all take spears in their hands, and addressed them thus:   "I
  presume you know the difference between front and back, right
  hand and left hand?"
       The girls replied:  Yes.
       Sun Tzu went on:  "When I say "Eyes front,"  you must
  look straight ahead.  When I say "Left turn," you must face
  towards your left hand.  When I say "Right turn,"  you must
  face towards your right hand.  When I say "About turn,"  you
  must face right round towards your back."
       Again the girls assented.  The words of command having
  been thus explained, he set up the halberds and battle-axes
  in order to begin the drill.  Then, to the sound of drums, he
  gave the order "Right turn."  But the girls only burst out
  laughing.  Sun Tzu said:  "If words of command are not clear
  and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then
  the general is to blame."
       So he started drilling them again, and this time gave
  the order "Left turn," whereupon the girls once more burst
  into fits of laughter.  Sun Tzu:  "If words of command are
  not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly
  understood, the general is to blame.  But if his orders ARE
  clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the
  fault of their officers."
       So saying, he ordered the leaders of the two companies
  to be beheaded.  Now the king of Wu was watching the scene
  from the top of a raised pavilion; and when he saw that his
  favorite concubines were about to be executed, he was greatly
  alarmed and hurriedly sent down the following message:   "We
  are now quite satisfied as to our general's ability to handle
  troops.  If We are bereft of these two concubines, our meat
  and drink will lose their savor.  It is our wish that they
  shall not be beheaded."
       Sun Tzu replied:  "Having once received His Majesty's
  commission to be the general of his forces, there are certain
  commands of His Majesty which, acting in that capacity, I am
  unable to accept."
       Accordingly,  he had the two leaders beheaded,  and
  straightway installed the pair next in order as leaders in
  their place.  When this had been done, the drum was sounded
  for the drill once more; and the girls went through all the
  evolutions, turning to the right or to the left, marching
  ahead or wheeling back, kneeling or standing, with perfect
  accuracy and precision, not venturing to utter a sound.  Then
  Sun Tzu sent a messenger to the King saying:  "Your soldiers,
  Sire, are now properly drilled and disciplined, and ready for
  your majesty's inspection.  They can be put to any use that
  their sovereign may desire; bid them go through fire and
  water, and they will not disobey."
       But the King replied:  "Let our general cease drilling
  and return to camp.  As for us, We have no wish to come down
  and inspect the troops."
       Thereupon Sun Tzu said:  "The King is only fond of
  words, and cannot translate them into deeds."
       After that, Ho Lu saw that Sun Tzu was one who knew how
  to handle an army, and finally appointed him general.  In the
  west, he defeated the Ch`u State and forced his way into
  Ying, the capital; to the north he put fear into the States
  of Ch`i and Chin, and spread his fame abroad amongst the
  feudal princes.  And Sun Tzu shared in the might of the King.

     About Sun Tzu himself this is all that Ssu-ma Ch`ien has to
tell us in this chapter.  But he proceeds to give a biography of
his descendant,  Sun Pin, born about a hundred years after his
famous ancestor's death, and also the outstanding military genius
of his time.  The historian speaks of him too as Sun Tzu, and in
his preface we read:  "Sun Tzu had his feet cut off and yet
continued to discuss the art of war." [3]  It seems likely, then,
that  "Pin" was a nickname bestowed on him after his mutilation,
unless the story was invented in order to account for the name.
The crowning incident of his career, the crushing defeat of his
treacherous rival P`ang Chuan, will be found briefly related in
Chapter V. ss. 19, note.
     To return to the elder Sun Tzu.  He is mentioned in two
other passages of the SHIH CHI: --

       In the third year of his reign [512 B.C.] Ho Lu, king of
  Wu, took the field with Tzu-hsu [i.e. Wu Yuan] and Po P`ei,
  and attacked Ch`u.  He captured the town of Shu and slew the
  two prince's sons who had formerly been generals of Wu.  He
  was then meditating a descent on Ying [the capital]; but the
  general Sun Wu said:  "The army is exhausted.  It is not yet
  possible.  We must wait"....  [After further successful
  fighting,]  "in the ninth year  [506 B.C.],  King Ho Lu
  addressed Wu Tzu-hsu and Sun Wu, saying:   "Formerly, you
  declared that it was not yet possible for us to enter Ying.
  Is the time ripe now?"  The two men replied:  "Ch`u's general
  Tzu-ch`ang, [4] is grasping and covetous, and the princes of
  T`ang and Ts`ai both have a grudge against him.  If Your
  Majesty has resolved to make a grand attack, you must win
  over T`ang and Ts`ai, and then you may succeed."   Ho Lu
  followed this advice, [beat Ch`u in five pitched battles and
  marched into Ying.] [5]

     This is the latest date at which anything is recorded of Sun
Wu.  He does not appear to have survived his patron, who died
from the effects of a wound in 496.
     In another chapter there occurs this passage:  [6]

       From this time onward, a number of famous soldiers
  arose, one after the other:  Kao-fan, [7] who was employed by