The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the late Spring and Autumn period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is composed of 13 chapters. Each chapter is devoted to a different set of skills or arts related to warfare, finance and how they apply to military strategy and tactics. For almost 1,500 years, it was the lead text in an anthology that was formalized as the Seven Military Classics by Emperor Shenzong of Song in 1080. The Art of War remains one of the most influential works on strategy of all time and has shaped both East Asian and Western military theory and thinking.
The treatise comprises a detailed explanation and analysis of the 5th-century BCE Chinese military, from weapons, environmental conditions, financial logistics and strategy to morale, rank and discipline. Sun portrays war as a costly, destructive last resort; prolonged warfare erodes the state faster than the enemy ever could. Sun uses diplomacy and economic principles in explaining how to keep war brief, contained, controlled, and as cheap as possible by minimizing financial exposure. Sun also stresses the importance of intelligence operatives and espionage to both the war effort and the prevention of war. Considered one of history's finest military tacticians and analysts, his teachings and strategies formed the basis of advanced military training throughout the world.
The text was first translated into a European language in 1772, when the French Jesuit priest Jean Joseph Marie Amiot produced a French version. The first annotated English translation was published in 1910 by the British scholar Lionel Giles.Giles, Lionel The Art of War by Sun Tzu – Special Edition. Special Edition Books. 2007. p. 62. Military and political leaders such as the Chinese communist revolutionary Mao Zedong, Japanese Takeda Shingen, Vietnamese general Võ Nguyên Giáp, and American generals Douglas MacArthur and Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. are all cited as having drawn inspiration from the book.
History Text and commentaries The Art of War is traditionally attributed to an ancient Chinese military general known as Sun Tzu (pinyin: ), meaning 'Master Sun'. Sun Tzu is said to have lived in the 6th century BCE, but the earliest parts of The Art of War probably date to at least 100 years later.
Sima Qian's Shiji, the first of China's Twenty-Four Histories, records an early Chinese tradition that a text on military matters was written by one Sun Wu () from the state of Qi, and that this text had been read and studied by King Helü of Wu (E). This text was traditionally identified with the received Master Sun's Art of War. The conventional view was that Sun Wu was a military theorist from the end of the Spring and Autumn period (776–471 BCE) who fled Qi to the southeastern state of Wu, where he is said to have impressed the king with his ability to quickly train officials, including court women, in military discipline—and to have made Wu's armies powerful enough to challenge the rival state of Chu to Wu's west. This view is still widely held in China.
The strategist and warlord Kai Wen in the early 3rd century AD authored the earliest known commentary on the Art of War. Kai's preface makes clear that he edited the text and removed certain passages, but the extent of his changes were unclear historically. The Art of War appears throughout the bibliographical catalogs of the Chinese dynastic histories, but listings of its divisions and size varied widely.
Authorship
Beginning around the 12th century, Chinese scholars began to question Sun Tzu's historical existence. Their primary ground was that the historical classic Zuo Zhuan, which mentions most of the notable figures from the Spring and Autumn period, does not mention Sun Tzu at all. The name "Sun Wu" () does not appear in any text prior to the Records of the Grand Historian. Some scholars have suspected it is a made-up descriptive cognomen meaning "the fugitive warrior", glossing the surname "Sun" as the related term "fugitive" ( ), while "Wu" ( ) is (1) the ancient Chinese virtue of "martial, valiant" and (2) a Jianghuai dialectal synonym of "knight",Liu An (original compiler), Xu Shen (annotator). Huainan Honglie (Annotated), "Survey Obscurities". Main text: 「夫死生同域，不可脅陵，勇武一人，為三軍雄。」; Major et al.'s (2010) translation: "One for whom death and life are the same territory, who cannot be threatened, such a single brave warrior is the hero of the Three Armies."; Siku Quanshu version. vols. 4-7, p. 96 of 160 ; Annotation: 「武士也；江淮間謂士曰武。」Liu An (2010) The Huainanzi: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Government in Early Han China. Translated and edited by John S. Major, Sarah A. Queen, Aandrew Seth Meyer, and Harold D. Roth. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010. p. 215 which corresponds to Sunzi's role as the hero's doppelgänger in the story of Wu Zixu. 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 Sun Tzu's purported descendant Sun Bin, as several historical sources mention a military treatise he wrote. It is possible, according to Samuel B. Griffith that Sun Wu may not have written The Art of War.
In 1972, the Yinqueshan Han slips were discovered in two Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) tombs near the city of Linyi in Shandong. Among the many bamboo slip writings contained in the tombs, which had been sealed between 134 and 118 BCE, were two separate texts: one attributed to "Sun Tzu", corresponding to the received text, and another attributed to Sun Bin, which explains and expands upon the earlier The Art of War by Sunzi. The Sun Bin text's material overlaps with much of the "Sun Tzu" text. The two may be "a single, continuously developing intellectual tradition united under the Sun name".Mark Edward Lewis (2005), quoted in Mair (2007), p. 18. 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. 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. It is now generally accepted that the earlier The Art of War was completed sometime between 500 and 430 BCE.
Chapters The Art of War is divided into 13 chapters (or ); the collection is referred to as being one ("whole" or alternatively "chronicle").
+ The Art of War chapter names and contents Chapter Lionel Giles (1910) R. L. Wing (1988) Ralph D. Sawyer (1996) Chow-Hou Wee (2003) Michael Nylan (2020) Contents I Laying Plans The Calculations Initial Estimations Detail Assessment and Planning() First Calculations Explores the five fundamental factors (the Way, seasons, terrain, leadership, and management) and seven elements (which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the way or moral law, which side's general is more capable, which side has superior in right time and right place, which side's laws and regulations can be enforced more strictly, which side has more resources, better equipment and stronger army, which side's officers and men are more well-trained and more capable of fighting, which side's rewards and punishments are more fair and clear) 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. II Waging War The Challenge Waging War Waging War() Initiating Battle 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. III Attack by Stratagem The Plan of Attack Planning Offensives Strategic Attack(; móugōng) Planning an Attack 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. IV Tactical Dispositions Positioning Military Disposition Disposition of the Army(; jūnxíng) Forms to Perceive 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. V Use of Energy Directing Strategic Military Power Forces(; bīngshì) The Disposition of Power Explains the use of creativity and timing in building an army's momentum. VI Weak Points and Strong Illusion and Reality Vacuity and Substance Weaknesses and Strengths(; xūshí) Weak and Strong 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. VII Maneuvering an Army Engaging The Force Military Combat Military Maneuvers(; jūnzhēng) Contending Armies Explains the dangers of direct conflict and how to win those confrontations when they are forced upon the commander. VIII Variation of Tactics The Nine Variations Nine Changes Variations and Adaptability(; jiǔbiàn) Nine Contingencies Focuses on the need for flexibility in an army's responses. It explains how to respond to shifting circumstances successfully. IX The Army on the March Moving The Force Maneuvering the Army Movement and Development of Troops(; xíngjūn) Fielding the Army 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. X Classification of Terrain Situational Positioning Configurations of Terrain Terrain(; dìxíng) Conformations of the Lands 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. XI The Nine Situations The Nine Situations Nine Terrains The Nine Battlegrounds(; jiǔde) Nine Kinds of Ground 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. XII Attack by Fire The Fiery Attack Incendiary Attacks Attacking with Fire(; huǒgōng) Attacks with Fire 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. XIII Use of Spies The Use of Intelligence Employing Spies Intelligence and Espionage(; yòngjiān) Using Spies 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.
Cultural influence
Military and intelligence applications
Across East Asia, The Art of War was part of the syllabus for potential candidates of military service examinations.
During the Sengoku period (), the Japanese 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. The Illustrated Art of War. 2005. Oxford University Press. pp. 17, 141–43. The book even gave him the inspiration for his famous battle standard (Wind, Forest, Fire and Mountain), meaning fast as the wind, silent as a forest, ferocious as fire and immovable as a mountain.