Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu was an ancient Chinese military thinker traditionally credited with writing The Art of War, a treatise on strategy, deception, and warfare.
The Art of War: An ancient Chinese military treatise on strategy, intelligence, deception, and command. Tradition identifies Sun Tzu as its author, though the text’s formation remains debated.
Military strategy: The planning and direction of military operations to achieve political or military objectives. Sun Tzu treats victory as the product of strategic design, not battlefield strength alone.
Sun Bin: A Chinese military strategist of the Warring States period traditionally associated with Sun Bin’s Art of War. His name and military text have sometimes been confused with Sun Tzu and The Art of War.
Seven Military Classics: A canon of seven Chinese military texts officially compiled during the Song dynasty. The Art of War’s inclusion established it as a central work in the Chinese military canon.
Spring and Autumn period: A period of Chinese history, conventionally dated 770–481 BCE, marked by competing states and political change. This is the era in which Sun Tzu is traditionally placed.
Military deception: The deliberate use of misleading signals to conceal intentions or manipulate an adversary’s decisions. The Art of War makes deception central to shaping an opponent’s expectations.
Yinqueshan Han Slips: Bamboo manuscripts excavated in Shandong in 1972, including military texts associated with Sun Tzu and Sun Bin. Their discovery supplied early manuscript evidence for the texts attributed to the two strategists.
Sun Tzu in Japan: The reception and study of The Art of War within Japanese military and intellectual traditions. Its transmission beyond China gave Sun Tzu’s strategic ideas a regional afterlife.
Warring States period: A period of Chinese history, conventionally dated 475–221 BCE, when rival states fought for supremacy. The military world represented in The Art of War continued into this later era.
Military intelligence: Information about an adversary, terrain, and conditions gathered to support military decisions. Sun Tzu argues that reliable knowledge of both sides can decide a conflict.