[@Bad Dragon](/images/77615#comment_169372)
Wow, if the original is *that* level of dumb... *actually* it would make me wonder if such lines aren't some sort of metaphor for more intricate and useful concepts that don't make it across the culture gap? I know that at least some of "The Art of War" is at least a bit like that. More specifically, it is recommended to watch the flight of birds over trees. If they divert upwards when passing over a certain point, it probably means their is an (enemy) encampment there. But this is a general message to pay attention to envrionmental cues. Similarly "Seize the chance to pillage a goat." is I THINK offered without further explanation, but meanssomehing like "Don't pass up opportunities for small victories, they might prove critical in the long-run." or something very close to that...
...or maybe Mao's manual-writters really did half-ass it that much.
Wow, if the original is *that* level of dumb... *actually* it would make me wonder if such lines aren't some sort of metaphor for more intricate and useful concepts that don't make it across the culture gap? I know that at least some of "The Art of War" is at least a bit like that. More specifically, it is recommended to watch the flight of birds over trees. If they divert upwards when passing over a certain point, it probably means their is an (enemy) encampment there. But this is a general message to pay attention to envrionmental cues. Similarly "Seize the chance to pillage a goat." is I THINK offered without further explanation, but means
...or maybe Mao's manual-writters really did half-ass it that much.