Thus the supreme form of warfare is to defeat the enemy’s strategies. The next is to break their alliances. Then comes defeating their armies in the field. The lowest tactic is to storm walled cities.
Storming cities is a last resort. Building siege towers, covered wagons and weapons takes three months to complete. Constructing earthen mounds for assault takes another three months.
If the general loses patience and orders soldiers to swarm the walls like ants, one-third of the troops will perish. Yet the city may still remain unconquered. This is the disaster of direct siege warfare.
Note
A great military strategist and thinker in ancient China, who lived in the late Spring and Autumn Period. He authored The Art of War, the world’s earliest and most influential military classic. His strategic thoughts have been widely applied in military, politics and management worldwide.
Four ranks of warfare
Four tactical levels summarized in The Art of War, ranking strategy, diplomacy, field combat and siege from best to worst.
Siege equipment
Ancient siege facilities including towers, covered chariots and earthen mounds, which took tremendous time and labor to build.
Soldiers swarming like ants
A vivid metaphor for dense assaults on city walls, which usually caused heavy casualties.
Last resort
It means attacking cities is never a preferred choice, for it brings huge losses to both sides.
Yan Ying and the Defeat of Jin’s Strategy
The story of Yan Ying (also known as Yan Zi) and the Jin diplomat Fan Zhao is a perfect illustration of Sun Tzu’s “Supreme Art of War” – to defeat the enemy’s strategy or out-thinking the enemy. It demonstrates how a nation can avert war through intelligence and diplomacy, achieving a “Complete Victory” without firing a single shot.
The Context: A Diplomatic Trap
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the powerful state of Jin sought to expand its territory and set its sights on the state of Qi. Instead of launching an immediate invasion, Duke Ping of Jin sent his minister, Fan Zhao, to Qi under the guise of a diplomatic mission. Fan Zhao’s true objective was to “test the waters” – to probe the political stability, character of the ruler, and the competence of the ministers of Qi to determine if the state was vulnerable to attack.
The Execution: Thwarting the Strategy
Fan Zhao devised a series of provocations to disrupt the internal harmony of Qi and find a casus belli (a justification for war).
The First Provocation (The Wine Cup):
During a banquet hosted by Duke Jing of Qi, Fan Zhao requested a drink. When offered a cup, he deliberately asked for the Duke’s personal cup.
By drinking from the Duke’s cup, Fan Zhao attempted to blur the lines of hierarchy and insult the dignity of the Qi court. If the Duke had allowed this, it would have signaled weak leadership.
Yan Ying, the Chancellor of Qi, immediately recognized this as a strategic probe. He loudly ordered the servants to “remove these utensils and bring new ones,” strictly enforcing the ritual propriety and rejecting Fan Zhao’s attempt to create disorder. This demonstrated to Fan Zhao that Qi had vigilant ministers who would not tolerate disrespect.
The Second Provocation (The Music):
After his first attempt failed, Fan Zhao pretended to be drunk. He demanded the court musician to play the “Music of Chengzhou,” a specific melody reserved exclusively for the Zhou Emperor.
By requesting this music, Fan Zhao was trying to trick the Qi court into committing a ritual offense by using music above their station, or to show that they were disrespectful to the King of Zhou.
The court musician refused, saying”I am ignorant and have never practiced that piece.” This showed that even the low-ranking officials in Qi were well-versed in statecraft and protocol.
The Victory: War Averted
After returning to Jin, Fan Zhao reported his findings to Duke Ping.
Fan Zhao admitted that Qi could not be conquered. He explained that his attempt to “test the ruler” was immediately blocked by Yan Ying, and his attempt to “violate their rituals” was exposed by the musician.
Recognizing that Qi possessed “such wise and capable ministers,” Duke Ping concluded that Jin had no advantage. He canceled the invasion plan entirely.
Conclusion
This story is the origin of the Chinese idiom 折冲樽俎 (Defeat enemy assault chariots over wine vessels and ritual utensils). It serves a textbook example of “out-thinking the enemy” (The supreme form of warfare is to defeat the enemy’s strategies). Yan Ying did not need to deploy troops or storm cities. By maintaining strict order and decorum within the court, he exposed the enemy’s plan before the war even began. This preserved Qi’s strength and ensured peace, perfectly aligning with Sun Tzu’s teaching that the highest victory is achieved without bloodshed.
故上兵伐謀，其次伐交，其次伐兵，其下攻城。攻城之法，為不得已；修櫓轒轀，具器械，三月而後成；距闉，又三月而後已；將不勝其忿，而蟻附之，殺士卒三分之一，而城不拔者，此攻之災也。
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