ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by noting Sun Pin's own observations on the general's character and qualifications, although presented in terms of problems posed by three major deficiencies. Wisdom, courage, and knowledge of the Tao are commonly found in the discussions of military writers; Sun Pin's unique insight lies in tying the latter to battle experience. Sun Pin again advises segmenting the army into three forces, employing one as an active strike force, while keeping two of them in reserve. As mentioned in the Historical Introduction, Sun Pin appears to have been the first to employ the "subtracted reserve" in his campaigns. The chapter discusses the importance of conforming the formation, the disposition of the force components, to the terrain's configuration. Sun-tzu had previously classified the commonly encountered configurations of terrain according to their defining features and discussed appropriate tactical measures for both engaging the enemy and temporizing.
