The Art of War

 

The Art of War
The beginning of The Art of War, in a bamboo book from the reign of the Qianlong Emperor
Traditional Chinese:	孫子兵法
Simplified Chinese:	孙子兵法
Hanyu Pinyin:	Sūnzĭ Bīngfǎ
Literal meaning:	Sun Tzu's Military Strategy
Transliterations Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin: Sūnzĭ Bīngfǎ - Wade-Giles: sun1 zi3 ping1 fa3 Yue (Cantonese) - Jyutping: syun1 zi2 bing1 faat3

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 warfare, 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. Like a work of mathematics or science, much of the work is dedicated to defining its concepts in what has been described as a series of formulas. It is the first and one of the most successful works on strategy and has had a huge influence on Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, and beyond. Sun Tzu was the first to recognize the importance of positioning in strategy and that position is affected both by objective conditions in the physical environment and the subjective opinions of competitive actors in that environment. He taught that strategy was not planning in the sense of working through a to-do list, instead it requires quickly responding appropriately to changing conditions. Planning works in a controlled environment, but in a competitive environment, competing plans collide creating situations that no one plans.

The book was first translated into a European language in 1782 by French Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, and had possibly influenced Napoleon,^[1] and even the planning of Operation Desert Storm.^[2][3] Leaders as diverse as Mao Zedong, 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.^[4][5]

The 13 chapters

Chapter titles from Lionel Giles' 1910 translation I. Laying Plans II. Waging War III. Attack by Stratagem IV. Tactical Dispositions V. Energy VI. Weak Points and Strong VII. Maneuvering VIII. Variation in Tactics IX. The Army On The March X. Terrain XI. The Nine Situations XII. The Attack By Fire XIII. The Use of Spies

Chapter titles from Chow-Hou Wee's 2003 translation I. Detail Assessment and Planning (Chinese: 始計) II. Waging War (Chinese: 作戰) III. Strategic Attack (Chinese: 謀攻) IV. Disposition of the Army (Chinese: 軍行) V. Forces (Chinese: 兵勢) VI. Weaknesses and Strengths (Chinese: 虛實) VII. Military Manoeuvres (Chinese: 軍爭) VIII. Variations and Adaptability (Chinese: 九變) IX. Movement and Development of Troops (Chinese: 行軍) X. Terrain (Chinese: 地形) XI. The Nine Battlegrounds (Chinese: 九地) XII. Attacking with Fire (Chinese: 火攻) XIII. Intelligence and Espionage (Chinese: 用間)

• The first chapter, "Planning," explores the five key elements that define competitive position (mission, climate, ground, leadership, and methods) and how to evaluate your competitive strengths against your competition.
• "Going to War" explains the economic nature of competition and how success requires making winning pay, which in turn, requires limiting the cost of competition and conflict.
• "Planning the Attack" defines the source of strength as unity, not size, and the five ingredients that you need to succeed in any competitive situation.
• "Positioning" explains the importance of defending existing positions until you can advance them and how you must recognize opportunities, not try to create them.
• "Force" explores the use of creativity and timing to build your competitive momentum.
• "Weakness and Strength" explains how your opportunities come from the openings in the environment caused by the relative weakness of your competitors in a given area.
• "Armed Conflict" explains the dangers of direct conflict and how to win those confrontations when they are forced upon you.
• "Adapting to the Situation" focuses on the need for flexibility in your responses. It explains how to respond to shifting circumstances successfully.
• "Armed March" describes the different situations in which you find yourselves as you move into new competitive arenas and how to respond to them. Much of it focuses on evaluating the intentions of others.
• "Field Position" looks the three general areas of resistance (distance, dangers, and barriers) and the a six types of ground positions that arise from them. Each of these six field positions offers certain advantages and disadvantages.
• "Nine Terrain" describes nine common situations (or stages) in a competitive campaign, from scattering to deadly, and the specific focus you need to successfully navigate each of them.
• "Attacking with Fire" explains the use of weapons generally and the use of the environment as a weapon specifically. It examines the five targets for attack, the five types of environmental attack, and the appropriate responses to such attack.
• "Using Spies" focuses on the importance of developing good information sources, specifically the five types of sources and how to manage them.

Read full text The Art of War By: Sun Tzu _{translated by Lionel Giles}^[6]

Annotations

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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 was not 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 complete translations.

Quotations

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.

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 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.^[7] 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.^[8]

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.'"^[9]

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.^[10]

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 Japanese 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 ^{[11] [12]} and legal articles on the trial process, including negotiation tactics ^{[13] [14]} and trial strategy. ^{[15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]}

It has also crept its way into sport: Australian 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.^[21] Most recently (September 2007), it has crept its way onto the small screen - participants in the popular TV Reality show Survivor: China have been given a copy, as a source of strategy and advice for the tribes.

It has found use in political campaigning as well; Republican election strategist Lee Atwater claimed he travelled everywhere with it.^[22]

Some have also interpreted The Art of War as providing methods for developing social strategies, such as social relationships, maintaining romantic relationships, and seduction.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

The book has also gained influence among players of TCGs, Collectible Miniatures Games, and other strategy games.^{[citation needed]}

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," 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:

• Sun Tzu II translated by Thomas Cleary (1996). The Lost Art of War. Harper Collins Publisher (Under HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 0-06-251361-3. This book by Thomas Cleary is a translation of the sequel to Sun Tzu's classic strategic manual.

• Sun Pin translated by Ralph D. Sawyer (1995). Military Methods of the Art of War. Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0-7607-0650-6. This 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 Pratchett's Discworld novel Jingo and Interesting Times

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 Wall Street, the main antagonist, Gordon Gekko (played by Michael Douglas), says: "I don't throw darts at a board. I bet on sure things. Read Sun-tzu, The Art of War. Every battle is won before it is ever fought." His protegé, Bud (played by Charlie Sheen), 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 Forest Whitaker, in the 1999 film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai 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 Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, 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 'Teen Titans' comic book series, General Immortus quotes the text in the episode '', 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 Star Trek: The Next Generation 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 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".^[23]

• For Survivor: China, producers gave both tribes 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 games, 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 Total War series computer and video games, by The Creative Assembly, much of the AI in the earlier (and to some extent, later) games in the series were programmed based on Sun Tzu's stratagems in The Art of War. Passages from the book were also quoted on the Rome: Total War loading screens and were frequently mentioned in Shogun: Total War.

• In Navy Field a freely downloadable MMORPG. The The Art of War is the name of one the fleet / clans ^[24]

• 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.^[25]

• In the video game adaptation for Batman Begins, the entrance to a secret cache of Bat-weapons is activated by the bookshelf with the book The Art of War

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'.
• Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan alludes to 'Art of War' in the song "Incarcerated Scarfaces" with the line, "Wanna battle for cash and see who's Sun-Tzu?"

Sources and translations

• Sun Tzu translated by Dr Han Hiong Tan (2001). Sun Zi's The Art of War. H H Tan Medical P/L. ISBN 0-9580067-0-9. 
• Sun Tzu translated by Filiquarian Publishing (2006). The Art of War. Filiquarian Publishing. ISBN 1-59986-977-2. 
• Sun Tzu translated by the Denma translation group (2001). The Art of War: the Denma translation. Shambhala Classics. ISBN 1-57062-904-8. 
• Sun Tzu translated by Lionel Giles (2002). The Art of War. Deodand Publishing. ISBN 0-9578868-7-X.  Text link (reprint; Giles translated the book in 1910)
• Sun-Tzu translated by Roger Ames (1993). The Art of Warfare. Random House. ISBN 0-345-36239-X. , includes the Yin-ch'ueh-shan (Silver Sparrow Mountain) texts
• Sun Tzu edited by James Clavell (1983). The Art of War. Delacorte Press. ISBN 0-385-29216-3.  This edition was published as a tie-in with Clavell's Asian Saga; it is essentially a re-working of the Lionel Giles translation.
• Sun Tzu translated by Ralph D. Sawyer (1994). The Art of War. Barnes & Noble. ISBN 1-56619-297-8.  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.
• Sun Tzu translated by John Minford (2002). The Art of War. Viking. ISBN 0-670-03156-9.  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.
• Sun Tzu translated by Yuan Shibing (1987). Sun Tzu's Art of War: The Modern Chinese Interpretation. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.. ISBN 0-8069-6638-6. This 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.
• Sun Tzu translated by Thomas Cleary (1991). The Art Of War. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 0-87773-537-9. 
• Sun Tzu translated by J.H. Huang (1993). The Art of War: The New Translation. Quill William Morrow. ISBN 0-688-12400-3. This 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.
• Sun Tzu translated by Samuel B. Griffith (1963). The Art of War. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-501476-6. This 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.
• Sun Tzu translated by Donald G. Krause (1995). The Art of War For Executives. Berkely Publishing Group (Under Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-51902-5. This book written by Donald Krause is interpreted for today's business reader.
• Sun Tzu translated by Ralph D. Sawyer (1995). 100 Lessons In The Art of War. Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0-7607-0998-X. This book by Ralph Sawyer is a culmination on various Chinese strategic texts.
• Sun Tzu translated by Stephen F. Kaufman (1996). The Art of War: The Definitive Interpretation of Sun Tzu's Classic Book of Strategy. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 0-8048-3080-0.  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").
• Sun Tzu (1988-05). The Art of Strategy, translated by R. L. Wing, Seattle, Washington: Main Street Books. ISBN 0-385-23784-7. 
• Sun Tzu (2003-01-14). The Art of War plus The Ancient Chinese Revealed, translated by Gary Gagliardi, 1st hardcover ed., second printing, hillsborough, Washington: Clearbridge Publishing. ISBN 1-929194-42-0.  Winner of a 2003 Independent Publishers Book Award for Multicultural Nonfiction.[7]
• Sun Tzu translated by Prof. Chow-Hou WEE (2003). Sun Zi Art of War: An Illustrated Translation with Asian Perspectives and Insights. Pearson Education Asia Pte Ltd. ISBN 0-13-100137-X. 
• Sun Tzu translated by Paul Brennan (2007). The Art of War for Martial Artists. Odos Books. 2007. ISBN 978-1-60402-416-6

See also

• Sun Tzu
• List of military writers
• Thirty-Six Strategies, another Chinese strategy book
• Philosophy of war
• On War
• The 33 Strategies of War
• The 48 Laws of Power
• The Book of Five Rings

Notes

External links

• The Art of War translated by Lionel Giles (1910), available at Project Gutenberg.
• Art of War - English translation with embedded audio.
• Free Sun Tzu E, Free e-book PDF
• The Art of War Online English Version
• About Sun Tzu and the Art of War, in Chinese and English
• Sun Tzu Said English translation with cross-referenced index, reader comments, online book reader
• Sun Tzu The Art of War Translation by Sonshi with many readers' interpretations
• Sun Tzu the Art of War text (with recorded Mandarin speech), Denma translation
• Sun Tzu and Hollywood on how the appearance of the book in movies influenced the number of books sold
• The Art of War, audio edition Free mp3 downloads Narrated by Michael Scott of ThoughtAudio.com
• Sun Zi's The Art of War text translated by Dr Han Hiong Tan 2001

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The Art of War by Sun Tzu

Section I: Laying Plans

Translated from the Chinese by Lionel Giles, M.A. (1910)

Table of Contents

1. Section I: Laying Plans
2. Section II: Waging War
3. Section III: Attack by Stratagem
4. Section IV: Tactical Dispositions
5. Section V: Energy
6. Section VI: Weak Points and Strong
7. Section VII: Maneuvering
8. Section VIII: Variation in Tactics
9. Section IX: The Army on the March
10. Section X: Terrain
11. Section XI: The Nine Situations
12. Section XII: The Attack by Fire
13. Section XIII: The Use of Spies
14. Full Text

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