these　early　transcripts　of　Sun　Tzu　can　hardly　be　overestimated。
  Yet　the　idea　of　utilizing　them　does　not　seem　to　have　occurred　to
  anyone　until　Sun　Hsing…yen；　acting　under　Government　instructions；
  undertook　a　thorough　recension　of　the　text。　　This　is　his　own
  account：
  Because　of　the　numerous　mistakes　in　the　text　of　Sun　Tzu
  which　his　editors　had　handed　down；　the　Government　ordered
  that　the　ancient　edition　＇of　Chi　T‘ien…pao＇　should　be　used；
  and　that　the　text　should　be　revised　and　corrected　throughout。
  It　happened　that　Wu　Nien…hu；　the　Governor　Pi　Kua；　and　Hsi；　　a
  graduate　of　the　second　degree；　had　all　devoted　themselves　to
  this　study；　probably　surpassing　me　therein。　　Accordingly；　　I
  have　had　the　whole　work　cut　on　blocks　as　a　textbook　for
  military　men。
  The　three　individuals　here　referred　to　had　evidently　been
  occupied　on　the　text　of　Sun　Tzu　prior　to　Sun　Hsing…yen's
  commission；　　but　we　are　left　in　doubt　as　to　the　work　they　really
  accomplished。　　At　any　rate；　the　new　edition；　　when　ultimately
  produced；　appeared　in　the　names　of　Sun　Hsing…yen　and　only　one　co…
  editor　Wu　Jen…shi。　　They　took　the　〃original　edition〃　　as　their
  basis；　and　by　careful　comparison　with　older　versions；　as　well　as
  the　extant　commentaries　and　other　sources　of　information　such　as
  the　I　SHUO；　　succeeded　in　restoring　a　very　large　number　of
  doubtful　passages；　　and　turned　out；　on　the　whole；　what　must　be
  accepted　as　the　closes　approximation　we　are　ever　likely　to　get　to
  Sun　Tzu's　original　work。　　This　is　what　will　hereafter　be
  denominated　the　〃standard　text。〃
  The　copy　which　I　have　used　belongs　to　a　reissue　dated　1877。
  it　is　in　6　PEN；　forming　part　of　a　well…printed　set　of　23　early
  philosophical　works　in　83　PEN。　＇38＇　　It　opens　with　a　preface　by
  Sun　Hsing…yen　（largely　quoted　in　this　introduction）；　　vindicating
  the　traditional　view　of　Sun　Tzu's　life　and　performances；　　and
  summing　up　in　remarkably　concise　fashion　the　evidence　in　its
  favor。　　This　is　followed　by　Ts‘ao　Kung's　preface　to　his　edition；
  and　the　biography　of　Sun　Tzu　from　the　SHIH　CHI；　both　translated
  above。　　Then　come；　firstly；　Cheng　Yu…hsien's　I　SHUO；　　＇39＇　　with
  author's　preface；　and　next；　a　short　miscellany　of　historical　and
  bibliographical　information　entitled　SUN　TZU　HSU　LU；　compiled　by
  Pi　I…hsun。　　As　regards　the　body　of　the　work；　　each　separate
  sentence　is　followed　by　a　note　on　the　text；　if　required；　and　then
  by　the　various　commentaries　appertaining　to　it；　　arranged　in
  chronological　order。　　These　we　shall　now　proceed　to　discuss
  briefly；　one　by　one。
  The　Commentators
  Sun　Tzu　can　boast　an　exceptionally　long　distinguished　roll
  of　commentators；　which　would　do　honor　to　any　classic。　　Ou…yang
  Hsiu　remarks　on　this　fact；　though　he　wrote　before　the　tale　was
  complete；　　and　rather　ingeniously　explains　it　by　saying　that　the
  artifices　　　of　war；　　being　inexhaustible；　　must　therefore　　　be
  susceptible　of　treatment　in　a　great　variety　of　ways。
  1。　　TS‘AO　TS‘AO　or　Ts‘ao　Kung；　afterwards　known　as　Wei　Wu　Ti
  ＇A。D。　　155…220＇。　　There　is　hardly　any　room　for　doubt　that　the
  earliest　commentary　on　Sun　Tzu　actually　came　from　the　pen　of　this
  extraordinary　man；　whose　biography　in　the　SAN　KUO　CHIH　reads　like
  a　romance。　　One　of　the　greatest　military　geniuses　that　the　world
  has　seen；　and　Napoleonic　in　the　scale　of　his　operations；　he　was
  especially　famed　for　the　marvelous　rapidity　of　his　marches；　which
  has　found　expression　in　the　line　〃Talk　of　Ts‘ao　Ts‘ao；　and　Ts‘ao
  Ts‘ao　will　appear。〃　　Ou…yang　Hsiu　says　of　him　that　he　was　a　great
  captain　who　〃measured　his　strength　against　Tung　Cho；　Lu　Pu　and
  the　two　Yuan；　father　and　son；　and　vanquished　them　all；　　whereupon
  he　divided　the　Empire　of　Han　with　Wu　and　Shu；　and　made　himself
  king。　　It　is　recorded　that　whenever　a　council　of　war　was　held　by
  Wei　on　the　eve　of　a　far…reaching　campaign；　　he　had　all　his
  calculations　ready；　those　generals　who　made　use　of　them　did　not
  lose　one　battle　in　ten；　those　who　ran　counter　to　them　in　any
  particular　saw　their　armies　incontinently　beaten　and　put　to
  flight。〃　　　Ts‘ao　Kung's　notes　on　Sun　Tzu；　　models　of　austere
  brevity；　are　so　thoroughly　characteristic　of　the　stern　commander
  known　to　history；　that　it　is　hard　indeed　to　conceive　of　them　as
  the　work　of　a　mere　LITTERATEUR。　　Sometimes；　　indeed；　　owing　to
  extreme　compression；　they　are　scarcely　intelligible　and　stand　no
  less　in　need　of　a　commentary　than　the　text　itself。　＇40＇
  2。　　MENG　SHIH。　　The　commentary　which　has　come　down　to　us
  under　this　name　is　comparatively　meager；　and　nothing　about　the
  author　is　known。　　Even　his　personal　name　has　not　been　recorded。
  Chi　T‘ien…pao's　edition　places　him　after　Chia　Lin；and　Ch‘ao　Kung…
  wu　also　assigns　him　to　the　T‘ang　dynasty；　＇41＇　but　this　is　a
  mistake。　　In　Sun　Hsing…yen's　preface；　he　appears　as　Meng　Shih　of
  the　Liang　dynasty　＇502…557＇。　　Others　would　identify　him　with　Meng
  K‘ang　of　the　3rd　century。　　He　is　named　in　one　work　as　the　last　of
  the　〃Five　Commentators；〃　the　others　being　Wei　Wu　Ti；　Tu　Mu；　Ch‘en
  Hao　and　Chia　Lin。
  3。　　LI　CH‘UAN　of　the　8th　century　was　a　well…known　writer　on
  military　tactics。　　One　of　his　works　has　been　in　constant　use　down
  to　the　present　day。　　The　T‘UNG　CHIH　mentions　〃Lives　of　famous
  generals　from　the　Chou　to　the　T‘ang　dynasty〃　as　written　by　him。
  ＇42＇　　According　to　Ch‘ao　Kung…wu　and　the　T‘IEN…I…KO　catalogue；　he
  followed　a　variant　of　the　text　of　Sun　Tzu　which　differs
  considerably　from　those　now　extant。　　His　notes　are　mostly　short
  and　to　the　point；　and　he　frequently　illustrates　his　remarks　by
  anecdotes　from　Chinese　history。
  4。　　TU　YU　（died　812）　did　not　publish　a　separate　commentary
  on　Sun　Tzu；　　his　notes　being　taken　from　the　T‘UNG　TIEN；　　the
  encyclopedic　treatise　on　the　Constitution　which　was　his　life…
  work。　　They　are　largely　repetitions　of　Ts‘ao　Kung　and　Meng　Shih；
  besides　which　it　is　believed　that　he　drew　on　the　ancient
  commentaries　of　Wang　Ling　and　others。　　Owing　to　the　peculiar
  arrangement　of　T‘UNG　TIEN；　he　has　to　explain　each　passage　on　its
  merits；　apart　from　the　context；　and　sometimes　his　own　explanation
  does　not　agree　with　that　of　Ts‘ao　Kung；　whom　he　always　quotes
  first。　　Though　not　strictly　to　be　reckoned　as　one　of　the　　〃Ten
  Commentators；〃　　he　was　added　to　their　number　by　Chi　T‘ien…pao；
  being　wrongly　placed　after　his　grandson　Tu　Mu。
  5。　　TU　MU　（803…852）　is　perhaps　the　best　known　as　a　poet　　a
  bright　star　even　in　the　glorious　galaxy　of　the　T‘ang　period。　　We
  learn　from　Ch‘ao　Kung…wu　that　although　he　had　no　practical
  experience　of　war；　　he　was　extremely　fond　of　discussing　the
  subject；　　and　was　moreover　well　read　in　the　military　history　of
  the　CH‘UN　CH‘IU　and　CHAN　KUO　eras。　　His　notes；　　therefore；　　are
  well　worth　attention。　　They　are　very　copious；　and　replete　with
  historical　parallels。　　The　gist　of　Sun　Tzu's　work　is　thus
  summarized　by　him：　　〃Practice　benevolence　and　justice；　but　on　the
  other　hand　make　full　use　of　artifice　and　measures　of　expediency。〃
  He　further　declared　that　all　the　military　triumphs　and　disasters
  of　the　thousand　years　which　had　elapsed　since　Sun　Tzu's　death
  would；　　upon　examination；　be　found　to　uphold　and　corroborate；　　in
  every　particular；　　the　maxims　contained　in　his　book。　　Tu　Mu's
  somewhat　spiteful　charge　against　Ts‘ao　Kung　has　already　been
  considered　elsewhere。
  6。　　CH‘EN　HAO　appears　to　have　been　a　contemporary　of　Tu　Mu。
  Ch‘ao　Kung…wu　says　that　he　was　impelled　to　write　a　new　commentary
  on　Sun　Tzu　because　Ts‘ao　Kung's　on　the　one　hand　was　too　obscure
  and　subtle；　and　that　of　Tu　Mu　on　the　other　too　long…winded　and
  diffuse。　　Ou…yang　Hsiu；　　writing　in　the　middle　of　the　11th
  century；　　calls　Ts‘ao　Kung；　Tu　Mu　and　Ch‘en　Hao　the　three　chief
  commentators　on　Sun　Tzu；　　and　observes　that　Ch‘en　Hao　　　is
  continually　attacking　Tu　Mu's　shortcomings。　　His　commentary；
  though　not　lacking　in　merit；　must　rank　below　those　of　his
  predecessors。
  7。　　CHIA　LIN　is　known　to　have　lived　under　the　T‘ang　dynasty；
  for　his　commentary　on　Sun　Tzu　is　mentioned　in　the　T‘ang　Shu　and
  was　afterwards　republished　by　Chi　Hsieh　of　the　same　dynasty
  together　with　those　of　Meng　Shih　and　Tu　Yu。　　It　is　of　somewhat
  scanty　texture；　and　in　point　of　quality；　too；　perhaps　the　least
  valuable　of　the　eleven。
  8。　　MEI　YAO…CH‘EN　（1002…1060）；　commonly　known　by　his　〃style〃
  as　Mei　Sheng…yu；　was；　like　Tu　Mu；　a　poet　of　distinction。　　His
  commentary　was　published　with　a　laudatory　preface　by　the　great
  Ou…yang　Hsiu；　from　which　we　may　cull　the　following：
  Later　scholars　have　misread　Sun　Tzu；　　distorting　his
  words　and　trying　to　make　them　square　with　their　own　one…sided
  views。　　Thus；　though　commentators　have　not　been　lacking；　only
  a　few　have　proved　equal　to　the　task。　　My　friend　Sheng…yu　has
  not　fallen　into　this　mistake。　　In　attempting　to　pro