fandomhigh | The Art(s) of War and Peace; Wednesday, Second Period [ 09/07 ].

"Good morning, students," Ghanima said as the class started. "Today we are starting with the first chapter, 'Laying Plans.'"

"Or, as I like to call it," Shunsui offered helpfully, "'Stuff my Lieutenant Does ♥.'"

"War." Ghanima surveyed them sharply, making sure she had everyone's full attention. "The term calls to mind battlefields and generals. The most successful battles, however, are not fought with soldiers, but with words."

"There is the war of the sexes, the war between companies and corporations, economic wars, ideological wars, political wars, and wars between the social classes, all of which tend to start on a more basic level, and escalate to the stereotype. Whether you are wooing a romantic partner or a business rival, or meeting an enemy with your weapon drawn, the same principals hold true."

"Though one must certainly wonder....is it always a war of battles or a war of words?" Shunsui proposed. "Are there more peaceful approaches, or is it just in most people's natures to find these conflicts best resolved with more conflict? I know I, for one, would much rather take a lover who is willing than one I must fight against or for, just as I would rather meet a man over a peaceful drink than over a bloody battlefield. But let's see what our dear Sun Tzu-san has to say on the matter ♥."

"The Art of War." Picking up a well-loved red book from her desk, Ghanima flipped it open to her marked page and began reading. "The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field. These are: One - The Moral Law. Two - Heaven. Three - Earth. Four - The Commander. Five - Method and Discipline." She snapped the book shut and placed it beside her.

"The Moral Law," she announced, hopping off her desk, "causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger."

"Heaven and Earth are metaphors for the conditions you face, which is slightly more applicable to physical confrontations. However, if you view each type of terrain as a mental condition, you will have a large advantage over your opponent," Ghanima said briskly as she walked through the rows, hands gesturing as she spoke. "Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons, whereas Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death."

"The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness."

"All things," Shunsui was compelled to add, "required of a man of peace, as well ♥."

"By method and discipline, it is to be understood that it means the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure."

"These five heads should be familiar to every general," she recited from memory. "He who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail."

"Now, when you take these five factors, you must decide how to apply them. Luckily for us, Sun Tzu provided seven ways you can weigh them before making your decision."

"First, which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law? Who has the army and the populace behind them? Because without the support of your people, you cannot win." Ghanima turned to face all of them as she leaned against a wall. "I cannot stress that point enough. Even if it is simply your friends, or the other members of your company, you will win nothing without the support of your 'troops', if you will."

"The others are more basic; which of the two generals has most ability? With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth? On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced? Which army is stronger? On which side are officers and men more highly trained? In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?"

"And which," said Shunsui, almost lazily, with a wave of his hand, "can be applied to peace as well as war ♥?"

"Or love, for that matter?" Ghanima asked. "Now, we would like you to pair up, and discuss which of the five constant factors you feel to be the most important, and why."

[[ For those of you reading along at home, here's a condensed version of Art of War. ~~And please to be waiting for~~ the lovely OCD is up! ]]

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Commandingly!

Take notes, pass notes, raise your hand with a question.

Find a partner, and discuss the five factors (The Moral Law, Heaven, Earth, the Commander, and Method and Discipline). Sun Tzu talks a lot about them as applied to war; is he in the right track? And, conversely, are they very effective as methods of peace?