Dao is causing the common people

Critical Text

Yinqueshan Text

道者,令民與上同意者也,故可與之死，可與之生，民弗詭也

Shiyijia zhu Text

道者，令民與上同意也，故可與死，可與之生，而不畏危

Translation

Dao is causing the common people to have the same purpose as their superiors. Thus they can die with them, live with them, and not deceive them.

Annotations

The received texts conclude with some variant of er bu wei wei 而不畏危, which we might render as "and not fear/not be anxious." The Yinqueshan text has instead er fu gui 而弗詭, "and not deceive him." Whereas the first is intelligible, the latter reading is more persuasive, since the thrust of this section is how the leader instills unity of purpose, even to death, in his troops. In this regard it matters less if they are afraid (see chapter 6) than if they conceal their state of mind from their leader.

What is this dao ? Though some modern scholars still attempt to link it with Laozi, we would do better to consider it in the context of other Masters texts. For example, the Guanzi states: "Dao is the means whereby superiors can lead ( dao 導) the common people" ("Junchen, part one" 君臣上 [Lord and minsters], section 30; Guanzi , 101a; cf. Allyn Rickett, Guanzi, p. 403). The Xunzi records a fictional debate between Xunzi himself and a caricature of the Sunzi general. Xunzi gives himself this opening line: "As for the dao of the ancients that I have heard: in the employment of troops, the basis for combat lies in unifying the people" ("Yibing" 議兵 [Debating the Military], chapter 15--cf. John Knoblock, Xunzi [Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1990], pp. 219). The text continues, "That which I teach [dao, used here verbally] is the military of the man of humanity (renren zhi bing 仁人之兵)."

We have seen this philosophical use of dao in the opening lines of the text, which says that the military "is the dao of survival and extinction." Here, though, the Sunzi is engaging a powerful play of words, using dao equally in its military sense as dao 導, "to lead, leadership." Thus it states that "Leadership is what causes the people to have the same intention as their superior." This depends on a unity that cannot be imposed from outside. It arises when all are in tune with the larger order that " dao " implies. The word ling is the occasion for another word play. As well as meaning "cause," it is also the common word for a military order. Thus we might also translate this sentence as "Leadership is what orders . . . ."