SIGNS, CLUES AND TRACES: ANTICIPATION IN ANCIENT CHINESE POLITICAL AND MILITARY TEXTS

Abstract

AbstractIn a considerable number of the military texts of ancient China the success of any manoeuvre demands adaptation to constantly changing circumstances and anticipation of the enemy's moves. Hence, idealized descriptions of the figures of the commander and the sage frequently overlap. In both cases, these are individuals who are able to move forward in time and predict the nature of events before they take definitive form. However, these skills of prognostication are the result of attentive scrutiny of the most inconspicuous aspects of reality. By analyzing military episodes and biographical material referring to some of the strategists of the time, this article attempts to demonstrate that the military commander can be seen as a master of signs and that, accordingly, the art of warfare can also be represented as requiring semiotic aptitudes and techniques which enable accurate interpretation of hints that will determine the outcome of the battle.