The Art of War (Rediscovered Books): With linked Table of Contents

By Sun Tzu

This is the most important book ever written about warfare and conflict. Lionel Giles' translation is the definitive edition and his commentary is indispensable. The Art of War can be used and adapted in every facet of your life. This book explains when and how to go to war, as well as when not to. Learn how to win any conflict whether it be on the battlefield or in the boardroom.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rediscovered Books
• Release date: Oct 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781633844612

Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu was a an ancient Chinese general during the latter part of the Spring and Autumn Period. Also referred to as Sunzi or Sun Wu, the great Chinese philosopher and military general was revered by many generations of Chinese leaders to come. His given military name, "Sun Tzu" translates as "master sun", and was thought to be an honorific title. It has been speculated Sun Tzu wrote The Art of War during the Warring States Period, when China was divided and war was imminent. His profound insight on military strategy and expert leadership inspired nearly all who read his work, earning him a spot in history as one of the greatest military generals of all time.

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The Art of War

By Sun Tzu

Translated and commented on by Lionel Giles

©2017 Rediscovered Books

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission except for brief quotations for review purposes only.

ISBN 13: 978-1-63384-461-2

First Edition

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Table of Contents

Chapter I: Laying Plans

Chapter II: Waging War

Chapter III: Attack by Stratagem

Chapter IV: Tactical Dispositions

Chapter V: Energy

Chapter VI: Weak Points and Strong

Chapter VII: Maneuvering

Chapter VIII: Variation in Tactics

Chapter IX: The Army on the March

Chapter X: Terrain

Chapter XI: The Nine Situations

Chapter XII: The Attack by Fire

Chapter XIII: The Use of Spies

Chapter I: Laying Plans

1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State.

2. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

3. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one’s deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.

4. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.

[It appears from what follows that Sun Tzu means by Moral Law a principle of harmony, not unlike the Tao of Lao Tzu in its moral aspect. One might be tempted to render it by morale, were it not considered as an attribute of the ruler.]

5. The moral law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.

[Tu Yu quotes Wang Tzu as saying: Without constant practice, the officers will be nervous and undecided when mustering for battle; without constant practice, the general will be wavering and irresolute when the crisis is at hand.]

6. Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.

[The commentators, I think, make an unnecessary mystery of two words here. Meng Shih refers to the hard and the soft, waxing and waning of Heaven. Wang Hsi, however, may be right in saying that what is meant is the general economy of Heaven, including the five elements, the four seasons, wind and clouds, and other phenomena.]

7. Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.

8. The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness.

[The five cardinal virtues of the Chinese are (1) humanity or benevolence; (2) uprightness of mind; (3) self-respect, self-control, or proper feeling; (4) wisdom; (5) sincerity or good faith. Here wisdom and sincerity are put before humanity or benevolence, and the two military virtues of courage and strictness substituted for uprightness of mind and self-respect, self-control, or ‘proper feeling.’]

9. By Method and Discipline are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.

10. These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.

11. Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise: —

(a) Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law? [I.e., "is in harmony with his subjects..]

(b) Which of the two generals has most ability?

(c) With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?

(d) On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?

[Tu Mu alludes to the remarkable story of Ts`ao Ts`ao (a.d. 155-220), who was such a strict disciplinarian that once, in accordance with his own severe regulations against injury to standing crops, he condemned himself to death for having allowed him horse to shy into a field of corn! However, in lieu of losing his head, he was persuaded to satisfy his sense of justice by cutting off his hair. Ts`ao Ts`ao’s own comment on the present passage is characteristically curt: when you lay down a law, s ee that it is not disobeyed; if it is disobeyed the offender must be put to death.]

(e) Which army is stronger?

[Morally as well as physically. As Mei Yao-ch`en puts it, freely rendered, "espirit De Corps and ‘big battalions.’"]

(f) On which side are officers and men more highly trained?

[Tu Yu quotes Wang Tzu as saying: Without constant practice, the officers will be nervous and undecided when mustering for battle; without constant practice, the general will be wavering and irresolute when the crisis is at hand.]

(g) In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

[On which side is there the most absolute certainty that merit will be properly rewarded and misdeeds summarily punished?]

12. By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.

13. The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: —let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat: —let such a one be dismissed!

[The form of this paragraph reminds us that Sun Tzu’s treatise was composed expressly for the benefit of his patron Ho Lu, king of the Wu State.]

14. While heading the profit of my counsel, avail yourself also of any helpful circumstances over and beyond the ordinary rules.

15. According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one’s plans.

[Sun Tzu, as a practical soldier, will have none of the bookish theoric. He cautions us here not to pin our faith to abstract principles; for, as Chang Yu puts it, while the main laws of strategy can be stated clearly enough for the benefit of all and sundry, you must be guided by the actions of the enemy in attempting to secure a favorable position in actual warfare. On the eve of the battle of Waterloo, Lord Uxbridge, commanding the cavalry, went to the Duke of Wellington in order to learn what his plans and calculations were for the morrow, because, as he explained, he might suddenly find himself Commander-in-chief and would be unable to frame new plans in a critical moment. The Duke listened quietly and then said: Who will attack the fir st tomorrow — I or Bonaparte? Bonaparte, replied Lord Uxbridge. Well, continued the Duke, Bonaparte has not given me any idea of his projects; and as my plans will depend upon his, how can you expect me to tell you what mine are?]

16. All warfare is based on deception.

[The truth of this pithy and profound saying will be admitted by every soldier. Col. Henderson tells us that Wellington, great in so many military qualities, was especially distinguished by the extraordinary skill with which he concealed his movements and deceived both friend and foe.]

17. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

18. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.

[All commentators, except Chang Yu, say, When he is in disorder, crush him. It is more natural to suppose that Sun Tzu is still illustrating the uses of deception in war.]

19. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him.

20. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

[Wang Tzu, quoted by Tu Yu, says that the good tactician plays with his adversary as a cat plays with a mouse, first feigning weakness and immobility, and then suddenly pouncing upon him.]

21. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest.

[This is probably the meaning though Mei Yao-ch`en has the note: while we are taking our ease, wait for the enemy to tire himself out. The Yu Lan has Lure him on and tire him out.]

If his forces are united, separate them.

[Less plausible is the interpretation favored by most of the commentators: If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them.]

22. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

23. These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.

24. Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought.

[Chang Yu tells us that in ancient times it was customary for a temple to be set apart for the use of a general who was about to take the field, in order that he might there elaborate his plan of campaign.]

The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.

Chapter II: Waging War

1. Sun Tzu said: In the operations of war, where there are in the field a thousand swift chariots, as many heavy chariots, and a hundred thousand mail-clad soldiers, with provisions enough to carry them a thousand li, the expenditure at home and at the front, including entertainment of guests, small items such as glue and paint, and sums spent on chariots and armor, will reach the total of a thousand ounces of silver per day. Such is the cost of raising an army of 100,000 men.

[The swift chariots were lightly built and, according to Chang Yu, used for the attack; the heavy chariots were heavier, and designed for purposes of defense. Li Ch`uan, it is true, says that the latter were light, but this seems hardly probable. It is interesting to note the analogies between early Chinese warfare and that of the Homeric Greeks. In each case, the war-chariot was the important factor, forming as it did the nucleus round which was grouped a certain number of foot-soldiers. With regard to the numbers given here, we are informed that each swift chariot was accompanied by 75 footmen, and each heavy chariot by 25 footmen, so that the whole army would be divided up into a thousand battalions, each consisting of two chariots and a hundred men.]

[2.78 modern li go to a mile. The length may have varied slightly since Sun Tzu’s time.]

2. When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men’s weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.

3. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain.

4. Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.

5. Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.

[This concise and difficult sentence is not well explained by any of the commentators. Ts`ao Kung, Li Ch`uan, Meng Shih, Tu Yu, Tu Mu and Mei Yao-ch`en have notes to the effect that a general, though naturally stupid, may nevertheless conquer through sheer force of rapidity. Ho Shih says:

Reviews for The Art of War (Rediscovered Books)

[takeitorleaveit_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

you kind of have to read this, yah. so privately canonized.

[lynnb_64 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm so glad I finally read this historic book. I found it very interesting and understand why it has been adapted to suit other fields -- notably management. And the version of the book I bought is beautiful in itself. Bound in traditional Chinese style, with each page folded in half and only printed on the outside. Hard to rate -- it is what it is as they say -- but I'm rating it highly because it has stood the test of time.

[spooks101-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An enduring classic, an absolute must-read for every business person and military mind the world over.

[rozmarins · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hmm, this book can really be used in company`s management, because some war strategies are quite similar to organization management. For example, need for clear and not doubtful commands, advice to put best soldiers (workers) on first line, importance of understanding ones own weaknesses and strengths etc.Overall, it`s boring literature if one don`t think how to use those advices in life.[more: rozmarins.blogspot.com]

[9days_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic that is as valuable for war strategies as it is for work and everyday relations.My edition is from Shambhala, and translated by Thomas Cleary (famed for his translations of Miyamoto Musashi's work, as well as his biography).In this edition, each of the passages is interpreted by 11 different people (from Li Quan to Zhang Yu), for scope and perspective. While it's not necessary to include so many interpreters, I find that the different perspectives (and wording) sometimes made Master Sun's wisdoms clearer.

[chellinsky · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A subtle and fascinating philosophy on how to wage war. Knowledge of assured victory is key for Sun Tzu. At once it is esoteric and simple giving the reader the opportunity to find new angles and places to learn with each repeated reading. Intense and interesting. (Shambhala translation)

[soylentgreen23 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

How ironic that the copy I found in my apartment should have a foreword by James Clavell, author of "Shogun;" my Mum is forever mixing up China and Japan herself, and often remarks about the former when in fact I lived in the latter.The book, meanwhile, is an interesting couple of hours' read, but without a more thorough guide I don't see how I could use Sun Tzu's ideas to conquer Wall Street, as some have proposed.

[ablueidol · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love the notion that the greatest leader is one that defeats the challege before it is known that the challenge exists. Here we are obsessed with the hero leader who battles with the mighty demons and after much struggle wins. I see this in schools where the head turns around a failing school and is seen as a great leader. But all too often they miss the greater leadership of the head who intervenes with a timely word here, a school event there keeps the school on track, Much better to read the straight translations rather then the art of war for the board room which often miss the point

[redthing · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I had to read this for an English class. I'm still trying to figure out why.Maybe I'll be better at strategy games?

[papskier · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This turned out to be a cheap and good translation. If all you want is the straight translation, this is a great edition

[szarka_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm sure I'm not the only person that James Clavell, who wrote the foreward to this edition, introduced to Sun Tzu. I appreciate him for that as much as for his own books. Although ostensibly a book about military strategy, The principles in The Art of War can be applied to any kind of strategic situation. Thanks to centuries of commentary, it now functions as something like a cross between the Torah and the I Ching.

[msaucier818 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very quick read of a classic. I had always been meaning to get around to this book, and I did not realize how short it was. The version I have contains more commentary than the actual writing, and I did not bother with the commentary.

The book is basically a series of maxims that describe how to lead as a general at war. I think its appeal is universal, and many of the ideas can be applied as strategic thinking in other aspects of life. I don't think it was all that profound, but then again, its ideas have been used for centuries. It was nice to be able to read where a lot of them came from.

[savageknight_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

To be honest, I was looking for a straightforward printing of the notes, not a re-hashing and review throughout the ages. This meant a lengthy pass-through of what others thought and believed,etc, etc. When I was finally able to decipher which was part of the book and which were the notes (as I was reading it on a digital device) it became obvious that a lot of the ideas of "war" were things already known to me. Whether it's due to our upbringing in the 20th century and exposure to the various media violences (movies, books, videos, etc) or not could be debated.

[beammey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book, to be honest. I just made a promise to myself I would read more classics and this was a short one to get in so I can reach my reading goal. However, I ended up really, really enjoying it. I'm not a soldier by any stretch of the imagination, but there is good, solid advice in this book that is still relevant thousands of years after it was written. It's worth a read for sure, and it's so short you can get through it quickly. I would recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars.

[madepercy-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have read this several times in a variety of translations. This version is formatted like a poem and is a quick read. Interesting that Sun Tzu echoes many of the issues raised by Thucydides. I remember an Instructor Gunnery during my Regimental Officers Basic Course from the United States artillery beginning every lesson with: "Sun Tzu says...". And, "If a 155 round lands on a tank, the tank is toast". So much in such a short book and it was quite possibly written before Thucydides was born.

[deldevries · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic! Well worth the read, and looking forward to reading again in the future.

[dverdecia-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Tactics and strategies that apply to everyday life. This book is excellent reading to make you think about how to deal with the day to day struggles of life. It helps you position you versus your opponent. Your opponent need not be any one person. It could be a corporation. It could be an establishment. It could be a situation you are facing. I was once told that what you get out of a book is the effort you put into a book. It is my hope that this book can help someone master how they deal with day to day life. Let me know what you think. By the way, how many Enron or Worldcomm employees do you think read this book?

On another note, I would ask that you do not take this book literally. It is laced with allegory and a ton of symbolism. Please take its contents and apply them to your life for the good of all.

[chellerystick · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Pretty dull going, even by audiobook. The narrators were great, though, and there were times that the footnotes saved me.

[michael_rose-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The version I have also has a second section for commentaries on all the passages. It's an incredibly useful and insightful book, and not necessarily just for literal war.

[haidji-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" is a great book.This ancient classic was written over 2,500 years ago by the legendary Chinese general Sun Tzu, being aa timeless masterpiece of interaction of power and politics this book teaches many good lessons to anyone who will ever have to command a group of people, in the workplace, in school, or on the battlefield.The Art of War is an ageless book that teaches human nature and how to deal with difficult situations in life and business.The lessons learned in this book can be allied to relationship, friendship, career and make you a more complete person in general. I I recommend this book to be read by all those who wants to succeed in anything they do, It is not just about lessons in war but can be used and applied for everyday life."The Art of War" is a must read.

[shannonkearns · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Meh. Okay I guess but overall I'm not that impressed.

[tullius22 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think one of the reasons why this book has been and probably always will be so popular, is that many different people can read read it for many different reasons. Among the most obvious: some people read it to learn about war (like Tom Ricks, who quotes it in his famous book about Iraq), some people are drawn into it by an interest in the Far East (like the translator, M. Giles himself, who was a student of all things Chinese), and some people just like it because it's really really old and really really cool, and I guess that's part of the reason why I like it. And although the German wrote another famous-book about war, he was, being German, boring. But then, some things can be both popular, and well-reasoned, and, as a philosophical essay to discover the nature of war, this little book does a fine job. Recall what Aristotle says in the first sentence of his 'Nicomachean Ethics': "Every art...seems to aim at some good, and so it has been well said that the good is that at which everything aims." So, what good does The Art Of War aim at? (Absolutely nothin'--ugh! Well, no, sorry.) Well, in a way, the art of war aims to conduct war well, just as the art of baking bread aims to bake bread well. But what does that mean, in real terms? I think that if we examine the thought of Master Sun, we find that the good at which the art of war aims is to achieve victory, not by inflicting the maximum amount of destruction, but by causing the absolute minimum: for to cause much destruction is not so good. And I think he does all that with a certain sort of style, too: "II. Waging War 3. Again, if the campaign be protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain. 5. Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays. 6. There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. 7. It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on. 8. The skilful soldier does not raise a second levy, neither are his suppy-wagons loaded more than twice. 19. In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns." And it's good to remind all those annoying, noisy military history fanatics that the longest, most destructive wars are the *worst*, because people *die* and things get *destroyed* and that's *bad*. (8/10)

[plaws595 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is a really old book, but still has much application to everyday life in modern times. The book is a little hard to read at times. However, the knowledge you get from reading it worth it. I recommend everyone read this title at least once in their lifetime.

[gponym_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

New to Sun-Tzu, I found invaluable Ames' commentary on the historical times and the 1970s/1980s discovery of a hitherto unknown version of the classic text and related texts.

[aang2014 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Awesome for anyone looking for a good strategy book. helps with any type of war situation, I recommend reading it if you choose to go into the military.

[ashishg_50 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This book counts as classic even for modern warfare and strategy games. My experience has been unsatisfying and boring - perhaps I didn't delve into deep implications of obvious sounding tactics.

[lostvampire_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The oldest military treatise on war. This one is Tops! Translation by Lionel Giles and with original Chinese.

[ebooker_ben · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's worth reading just to say you have and because so many other books and films refer to it. I first read it in hopes of using it in corporate life but that's not always easy:Camp in high places, facing the sun. Do not climb heights in order to fight. So much for mountain warfare.

[misoman_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Art of War is a treasure trove of information...if you study war, ancient China, Strategy, or military history...it is useless when applied to business, I think. I love this text, but I study ancient Asian texts. Giles' translation is the one which all others are measured and it has the text with commentary and without, and in the original Chinese. As a study text this is superb, as a manual for business, it a weak application.Miso

[pedropilar-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sun Tzu, foi um profundo conhecedor das manobras militares e escreveu A ARTE DA GUERRA, ensinando estratégias de combate e táticas de guerra. Súdito do rei da província de Wu, viveu em turbulenta época dos Estados guerreiros na China, há 2.500 anos e era um filósofo-estrategista que comandou e venceu muitas batalhas. Com inteligência e argumentos muito racionais, o autor expôs a importância da obediência, disciplina, planejamento e motivação das tropas. É uma obra original e valiosa porque é considerado o mais antigo tratado de guerra e hoje parece destinada a secundar a guerra das empresas no mundo dos negócios. A lição que se tira da obra é que a primeira batalha que devemos travar é contra nós mesmos. Para atingir uma meta, o autor ensina, que é necessário agir em conjunto, conhecer o ambiente de ação, o obstáculo a ser vencido e, é claro, conhecer seus próprios pontos fortes e pontos fracos. A grande sabedoria é obter do adversário tudo o que desejar, transformando seus atos em benefícios. Em relação aos comandados, é preciso manter uma disciplina rígida, ser respeitado, ter prestígio, ser temido. Para isso é preciso agir rápido à medida que as infrações ocorram. A superioridade numérica isolada não confere vantagem, mas a determinação de um líder sim. A energia deste, será fundamental para a vitória, mas não se trata uma energia cósmica ou religiosa, e sim da vontade de agir e conseguir conquistar objetivos. Seus princípios podem ser aplicados, por indivíduos no confronto com seus oponentes, exércitos contra exércitos e empresas contra suas concorrentes. Embora não se saiba ao certo se Sun Tzu existiu ou é uma figura lendária, os escritos são de Se-Ma Ts´ien, do século I a.C. e a tradução do padre Amiot é a primeira versão que se conhece no Ocidente.