Editing The Art of War

{{Short description|5th century BC Chinese military treatise}}
{{Other uses}}
{{redirect|Know thy enemy|the episode of ''The Vampire Diaries''|Know Thy Enemy|other uses|Know Your Enemy (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Sun Bin's Art of War}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

{{Infobox book
| image             = Bamboo book - unfolded - UCR.jpg
| author            = [[Sun Tzu]] (traditional)
| country           = [[China]]
| language          = [[Classical Chinese]]
| orig_lang_code    = zh
| subject           = [[Military art (military science)|Military art]]
| pub_date          = 5th century BC
| native_wikisource = 孫子兵法
| wikisource        = The Art of War (Sun)
| genre             = [[Military strategy]]
| dewey             = 355.02
| congress          = U101 .S95
| module           =  {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes
| t = {{linktext|孫子兵法}}
| s = 孙子兵法
| p = Sūnzǐ bīngfǎ
| w = {{tonesup|Sun1-tzu3 ping1-fa3}}
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|s|un|1|zi|3|-|b|ing|1|f|a|3}}
| bpmf = ㄙㄨㄣ ㄗˇ ㄅㄧㄥ ㄈㄚˇ
| j = Syun1 zi2 bing1 faat3
| y = Syūnjí bīngfaat
| ci = {{IPAc-yue|s|yun|1|z|i|2|-|b|ing|1|f|aat|3}}
| tl = Sun-tzú ping-huat
| l = "Master Sun's Military Methods"
| oc-bs = &ast;{{IPA|sˤun tsəʔ praŋ p.kap}}
}}
}}
{{Chinese Military Texts}}
{{war}}

'''''The Art of War''''' is an ancient [[List of Chinese military texts|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 one is devoted to a different set of skills or [[Art (skill)|art]] related to warfare and how it applies to [[military strategy]] and [[Military tactics|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 the most influential strategy text in East Asian warfare{{sfnp|Smith|1999|p=216}} and has influenced both East Asian and Western military theory and thinking.

The book contains a detailed explanation and analysis of the 5th-century BC Chinese military, from weapons, environmental conditions, and strategy to rank and discipline. Sun also stressed the importance of intelligence operatives and espionage to the war effort. 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 book was translated into French and published in 1772 by the French priest [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] [[Jean Joseph Marie Amiot]]; it was re-published in 1782. A partial translation into English was attempted by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905 under the title ''The Book of War''. The first annotated English translation was completed and published by [[Lionel Giles]] in 1910.<ref name="Lionel Giles 2007. p. 62">Giles, Lionel ''The Art of War by Sun Tzu – Special Edition''. Special Edition Books. 2007. p. 62.</ref> Military and political leaders such as the Chinese communist revolutionary [[Mao Zedong]], Japanese {{tlit|ja|[[daimyō]]}} [[Takeda Shingen]], and Vietnamese general [[Võ Nguyên Giáp]] are cited along with American military generals [[Douglas MacArthur]] and [[Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.]] as having drawn inspiration from the book.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hlavatý |first1=Jozef |last2=Ližbetin |first2=Ján |year=2021 |title=The Use of the Art of War Ideas in the Strategic Decision-making of the Company |journal=Transportation Research Procedia |series=14th International scientific conference on sustainable, modern and safe transport  |volume=55 |pages=1273–1280 |doi=10.1016/j.trpro.2021.07.110 |s2cid=238896273 |issn=2352-1465|doi-access=free }}</ref>

==History==
===Text and commentaries===
''The Art of War'' is traditionally attributed to an ancient Chinese military general known as [[Sun Tzu]] ([[pinyin]]: {{tlit|zh|Sūnzǐ}}), meaning 'Master Sun'. Sun Tzu is said to have lived in the 6th century BC, but the earliest parts of ''The Art of War'' probably date to at least 100 years later.{{sfnp|Lewis|1999|p=604}}

[[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 ({{lang|zh|孫武}}) from the [[state of Qi]], and that this text had been read and studied by [[King Helü of Wu]] ({{reign|514|495&nbsp;BC}}).{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=447}} 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&nbsp;BC) 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.{{sfnp|Mair|2007|pp=12–13}}

The strategist and warlord [[Cao Cao]] in the early 3rd century AD authored the earliest known commentary to the ''Art of War''.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=447}} Cao's preface makes clear that he edited the text and removed certain passages, but the extent of his changes were unclear historically.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=447}} ''The Art of War'' appears throughout the bibliographical catalogs of the Chinese dynastic histories, but listings of its divisions and size varied widely.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=447}}

===Authorship===
[[File:Inscribed bamboo-slips of Art of War.jpg|thumb|300px|Fragments of ''The Art of War'' discovered as a part of the [[Yinqueshan Han Slips]], showing the version of ''The Art of War'' that was popular in [[Han dynasty]] (206&nbsp;BC&nbsp;– 220 AD)]]
Beginning around the 12th century, Sun Tzu's historical existence began to be questioned by Chinese scholars, 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|孫武}}) does not appear in any text prior to the ''Records of the Grand Historian'',{{sfnp|Mair|2007|p=9}} and has been suspected to be a made-up descriptive cognomen meaning "the fugitive warrior", glossing the surname "Sun" as the related term "fugitive" ({{transliteration|zh|xùn}} {{lang|zh|遜}}), while "Wu" ({{transliteration|zh|wǔ}} {{lang|zh|武}}) is (1) the ancient Chinese virtue of "martial, valiant" and (2) a [[Jianghuai]] dialectal synonym of {{zhi|c=士|p=shì}} "[[Scholar-official#Origins of Shi (士) and Da fu (大夫)|knight]]",<ref>[[Liu An]] (original compiler), [[Xu Shen]] (annotator). ''[[Huainanzi|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, [https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=67848&page=96#%E6%AD%A6%E5%A3%AB%E4%B9%9F%E6%B1%9F%E6%B7%AE%E9%96%93%E8%AC%82%E5%A3%AB%E7%99%BD%E6%AD%A6 p. 96 of 160] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415095028/https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=en&file=67848&page=96#%E6%AD%A6%E5%A3%AB%E4%B9%9F%E6%B1%9F%E6%B7%AE%E9%96%93%E8%AC%82%E5%A3%AB%E7%99%BD%E6%AD%A6 |date=15 April 2023 }}; Annotation: 「'''武'''士也；江淮間謂士曰'''武'''。」</ref><ref>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</ref> which corresponds to Sunzi's role as the hero's [[doppelgänger]] in the story of [[Wu Zixu]].{{sfnp|Mair|2007|p=10}} 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 a number of historical sources mention a military treatise he wrote.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=447}} Unlike Sun Wu, 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]].{{sfnp|Mair|2007|p=10}}

In 1972, the [[Yinqueshan Han slips]] were discovered in two [[Han dynasty]] (206&nbsp;BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) tombs near the city of [[Linyi]] in [[Shandong]].{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=448}} Among the many [[Bamboo and wooden slips|bamboo slip]] writings contained in the tombs, which had been sealed between 134 and 118 BC, 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.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=449}} The Sun Bin text's material overlaps with much of the "Sun Tzu" text, and the two may be "a single, continuously developing intellectual tradition united under the Sun name".<ref>[[Mark Edward Lewis]] (2005), quoted in Mair (2007), p. 18.</ref> 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.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=449}} 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.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=448}} It is now generally accepted that the earlier ''The Art of War'' was completed sometime between 500 and 430&nbsp;BC.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=449}}

==Chapters==
''The Art of War'' is divided into 13 chapters (or {{transliteration|zh|piān}}); the collection is referred to as being one {{transliteration|zh|zhuàn}} ("whole" or alternatively "chronicle").

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ ''The Art of War'' chapter names and contents
|-
! Chapter
! [[Lionel Giles]] (1910)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sunzi |trans-title=The art of war |title=Sun-tzu ping fa |date=2009 |publisher=El Paso Norte Press |translator=Lionel Giles |editor=Shawn Conners |isbn=978-1-934255-15-5 |edition=Classic |location=El Paso, TX |oclc=433665014}}</ref>
! 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<br/>({{lang-zh|links=yes|p=shîjì|t=始計}})
| First Calculations
| style="text-align:left;" | 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<br/>({{zhi|t=作戰|p=zuòzhàn}})
| Initiating Battle
| style="text-align:left;" | 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<br/>({{zhi|t=謀攻}})
| Planning an Attack
| style="text-align:left;" | 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<br/>({{zhi|t=軍形}})
| Forms to Perceive
| style="text-align:left;" | 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<br/>({{zhi|t=兵勢}})
| The Disposition of Power
| style="text-align:left;" | 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<br/>({{zhi|t=虛實}})
| Weak and Strong
| style="text-align:left;" | 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<br/>({{zhi|t=軍爭}})
| Contending Armies
| style="text-align:left;" | 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<br/>({{zhi|t=九變}})
| Nine Contingencies
| style="text-align:left;" | 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<br/>({{zhi|t=行軍}})
| Fielding the Army
| style="text-align:left;" | 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<br/>({{zhi|t=地形}})
| Conformations of the Lands
| style="text-align:left;" | 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<br/>({{zhi|t=九地}})
| Nine Kinds of Ground
| style="text-align:left;" | 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<br/>({{zhi|t=火攻}})
| Attacks with Fire
| style="text-align:left;" | 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<br/>({{zhi|t=用間}})
| Using Spies
| style="text-align:left;" | 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==
[[File:Bamboo book - binding - UCR.jpg|thumb|The beginning of ''The Art of War'' in a classical [[Bamboo and wooden slips|bamboo book]] from the reign of the [[Qianlong Emperor]]]]

=== Military and intelligence applications ===
{{see also|Wen and wu}}
Across [[East Asia]], ''The Art of War'' was part of the syllabus for potential candidates of military service examinations.

During the [[Sengoku period]] ({{circa|1467–1568}}), the Japanese {{transliteration|ja|[[daimyō]]}} [[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''.<ref name="Griffith 2007. p.150">{{Smallcaps|Griffith, Samuel B.}} ''The Illustrated Art of War''. 2005. Oxford University Press. pp. 17, 141–43.</ref> The book even gave him the inspiration for his famous battle standard {{transliteration|ja|"[[Fūrinkazan]]"}} (Wind, Forest, Fire and Mountain), meaning fast as the wind, silent as a forest, ferocious as fire and immovable as a mountain.

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 Guerrilla Warfare]]'', ''[[On Protracted War|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.'"<ref name="Griffith 2007. p.150"/>

During the [[Vietnam War]], some [[Viet Cong]] officers extensively studied ''The Art of War'' and reportedly could recite entire passages from memory. General [[Võ Nguyên Giáp]] successfully implemented tactics described in ''The Art of War'' during the [[Battle of Dien Bien Phu]] ending major French involvement in Indochina and leading to the accords which partitioned Vietnam into North and South. General Giáp, later the main PVA military commander in the Vietnam War, was an avid student and practitioner of Sun Tzu's ideas.<ref name="findarticles.com">McCready, Douglas. Learning from Sun Tzu, ''Military Review'', May–June 2003.{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0PBZ/is_3_83/ai_109268913/?tag%3Duntagged|title=Learning from Sun Tzu|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011212135/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0PBZ/is_3_83/ai_109268913/?tag=untagged|archive-date=11 October 2011|url-status=dead|access-date=19 December 2009}}</ref>

==== Outside East Asia ====
The United States' defeat in the Vietnam War, more than any other event, brought Sun Tzu to the attention of leaders of U.S. military theory.<ref name="findarticles.com" /><ref>Interview with Dr. William Duiker, Conversation with [http://www.sonshi.com/duiker.html Sonshi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118173816/https://www.sonshi.com/william-duiker-interview.html |date=18 January 2024 }}</ref><ref>Forbes, Andrew; Henley, David (2012). ''The Illustrated Art of War: Sun Tzu''. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. {{ASIN|B00B91XX8U}}</ref> The [[Department of the Army]] in the United States, through its [[United States Army Command and General Staff College|Command and General Staff College]], lists ''The Art of War'' as one example of a book that may be kept at a military unit's library.<ref>{{cite book | last = Army | first = U. S. | year = 1985 | title = Military History and Professional Development | publisher = Combat Studies Institute | location = U. S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas | id = 85-CSI-21 85}}</ref> ''The Art of War'' is listed on the [[United States Marine Corps|US Marine Corps]] Professional Reading Program (formerly known as the Commandant's Reading List). It is recommended reading for all United States Military Intelligence personnel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.marines.mil/news/messages/Pages/2005/MARINE%20CORPS%20PROFESSIONAL%20READING%20PROGRAM.aspx|title=Messages|access-date=2 June 2009|archive-date=2 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002035318/http://www.marines.mil/news/messages/Pages/2005/MARINE%20CORPS%20PROFESSIONAL%20READING%20PROGRAM.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> ''The Art of War'' is also used as instructional material at the [[United States Military Academy]] (commonly known as West Point), in the course Military Strategy (470).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Department of Military Instruction Job Opportunities {{!}} United States Military Academy West Point|url=https://westpoint.edu/military/department-of-military-instruction/job-opportunities|access-date=5 June 2020|website=westpoint.edu|archive-date=12 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212213356/https://westpoint.edu/military/department-of-military-instruction/job-opportunities|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is also recommended reading for Officer cadets at the [[Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst]]. Some notable military leaders have stated the following about Sun Tzu and ''The Art of War'':

{{blockquote|I always kept a copy of The Art of War on my desk.<ref>United States Military Posture for FY1989 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989), 5–6, 93–94.</ref> – General [[Douglas MacArthur]], [[General of the Army (United States)|5 Star General]] and [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers]].}}

{{blockquote|I have read The Art of War by Sun Tzu. He continues to influence both soldiers & politicians.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://leaderonomics.com/leadership/sun-tzu-secrets-success|title=Chinese Military Strategist Sun Tzu Reveals Secrets to Success &#124; Leaderonomics|date=2 February 2018|access-date=12 December 2019|archive-date=7 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207113130/https://leaderonomics.com/leadership/sun-tzu-secrets-success|url-status=live}}</ref> – General [[Colin Powell]], [[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]], [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]], and [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]].}}

According to some authors, the strategy of [[disinformation|deception]] from ''The Art of War'' was studied and widely used by the [[KGB]]: "I will force the enemy to take our strength for weakness, and our weakness for strength, and thus will turn his strength into weakness".<ref name="Albats">[[Yevgenia Albats]] and Catherine A. Fitzpatrick. ''The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia – Past, Present, and Future.'' 1994. {{ISBN|0-374-52738-5}}, chapter ''Who was behind perestroika?''</ref>

===Application outside the military===
Some of the book's admirers claim that it has a variety of applications in a myriad of competitive non-military endeavors across the modern world including espionage, culture, politics, business, and sports.<ref>{{cite book
 |last1        = McNeilly
 |first1       = Mark R.
 |year         = 2015
 |title        = Sun Tzu and the Art of Modern Warfare
 |url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=yVFjBAAAQBAJ
 |edition      = updated
 |publisher    = Oxford University Press
 |page         = 301
 |isbn         = 9780199957859
 |access-date  = 14 December 2022
 |quote        = Sun Tzu is not talking about 'news' here but about espionage affairs, or matters or plans relating to espionage.
}}</ref><ref name=wp>{{citation|last= Scott|first= Wilson|title=Obama meets privately with Jewish leaders|date=7 March 2013|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-meets-privately-with-jewish-leaders/2013/03/07/dd95b4ca-8733-11e2-999e-5f8e0410cb9d_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=22 May 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724060741/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-03-07/politics/37535039_1_nuclear-weapons-jewish-leaders-president-obama|archive-date=24 July 2013}}</ref><ref name=UPI>{{citation|title=Obama to challenge Israelis on peace|work=United Press International|date=8 March 2013|url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/03/08/Obama-to-challenge-Israelis-on-peace/UPI-70151362729600/|access-date=22 May 2013|archive-date=27 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127055352/https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/03/08/Obama-to-challenge-Israelis-on-peace/UPI-70151362729600/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Business">{{citation|last=Garner|first=Rochelle|title=Oracle's Ellison Uses 'Art of War' in Software Battle With SAP|date=16 October 2006|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aFA0SRsqGq04|work=Bloomberg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020122222/https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aFA0SRsqGq04|url-status=dead|access-date=18 May 2013|archive-date=20 October 2015}}</ref><ref name=Football>{{citation|last=Hack|first=Damon|title=For Patriots' Coach, War Is Decided Before Game|newspaper=The New York Times|date=3 February 2005|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/03/sports/football/03belichick.html|access-date=18 May 2013|archive-date=18 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118173749/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/03/sports/football/for-patriots-coach-waris-decided-before-game.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some business books have claimed to see metaphorical parallels from The Art of War to [[office politics]] and corporate business strategy.<ref>Michaelson, Gerald. "Sun Tzu: The Art of War for Managers; 50 Strategic Rules." Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2001</ref><ref>McNeilly, Mark. "Sun Tzu and the Art of Business : Six Strategic Principles for Managers. New York:Oxford University Press, 1996.</ref><ref>Krause, Donald G. "The Art of War for Executives: Ancient Knowledge for Today's Business Professional." New York: Berkley Publishing Group, 1995.</ref> Some Japanese companies make the book required reading for their key [[corporate officer|executives]].<ref>Kammerer, Peter. [https://www.scmp.com/article/545583/art-negotiation "The Art of Negotiation."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715180558/https://www.scmp.com/article/545583/art-negotiation |date=15 July 2019 }} South China Morning Post (21 April 2006) p. 15</ref> Entrepreneurs and corporate executives have turned to it for inspiration and advice on how to succeed in competitive business situations. The book has also been applied to the field of education.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Jeffrey | first1 = D | year = 2010 | title = A Teacher Diary Study to Apply Ancient Art of War Strategies to Professional Development | journal = The International Journal of Learning | volume = 7 | issue = 3| pages = 21–36 }}</ref>

''The Art of War'' has been the subject of legal books<ref>Barnhizer, David. ''The Warrior Lawyer: Powerful Strategies for Winning Legal Battles'' Irvington-on-Hudson, NY: Bridge Street Books, 1997.</ref> and legal articles on the trial process, including negotiation tactics and trial strategy.<ref>Balch, Christopher D., "The Art of War and the Art of Trial Advocacy: Is There Common Ground?" (1991), 42 Mercer L. Rev. 861–73</ref><ref>Beirne, Martin D. and Scott D. Marrs, ''[http://library.findlaw.com/2005/Dec/28/231115.html The Art of War and Public Relations: Strategies for Successful Litigation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711081533/http://library.findlaw.com/2005/Dec/28/231115.html |date=11 July 2012 }}''</ref><ref>Pribetic, Antonin I., [http://ssrn.com/abstract=981886 "The Trial Warrior: Applying Sun Tzu's The Art of War to Trial Advocacy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118173713/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=981886 |date=18 January 2024 }}  21 April 2007</ref><ref>Solomon, Samuel H., [https://web.archive.org/web/20140416210012/http://www.doar.com/apps/uploads/literature13_art_of_war.pdf "The Art of War: Pursuing Electronic Evidence as Your Corporate Opportunity"] 2002</ref>

The book ''[[The 48 Laws of Power]]'' by [[Robert Greene (American author)|Robert Greene]] has many quotations from ''The Art of War''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene|url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/330912/the-48-laws-of-power-by-robert-greene/9780140280197|access-date=27 October 2020|website=Penguin Random House Canada|language=en|archive-date=31 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031015807/https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/330912/the-48-laws-of-power-by-robert-greene/9780140280197|url-status=live}}</ref>

''The Art of War'' has also been applied in sports. [[National Football League]] coach [[Bill Belichick]], record holder of the most [[Super Bowl]] wins in history, has stated on multiple occasions his admiration for ''The Art of War''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lauletta |first=Tyler |date=6 December 2019 |title=Bill Belichick explains how advice from Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' helped build the Patriots dynasty |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-belichick-says-the-art-of-war-helped-build-patriots-dynasty-2019-12 |access-date=5 June 2020 |website=Business Insider |archive-date=31 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731040109/https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-belichick-says-the-art-of-war-helped-build-patriots-dynasty-2019-12 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 February 2005 |others=The New York Times |title=Put crafty Belichick's patriot games down to the fine art of war |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/put-crafty-belichicks-patriot-games-down-to-the-fine-art-of-war-20050204-gdkmii.html |url-access=limited |access-date=5 June 2020 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |archive-date=22 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122022347/https://www.smh.com.au/sport/put-crafty-belichicks-patriot-games-down-to-the-fine-art-of-war-20050204-gdkmii.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Brazil]]ian [[association football]] coach [[Luiz Felipe Scolari]] actively used ''The Art of War'' for Brazil's successful [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002 World Cup]] campaign. During the tournament Scolari put passages of ''The Art of War'' underneath his players' doors at night.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Campos |first=Celso de Jr. |date=1 July 2011 |title=Luiz Felipe Scolari: One-on-One |url=https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/luiz-felipe-scolari-one-one |access-date=5 June 2020 |website=[[FourFourTwo]] |archive-date=2 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302010609/https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/luiz-felipe-scolari-one-one |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/mind-games-reach-new-high-as-scolari-studies-art-of-war-95223.html | work=Irish Independent | first=Henry | last=Winter | title=Mind games reach new high as Scolari studies art of war | date=29 June 2006 | access-date=30 April 2011 | archive-date=20 July 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120720234637/http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/mind-games-reach-new-high-as-scolari-studies-art-of-war-95223.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

''Playing To Win'' by [[David Sirlin]] analyses applications of the ideas from ''The Art of War'' in modern esports.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sirlin |first=David| title=Playing to Win | publisher=lulu.com| year=2005 | isbn=978-1411666795}}</ref> ''The Art of War'' was released in 2014 as an [[e-book]] companion alongside the Art of War [[Downloadable content|DLC]] for [[Europa Universalis IV]], a PC strategy game by [[Paradox Development Studios]], with a foreword by Thomas Johansson.

===Film and television===
''The Art of War'' and Sun Tzu have been referenced and quoted in many movies and television shows, including in the 1987 movie ''[[Wall Street (1987 film)|Wall Street]]'', in which [[Gordon Gekko]] ([[Michael Douglas]]) frequently references it.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bud Fox: Sun-tzu: If your enemy is superior, evade him. If angry, irritate him. If equally matched, fight, and if not split and reevaluate.|url=https://www.quotes.net/mquote/102540|access-date=5 June 2020|website=www.quotes.net|language=en|archive-date=6 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206154411/https://www.quotes.net/mquote/102540|url-status=live}}</ref> The 20th ''[[James Bond]]'' film, ''[[Die Another Day]]'' (2002) also references ''The Art of War'' as the spiritual guide shared by Colonel Moon and his father.<ref>{{Citation|title=Die Another Day (2002) - IMDb|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246460/characters/nm0827170|access-date=5 June 2020|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224145517/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246460/characters/nm0827170|url-status=live}}</ref> In ''[[The Sopranos]]'', season 3, episode 8 ("He Is Risen"), [[Jennifer Melfi|Dr. Melfi]] suggests to [[Tony Soprano]] that he read the book.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Globe|first=Boston|title=Hey, if Tony's reading it, it's got to be good|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2001-05-13-0105130365-story.html|access-date=5 June 2020|website=baltimoresun.com|date=13 May 2001|language=en-US|archive-date=4 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200204062545/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2001-05-13-0105130365-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' first-season episode "The Last Outpost", first officer [[William Riker]] quotes ''The Art of War'': "Fear is the true enemy, the only enemy". [[Jean-Luc Picard|Captain Picard]] expressed pleasure that Sun Tzu was still taught at [[Starfleet Academy]]. Later in the episode, a survivor from a long-dead nonhuman empire noted common aspects between his own people's wisdom and ''The Art of War'' with regard to knowing when and when not to fight.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Next Generation Transcripts - The Last Outpost |url=http://www.chakoteya.net/NextGen/107.htm |access-date=2023-08-09 |website=www.chakoteya.net |archive-date=13 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231113180438/http://www.chakoteya.net/NextGen/107.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

''[[The Art of War (film)|The Art of War]]'' is a 2000 action spy film directed by [[Christian Duguay (director)|Christian Duguay]] and starring [[Wesley Snipes]], [[Michael Biehn]], [[Anne Archer]] and [[Donald Sutherland]].<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160009/|title = The Art of War (2000) - IMDb|website = [[IMDb]]|access-date = 21 July 2020|archive-date = 23 July 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200723040741/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160009/|url-status = live}}</ref>

==Notable translations==
[[File:The Art of War Running Press.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Running Press]] [[Miniature book|miniature edition]] of the 1994 Ralph D. Sawyer translation, printed in 2003]]

* {{cite book | translator= [[Lionel Giles]]| title= Sun Tzu on the Art of War | location=London | publisher=Luzac and Company | year=1910 }}
* {{cite book | translator=[[Samuel B. Griffith]] | title= The Art of War | location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1963 | isbn=978-0-19-501476-1}} Part of the [[UNESCO Collection of Representative Works]].
* {{cite book | translator= [[Thomas Cleary]] | title= Sun Tzu, The Art of War | location=Boston | publisher=Shambhala Dragon Editions | year=1988 |isbn=978-0877734529}}
* {{cite book | translator= Roger Ames |translator-link=Roger T. Ames | title=The Art of Warfare | publisher=Random House | year=1993 | isbn=978-0-345-36239-1}}
* {{cite book | translator= [[John Minford]]| title= The Art of War | location=New York | publisher=Viking | year=2002 |isbn=978-0-670-03156-6}}
* {{cite book | translator=[[Victor H. Mair]]| title=The Art of War: Sunzi's Military Methods | location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press | year = 2007 |isbn= 978-0-231-13382-1}}

==See also==
{{Portal|China|Philosophy|Books}}

=== Books ===
* ''[[Achtung – Panzer!]]'' by Heinz Guderian
* ''[[Arthashastra]]''
* ''[[Bansenshukai]]''
* ''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico]]'' (Commentaries on the Gallic War) by Julius Caesar
* ''[[Dream Pool Essays]]'' by Shen Kuo
* ''[[Epitoma rei militaris]]'' by Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus
* ''[[Guerrilla Warfare (book)|Guerrilla Warfare]]'' by Che Guevara
* ''[[Hagakure]]'' by Yamamoto Tsunetomo
* ''[[History of the Peloponnesian War]]'' by Thucydides
* ''[[Huolongjing]]'' by Liu Bowen
* ''[[Infanterie Greift An]]'' by Erwin Rommel
* ''[[On Protracted War]]'' by Mao Zedong
* ''[[On War]]'' by Carl von Clausewitz
* ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]''
* ''[[Seven Military Classics]]''
* ''[[Seven Pillars of Wisdom]]'' by T. E. Lawrence
* ''[[The 33 Strategies of War]]''
* ''[[The Art of War (Machiavelli)|The Art of War]]'' by Niccolò Machiavelli
* ''[[The Book of Five Rings]]'' ([[Miyamoto Musashi]])
* ''[[The Influence of Sea Power upon History]]'' by Alfred Thayer Mahan
* ''[[The Jewish War]]'' by Josephus
* ''[[The Science of Military Strategy]]''
* [[Strategikon of Maurice|''The Strategikon'']] by Emperor Maurice
* ''[[The Utility of Force]]'' by Rupert Smith
* ''[[Thirty-Six Stratagems]]''

===Concepts===
* [[Military treatise]]
* [[Philosophy of war]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |first1 = Krzysztof |last1 = Gawlikowski |first2 = Michael |last2 = Loewe |author2-link = Michael Loewe |chapter = ''Sun tzu ping fa'' 孫子兵法 |editor-first = Michael |editor-last = Loewe |title = Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide |year = 1993 |location = Berkeley, CA |publisher = Society for the Study of Early China; Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley |pages = 446–455 |isbn = 978-1-55729-043-4 }}
* {{cite book |last = Graff |first = David A. |title = Medieval Chinese Warfare, 300–900 |series = Warfare and History |location = London |publisher = [[Routledge]] |year = 2002 |isbn = 978-0415239554 }}
* {{cite book |last = Griffith |first = Samuel |title = Sun Tzu: The Illustrated Art of War |publisher = Oxford University Press | location = New York |year = 2005 |isbn = 978-0195189995 }}
* {{cite book |last = Lewis |first = Mark Edward |author-link = Mark Edward Lewis |chapter = Warring States Political History |editor1-first = Michael |editor1-last = Loewe |editor1-link = Michael Loewe |editor2-first = Edward |editor2-last = Shaughnessy |editor2-link = Edward Shaughnessy |title = The Cambridge History of Ancient China |location = Cambridge |publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1999 | pages = 587–650 | isbn=978-0-521-47030-8 }}
* {{cite book |first = Victor H. |last = Mair |author-link = Victor H. Mair |title = The Art of War: Sun Zi's Military Methods |location = New York |publisher = Columbia University Press |year = 2007 |isbn = 978-0-231-13382-1 }}
* {{cite book |first = Kidder |last = Smith |chapter = The Military Texts: The ''Sunzi'' |editor-first = Wm. Theodore |editor-last = de Bary |editor-link = William Theodore de Bary |title = Sources of Chinese Tradition: From Earliest Times to 1600, Volume 1 |edition = 2nd |location = New York|publisher = Columbia University Press |year=1999 |pages = 213–224 |isbn = 978-0-231-10938-3 }}
* {{cite book |last = Yuen |first = Derek M. C. |title = Deciphering Sun Tzu: How to Read 'The Art of War' |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EwQqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA110 |year = 2014 |publisher = Oxford University Press |isbn = 978-0199373512 |access-date = 21 September 2018 |archive-date = 18 January 2024 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240118173806/https://books.google.com/books?id=EwQqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA110#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status = live }}
* {{cite book |title = Еволюція воєнного мистецтва: у 2 ч. |first1 = Д. В. |last1 = Вєдєнєєв |first2 = О. А. |last2 = Гавриленко |first3 = С. О. |last3 = Кубіцький |editor-first = В. В. |editor1-last = Остроухова |year=2017 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Wikisource|The Art of War (Sun)|''The Art of War''}}
{{Wikiquote|The Art of War}}
{{Commons category|The Art of War by Sun Tzu}}
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/sun-tzu/the-art-of-war/lionel-giles}}
* [http://ctext.org/art-of-war ''The Art of War''] Chinese-English bilingual edition, [[Chinese Text Project]]
* {{Gutenberg book|no=132|name=The Art of War}} translated by [[Lionel Giles]] (1910)
* {{Gutenberg book|no=66706|name=The Art of War}} translated (with Chinese text) by [[Lionel Giles]] (1910)
* {{Gutenberg book|no=44024|name=The Book of War}} translated by E.F. Calthrop (1908)
* {{Librivox book | title=The Art of War | author=Sun Tzu}} (English and Chinese original available)
* [https://www.sonshi.com/sun-tzu-art-of-war-translation-original.html Sun Tzu's ''Art of War''] at Sonshi
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080527081835/http://www.ndu.edu/inss/siws/cont.html Sun Tzu and Information Warfare] at the Institute for National Strategic Studies of [[National Defense University (Washington, D.C.)|National Defense University]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otMaORoiH7w 11 The Nine Situations | The Art of War by Sun Tzu (Animated)]
* [https://theoriq.com/en?book%5B%5D=the-art-of-war-83 ''The Art of War illustrated version''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224161001/https://theoriq.com/en?book%5B%5D=the-art-of-war-83 |date=24 February 2021 }}, on Theoriq.com
* [https://www.r2plan.com/sun-tzu-the-art-of-war-on-modern-world-english-version/ ''The Art of War on Modern World, by Edward Rico M. Tj''], on r2plan.com
{{Confucian texts}}
{{East Asian topics}}
{{Military deception}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Art Of War, The}}
[[Category:Sun Tzu]]
[[Category:5th-century BC books]]
[[Category:Military history of East Asia]]
[[Category:Military strategy books]]
[[Category:Seven Military Classics]]
[[Category:Warrior code]]
[[Category:Zhou dynasty texts]]
[[Category:Chinese Classical Studies]]