


This text was traditionally identified with the received Master Sun's Art of War.

Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, the first of China's 24 dynastic histories, records an early Chinese tradition that a text on military matters was written by one "Sun Wu" ( 孫武) from the State of Qi, and that this text had been read and studied by King Helü of Wu ( r. 514 BC – 495 BC). Sun Tzu was traditionally said to have lived in the 6th century BC, but The Art of War 's earliest parts probably date to at least 100 years later. The Art of War is traditionally attributed to an ancient Chinese military general known as Sun Tzu (now Romanized "Sunzi") meaning "Master Sun". are all cited as having drawn inspiration from the book. Military and political leaders such as the Chinese communist revolutionary Mao Zedong, Japanese daimyō Takeda Shingen, Vietnamese general Võ Nguyên Giáp, and American military generals Douglas MacArthur and Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. The first annotated English translation was completed and published by Lionel Giles in 1910. A partial translation into English was attempted by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905 under the title The Book of War. The book was translated into French and published in 1772 (re-published in 1782) by the French Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot.

Considered one of history's finest military tacticians and analysts, his teachings and strategies formed the basis of advanced military training for millennia to come. Sun also stressed the importance of intelligence operatives and espionage to the war effort. 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. The Art of War remains the most influential strategy text in East Asian warfare and has influenced both East Asian and Western military theory and thinking and has found a variety of applications in a myriad of competitive non-military endeavors across the modern world including espionage, Ĭulture, politics, business, and sports. 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. Each one is devoted to a different set of skills or art related to warfare and how it applies to military strategy and tactics. The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is composed of 13 chapters. 'Sun Tzu's Military Method', pinyin: Sūnzǐ bīngfǎ) is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC).
