Despise the enemy strategically, but take him seriously tactically.
Interpretation
Recognize the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent without underestimating them.
This quote emphasizes the importance of perceiving your adversary with a dual lens. Strategically, one should not give excessive importance to the enemy's capabilities, fostering a sense of disdain to maintain confidence and morale. However, on a tactical level, it is crucial to engage with them earnestly, respecting their potential and preparing adequately for confrontations. This balance is vital for effective leadership and success in any competitive scenario.
In practice
In a military strategy meeting to emphasize the importance of understanding adversaries.
Saying Good-bye to the God of Disease (2) Thousands of willow branches in a spring wind. Six hundred million of China, land of the gods, and exemplary like the emperors Shun and Yao. A scarlet rain of peach blossoms turned into waves and emerald mountains into bridges. Summits touch the sky. We dig with silver shovels and iron arms shake the earth and the Three Rivers. God of plagues, where are you going? We burn paper boats and bright candles to light his way to heaven.
We must have faith, first, that the peasant masses are ready to advance step by step along the road of socialism under the leadership of the Party, and second, that the Party is capable of leading the peasants along this road. These two points are the essence of the matter, the main current.
Capture of Nanking Rain and a windstorm rage blue and yellow over Chung the bell mountain as a million peerless troops cross the Great River. The peak is a coiled dragon, the city a crouching tiger more dazzling than before. The sky is spinning and the earth upside down. We are elated yet we must use our courage to chase the hopeless enemy. We must not stoop to fame like the overlord Hsiang Yu. If heaven has feeling it will grow old and watch our seas turn into mulberry fields.
All the reputedly powerful reactionaries are merely paper tigers. The reason is that they are divorced from the people. Look! Was not Hitler a paper tiger? Was Hitler not overthrown? U.S. imperialism has not yet been overthrown and it has the atomic bomb. I believe it also will be overthrown. It, too, is a paper tiger.
We think too small, like the frog at the bottom of the well. He thinks the sky is only as big as the top of the well. If he surfaced, he would have an entirely different view.
Rivers and mountains are beautiful and made heroes bow and compete to catch the girl- lovely earth. Yet the emperors Shih Huang and Wu Ti were barely able to write. The first emperors of the Tang and Sung dynasties were crude. Genghis Khan, man of his epoch and favored by heaven, knew only how to hunt the great eagle. They are all gone. Only today are we men of feeling.
We should use our imagination more than our memory.
Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing
Everyone has to learn to think differently, bigger, to open to possibilities.
Attitude lies somewhere between emotion and logic. It's that curious mix of optimism and determination that enables you to maintain a positive outlook and to continue plodding in the face of the most adverse circumstances.
A warrior takes every opportunity to teach himself.
Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.