Authority and Orders

A commander, with a single person’s body, leads a million troops, making the multitude draw in their shoulders, hold their breath, stand with feet together and heads bowed, not daring to look up—this is brought about by law and institutions. If those in superior positions have no penal constraints and those in inferior positions have no norms of ritual propriety and righteousness, even if one holds all under Heaven and possesses the wealth of the four seas, one will ultimately be unable to avoid ruin—Xia Jie and Shang Zhou are of this kind. With the identity of a common man, relying on penal orders to carry out rewards and punishments, while the multitude do not dare to disobey his commands—Sun Wu and Rang Ju are of this kind. Therefore laws and orders must not be treated lightly, and the authority arising from laws and orders must not be overstepped. Modern Application:This chapter follows directly after “The General’s Disposition” and deals with a problem that is superficially contradictory but actually complementary. “The General’s Disposition” requires the......