|
|
 |
This article contains Chinese text.
Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of
Chinese characters. |
|
- For the mathematician, see Sun Tzu (mathematician).
Sun Tzu (Chinese: 孫子; pinyin: Sūn Zǐ)
("Master Sun") is an honorific title bestowed upon Sūn Wǔ (孫武; c. 544 BC – 496 BC),
the author of The Art of War, an immensely influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy. He is also one of the earliest
realists in international relations
theory.
In the author's name, Sūn Wǔ, the character wu, meaning "military", is the same as the character in wu shu, or
martial art. Sun Wu also has a courtesy name,
Chang Qing (長卿; Cháng Qīng).
As a historical figure
The only surviving source on the life of Sun Tzu is the biography written in the 2nd century
BC by the historian Sima Qian, who describes him as a general who lived in the
state of Wu in the 6th century BC, and therefore a
contemporary of one of the great Chinese thinkers of ancient times—Confucius. According to
tradition, Sun Tzu was a member of the shi. The shi were landless Chinese aristocrats who were descendants of
nobility who lost their dukedoms during the territorial consolidation of the Spring
and Autumn Period. Unlike most shi, who were traveling academics, Sun Tzu worked as a mercenary (similar to a
modern military consultant). According to tradition, King Helü of Wu hired Sun Tzu as a
general approximately 512 BC after finishing his military famous treatise. What is now known as
the The Art of War was entitled Sun Tzu; naming a work after the author was
common in China prior to the Qin era. After his hiring the kingdom of Wu, which had
previously been considered a semi-barbaric state, went on to become the most powerful state of the period by conquering
Chu, one of the most powerful states in the Spring and Autumn Period. Sun Tzu, always
wanting a peaceful and quiet life, suddenly disappeared when King Helu finally conquered Chu. As a result, his exact date of
death remains unknown.
Fame of treatise
In Chinese Sun Tzu (the original book title) is now commonly called Sunzi bingfa (also transliterated as
Sun-tzu ping fa or Sun-tse ping fa). Sunzi is a modern transliteration of Sun Tzu. Bing Fa can be translated as
"principle for using forces",[1] "military methods", "army
procedures", or "martial arts". Around 298 BC, the historian Zhuang Zi, writing in the state of
Zhao, recorded that Sun Tzu’s theory had been incorporated into the martial arts techniques of both offense and defense and of
both armed and unarmed combat. His Bing Fa was the philosophical basis of what we now know as the Asian martial arts. Amiot's AD 1722 translation of Sun Tzu
into French (the first time it had been translated into a European language) entitled Art Militaire des Chinois is likely
to have influenced translations into the English often titled The Art of War.
Historicity
The historicity of Sun Tzu is discussed extensively in the introduction to Lionel Giles'
1910 translation of The Art of War available as a Project Gutenberg online text. In Giles' introduction to his translation, he expands on the doubt and
confusion which has surrounded the historicity of Sun Tzu.
In 1972 a set of bamboo engraved texts were discovered in a grave near Linyi in Shandong.[2] These have helped to confirm parts of the text which were already known and have
also added new sections.[3] This version has been dated to
between 134 BC – 118 BC,[4] and so rules out older theories
that parts of the text had been written much later.
The two most common historical 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 single 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 more complete translations.
The Art of War has been one of the most popular combat collections in history. Ancient Chinese long viewed this book as
one of the entrance test materials, and it is one of the most important collections of books in the Chinese literature. It is
said that Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin both read this
book while in war.
Related text
Sun Bin, also known as Sun the Mutilated, allegedly a crippled descendent of Sun Tzu, also
wrote a text known as the Art of War. A more accurate title might be the Art of Warfare since this was more
directly concerned with the practical matters of warfare, rather than military strategy.[5] At least one translator has used the title The Lost Art of War, referring
to the long period of time during which Sun Bin's book was lost. There is, however, no similarity between the content or writing
style of Sun Bin and Sun Tzu.
References
See also
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
External links
Wikisource has original works written by or about:
| Persondata |
| NAME |
Tzu, Sun |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES |
Sun Tzu; 孫子 (Chinese); Sūn Zǐ (pinyin) |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION |
Chinese general and writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH |
c. 544 BC |
| PLACE OF BIRTH |
Probably in state of Qi |
| DATE OF DEATH |
c. 496 BC |
| PLACE OF DEATH |
Probably in state of Wu |
zh-classical:孫武pms:Sun Zidiq:Sun Tzu
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)