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The Art of War
The Art of War
The Art of War
Ebook56 pages41 minutes

The Art of War

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The Art of War is a Chinese military treatise that was written during the 6th century BC by Sun Tzu. Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare, it has long been praised as the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time.

The Art of War is one of the oldest books on military strategy in the world. It is the first and one of the most successful works on strategy and has had a huge influence on Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, and beyond. Sun Tzu was the first to recognize the importance of positioning in strategy and that position is affected both by objective conditions in the physical environment and the subjective opinions of competitive actors in that environment. He taught that strategy was not planning in the sense of working through a to-do list, but rather that it requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherCDED
Release dateDec 12, 2018
ISBN9782291058854
Author

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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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Within “The Art of War” are three distinct though similar treatise written across over 2000 years and three different cultures that instruct the reader not only how to succeed in war but also politics and business.The opening treatise is the titular “Art of War”, Sun Tzu gives his readers a concise yet in-depth instruction into the how to achieve victory over one’s enemies. Though less than a hundred pages in length, it has to be read carefully to get the full meaning of what the author intends to convey. Yet when boiled down, the most important lesson is simply to be aware of one’s surroundings and other people’s intentions so as to continually be prepared for all situations.The middle treatise is Machiavelli’s “The Prince”, a how-to course in how to gain and maintain power. The pragmatic program that councils that everything one does must be solely down to maintain one’s, if in the process you must victimize a small minority of your population, so be it, but if some of your actions improve the lives of the majority of your citizens so much the better. Yet, while Machiavelli’s thoughtful approach to studying power politics is the beginning of political theory, “The Prince” is also cutting satire on the Medici who had taken over Florence ending Machiavelli’s civil career. The astute reader realizes that “The Prince” is more than it appears while also achieving its apparent main aim.The final treatise is Frederick the Great’s “Instructions to His Generals”, in which the celebrated Prussian monarch and military commander gave guidance to his general staff about how to fight war through his own failures and achievements. Unlike Machiavelli’s call for unity or Sun Tzu’s broad principles, Frederick main goal is for the betterment of Prussia and for detailed instructions on everything connected with a military campaign. This single-mindedness and painstaking approach is a lesson in and of itself to the reader to keep their focus on the here and now so as to achieve bigger things down the road, not dream of the far-off future while sacrificing the present.While distinct, the three treatise in this book are in fact are three different life experiences on the same thing, achieving success at whatever one attempts.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Vapid martial homilies.

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The Art of War - Sun Tzu

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