司马法

《司马法》又称《司马兵法》或者《司马穰苴兵法》，为中国著名兵书之一，其成书年代和作者均具争议。

题解

根据《史记·司马穰苴列传》记载，战国初期，齐威王命令大臣追述古代的司马兵法，同时也把春秋末期齐景公时的将军司马穰苴的兵法附入其中。

《司马法》最早见于《汉书·艺文志》，称《军礼司马法》，共155篇。汉朝以后，该书多有散佚，至唐朝编《隋书·经籍志》时录为3卷5篇，列入子部兵家类，称为《司马法》，即今本《司马法》3卷5篇的原型，其中既涉及了春秋时的制度，亦涉及了战国时的制度。

对于该书的真伪、成书年代及作者谁属等问题，历代学者均有各种不同的看法。部分认为《司马法》是一部伪书；部分认为史书中的《司马兵法》、《司马穰苴兵法》、《司马法》及《军礼司马法》是几种不同的书；部分认为今本《司马法》可分为两部分，前两篇为古《司马法》，后三篇为《司马穰苴兵法》。目前学者一般认为今本《司马法》不是伪书，历史上的《司马兵法》、《司马穰苴兵法》及《军礼司马法》均包含于《司马法》之中，作者为司马穰苴及其追论者。

评价

《司马法》中主要记录了中国古代的军礼和军法，对于礼学研究非常重要，受到历代兵家和史学家所重视。

版本

清孙星衍《平津馆丛书》所收的影宋本《孙吴司马法》。

清人所辑《司马法逸文》。

1935年中华学艺社影宋刻《武经七书》中收录。

丁氏八千卷楼藏刘寅《武经七书直解》影印本。

体例

共五篇：

仁本第一

天子之义第二

定爵第三

严位第四

用众第五

The Methods of the Sima (also known as The Marshal's Art of War) is a text discussing laws, regulations, government policies, military organization, military administration, discipline, basic values, tactics, and strategy. It is considered to be one of the Seven Military Classics of ancient China. It was developed in the state of Qi during the 4th century BC, in the mid-Warring States period.

Content summary

General focus

In the East Han dynasty, The Methods of the Sima was classified as a work describing rites and propriety (禮), by Ban Gu largely because it discusses methods of organization, administration, and discipline much more deeply than strategy or battlefield tactics. The Methods of the Sima rarely discusses direct issues related to battlefield command, instead concerning itself with how to initiate, administer, and manage military campaigns. The limited discussions of strategy and tactics which do appear in the work are broad, general, and common to the other Seven Military Classics. The text emphasizes ritual differentiation between the civil and military realms (wen and wu), and marks complementarity of the two (e.g. 天子之義 chapter, 文與武左右也).

The Justification of War

The Methods of the Sima promotes the view that warfare is necessary to the existence of the state, that it provides the principal means for punishing evil and rescuing the oppressed, and that its conscientious exploitation is the foundation for political power. It states that a balance between war and peace must be maintained for the prosperity of the state: that those states which neglect their armies will perish just as quickly as those states which resort to warfare too frequently. The book promotes the view that war is an unfortunate necessity for peace. In one of the book's most famous quotes, it concludes: "(Therefore) though a state is large, being fond of warfare will surely lead to its demise. Even if the world is at peace, forgetting warfare will inevitably bring danger."

The contributors to the Methods of the Sima stress that appropriate civil and military roles must be distinguished because of their contradictory values. Civilian culture is judged to be severe, remote, and languid, placing value in courtesy and benevolence, while military culture is judged to be severe, stern, and active, placing value in order and discipline. The writers of the Methods stress that the Virtue (德) of the people will decline both when civilians act in ways that are appropriate for soldiers, and when soldiers act in ways that are appropriate for civilians. The King must conduct himself differently in these two spheres and expect different things from his citizens. In civil life, he must cultivate the people through education and the promotion of regional culture.

The Methods of the Sima stresses that the only justification for warfare is the assistance of the common people. Because warfare must benefit the people of all states involved in a conflict in order to be legitimate, nations must avoid engagements that injure the people of enemy states, and actions which might antagonize a subject populace are severely prohibited. Because it identifies the only justification for warfare as eradicating a government evil, the Methods encourages commanders to engage in ceremonial, accusatory formalities before beginning a campaign, and makes it a vital necessity that the army's soldiers understand the virtuous nature of their mission. These policies promote the utilitarian goals of strengthening morale and weakening enemy resistance.