''The Art of War'' () is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the late

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

(roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is composed of 13 chapters. Each one is devoted to a different set of skills or art related to warfare and how it applies to

military strategy Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek word '' strategos'', the term strategy, when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow s ...

and tactics. For almost 1,500 years, it was the lead text in an anthology that was formalized as the Seven Military Classics by Emperor Shenzong of Song in 1080. ''The Art of War'' remains the most influential strategy text in East Asian warfare, has influenced both East Asian and Western military theory and thinking, and has found a variety of applications in myriad competitive non-military endeavors across the modern world including espionage, culture, politics, business, and sports. The book contains a detailed explanation and analysis of the 5th-century BC Chinese military, from weapons, environmental conditions, and strategy to rank and discipline. Sun also stressed the importance of intelligence operatives and espionage to the war effort. Considered one of history's finest military tacticians and analysts, his teachings and strategies formed the basis of advanced military training throughout the world. The book was translated into

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and published in 1772 by the French priest

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Jean Joseph Marie Amiot; it was re-published in 1782. A partial translation into English was attempted by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905 under the title ''The Book of War''. The first annotated English translation was completed and published by Lionel Giles in 1910. ''The Art of War by Sun Tzu – Special Edition''. Special Edition Books. 2007. p. 62. Military and political leaders such as the Chinese communist revolutionary Mao Zedong, Japanese Takeda Shingen, Vietnamese general Võ Nguyên Giáp, and American military generals

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

and Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. are all cited as having drawn inspiration from the book. Outside of military use, ''The Art of War'' has also become a source of inspiration in business, politics, sports and esports, and its usage has extended to film and television.

History

Text and commentaries

''The Art of War'' is traditionally attributed to an ancient Chinese military general known as Sun Tzu meaning "Master Sun". Sun Tzu is usually linked with existing in the 6th century BC; the earliest sections of The Art of War, however, most likely date to at least 100 years after him.

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...

's '' Records of the Grand Historian'', the first of China's 24 dynastic histories, records an early Chinese tradition that a text on military matters was written by one "Sun Wu" () from the State of Qi, and that this text had been read and studied by King Helü of Wu (). This text was traditionally identified with the received ''Master Sun's Art of War''. The conventional view was that Sun Wu was a military theorist from the end of the

(776–471 BC) who fled his home state of Qi to the southeastern Kingdom of Wu, where he is said to have impressed the king with his ability to quickly train even court women in military discipline and to have made Wu's armies powerful enough to challenge their western rivals in the

state of Chu Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou hea ...

. This view is still widely held in China. The strategist, poet, and warlord

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...

in the early 3rd century AD authored the earliest known commentary to the ''Art of War''. Cao's preface makes clear that he edited the text and removed certain passages, but the extent of his changes were unclear historically. ''The Art of War'' appears throughout the bibliographical catalogs of the Chinese dynastic histories, but listings of its divisions and size varied widely.

Authorship

Beginning around the 12th century, Sun Tzu's historical existence began to be questioned by Chinese scholars, primarily on the grounds that he is not mentioned in the historical classic ''The Commentary of Zuo'' ('' Zuo Zhuan''), which mentions most of the notable figures from the

. The name "Sun Wu" () does not appear in any text prior to the ''Records of the Grand Historian'', and has been suspected to be a made-up descriptive cognomen meaning "the fugitive warrior", glossing the surname "Sun" as the related term "fugitive" ( ), while "Wu" ( ) is (1) the ancient Chinese virtue of "martial, valiant" and (2) a Jianghuai dialectal synonym of " knight", which corresponds to Sunzi's role as the hero's

doppelgänger A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person. In fiction and mythology, a doppelg ...

in the story of Wu Zixu. In the early 20th century, the Chinese writer and reformer Liang Qichao theorized that the text was actually written in the 4th century BC by Sun Tzu's purported descendant Sun Bin, as a number of historical sources mention a military treatise he wrote. Unlike Sun Wu, Sun Bin appears to have been an actual person who was a genuine authority on military matters, and may have been the inspiration for the creation of the historical figure "Sun Tzu" through a form of

euhemerism Euhemerism () is an approach to the interpretation of mythology in which mythological accounts are presumed to have originated from real historical events or personages. Euhemerism supposes that historical accounts become myths as they are exagge ...

. In 1972, the Yinqueshan Han slips were discovered in two Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) tombs near the city of Linyi in

Shandong Province Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizatio ...

. Among the many

bamboo slip Bamboo and wooden slips () were the main media for writing documents in China before the widespread introduction of paper during the first two centuries AD. (Silk was occasionally used, for example in the Chu Silk Manuscript, but was prohibit ...

writings contained in the tombs, which had been sealed between 134 and 118 BC, respectively were two separate texts, one attributed to "Sun Tzu", corresponding to the received text, and another attributed to Sun Bin, which explains and expands upon the earlier ''The Art of War'' by Sunzi. The Sun Bin text's material overlaps with much of the "Sun Tzu" text, and the two may be "a single, continuously developing intellectual tradition united under the Sun name". This discovery showed that much of the historical confusion was due to the fact that there were two texts that could have been referred to as "Master Sun's Art of War", not one. The content of the earlier text is about one-third of the chapters of the modern ''The Art of War'', and their text matches very closely. It is now generally accepted that the earlier ''The Art of War'' was completed sometime between 500 and 430 BC.

The 13 chapters

''The Art of War'' is divided into 13 chapters (or ); the collection is referred to as being one ("whole" or alternatively "chronicle"). }) , First Calculations , style="text-align:left;" , Explores the five fundamental factors (the Way, seasons, terrain, leadership, and management) and seven elements (which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the way or moral law, which side’s general is more capable, which side has superior in right time and right place, which side's laws and regulations can be enforced more strictly, which side has more resources, better equipment and stronger army, which side's officers and men are more well-trained and more capable of fighting, which side's rewards and punishments are more fair and clear) that determine the outcomes of military engagements. By thinking, assessing and comparing these points, a commander can calculate his chances of victory. Habitual deviation from these calculations will ensure failure via improper action. The text stresses that war is a very grave matter for the state and must not be commenced without due consideration. , - , II , Waging War , The Challenge , Waging War , Waging War
( zh, 作戰, links=yes, t=作戰, p=zuòzhàn) , Initiating Battle , style="text-align:left;" , Explains how to understand the economy of warfare and how success requires winning decisive engagements quickly. This section advises that successful military campaigns require limiting the cost of competition and conflict. , - , III , Attack by Stratagem , The Plan of Attack , Planning Offensives , Strategic Attack
( zh, 謀攻, links=no) , Planning an Attack , style="text-align:left;" , Defines the source of strength as unity, not size, and discusses the five factors that are needed to succeed in any war. In order of importance, these critical factors are: Attack, Strategy, Alliances, Army and Cities. , - , IV , Tactical Dispositions , Positioning , Military Disposition , Disposition of the Army
( zh, 軍形, links=no) , Forms to Perceive , style="text-align:left;" , Explains the importance of defending existing positions until a commander is capable of advancing from those positions in safety. It teaches commanders the importance of recognizing strategic opportunities, and teaches not to create opportunities for the enemy. , - , V , Use of Energy , Directing , Strategic Military Power , Forces
( zh, 兵勢, links=no) , The Disposition of Power , style="text-align:left;" , Explains the use of creativity and timing in building an army's momentum. , - , VI , Weak Points and Strong , Illusion and Reality , Vacuity and Substance , Weaknesses and Strengths
( zh, 虛實, links=no) , Weak and Strong , style="text-align:left;" , Explains how an army's opportunities come from the openings in the environment caused by the relative weakness of the enemy and how to respond to changes in the fluid battlefield over a given area. , - , VII , Maneuvering an Army , Engaging The Force , Military Combat , Military Maneuvers
( zh, 軍爭, links=no) , Contending Armies , style="text-align:left;" , Explains the dangers of direct conflict and how to win those confrontations when they are forced upon the commander. , - , VIII , Variation of Tactics , The Nine Variations , Nine Changes , Variations and Adaptability
( zh, 九變, links=no) , Nine Contingencies , style="text-align:left;" , Focuses on the need for flexibility in an army's responses. It explains how to respond to shifting circumstances successfully. , - , IX , The Army on the March , Moving The Force , Maneuvering the Army , Movement and Development of Troops
( zh, 行軍, links=no) , Fielding the Army , style="text-align:left;" , Describes the different situations in which an army finds itself as it moves through new enemy territories, and how to respond to these situations. Much of this section focuses on evaluating the intentions of others. , - , X , Classification of Terrain , Situational Positioning , Configurations of Terrain , Terrain
( zh, 地形, links=no) , Conformations of the Lands , style="text-align:left;" , Looks at the three general areas of resistance (distance, dangers and barriers) and the six types of ground positions that arise from them. Each of these six field positions offers certain advantages and disadvantages. , - , XI , The Nine Situations , The Nine Situations , Nine Terrains , The Nine Battlegrounds
( zh, 九地, links=no) , Nine Kinds of Ground , style="text-align:left;" , Describes the nine common situations (or stages) in a campaign, from scattering to deadly, and the specific focus that a commander will need in order to successfully navigate them. , - , XII , Attack by Fire , The Fiery Attack , Incendiary Attacks , Attacking with Fire
( zh, 火攻, links=no) , Attacks with Fire , style="text-align:left;" , Explains the general use of weapons and the specific use of the environment as a weapon. This section examines the five targets for attack, the five types of environmental attack and the appropriate responses to such attacks. , - , XIII , Use of Spies , The Use of Intelligence , Employing Spies , Intelligence and Espionage
( zh, 用間, links=no) , Using Spies , style="text-align:left;" , Focuses on the importance of developing good information sources, and specifies the five types of intelligence sources and how to best manage each of them.

Cultural influence

Military and intelligence applications

Across East Asia, ''The Art of War'' was part of the syllabus for potential candidates of military service examinations. During the Sengoku period (), the Japanese Takeda Shingen (1521–1573) is said to have become almost invincible in all battles without relying on guns, because he studied ''The Art of War''. ''The Illustrated Art of War''. 2005. Oxford University Press. pp. 17, 141–43. The book even gave him the inspiration for his famous battle standard (Wind, Forest, Fire and Mountain), meaning fast as the wind, silent as a forest, ferocious as fire and immovable as a mountain. The translator

Samuel B. Griffith Brigadier General Samuel Blair Griffith II (May 31, 1906 – March 27, 1983) was an officer and commander in the United States Marine Corps. Griffith entered the Marines in 1929 after graduating from the United States Naval Academy. He served ...

offers a chapter on "Sun Tzu and Mao Tse-Tung" where ''The Art of War'' is cited as influencing Mao's ''

On Guerrilla Warfare ''On Guerrilla Warfare'' () is Mao Zedong's case for the extensive use of an irregular form of warfare in which small groups of combatants use mobile military tactics in the forms of ambushes and raids to combat a larger and less mobile formal a ...

'', '' On the Protracted War'' and ''Strategic Problems of China's Revolutionary War'', and includes Mao's quote: "We must not belittle the saying in the book of Sun Wu Tzu, the great military expert of ancient China, 'Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a thousand battles without disaster.'" During the Vietnam War, some Viet Cong officers extensively studied ''The Art of War'' and reportedly could recite entire passages from memory. General Võ Nguyên Giáp successfully implemented tactics described in ''The Art of War'' during the

Battle of Dien Bien Phu The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (french: Bataille de Diên Biên Phu ; vi, Chiến dịch Điện Biên Phủ, ) was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the Fr ...

ending major French involvement in Indochina and leading to the accords which partitioned Vietnam into North and South. General Giáp, later the main PVA military commander in the Vietnam War, was an avid student and practitioner of Sun Tzu's ideas.McCready, Douglas. Learning from Sun Tzu, ''Military Review'', May–June 2003.

Outside East Asia

The United States' defeat in the Vietnam War, more than any other event, brought Sun Tzu to the attention of leaders of U.S. military theory. The

Department of the Army The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is org ...

in the United States, through its Command and General Staff College, lists ''The Art of War'' as one example of a book that may be kept at a military unit's library. ''The Art of War'' is listed on the US Marine Corps Professional Reading Program (formerly known as the Commandant's Reading List). It is recommended reading for all United States Military Intelligence personnel. ''The Art of War'' is also used as instructional material at the United States Military Academy (commonly known as West Point), in the course Military Strategy (470). It is also recommended reading for Officer cadets at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Some notable military leaders have stated the following about Sun Tzu and ''The Art of War'': According to some authors, the strategy of

deception Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...

from ''The Art of War'' was studied and widely used by the KGB: "I will force the enemy to take our strength for weakness, and our weakness for strength, and thus will turn his strength into weakness". Yevgenia Albats and Catherine A. Fitzpatrick. ''The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia – Past, Present, and Future.'' 1994. , chapter ''Who was behind perestroika?''

Application outside the military

''The Art of War'' has been applied to many fields outside of the military. Much of the text is about how to outsmart one's opponent without actually having to engage in physical battle. As such, it has found application as a training guide for many competitive endeavors that do not involve actual combat. ''The Art of War'' is mentioned as an influence in the earliest known Chinese collection of stories about fraud (mostly in the realm of commerce), Zhang Yingyu's The Book of Swindles (, , ), which dates to the late Ming dynasty. Many business books have applied the lessons taken from the book to office politics and corporate business strategy. Many Japanese companies make the book required reading for their key executives. The book is also popular among Western business circles citing its utilitarian values regarding management practices. Many entrepreneurs and corporate executives have turned to it for inspiration and advice on how to succeed in competitive business situations. The book has also been applied to the field of education. ''The Art of War'' has been the subject of legal books and legal articles on the trial process, including negotiation tactics and trial strategy. The book '' The 48 Laws of Power'' by Robert Greene employs philosophies covered in ''The Art of War''. ''The Art of War'' has also been applied in sports. National Football League coach Bill Belichick, record holder of the most

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

wins in history, has stated on multiple occasions his admiration for ''The Art of War''. Brazilian association football coach Luiz Felipe Scolari actively used ''The Art of War'' for Brazil's successful

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

campaign. During the tournament Scolari put passages of ''The Art of War'' underneath his players' doors at night. ''Playing To Win'' by

David Sirlin David Sirlin is an American game designer and fighting game player. He featured in and narrated much of ''Bang the Machine'', a 2002 documentary by Tamara Katepoo about a Street Fighter "exhibition tournament in Japan showing the difference betw ...

analyses applications of the ideas from ''The Art of War'' in modern esports. ''The Art of War'' was released in 2014 as an e-book companion alongside the Art of War DLC for Europa Universalis IV, a PC strategy game by

Paradox Development Studios Paradox Development Studio (PDS) is a Swedish video game developer founded in 1995. It is closely associated with its parent company and video game publisher, Paradox Interactive. It is best known for its grand strategy wargame series ''Europa U ...

, with a foreword by Thomas Johansson.

Film and television

''The Art of War'' and Sun Tzu have been referenced and quoted in many movies and television shows, including in the 1987 movie ''

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

'', in which Gordon Gekko ( Michael Douglas) frequently references it. The 20th '' James Bond'' film, '' Die Another Day'' (2002) also references ''The Art of War'' as the spiritual guide shared by Colonel Moon and his father. In '' The Sopranos'', season 3, episode 8 ("He Is Risen"), Dr. Melfi suggests to Tony Soprano that he read the book. In the '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' first-season episode "The Last Outpost", first officer William Riker quotes ''The Art of War'': "Fear is the true enemy, the only enemy". Captain Picard expressed pleasure that Sun Tzu was still taught at Starfleet Academy. Later in the episode, a survivor from a long-dead nonhuman empire noted common aspects between his own people's wisdom and ''The Art of War'' with regard to knowing when and when not to fight. '' The Art of War'' is a 2000 action spy film directed by Christian Duguay and starring Wesley Snipes, Michael Biehn,

Anne Archer Anne Archer (born August 24, 1947) is an American actress. Archer was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971, and in the year following, appeared in her feature film debut ''The Honkers'' (1972). She had supporting roles in ''Cancel My Reservation'' (1 ...

and Donald Sutherland.

Notable translations

* * Part of the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works. * * * *

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * *

External links

*
''The Art of War''
Chinese-English bilingual edition, Chinese Text Project * translated by Lionel Giles (1910) * translated (with Chinese text) by Lionel Giles (1910) * translated by E.F. Calthrop (1908) * (English and Chinese original available)
Sun Tzu's ''Art of War''
at Sonshi

at the Institute for National Strategic Studies of National Defense University
11 The Nine Situations , The Art of War by Sun Tzu (Animated)

''The Art of War illustrated version''
, on Theoriq.com
''The Art of War on Modern World, by Edward Rico M. Tj''
on r2plan.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Art Of War, The Sun Tzu 5th-century BC books Military history of East Asia Military strategy books Seven Military Classics Warrior code Works about the theory of history Zhou dynasty texts