The Art Of War

''The Art of War'' is a Chinese Military Treatise written during the 6th Century BC by Sun Tzu . Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of War fare, it has long been praised as the definitive work on Military Strategies And Tactics of its time.

''The Art of War'' is one of the oldest books on military strategy in the world. It is also one of the most famous studies of strategy and has had a huge influence on Eastern and Western , General Pervez Musharraf , Vo Nguyen Giap , and General Douglas MacArthur have claimed to have drawn inspiration from the work.

''The Art of War'' has also been applied, with much success, to Business and managerial strategies. 'Art of War for Business Management Strategic Planning' Floyd, Raymond E. [http://www.allbusiness.com/management/benchmarking-strategic-planning/338250-1.html]

THE 13 CHAPTERS

Read full text ''The Art of War'' By: Sun Tzu _{translated by Lionel Giles}Lionel Giles {Link without Title}

ANNOTATIONS

by Samuel B. Griffith .]]
Before the Bamboo Scroll Version was discovered by archaeologists in April 1972, the most cited version of ''The Art of War'' was the '' Annotation Of Sun Tzu's Strategies '' by Cao Cao , the founder of the Kingdom Of Wei . In the preface, he wrote that previous annotations were not focused on the essential ideas. Other annotations cited in official history books include Shen You (176-204)'s ''Sun Tzu's Military Strategy'', Jia Xu 's ''Copy of Sun Tzu's Military Strategy'', Cao Cao and Wang Ling 's ''Sun Tzu's Military Strategy''.

The '' Book Of Sui '' documented seven books named after Sun Tzu. An annotation by Du Mu also includes Cao Cao's annotation. Li Jing 's ''The Art of War'' is said to be a revision of Sun Tzu's strategies. Annotations by Cao Cao, Du Mu and Li Quan were translated into Tangut Language before 1040 AD.

After the Movable Type Printer was invented, ''The Art of War'' (with Cao Cao's annotations) was published as a military text book, known as '' Seven Military Classics '' with six other strategy books. A book named ''Ten Schools of The Art of War Annotations'' was published before 1161 AD.

As a required reading military textbook since the Song Dynasty , Seven Military Classics (武經七書) has many annotations. More than 30 differently annotated versions of this book exist today.

Vernacular Chinese became increasingly popular in the late 1920s. Annotations in Vernacular Chinese began to appear after this time. Some of these works were translated from other languages, such as Japanese.

The two most common traditional Chinese versions of the Art of War,
(the Complete Specialist Focus and Military Bible versions) were the sources for early translation into English and other languages. It wasn't until the 1970s that these works were compiled with more recent archeological discoveries into a singe more complete version in Taipei. The resulting work is known as the Complete Version of Sun Tzu's Art of War for the National Defense Research Investigation Office has been the source for more recent and complete translations.

QUOTATIONS

Verses from the book occur in modern daily Chinese Idiom s 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，每戰必敗

So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will win a hundred times in a hundred battles. If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you win one and lose the next. If you do not know yourself or your enemy, you will always lose.

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

: 知己知彼百戰不殆 (Original Text) 知己知彼, 百戰百勝

If you know both yourself and your enemy, you will come out of one hundred battles with one hundred victories.

Note that this verse is actually incomplete since if your enemy knows himself and yourself as well you will only win half of the battles.

Similar verses have also been borrowed -- in a manner construing skillfulness as victory "without fighting" -- for example:

:（是故）百戰百勝，非善之善者也；不戰而屈人之兵，善之善者也

Therefore One hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful. Seizing the enemy without fighting is the most skillful.

War is of vital importance to the state and should not be engaged carelessly

MILITARY APPLICATIONS

In many East Asia n 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 Gun s, because he studied ''The Art of War''.Griffith, pp. 172-173 ISBN 0195014766 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. {Link without Title}

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 Guerilla 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.'"Griffith, p. 50 ISBN 0195014766

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

The Department of the Army in the United States, through its Command and General Staff College, has directed all units to maintain libraries within their respective headquarters for the continuing education of personnel in the art of war. ''The Art of War'' is specifically mentioned by name as an example of works to be maintained at each individual unit, and staff duty officers are obliged to prepare short papers for presentation to other officers on their readings.¹ ''The Art of War'' is mentioned for each unit's acquisition on page 18, "Military History Libraries for Duty Personnel"

APPLICABILITY OUTSIDE THE MILITARY

Since at least the 1980s, ''The Art of War'' has been applied to fields well outside 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.

The book has gained popularity in corporate culture; there have been a variety of business books written applying its lessons to " Office Politics " and corporate strategy. Many Japan ese companies make the book required reading for their key Executives . 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.

The Art of War has also been the subject of various law books Barnhizer, David. THE WARRIOR LAWYER : POWERFUL STRATEGIES FOR WINNING LEGAL BATTLES (Irvington-on-Hudson, NY: Bridge Street Books, 1997) Harris, Paul. WARRIOR LAWYER (San Francisco, CA: Paul Harris (self-publication, 1991) and legal articles on the trial process, including negotiation tactics Ashley, Fred T., “The Art of War, Litigation and Mediation”, Ashley Mediation Centers, http://www.socalmediator.com/theartofwar.htm St. Marie, Ronald M., “The Art of Litigation: Deception and Settlement- The Application of Sun Tzu's Ancient Strategies of War to the Law” Chan Law Group, 2002, http://chanlaw.com/litigation.htm and trial strategy. Balch, Christopher D., “The Art of War and the Art of Trial Advocacy: Is There Common Ground?” (1991), 42 Mercer L. Rev. 861-873
Beirne, Martin D. and Scott D. Marrs, “The Art of War and Public Relations: Strategies for Successful Litigation”, http://library.findlaw.com/2005/Dec/28/231115.html)
Gordon, Gary, J., “Slaying the Dragon: The Cross Examination of Expert Witnesses”, Rider Bennett LLP website, http://75.100.99.194/news_pubs/article_detail.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=3894&ARTICLE_TYPE_ID=2)
Pribetic, Antonin I., "The Trial Warrior: Applying Sun Tzu's The Art of War to Trial Advocacy" (April 21, 2007, http://ssrn.com/abstract=981886
Solomon, Samuel H., “The Art of War: Pursuing Electronic Evidence as Your Corporate Opportunity” Doar Litigation Consulting website article http://www.doar.com/apps/uploads/literature13_art_of_war.pdf
Wallo, William E., “Rambo in the Courtroom: Sometimes it Pays to be Confrontational” http://www.walloworld.com/pdf/rambo_courtroom.pdf

It has also crept its way into sport: Australia n Cricket coach John Buchanan handed out excerpts from the book to his players before a match against England in 2001 , and the book is allegedly a favorite of University Of South Carolina football head coach Steve Spurrier .

Former Brazilian Football coach, and current coach of the Portuguese national football team Luiz Felipe Scolari uses the book to plot his Football strategy. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup he gave each of his players copies. In the recent 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany he used the book to plan his team's win against England. 'Portugal Gets Big Moment Instead of Brazil'

It has found use in Political Campaigning as well; Republican election strategist Lee Atwater claimed he travelled everywhere with it. 'What Lee Atwater Knows About Winning'

Some have also interpreted ''The Art of War'' as providing methods for developing social strategies, such as social relationships, maintaining romantic relationships, and seduction. The book stresses subtlety and always making it appear like one is trying to achieve something other than one's actual intention.

The use of individual quotations from the book as a source of Fortune Cookie -like proverbs and not seeing the general coherence of the text has been criticized by many scholars of Chinese History .

The book has also gained influence among players of TCG s, Collectible Miniatures Game s, and other Strategy Games .

THESIS-ANTITHESIS-SYNTHESIS

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was not the first person to formulate the concept of Thesis-AntiThesis-Synthesis (or Problem/Reaction/Solution) in order to manipulate an outcome. Sun Tzu wrote of the Thesis-AntiThesis-Synthesis concept well over 2,300 years before Hegel in " The Art Of War ".

Sun Tzu's "THE ART OF WAR"
Chapter II
Section 17.

Tu Mu: In the Later Han, Tu Hsiang, Prefect of Chin Chou attacked the Kuei Chou rebels Pu Yang, P'an Hung, and others. He entered Nan Hai, destroyed three of their camps, and captured much treasure.

However, P'an Hung and his followers were still strong and numerous while Tu Hsiang's troops, now rich and arrogant, no longer had the slightest desire to fight.

PROBLEM / THESIS

Hsiang said: 'Pu Yang and P'an have been rebels for ten years. Both are well-versed in attack and defence. What we should really do is unite the strength of all the prefectures and then attack them. For the present the troops shall be encouraged to go hunting.' Whereupon the troops both high and low went together to snare game.

As soon as they had left, Tu Hsiang secretly sent people to burn down their barracks. The treasures they had accumulated were completely destroyed.

REACTION / ANTITHESIS

When the hunters returned there was not one who did not weep.

SOLUTION / SYNTHESIS

Tu Hsiang said; 'The wealth and goods of Pu Yang and those with him are sufficient to enrich several generations. You gentlemen did not do your best. What you have lost is but a small bit of what is there. Why worry about it?'

When the troops heard this, they were all enraged and wished to fight. Tu Hsiang ordered the horses fed and everyone to eat in his bed, and early in the morning they marched on the rebels' camp. Yang and Hung had not made preparations, and Tu Hsiang's troops made a spirited attack and destroyed them.

RELATED MATERIAL

Sun Tzu is attributed with having a grandson Sun Bin who wrote another Treatise on military strategy often called "The Lost Art of War" or "The Art of Warfare". Sun Bin or Sun Pin as he is sometimes called is also known as Sun Tzu II. The following are some published texts in this area:

²This book by Thomas Cleary is a translation of the sequel to Sun Tzu's classic strategic manual.

³This book by Ralph Sawyer is a translation of work written by the purported great-grandson of Sun Tzu in the 4th Century.

''Mastering the Art of War'' - Memoirs and notes by famous Chinese military strategists Zhuge Liang and Liu Ji . This book details Zhuge and Liu's personal opinions and comments regarding Sun Tzu's ''The Art of War''. Translated by Thomas Cleary.

DEPICTION IN MEDIA

"The Art of War" has been frequently mentioned in popular media such as film and television. Below are a ''few'' examples of this.

Print

In G I Joe Special Missions # 14 and 15, a small team of Joes is sent to Tibet to retrieve a CIA agent who has gone rogue and is now leading Tibetan freedom fighters in their fight to expel Han Chinese troops. This rogue agent has a copy of ''The Art of War'' whose principles he applies. It is passed on to his successor when he dies.

A parody is mentioned in Terry Pratchets Discworld novel Jingo

Theatre

''The Art of War'', by Stephen Jeffreys, is a dramatic interpretation incorporating recitations from the text with the telling of two stories: one of a US commander in the Iraq War and the other of a group of Australian company executives. The play was specially commissioned by the Sydney Theatre Company for their resident "Actor's Company" of twelve actors. It was first performed in May 2007.

Film

In the 1987 film ''), comes back after reading the text and says: "All warfare is based on deception. If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight and if not: split and re-evaluate," to which Gekko smiles in approval.

The 2000 Wesley Snipes film '' The Art Of War '' was named after the book. Snipes is also seen (as a different character) reading the book in his 1992 movie '' Passenger 57 ''.

The protagonist, played by '' makes frequent reference to the text, as well as the '' Hagakure '', upon which he bases his philosophy.

A passage from the ''Art of War'' is recited in the James Bond film '' Die Another Day '' by Colonel Tan-Sun Moon and General Moon in the final scenes of the film. The book itself also appears during the fight between Miranda Frost and Jinx .

The 2003 movie, '' Gigli '', quotes many of the philosophies in this book.

In the 1996 movie '' The Rock '', a copy of the book can be seen in the bedside of the main character (John Patrick Mason), who is a well trained spy/killer escaped from '' Alcatraz '' Prison, played by '' Sean Connery ''.

In the 2001 film '''', the character Spike Spiegel angrily shouts at another character "Don't pull that ''Art of War'' crap on ''me!''"

Television

In the 2003 animated adaptation of the '', where he observes the Doom Patrol crossing a vast desert and calls to mind the verse "Strike when your enemy is at his weakest, when he is mired in self-doubt, and your victory will be assured." He also later remarks that Sun Tzu was "one of (his) best students".

The ''Art of War'' is referenced multiple times as a tool for business strategy in ''Smallville''

The ''Art of War'' also figures prominently in the plot of the '''' episode, " The Last Outpost ". When the Enterprise is captured helpless in orbit of a planet, Commander Riker says "He will triumph who knows when to fight, and when not to fight". Captain Picard answers that he is glad that ''The Art of War'' is still being taught at Starfleet Academy . On the planet surface, the T'Kon Empire portal guardian renders the last verse of Chapter 3 as "Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will always be victorious."

In the Anime ' Grenadier - The Senshi Of Smiles ', Rushuna and her nation hold the policy of winning by dissolving an enemy's will to fight and thus avoiding combat altogether as the ultimate battle strategy.

In the '' Family Guy '' episode, " A Hero Sits Next Door ," Stewie Griffin is reading ''The Art of War'', commenting that it is exquisite, until Lois Griffin , Stewie's mother, takes the book away.

In the '' Futurama '' episode, Love's Labour's Lost In Space, Zapp Brannigan , when learning that an enemy ship is heading right for him, says "A well calculated move...straight out of Sun Tzu 's ancient text, The Art of War...or my own master work, Zapp Brannigan 's Big Book of War."

In one episode of the science fiction show Firefly , references are made in regard to a criminal mastermind, who applies some principles of torture onto his victims.

Tony Soprano , the lead character in The Sopranos , praises the utility of ''The Art of War'' in a number of episodes. And in a session with his Therapist Dr. Melphi she mentions the book sarcastically "you wanna be a better gang leader, read the art of war by Sun Tzu". http://www.sonshi.com/steindorff.html

For , producers gave each contestant a copy of the book for gameplay.

In the 2005 reality TV show The Contender, boxer Sergio Mora complemented his physical training by studying The Art of War at his bedside during down-time. On camera, he cited the book as a major inspiration for his battles in the ring. Mora went on to defeat fellow Contender Peter Manfredo , and became the Contender Champion.

Video games

Brøderbund Software published two games based on Sun Tzu's ''The Art of War''. The first, entitled '' The Ancient Art Of War '', and the second, '' The Ancient Art Of War At Sea ''. They are primarily Simulation Game s, incorporating elements of strategy, geography and adventure. They were released on a number of computer platforms including Apple II (First title only), Macintosh , and DOS . The first title was written by Ronald G. Helms .

In Sid Meier 's '' Civilization '' computer game series, "Sun Tsu's Art of War" or "Military Academy" is one of the fictional "World Wonders" that can be created, giving the owner several temporary military advantages.

A second Sid Meier simulation, '' Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri '', uses an excerpt from ''The Art of War'' as a narrative explanation of military intelligence gathering during a cutscene for the construction of a specific secret project.

In the ''.

In ''Navy Field'' a freely downloadable MMORPG. The ''The Art Of War'' is the name of one the fleet / clans http://tawfleet.kicks-ass.net/

In '' Deus Ex '', several excerpts from the book can be found throughout the game.

In the Dynasty Warriors video game series ''Art of War'' is an item that increases the time of attack and defense upgrades and also extends the length of musou. In the game Dynasty Tactics Sun Tzu is a gerneral available to Wu.

In Voyage Century Online Sun Tzu 's ''The Art of War'' is a special treasure used to gain reputation. It is the greatest treasure in the game for reputation, giving 110,940 points.http://vc.igg.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6832

Music

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony released a double disc album entitled The Art of War with a guest appearance by the late Tupac Shakur

30 Seconds To Mars (an American Progressive-Rock band) quotes lines from the book at the end of their debut self-titled CD released 2002 by Virgin Records.

The War Of Art Title of the major label debut album by acclaimed Industrial Metal act American Head Charge produced by Rick Rubin .

Chinese American rapper Jin quotes the book in a song from his album The Rest Is History .

Dead Prez mention The Art of War in their lyrics on occasion, for example on "Assassination" from Let's Get Free .

At The Drive-In quote Sun Tzu in their song "arcarsenal" with the phrase "uproar east, strike west".

'Art of War' is the name of a Melbourne based Australian Hip Hop Crew released on Obese Records

Talib Kweli released a song in 2004 where the lyrics read, " i will practice the The Art of War with you like Sun Tzu.

The Polish Death Metal band Vader (band) released an EP titled 'The Art of War' in 2005.

The title of the 2001 Manic Street Preachers album Know Your Enemy is a reference to The Art of War.

Akira The Don references 'The Art of War' in his song 'Living in the Future'.

SOURCES AND TRANSLATIONS

of the 1994 Ralph D. Sawyer translation, printed in 2003]]

⁷ Text link (reprint; Giles translated the book in 1910)

⁸, includes the Yin-ch'ueh-shan (Silver Sparrow Mountain) texts

⁹ This edition was published as a tie-in with Clavell's Asian Saga ; it is essentially a re-working of the Lionel Giles translation.

¹⁰ This translation tries to put The Art of War in its original context as a work of military strategy. It also includes a lengthy introduction and translations of some of the "bamboo strips" recovered from the shrine.

¹¹ This translation contains two parts. The first part is a completely unadorned, “raw�?version of the core text. The second part is that same text with Chinese commentators as well as others.

¹²This book is written by General Tao Hanzhang, a senior officer in the People's Liberation Army. He is a senior advisor at the Beijing Institute for International Strategic Studies.

¹³

¹⁴This text is not a new interpretation of same texts that other editions are based on. Mr. Huang writes a new text based on manuscripts recently discovered in Linyi, China that predates all previous texts by as much as 1000 years.

¹⁵This book is written by Samuel B. Griffith, Brigadier General (retired), U.S. Marine Corps., with a foreword by Sir B. H. Liddell Hart . "Wu Ch'i's Art of War" in six chapters is appended.

¹⁶This book written by Donald Krause is interpreted for today's business reader.

¹⁷This book by Ralph Sawyer is a culmination on various Chinese strategic texts.

¹⁸ Aimed mainly (but not exclusively) at the martial artist, Kaufman's rendition of Sun Tzu's work was written from the perspective of a '' Hanshi '' ("teacher of teachers").

¹⁹

²⁰ Winner of a 2003 Independent Publishers Book Award for Multicultural Nonfiction. {Link without Title}

²¹

Sun Tzu translated by Paul Brennan (2007). ''The Art of War for Martial Artists''. Odos Books. 2007. ISBN 978-1-60402-416-6

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