Topic

The Concept Shi 势 and the Evaluation of the Application of Ancient Chinese Strategic Thinking in Modern Times: From the Perspective of Rereading of the Art of War of Sunzi, the Romance of Three Kingdoms and Mengzi

Abstract

This research explores the concept Shi 势 and evaluates the application of ancient Chinese strategic thinking in modern times.

The first three chapters are dedicated to identify the characteristics of Chinese Shi 势 strategic thinking from the perspective of Rereading of three famous Chinese classics: the Art of War of Sunzi, the Romance of Three Kingdoms and Mengzi.

In the Art of War of Sunzi, Shi 势 that is created by the interaction between the normal way Zheng 正 and extraordinary way Qi 奇 represents favorable situation or potential. Shi 势 strategy requires the highest level of flexibility and adaptability to the changes of circumstances. A skilled commander must know how to make use of Shi 势 to seek the victory.

The Romance of Three Kingdoms focuses on illustrating how power blocs make alliances to build up their Shi 势. By applying Shi 势 strategy, weak states should avoid direct confrontation with stronger opponents. Instead of acting single-handedly, they should find allies and work together to resist their enemies. In reverse, strong states should take divisive measures to weaken the alliance of small states. Nonetheless, nations must never overlook the temporality of such kind of coalition because the ultimate goal of each nation is to protect its own national interest.

Through the contrast between the way of the King ⺩道 and the way of the Hegemon 霸道, Mengzi emphasizes that virtues De 德 and harmony among people 人和 play a crucial role in sustaining Shi 势 of a nation.

The chapter four sheds light on differences between Chinese strategic thinking and Western strategic thinking in light of Shi 势. Through a series of comparative analysis between two strategic games Weiqi 围 棋 and Chess, Chinese and American leaders’ strategies, Vietnam’s way of war and the US way of war, it can be deduced that while Chinese Shi 势 – based strategists pursuit long-term benefits, American Li 利 – based strategists seek short-term benefits. Chinese Shi 势 strategists prefer to use strategies, stratagems and diplomacy to conquer the enemy rather than the use of force adopted by Western strategists.

The chapter five presents a review of the South China Sea disputes based on the concept Shi 势. It can be observed that China’s Shi 势 strategy on the South China Sea is progressively achieving successes. By means of economic interdependence and political pressure, on the one hand, it gained the support of several South China Sea non–claimants, on the other hand, it compelled claimants such as the Philippines and Vietnam to make concessions and bilateral negotiations with an inferior position.

In the final chapter, the author makes some personal comments about the application and value of Shi 势 in the field of interstate relations in modern times. In order to build an invincible Shi 势 and become a good leader of the world, China should conquer the world people’s heart by following Mengzi’s teachings of practicing the way of the King rather than the way of the Hegemon.

Keywords: Shi 势, Chinese strategic thinking, the way of the King, the way of the Hegemon, the favorable time and weather, the favorable terrain, harmony among people.

The full thesis is available at the following link:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13vSHaCaejvSs8pYeSkmHe_v-Je9AHYdF?usp=drive_link