道与战争——以老子军事哲学为中心的阐释

Tao And War:An Interpretation Centered on Laozi’s Military Philosophy

老子哲学当中充满了丰富的辩证法思想,其核心思想体现在“道”。老子以道为本的思想是其军事哲学的逻辑起点,认为战争与自然无为、天道尚慈法则相违背,兵是不祥之器,不论是胜利者还是失败者都要付出惨重代价,因此统治者不能以兵强于天下。春秋战国时期,社会剧烈动荡,军事战争难以避免,老子提出“守柔用弱”的军事战略思想,其中蕴含的柔弱胜刚强、不武、不怒、不与、不争都是老子军事思想不同层面的阐发和运用。落实到战术层面,老子提出“以奇用兵”这一颇具影响的战术思想,强调后发制人、知雄守雌、避实击虚原则。虽然老子并没有对军事辩证法做深入且具体的阐释,但其总结的独特的用兵之道,对后世政治哲学和兵学理论的发展均具启发意义。

Laozi’s philosophy is full of rich dialectics, and its core idea is “Tao”. Lao Tzu’s thought of taking Tao as the foundation is the logical starting point of his military philosophy. He thinks that war is contrary to the law of inaction of nature and benevolence of heaven. Soldiers are ominous weapons, and both winners and losers have to pay a heavy price. Therefore, rulers can’t be stronger than the world with soldiers. During the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, the society was turbulent, and military war was inevitable. Laozi put forward the military strategic thought of “keeping soft and using the weak”. The military strategic thought of “keeping soft and using the weak” contained in it is the elucidation and application of Laozi’s military thought at different levels. On the tactical level, Lao Tzu put forward the influential tactical thought of“using extraordinary forces”, emphasizing the principles of attacking others later, knowing the male and guarding the female, avoiding the real and attacking the false. Although Lao Tzu did not make a deep and specific interpretation of military dialectics, his unique way of using military has enlightening significance for the development of political philosophy and military theory.