March 27, 2013
When I was in my undergraduate days, I used to love watching reruns of the show Gilmore Girls with my roommates (sometimes playing beer drinking games for the duration of hour). I was a big fan of the show; some days when I'm not subbing, I still watch an episode, but I've basically seen them all at this point. I've gotten into Amy Sherman-Palladino's newest show (on ABC Family), Bunheads, which basically has the same fast-paced and often silly humor of my old favorite, with some of the same acting talent (such as Kelly Bishop, who is fabulous, and Liza Weil, who is outrageous). It doesn't get as much promotion as certain other shows on the channel, but I've gotten to be a fan and will be looking forward to next season.
Okay, what was my point here? So on both of the shows, characters often make references to things in culture: popular culture, celebrities, literature. It's usually pretty smart humor. Both of the shows made similar references to The Art of War, in somewhat similar situations. On Gilmore Girls, main character Rory (here's how big of a fan of the show I am: that's what I named my dog), when having a confrontation with a bullying classmate who was messing with her and Weil's character, states that she's read The Art of War, to indicate that she knows how to deal with her. On Bunheads, Sasha's part in The Nutcracker is being threatened by a psychotic "ringer" ballerina, and Sasha tells her that she's read The Art of War. (Okay, seriously, that episode is completely amazing...seriously, watch it sometime).
Therefore, I had it in my head that this book would reveal some profound method of handling opponents. I guess that for its time, it did. After all, it was first written more than 2000 years ago. According to the introduction of the text, this was a time of turmoil in China, so warfare was common. Sun Tzu was a highly honored commander at this time. In this text, he introduces ideas about strategy that were highly relevant in his time, but the principals of which can still be applied to "warfare" (or really, any sort of competition) today.
I can basically sum up the important messages that I take away from the book with the following:
-Know your "enemy." Be able to anticipate how he/she/they will act or move next. This is the reason why, for example, football coaches and teams watch footage of their opponents. They get a feel for their moves, so that they're better able to call their own plays. Also...
-Make sure that they cannot anticipate your next move. Be stealthy; catch them by surprise.
-Know yourself, so that you're able to be aware of your tendencies, your weaknesses, and you can compensate for these and still have the upper-hand.
-Always act calmly. Sun Tzu refers to commanders acting by strategy, not out of emotion (which, of course, rarely ever works out) to ensure victory, and respect from their troops. The chapters on commanding of troops applied most to my life, I guess, because I could see how a lot of that would apply to teachers gaining respect from their students (ie, not being too lenient, always acting fairly and consistently, caring genuinely about them, rewarding them appropriately)
-Think before you act. That's a life lesson for everyone. Be aware of your surroundings. Don't act if it could be you in danger or negative consequence of some sort. Weigh the pros and cons of every action.
-When faced with a dangerous situation and no way out...fight for your life.
-Be prepared. Anticipate your needs.
I think that basically sums up the important life lessons to draw away from the text (and the book itself was much shorter than I imagined...according to the introduction, only about 6000 characters in the ancient Chinese it which it was written). There were certainly many details that were no longer applicable to warfare of any kind, but those bigger lessons, about poise and preparedness and intelligent action, will always be relevant. A lot of those things almost seemed too obvious as I was reading them, but I'm sure that this sort of organized thinking and logic was fairly innovative for its time. Again, according to the introduction, this text came out around the same time that Confucius and other Chinese philosophers were first influencing society. This is ancient stuff here, older than the New Testament. I personally think it's pretty amazing that this book is being read and translated and studied to this very day.
However, I don't feel like I'd be any more prepared to take on any bitches who try to get up in my grill.
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This is apparently an image of Sun Tzu. I studied Chinese history very, very briefly on a study abroad trip there (and Tibet) in my undergrad days. In those three weeks, we barely scratched the surface, its history is so rich. Damn, in American public schools we can't even properly get through less than 500 years of history, and the Chinese have thousands of years to cover.
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