[spoiler] SERENITY IN SUN TZU'S ART OF WAR- CONTAINS LOTS OF MOVIE SPOILERS !! [/spoiler] by roboz

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[spoiler] SERENITY IN SUN TZU'S ART OF WAR- CONTAINS LOTS OF MOVIE SPOILERS !! [/spoiler]

POSTED BY: ROBOZ
UPDATED: Monday, October 10, 2005 18:23
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Monday, October 10, 2005 1:58 PM

CAUTION- CONTAINS SERENITY MOVIE PLOT SPOILERS

Ni Hao,

I was browsing through my copy of Sun Tzu's The Art Of War t'uther day and ran across some amusing quotes, well, maybe only amusing to me in a general Sinophilic way, and in the context of the multicultural Firefly verse!

I seem to recall first reading Sun Tzu not long after hearing it quoted in the first Season Next Generation episode The Last Outpost, way back in the late 80s, early 90s. Although I did English Literature in school there's still a powerful lot of my early mainstream reading choices that have been inspired by following up quotes from Star Trek and other genre sources. Who says S.F ain't educational!

Anyway, perhaps Mal's done more reading than just poetry!

EDITION REFERENCED. SUN TZU: THE ART OF WAR. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS. TRANSLATED BY SAMUEL B. GRIFFITH. 1971. ISBN 0-19-501476-6.

There's an Ancient Chinese Proverb that states: "You can prove anything with Ancient Chinese Proverbs". Ahem! Sail on....

SUN TZU'S ESSAY ON MANOEUVRE #23 "In good order they await a disorderly enemy; in serenity, a clamorous one. This is control of the mental factor."

Tu Mu, a later commentator, adds: "In serenity and firmness they are not destroyed by events."

Sun Tzu's essays on The Art Of War were written in China more than 2000 years ago and retain a good deal of tactical relevance to this day; or at least some of the 20th and 21st century military and business gurus seem to think so. (Which may or may not be an endorsement!)

Just for fun, I started looking for Sun Tzu principles which might apply to the events in Serenity, and as with all stories that have a military component there are easy parallels to be drawn. If sometimes the fit is awkward blame the colorful Chinese translations!

It's hard to say how much Sun Tzu is reflected in the work of the Firefly verse's Shan Yu ("War Stories"), who probably shouldn't be confused with the Hunnish war chief of the same name in Disney's Mulan! Athough, Shan Yu (which can also be read as chanyu) is also a generic term for warlord anyway.
The Firefly dictator was apparently a psychopath who fancied himself an expert on torture and interrogation, and a bit of a writer as well, seeing as how he left behind some rather pithy sayings! "Live with a man forty years. Share his house, his meals, and speak on every subject. Then tie him up and hold him over the volcano's edge, and on that day, you will finally meet the man." That kind of pleasant outlook makes me wonder if Shan Yu is also meant to be the source of the Assassin's quotation, "If your quarry goes to ground, remove the ground."

To begin our observations of the Sun....

ESSAY ON WAGING WAR #15 ".....the wise general sees to it that his troops feed on the enemy..." Serenity's raid on the Bank Vault purdy much fits the bill there.

ESSAY ON ESTIMATES #26 "Attack where he is unprepared; sally out when he does not expect you." Partially describes Mal's cunning plan to sick the Reavers on the Alliance Fleet! The fedcoats were prepared for Mal but not for him to bring Company. Mal, with his series of improvised ruses, makes use of ESTIMATES #17 "All warfare is based on deception."

ESSAY ON OFFENSIVE STRATEGY #3 "...To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill." Mal's broadcast of the Awful Truth would qualify, in a sideway's fashion, as not fighting. Also, he leaves the bulk of the battling to the Reavers, who'd probably thank him for the chance if they weren't homicidal maniacs and not long on gratitude. Also, isn't one of the boxes in the cargo hold labelled "ACME"? (Okay, kidding!)

The Assassin, on the other hand, does not seem to be as studious; perhaps he's more of a warrior-poet and prefer's Musashi's Book Of Five Rings? (If so, perhaps he does not fully understand how to use both large and small forces, as OFFENSIVE STRATEGY ESSAY #26 recommends as being a requirement for being a victorious general?) He more or less disregards OFFENSIVE STRATEGY ESSAY #1 "Generally in war the best policy is to take a state intact; to ruin it is inferior to this." Removing the ground that your quarry goes to ground on would be considered inferior, especially since it's all happening, more or less, to people and territory that could perhaps be considered to fall within the Alliance's own domain.

Mind, you could say the Assassin does the next 'best' thing. #5 "...disrupt his alliances". Killing everything living anywhere Serenity sort a Safe Harbour is certainly disruptive! (Though turnabout is fairplay, and when it comes to the Alliance being disrupted Mal goes one up!) Regarding the strategy of blockading Mr Universe's planet the commentators might perhaps also approve.

"Look into the matter of his alliances and cause them to be severed or dissolved" (Wang Hsi) and Tu Yu:

"Do not allow your enemies to get together."

Incidentally, the bloody handed Mao Tse-Tung made much of being a student (and the natural philosophical descendant) of Sun Tzu. Mao, like the Alliance, with it's disasterous PAX experiment, also caused the deaths of many multiple millions of his own citizens with his devastating Great Leaps Forward.

Mr Assassin also didn't pay heed to ESSAY ON MARCHES #45. "In war, numbers alone confer no advantage. Do not advance relying on sheer military power." (Well, okay, they're defending Mr Universe's planet, blockading the transmitter on the expectation that Serenity will show up, but still...) Even more telling is, #46 "It is sufficient to estimate the enemy situation correctly and to concentrate your strength to cpature him....he who lacks foresight and underestimates his enemy will surely be captured by him."

The Alliance Fleet prevails against the bulk of the Reavers, or at least survives driving them off (or maybe the Reavers just broke for lunch....ewww!) but a battle won is not the war. Perhaps the Assassin was relying upon OFFENSIVE STRATEGY #28 "He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious" to come into play.

ESSAY ON MARCHES #2 "Fight downhill; do not ascend to attack." Applicable to
holding the orbital High Ground? The Assassin's Fleet, actually has the tables turned on them. They hold the High Ground around Mr Universe's planet, but Mal and the Reavers jump them from higher still!

After everyone has calmed down, made friends, and dang near taken a house by the seaside together, the Assassin at least cleaves to ESSAY ON WAGING WAR #19 "Treat the captives well, and care for them," though perhaps not for the pragmatic purpose that commentator Chang Yu attributes to the aphorism, "All the soldiers taken must be cared for with magnimity and sincerity so that they may be used by us." The Alliance's new troubles, since the disillusioned Assassin is no longer a loyal servant, are ironically reflected in OFFENSIVE STRATEGY #27. "He whose ranks are united in purpose will be victorious." The Alliance is no longer united, but perhaps they truly never were...

Ultimately, one of the Alliance's big mistakes is summed up in MARCHES #50 "When orders are consistently trustworthy and observed, the relationship of a commander with his troops is satisfactory." Tha Assassin just ain't satisfied!

I also kind of like this one for skewed reasons too-

ESSAY ON OFFENSIVE STRATEGY #33 "If ignorant of both the enemy and yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril." It's interesting that once Mal and Co. learn the truth they stop being on the back foot and start taking the battle to the enemy. But, actually, what I liked was Li Ch'uan's commentary on #33. "Such people are called 'mad bandits'...."

Yep. Reckon that's about the size of it!

Cheerio

Rob Jan
Zero-G: Science Fiction, Fantasy & Historical
Radio Show
3RRR FM
New Melbourne
Check out my Interview With Joss at:
(CONTAINS MOVIE SPOILERS!)
rrr.org.au

Wo shuo de quan shi zhen de, pian ni shi xiao gou! (What I said is entirely true. If I lied, may I turn into a little dog.)

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Monday, October 10, 2005 2:20 PM

THEPYRO

wow..............thats FREAKIN AWESOME! Holy shit you know your stuff, i love this kinda stuff, and i've always wanted to read Sun Tzu's Art of War.....But i've never had the chance.....All i can say is GOOD Analagys. And i can definatly see Joss using some of those stratigies when writing, giving it....culture(perhaps)not sure if that the right word. Anyway....very nice...

The Pyro - 1 l0\/3 53r3n1ty!

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Monday, October 10, 2005 2:32 PM

DONCOAT

Very cool. Thanks, roboz.

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Monday, October 10, 2005 2:46 PM

ROBOZ

To DonCoat & ThePyro

Shieh-shieh folks, thankee kindly!

As Joss said during my interview when I complimented him, "Undeserved but I'll accept it anyway and tell all my friends." (They should call him Joss 'Deadpan' Whedon!)

Stripped of the commentaries The Art Of War is
actually a pretty short read. Reckon someone has it stashed online in a convenient format. Can also recommend Musashi's The Book Of Five Rings, though that's more relevant to individual swordsmanship. Again, I do wonder if the Assassin was too much a warrior and not enough of a soldier...but then his lack was Mal's gain, so I won't get too teary eyed about it!

Cheerio

Rob Oz

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Monday, October 10, 2005 6:23 PM

LIMINALOSITY

Quote:
Originally posted by roboz:
CAUTION- CONTAINS SERENITY MOVIE PLOT SPOILERS

ESSAY ON OFFENSIVE STRATEGY #33 "If ignorant of both the enemy and yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril." It's interesting that once Mal and Co. learn the truth they stop being on the back foot and start taking the battle to the enemy. But, actually, what I liked was Li Ch'uan's commentary on #33. "Such people are called 'mad bandits'...."

Wo shuo de quan shi zhen de, pian ni shi xiao gou! (What I said is entirely true. If I lied, may I turn into a little dog.)

Thank you for this. The last bit is my favorite.
I tried reading Sun Tzu years ago after reading something about the battle of Dien Bien Phu, but I got bogged in the commentary, and by an ethos that says taking power over others is the worst kind of wrong. I'll try your edition, and ignore the extraneous.

"Sorry dad, the independents attacked us with dinosaurs." -Simon

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