Chinese
Classics
When
we think of classics, we tend to think of great epics or
novels. But in China, the classics are written essays, thought
by great thinkers, and the like. Here are some examples.
One
quote from the Analects of Confucius - The Master said,
"To rule a country of a thousand chariots, there must
be reverent attention to business, and sincerity; economy
in expenditure, and love for men; and the employment of
the people at the proper seasons."
Mencius
giving advice to a king - Your dogs and swine eat the food
of men, and you do not make any restrictive arrangements.
There are people dying from famine on the roads, and you
do not issue the stores of your granaries for them. When
people die, you say, "It is not owing to me; it is
owing to the year." In what does this differ from stabbing
a man and killing him, and then saying -- "It was not
I; it was the weapon?" Let your Majesty cease to lay
the blame on the year, and instantly from all the nation
the people will come to you.'
A
quote from Sun Tzu's the Art of War - All warfare is based
on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable;
when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we
are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away;
when far away, we must make him believe we are near.
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