The Art of War

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For other uses, see The Art of War (disambiguation).

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The Art of War
Traditional Chinese 孫子兵法
Simplified Chinese 孙子兵法
Literal meaning "Master Sun's Rules of Warfare"

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The Art of War (Chinese: 孫子兵法; pinyin: Sūnzǐ bīngfǎ; literally: "Master Sun's Rules of Warfare") is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the 5th century BC. Attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Wu – "Master Sun" (Sunzi or Sun-tzu 孫子), the text is composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare. It is commonly thought of as a definitive work on military strategy and tactics. It was placed at the head of China's Seven Military Classics upon the collection's creation in 1080 by Emperor Shenzong of Song, and has long been the most influential strategy text in East Asia.[1] It has had an influence on Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, legal strategy and beyond.

The book was first translated into the French language in 1772 by French Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot and a partial translation into English was attempted by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905. The first annotated English language translation was completed and published by Lionel Giles in 1910.[2] Leaders as diverse as Mao Zedong, General Vo Nguyen Giap, General Douglas MacArthur and leaders of Imperial Japan have drawn inspiration from the work.

History

Sima Qian's 1st century BC work Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji 史記), the first of China's 24 dynastic histories, records an early Chinese tradition stating that a text on military matters was written by one Sun Wu—usually known as "Master Sun" (Sunzi or Sun-tzu 孫子)—from the State of Qi, and that this text had been read and studied by King Helu of Wu (r. 514–495 BC).[3] This text was traditionally identified with the received Master Sun's Art of War. However, beginning around the 12th century AD, some scholars began to doubt the historical existence of Sunzi, primarily on the grounds that he is not mentioned in the historical classic The Zuo Tradition (Zuo zhuan 左傳), which mentions most of the notable figures from the Spring and Autumn period (771–476 BC).[3]

The prominent strategist, poet, and warlord Cao Cao in the early 3rd century AD authored the earliest known commentary to the Art of War.[3] Cao's preface makes clear that he edited the text and removed certain passages, but the extent of his changes were unclear historically.[3] The Art of War appears throughout the bibliographical catalogs of the Chinese dynastic histories, but listings of its divisions and size varied widely.[3] 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 Sunzi's descendant Sun Bin, as a number of historical sources mention a military treatise he wrote.[3]

Many of the historical problems surrounding The Art of War were clarified in 1972 with the discovery of the Yinqueshan Han slips in two Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220) tombs near the city of Linyi in Shandong Province.[4] Among the many bamboo slip writings contained in the tombs—which were sealed around 134 and 118 BC, respectively—were two separate texts: one by Sunzi, corresponding to the received text, and one by Sun Bin, which explains and expands upon the earlier The Art of War by Sunzi.[5] The Sun Bin text has no counterpart in received Chinese texts, and must have been lost in the early medieval period. 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.[5] 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.[4] It is now generally accepted that Sunzi's The Art of War was written sometime between 500 and 450 BC.[5]

The 13 chapters

The Art of War is divided into 13 chapters (or piān); the collection is referred to as being one zhuàn ("whole" or alternatively "chronicle").

The Art of War chapter names in translations by Giles, Wing, Sawyer, and Chow-Hou
Chapter Lionel Giles (1910) R.L. Wing (1988) Ralph D. Sawyer (1996) Chow-Hou Wee (2003)
I Laying Plans The Calculations Initial Estimations Detail Assessment and Planning
(Chinese: 始計，始计)
II Waging War The Challenge Waging War Waging War
(Chinese: 作戰，作战)
III Attack by Stratagem The Plan of Attack Planning Offensives Strategic Attack
(Chinese: 謀攻，谋攻)
IV Tactical Dispositions Positioning Military Disposition Disposition of the Army
(Chinese: 軍形，军形)
V Use of Energy Directing Strategic Military Power Forces
(Chinese: 兵勢，兵势)
VI Weak Points and Strong Illusion and Reality Vacuity and Substance Weaknesses and Strengths
(Chinese: 虛實，虚实)
VII Maneuvering an Army Engaging The Force Military Combat Military Maneuvers
(Chinese: 軍爭，军争)
VIII Variation of Tactics The Nine Variations Nine Changes Variations and Adaptability
(Chinese: 九變，九变)
IX The Army on the March Moving The Force Maneuvering the Army Movement and Development of Troops
(Chinese: 行軍，行军)
X Classification of Terrain Situational Positioning Configurations of Terrain Terrain
(Chinese: 地形)
XI The Nine Situations The Nine Situations Nine Terrains The Nine Battlegrounds
(Chinese: 九地)
XII Attack by Fire The Fiery Attack Incendiary Attacks Attacking with Fire
(Chinese: 火攻)
XIII Use of Spies The Use of Intelligence Employing Spies Intelligence and Espionage
(Chinese: 用間，用间)

Chapter summary

The beginning of The Art of War in a classical bamboo book from the reign of the Qianlong Emperor
  1. Detail Assessment and Planning (Chinese: 始計，始计) explores the five fundamental factors (the Way, seasons, terrain, leadership and management) and seven elements 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.
  2. Waging War (Chinese: 作戰，作战) 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.
  3. Strategic Attack (Chinese: 謀攻，谋攻) 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.
  4. Disposition of the Army (Chinese: 軍形，军形) 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.
  5. Forces (Chinese: 兵勢，兵势) explains the use of creativity and timing in building an army's momentum.
  6. Weaknesses and Strengths (Chinese: 虛實，虚实) 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.
  7. Military Maneuvers (Chinese: 軍爭，军争) explains the dangers of direct conflict and how to win those confrontations when they are forced upon the commander.
  8. Variations and Adaptability (Chinese: 九變，九变) focuses on the need for flexibility in an army's responses. It explains how to respond to shifting circumstances successfully.
  9. Movement and Development of Troops (Chinese: 行軍，行军) 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.
  10. Terrain (Chinese: 地形) 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.
  11. The Nine Battlegrounds (Chinese: 九地) 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.
  12. Attacking with Fire (Chinese: 火攻) 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.
  13. Intelligence and Espionage (Chinese: 用間，用间) 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.

Quotations

Chinese

Verses from the book occur in modern daily Chinese idioms and phrases, such as the last verse of Chapter 3:

故曰：知彼知己，百戰不殆；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；不知彼，不知己，每戰必殆。

So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.

This has been more tersely interpreted and condensed into the Chinese modern proverb:

知己知彼，百戰不殆。 (Zhī jǐ zhī bǐ, bǎi zhàn bù dài.)

If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win numerous (literally, "a hundred") battles without jeopardy.

English

Common examples can also be found in English use, such as verse 18 in Chapter 1:

兵者，詭道也。故能而示之不能，用而示之不用，近而示之遠，遠而示之近。

All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

This has been abbreviated to its most basic form and condensed into the English modern proverb:

All warfare is based on deception.

Military and intelligence applications

In many East Asian countries, The Art of War was part of the syllabus for potential candidates of military service examinations. Various translations are available.

During the Sengoku era in Japan, a daimyo named 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.[6] The book even gave him the inspiration for his famous battle standard "Fūrinkazan" (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 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 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."[6]

During the Vietnam War, some Vietcong officers studied The Art of War and reportedly could recite entire passages from memory.

General Vo Nguyen Giap successfully implemented tactics described in The Art of War during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu ending major French involvement in Indochina and leading to the accords which partitioned Vietnam into North and South. General Vo, later the main PVA military commander in the Vietnam War, was an avid student and practitioner of Sun Tzu’s ideas.[7] America's defeat there, more than any other event, brought Sun Tzu to the attention of leaders of American military theory.[7][8][9]

Finnish Field Marshal Mannerheim and general Aksel Airo were avid readers of Art of War. They both read it in French; Airo kept the French translation of the book on his bedside table in his quarters.[citation needed]

The Department of the Army 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.[10]

The Art of War is listed on the Marine Corps Professional Reading Program (formerly known as the Commandant's Reading List). It is recommended reading for all United States Military Intelligence personnel and is required reading for all CIA officers.[11]

According to some authors, the strategy of deception 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".[12] The book is widely cited by KGB officers in charge of disinformation operations in Vladimir Volkoff's novel Le Montage.

Whether the United States and other Western countries truly appreciate the magnitude of The Art of War and comprehend the subtleties contained within it without fully appreciating its strategic context has recently been questioned.[13]

Application outside the military

The Art of War has been applied to many fields well outside of the military. Much of the text is about how to fight wars without actually having to do battle: it gives tips on how to outsmart one's opponent so that physical battle is not necessary. As such, it has found application as a training guide for many competitive endeavors that do not involve actual combat.

There are business books applying its lessons to office politics and corporate strategy.[14][15][16] Many Japanese companies make the book required reading for their key executives.[17] The book is also popular among Western business management, who have turned to it for inspiration and advice on how to succeed in competitive business situations. It has also been applied to the field of education.[18]

The Art of War has been the subject of law books[19] and legal articles on the trial process, including negotiation tactics and trial strategy.[20][21][22][23]

The Art of War has also been applied in the world of sports. NFL coach Bill Belichick is known to have read the book and used its lessons to gain insights in preparing for games.[24] Australian cricket as well as Brazilian association football coaches Luiz Felipe Scolari and Carlos Alberto Parreira are known to have embraced the text. Scolari made the Brazilian World Cup squad of 2002 study the ancient work during their successful campaign.[25]

The Art of War is often quoted while developing tactics and/or strategy in Electronic Sports. Particularly, one of the fundamental books about e-sports, "Play To Win" by MIT graduate David Sirlin, is actually just an analysis about possible applications of the ideas from The Art of War in modern Electronic Sports.

Notable translations

Running Press miniature edition of the 1994 Ralph D. Sawyer translation, printed in 2003
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See also

Concepts

Books

References

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Smith (1999), p. 216.
  2. ↑ Giles, Lionel The Art of War by Sun Tzu - Special Edition. Special Edition Books. 2007. p. 62.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Gawlikowski & Loewe (1993), p. 447.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gawlikowski & Loewe (1993), p. 448.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Gawlikowski & Loewe (1993), p. 449.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Griffith, Samuel B. The Illustrated Art of War. 2005. Oxford University Press. p. 17, 141-143.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 McCready, Douglas. Learning from Sun Tzu, Military Review, May–June 2003.[1]
  8. ↑ Interview with Dr. William Duiker, Conversation with Sonshi
  9. ↑ Forbes, Andrew ; Henley, David (2012). The Illustrated Art of War: Sun Tzu. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B00B91XX8U
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Marine Corps Professional Reading Program
  12. ↑ Yevgenia Albats and Catherine A. Fitzpatrick. The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia--Past, Present, and Future. 1994. ISBN 0-374-52738-5, chapter Who was behind perestroika?
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Michaelson, Gerald. "Sun Tzu: The Art of War for Managers; 50 Strategic Rules." Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2001
  15. ↑ McNeilly, Mark. "Sun Tzu and the Art of Business : Six Strategic Principles for Managers. New York:Oxford University Press, 1996.
  16. ↑ Krause, Donald G. "The Art of War for Executives: Ancient Knowledge for Today's Business Professional." New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 1995.
  17. ↑ Kammerer, Peter. "The Art of Negotiation." South China Morning Post (April 21, 2006) pg. 15
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Barnhizer, David. The Warrior Lawyer: Powerful Strategies for Winning Legal Battles Irvington-on-Hudson, NY: Bridge Street Books, 1997.
  20. ↑ Balch, Christopher D., "The Art of War and the Art of Trial Advocacy: Is There Common Ground?" (1991), 42 Mercer L. Rev. 861-873
  21. ↑ Beirne, Martin D. and Scott D. Marrs, The Art of War and Public Relations: Strategies for Successful Litigation [2]
  22. ↑ Pribetic, Antonin I., "The Trial Warrior: Applying Sun Tzu's The Art of War to Trial Advocacy" April 21, 2007, [3]
  23. ↑ Solomon, Samuel H., "The Art of War: Pursuing Electronic Evidence as Your Corporate Opportunity" [4]
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Works cited

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External links

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