHI；
  if　once　its　other　facts　are　discredited。　　Sun　Hsing…yen；　however；
  makes　a　feeble　attempt　to　explain　the　omission　of　his　name　from
  the　great　commentary。　　It　was　Wu　Tzu…hsu；　he　says；　who　got　all
  the　credit　of　Sun　Wu's　exploits；　because　the　latter　　（being　an
  alien）　was　not　rewarded　with　an　office　in　the　State。
  How　then　did　the　Sun　Tzu　legend　originate？　　It　may　be　that
  the　growing　celebrity　of　the　book　imparted　by　degrees　a　kind　of
  factitious　renown　to　its　author。　　It　was　felt　to　be　only　right
  and　proper　that　one　so　well　versed　in　the　science　of　war　should
  have　solid　achievements　to　his　credit　as　well。　　Now　the　capture
  of　Ying　was　undoubtedly　the　greatest　feat　of　arms　in　Ho　Lu's
  reign；　　it　made　a　deep　and　lasting　impression　on　all　the
  surrounding　states；　and　raised　Wu　to　the　short…lived　zenith　of
  her　power。　　Hence；　what　more　natural；　as　time　went　on；　than　that
  the　acknowledged　master　of　strategy；　Sun　Wu；　should　be　popularly
  identified　with　that　campaign；　at　first　perhaps　only　in　the　sense
  that　his　brain　conceived　and　planned　it；　afterwards；　that　it　was
  actually　carried　out　by　him　in　conjunction　with　Wu　Yuan；　＇34＇　　Po
  P‘ei　and　Fu　Kai？
  It　is　obvious　that　any　attempt　to　reconstruct　even　the
  outline　of　Sun　Tzu's　life　must　be　based　almost　wholly　on
  conjecture。　　With　this　necessary　proviso；　I　should　say　that　he
  probably　entered　the　service　of　Wu　about　the　time　of　Ho　Lu's
  accession；　　and　gathered　experience；　though　only　in　the　capacity
  of　a　subordinate　officer；　during　the　intense　military　activity
  which　marked　the　first　half　of　the　prince's　reign。　＇35＇　　　If　he
  rose　to　be　a　general　at　all；　he　certainly　was　never　on　an　equal
  footing　with　the　three　above　mentioned。　　He　was　doubtless　present
  at　the　investment　and　occupation　of　Ying；　　and　witnessed　Wu's
  sudden　collapse　in　the　following　year。　　Yueh's　attack　at　this
  critical　juncture；　when　her　rival　was　embarrassed　on　every　side；
  seems　to　have　convinced　him　that　this　upstart　kingdom　was　the
  great　enemy　against　whom　every　effort　would　henceforth　have　to　be
  directed。　　Sun　Wu　was　thus　a　well…seasoned　warrior　when　he　sat
  down　to　write　his　famous　book；　which　according　to　my　reckoning
  must　have　appeared　towards　the　end；　rather　than　the　beginning　of
  Ho　Lu's　reign。　　The　story　of　the　women　may　possibly　have　grown
  out　of　some　real　incident　occurring　about　the　same　time。　　As　we
  hear　no　more　of　Sun　Wu　after　this　from　any　source；　he　is　hardly
  likely　to　have　survived　his　patron　or　to　have　taken　part　in　the
  death…struggle　with　Yueh；　which　began　with　the　disaster　at　Tsui…
  li。
  If　these　inferences　are　approximately　correct；　there　is　a
  certain　irony　in　the　fate　which　decreed　that　China's　most
  illustrious　man　of　peace　should　be　contemporary　with　her　greatest
  writer　on　war。
  The　Text　of　Sun　Tzu
  …
  I　have　found　it　difficult　to　glean　much　about　the　history　of
  Sun　Tzu's　text。　　The　quotations　that　occur　in　early　authors　go　to
  show　that　the　〃13　chapters〃　of　which　Ssu…ma　Ch‘ien　speaks　were
  essentially　the　same　as　those　now　extant。　　We　have　his　word　for
  it　that　they　were　widely　circulated　in　his　day；　　and　can　only
  regret　that　he　refrained　from　discussing　them　on　that　account。
  Sun　Hsing…yen　says　in　his　preface：
  During　the　Ch‘in　and　Han　dynasties　Sun　Tzu's　ART　OF　WAR
  was　in　general　use　amongst　military　commanders；　but　they　seem
  to　have　treated　it　as　a　work　of　mysterious　import；　and　were
  unwilling　to　expound　it　for　the　benefit　of　posterity。　　Thus
  it　came　about　that　Wei　Wu　was　the　first　to　write　a　commentary
  on　it。
  As　we　have　already　seen；　there　is　no　reasonable　ground　to
  suppose　that　Ts‘ao　Kung　tampered　with　the　text。　　But　the　text
  itself　is　often　so　obscure；　and　the　number　of　editions　which
  appeared　from　that　time　onward　so　great；　especially　during　the
  T‘ang　and　Sung　dynasties；　that　it　would　be　surprising　if　numerous
  corruptions　had　not　managed　to　creep　in。　　Towards　the　middle　of
  the　Sung　period；　by　which　time　all　the　chief　commentaries　on　Sun
  Tzu　were　in　existence；　a　certain　Chi　T‘ien…pao　published　a　work
  in　15　CHUAN　entitled　〃Sun　Tzu　with　the　collected　commentaries　of
  ten　writers。〃　　There　was　another　text；　with　variant　readings　put
  forward　by　Chu　Fu　of　Ta…hsing；　which　also　had　supporters　among
  the　scholars　of　that　period；　but　in　the　Ming　editions；　Sun　Hsing…
  yen　tells　us；　these　readings　were　for　some　reason　or　other　no
  longer　put　into　circulation。　　Thus；　until　the　end　of　the　18th
  century；　the　text　in　sole　possession　of　the　field　was　one　derived
  from　Chi　T‘ien…pao's　edition；　although　no　actual　copy　of　that
  important　work　was　known　to　have　survived。　　That；　therefore；　　is
  the　text　of　Sun　Tzu　which　appears　in　the　War　section　of　the　great
  Imperial　encyclopedia　printed　in　1726；　the　KU　CHIN　T‘U　SHU　CHI
  CH‘ENG。　　Another　copy　at　my　disposal　of　what　is　practically　the
  same　text；　　with　slight　variations；　is　that　contained　in　the
  〃Eleven　philosophers　of　the　Chou　and　Ch‘in　dynasties〃　　＇1758＇。
  And　the　Chinese　printed　in　Capt。　Calthrop's　first　edition　is
  evidently　a　similar　version　which　has　filtered　through　Japanese
  channels。　　So　things　remained　until　Sun　Hsing…yen　＇1752…1818＇；　　a
  distinguished　antiquarian　and　classical　scholar；　who　claimed　to
  be　an　actual　descendant　of　Sun　Wu；　＇36＇　accidentally　discovered　a
  copy　of　Chi　T‘ien…pao's　long…lost　work；　when　on　a　visit　to　the
  library　of　the　Hua…yin　temple。　＇37＇　　Appended　to　it　was　the　I
  SHUO　of　Cheng　Yu…Hsien；　mentioned　in　the　T‘UNG　CHIH；　　and　also
  believed　to　have　perished。　　This　is　what　Sun　Hsing…yen　designates
  as　the　〃original　edition　（or　text）〃　　a　rather　misleading　name；
  for　it　cannot　by　any　means　claim　to　set　before　us　the　text　of　Sun
  Tzu　in　its　pristine　purity。　　Chi　T‘ien…pao　was　a　careless
  compiler；　　and　appears　to　have　been　content　to　reproduce　the
  somewhat　debased　version　current　in　his　day；　without　troubling　to
  collate　　　it　　　with　the　earliest　　　editions　　　then　　　available。
  Fortunately；　　two　versions　of　Sun　Tzu；　even　older　than　the　newly
  discovered　work；　were　still　extant；　one　buried　in　the　T‘UNG　TIEN；
  Tu　Yu's　great　treatise　on　the　Constitution；　the　other　similarly
  enshrined　in　the　T‘AI　P‘ING　YU　LAN　encyclopedia。　　In　both　the
  complete　text　is　to　be　found；　though　split　up　into　fragments；
  intermixed　with　other　matter；　and　scattered　piecemeal　over　a
  number　of　different　sections。　　Considering　that　the　YU　LAN　takes
  us　back　to　the　year　983；　and　the　T‘UNG　TIEN　about　200　years
  further　still；　to　the　middle　of　the　T‘ang　dynasty；　the　value　of
  these　early　transcripts　of　Sun　Tzu　can　hardly　be　overestimated。
  Yet　the　idea　of