Editing Sun Tzu (section)

==Life==
[[File: Inscribed bamboo-slips of Art of War.jpg|thumb|The [[Yinqueshan Han Slips]] unearthed in 1972 include Sun Tzu's ''Art of War'', collection of [[Shandong Museum]]]]
The oldest available sources disagree as to where Sun Tzu was born. The ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals]]'' and [[Sima Qian]]'s later ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' (''Shiji'') state that Sun Tzu was born in [[Qi (state)|Qi]].<ref>{{harvnb|Sawyer|2007|p=151}}.</ref> Both sources also agree that Sun Tzu was born in the late [[Spring and Autumn period]] and that he was active as a general and strategist, serving [[kings of Wu|King]] [[Helü]] of [[Wu (state)|Wu]] in the sixth century BC, beginning around 512 BC. Sun Tzu's victories then inspired him to write ''The Art of War''. ''The Art of War'' was one of the most widely read military treatises in the subsequent [[Warring States period]], a time of constant war among seven ancient Chinese states—[[Zhao (state)|Zhao]], [[Qi (state)|Qi]], [[Qin (state)|Qin]], [[Chu (state)|Chu]], [[Han (Warring States)|Han]], [[Wei (state)|Wei]], and [[Yan (state)|Yan]]—who fought to control the vast expanse of fertile territory in Eastern China.<ref name=mcneilly3>{{harvnb|McNeilly|2001|pp=3–4}}.</ref>

One of the better-known stories about Sun Tzu, taken from Sima Qian, illustrates Sun Tzu's temperament as follows: Before hiring Sun Tzu, the King of Wu tested Sun Tzu's skills by commanding him to train a [[harem]] of 180 [[Concubinage|concubines]] into soldiers. Sun Tzu divided them into two companies, appointing the two concubines most favored by the king as the company commanders. When Sun Tzu first ordered the concubines to face right, they giggled. In response, Sun Tzu said that the general, in this case himself, was responsible for ensuring that soldiers understood the commands given to them. Then, he reiterated the command, and again the concubines giggled. Sun Tzu then ordered the execution of the king's two favored concubines, to the king's protests. He explained that if the general's soldiers understood their commands but did not obey, it was the fault of the officers. Sun Tzu also said that, once a general was appointed, it was his duty to carry out his mission, even if the king protested. After both concubines were killed, new officers were chosen to replace them. Afterward, both companies, now well aware of the costs of further frivolity, performed their maneuvers flawlessly.<ref name=bradford134>{{harvnb|Bradford|2000|pp=134–135}}.</ref>

Sima Qian claimed that Sun Tzu later proved on the battlefield that his theories were effective (for example, at the [[Battle of Boju]]), that he had a successful military career, and that he wrote ''The Art of War'' based on his tested expertise.<ref name=bradford134/> However, the ''[[Zuozhuan]]'', a historical text written centuries earlier than the ''Shiji'', provides a much more detailed account of the Battle of Boju, but does not mention Sun Tzu at all.<ref name="Zuo Zhuan">{{citation|chapter-url=http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/saxon/servlet/SaxonServlet?source=xwomen/texts/chunqiu.xml&style=xwomen/xsl/dynaxml.xsl&chunk.id=d2.17&toc.depth=1&toc.id=0&doc.lang=bilingual|chapter=Duke Ding|volume=XI|title=Zuo Zhuan|author=Zuo Qiuming|language=zh, en|title-link=Zuo Zhuan|author-link=Zuo Qiuming}}</ref>


===Historicity===
Around the 12th century AD, some Chinese scholars began to doubt the historical existence of Sun Tzu, primarily on the grounds that he is not mentioned in the historical classic ''[[Zuo Zhuan]]'', which mentions most of the notable figures from the Spring and Autumn period.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=447}}  The name "Sun Wu" ({{lang|zh-hant|孫武}}) does not appear in any text prior to the ''Records of the Grand Historian'',{{sfnp|Mair|2007|p=9}} and may have been a made-up descriptive [[cognomen]] meaning "the fugitive warrior"{{snd}}the surname "Sun" can be glossed as the related term "fugitive" (''xùn'' {{lang|zh-hant|遜}}), while "Wu" is the ancient Chinese virtue of "martial, valiant" (''wǔ'' {{lang|zh-hant|武}}), which corresponds to Sun Tzu's role as the hero's ''[[doppelgänger]]'' in the story of [[Wu Zixu]].<ref name="Victor H 2007 pp. 9-10">[[Victor H. Mair|Mair, Victor H.]] (2007). ''The Art of War: Sun Zi's Military Methods''. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 9–10. {{ISBN|978-0-231-13382-1}}.</ref> The only historical battle attributed to Sun Tzu, the [[Battle of Boju]], has no record of him fighting in that battle.<ref name="Daryl">{{cite web|url=http://www.newhistorian.com/the-art-of-war/3232/|title=The Art of War|author=Worthington, Daryl|date=13 March 2015|publisher=New Historian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190303082729/http://www.newhistorian.com/the-art-of-war/3232/|archive-date=3 March 2019|url-status=dead}} 13 March 2015</ref> [[File:Battle of Boju.png|thumb|400px|Situation during the [[Battle of Boju]]]]

Skeptics cite possible historical inaccuracies and anachronisms in the text, and that the book was actually a compilation from different authors and military strategists. Attribution of the authorship of ''The Art of War'' varies among scholars and has included people and movements including Sun; [[state of Chu|Chu]] scholar [[Wu Zixu]]; an anonymous author; a school of theorists in [[state of Qi|Qi]] or [[state of Wu|Wu]]; [[Sun Bin]]; and others.<ref>{{harvnb|Sawyer|2005|pp=34–35}}.</ref> Sun Bin appears to have been an actual person who was a genuine authority on military matters, and may have been the inspiration for the creation of the historical figure "Sun Tzu" through a form of [[euhemerism]].<ref name="Victor H 2007 pp. 9-10"/> The name Sun Wu does appear in later sources such as the ''Shiji'' and the ''[[Wu Yue Chunqiu]]'', but were written centuries after Sun Tzu's era.<ref>{{harvnb|Sawyer|2007|pp=176–177}}.</ref>

The use of the strips in other works, however, such as ''[[The Methods of the Sima]]'' is considered proof of Sun Tzu's historical priority.<ref name=sawyer149>{{harvnb|Sawyer|1994|pp=149–150}}.</ref> According to Ralph Sawyer, it is very likely Sun Tzu did exist and not only served as a general, but also wrote the core of the book that bears his name.<ref name="sawyer"/> It is argued that there is a disparity between the large-scale wars and sophisticated techniques detailed in the text and the more primitive small-scale battles that many believe predominated in China during the 6th century BC. Against this, Sawyer argues that the teachings of Sun Wu were probably taught to succeeding generations in his family or a small school of disciples, which eventually included Sun Bin. These descendants or students may have revised or expanded upon certain points in the original text.<ref name="sawyer">{{harvnb|Sawyer|2007|pp=150–151}}.</ref>

Skeptics who identify issues with the traditionalist view point to possible anachronisms in ''The Art of War'' including terms, technology (such as anachronistic [[crossbows]]), philosophical ideas, events, and military techniques that should not have been available to Sun Wu.<ref>Yang, Sang. ''The Art of War''. Wordsworth Editions Ltd (1999). pp. 14–15. {{ISBN|978-1-85326-779-6}}</ref><ref name="Asian History">{{cite web|url=http://asianhistory.about.com/od/ancientchina/p/Sun-Tzu-Art-of-War.htm|title=Sun Tzu and the Art of War|publisher=Asian History|author=Szczepanski, Kallie|access-date=13 March 2016|archive-date=22 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122031644/http://asianhistory.about.com/od/ancientchina/p/Sun-Tzu-Art-of-War.htm|url-status=dead}} 4 February 2015</ref> Additionally, there are no records of professional generals during the [[Spring and Autumn period]]; these are only extant from the [[Warring States period]], so there is doubt as to Sun Tzu's rank and generalship.<ref name="Asian History"/> This caused much confusion as to when ''The Art of War'' was actually written. The first traditional view is that it was written in 512 BC by the historical Sun Wu, active in the last years of the Spring and Autumn period ({{Circa|722}}–481 BC). A second view, held by scholars such as Samuel Griffith, places ''The Art of War'' during the middle to late Warring States period ({{Circa|481}}–221 BC). Finally, a third school claims that the slips were published in the last half of the 5th century BC; this is based on how its adherents interpret the bamboo slips discovered at [[Yinqueshan Han Slips|Yinque Shan]] in 1972.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classicsofstrategy.com/2015/11/sun-tzu-the-art-of-war-c-500-300-bc.html|title=Sun Tzu, The Art of War (c. 500–300 B.C.)|publisher=Classics of Strategy|author=Morrow, Nicholas|date=4 February 2015|access-date=13 March 2016|archive-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020030058/http://www.classicsofstrategy.com/2015/11/sun-tzu-the-art-of-war-c-500-300-bc.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>