Foreword

Citation

(2008), "Foreword", Chinese Management Studies, Vol. 2 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/cms.2008.32302daa.001

Foreword

Article Type: Foreword From: Chinese Management Studies, Volume 2, Issue 4

On War: Sun Tzu, Clausewitz

Since an excellent review of the papers selected has been written for the first Special Conference Issue of Chinese Management Studies, I shall present a dialogue about the art of war. It is an imaginary conference.

Yes, between the greatest Chinese strategist, Sun Tzu and the most popular, Clausewitz from Europe. This dialogue, that captures the essence of strategic approach of both great masters, is authored by Piak Xiang Fu, who topped the 2008 Mind of Sun Tzu program at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

An imaginary conference

Piak Xiang FuClausewitz: [Smiling] Ah my good man, we meet again.Sun Tzu: [Bows respectfully] Indeed, it seems fated, is not it?Clausewitz: Frustrating is not it, for our earlier conversation to end so abruptly! Why do not we pick up from where we have left off before?Sun Tzu: I remember you are talking about our legacies. Works we both have left behind in the mortal realm.Clausewitz: You read my mind Sun Tzu! We had too much small talk previously. Our conversations then did not yield any fruitful results.Sun Tzu: [Looking into the distance] Perhaps, focusing on a particular object may cause you to neglect the more important things. [Shifts his glance back to Clausewitzagain]. Very well then, I believe we should start on the topic which has so greatly influenced both our lives.Clausewitz: [Smiling amiably] I am glad you see it my way. Now let us get started shall we?Sun Tzu: Certainly, Clausewitz.Clausewitz: Thank you. As I had mentioned in On War, I personally believe that war is a random affair and can be swayed by arbitrary factors. Sun Tzu as you are mycounterpart from the East, are your views different?Sun Tzu: I do see war quite differently from you, Clausewitz. There has to be certain requirements to be fulfilled before there can be war. For me, war has predictableoutcomes.Clausewitz: Indeed, such are your views!Sun Tzu: 2,500 years later, it is still the same.Clausewitz: Very well then. I believe that war is nothing more than a means to physically impose your will on your enemy. In On War, I wrote that war is but an extension of politics by other means.Sun Tzu: I remember that phrase well!Clausewitz: Just as in politics, the outcomes of wars are often uncertain. For there is often in any given situation a fog or moonshine shrouding it.Sun Tzu: Yes, I know and later generations of generals had caught on with this term “fog of war”.