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孙子兵法 The Art of War Inspiring victories for 2,500 years
By Zhang Ciyun |
June 30, 2013, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
"SUNZI Bingfa," or "The Art of War," was written by Chinese legendary military strategist Sun Wu (circa 535-480 BC) during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). It is not only the oldest book on military strategy in the world, but also one of the three most influential military books in history.
The other two works are "On War," the West's premier theory on war, by Carl Von Clausewitz (1780-1831) of Prussia and "The Book of Five Rings" by Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645), a Japanese samurai.
Sun Wu, also known as Sun Zi or Sun Tzu, was a renowned general and military strategist of the State of Wu during the late years of the Spring and Autumn Period. However, little is known about his family and educational background, except that he was born in the State of Qi (an area in today's Shandong Province in east China) and his family had lived there for several generations.
In 514 BC, Sun moved to the State of Wu in today's Yangtze River Delta area to serve King Helu there. The king read the military treatise presented to him by Sun and was much impressed by the strategist's brilliant insight into warfare.
Immediately, King Helu appointed Sun as his chief military advisor.
In the years that followed, using his theories and philosophy of warfare, Sun helped the State of Wu win a series of major battles against some of the strongest powers at that time.
"The Art of War" is believed to be the first of three volumes of military treatises written by Sun Wu.
It is divided into 13 chapters, with titles such as "Detailed Assessment and Planning," "Waging War," "Weaknesses and Strengths," "Variations and Adaptability," the "Nine Battlegrounds" and "Intelligence and Espionage."
In the book, Sun stresses the importance of positioning in military strategy and flexibility in responding to ever-changing situations on the battlefield.
He also explains how to understand the economy of war and limit the cost of conflict.
In addition, Sun details how to use the environment as a weapon and develop good information sources.
After discussing details about almost all aspects of warfare, Sun comes to a conclusion.
"To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting," he writes.
In other words, the best stratagem in any war is "winning without fighting."
Sun Wu also left behind a number of insightful sayings and quotations, which remain extremely popular today in many parts of the world. Here are a few examples:
- If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss;
- All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are ready to attack, we must pretend that we are not; when maneuvering our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are close to the enemy, we must make him believe that we are far away; and when we are far away, we must make him believe we are near;
- He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will turn out to be the winner;
--- Opportunities will multiply if they are seized;
- Invincibility lies in defense while the possibility of victory in offense;
- Victorious troops win first and then go to war, while losing troops go to war first and then seek to win.
With such timeless wisdom, little wonder then after nearly 2,500 years, "The Art of War" is still included into the curricula in almost all military academies across the world.
In addition, the book's theories and philosophy are also widely applied in today's cutthroat worlds of business, politics and sports - as well as the world of computer gaming.
The other two works are "On War," the West's premier theory on war, by Carl Von Clausewitz (1780-1831) of Prussia and "The Book of Five Rings" by Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645), a Japanese samurai.
Sun Wu, also known as Sun Zi or Sun Tzu, was a renowned general and military strategist of the State of Wu during the late years of the Spring and Autumn Period. However, little is known about his family and educational background, except that he was born in the State of Qi (an area in today's Shandong Province in east China) and his family had lived there for several generations.
In 514 BC, Sun moved to the State of Wu in today's Yangtze River Delta area to serve King Helu there. The king read the military treatise presented to him by Sun and was much impressed by the strategist's brilliant insight into warfare.
Immediately, King Helu appointed Sun as his chief military advisor.
In the years that followed, using his theories and philosophy of warfare, Sun helped the State of Wu win a series of major battles against some of the strongest powers at that time.
"The Art of War" is believed to be the first of three volumes of military treatises written by Sun Wu.
It is divided into 13 chapters, with titles such as "Detailed Assessment and Planning," "Waging War," "Weaknesses and Strengths," "Variations and Adaptability," the "Nine Battlegrounds" and "Intelligence and Espionage."
In the book, Sun stresses the importance of positioning in military strategy and flexibility in responding to ever-changing situations on the battlefield.
He also explains how to understand the economy of war and limit the cost of conflict.
In addition, Sun details how to use the environment as a weapon and develop good information sources.
After discussing details about almost all aspects of warfare, Sun comes to a conclusion.
"To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting," he writes.
In other words, the best stratagem in any war is "winning without fighting."
Sun Wu also left behind a number of insightful sayings and quotations, which remain extremely popular today in many parts of the world. Here are a few examples:
- If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss;
- All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are ready to attack, we must pretend that we are not; when maneuvering our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are close to the enemy, we must make him believe that we are far away; and when we are far away, we must make him believe we are near;
- He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will turn out to be the winner;
--- Opportunities will multiply if they are seized;
- Invincibility lies in defense while the possibility of victory in offense;
- Victorious troops win first and then go to war, while losing troops go to war first and then seek to win.
With such timeless wisdom, little wonder then after nearly 2,500 years, "The Art of War" is still included into the curricula in almost all military academies across the world.
In addition, the book's theories and philosophy are also widely applied in today's cutthroat worlds of business, politics and sports - as well as the world of computer gaming.
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