Sun Tzu

Ancient Chinese general, military strategist and philosopher (sixth to fifth century BC according to traditional dating, though the exact authorship and dating are the subject of considerable scholarly debate, with some hypotheses placing the text's final compilation during the Warring States period, some centuries later), traditionally identified with Sun Wu, a general said to have served King Helü of the state of Wu, and credited with writing The Art of War (Sunzi bingfa), the oldest and most influential military treatise in the entire Chinese tradition and probably in the world. The work, composed of thirteen short chapters of extraordinary aphoristic concision, is not a simple tactical manual but a treatise on strategic philosophy of a depth transcending the purely military sphere: its central thesis, that war is above all a matter of deception (all warfare is based on deception) and that supreme victory lies in subduing the enemy without fighting, through intelligence, strategic positioning and psychological manipulation, reflects a sensibility markedly different from the Western tradition of warfare, more focused on direct, decisive confrontation. Sun Tzu repeatedly emphasises the importance of exhaustive knowledge — of oneself, of the adversary and of the terrain — summed up in his most famous maxim: 'if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles', as well as adaptive flexibility in the face of changing circumstances, comparing the victorious army to water, which adapts without fixed form to the terrain it crosses. Despite its military origin, the work has over time transcended the strictly martial sphere to become a reference text widely applied in the business world, sports strategy and even interpersonal relations, thanks to the universality of its principles concerning conflict, competition and decision-making under uncertainty.

2 works

• Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War The Oldest Military Treatise in the World
• The Book of War The Military Classic of the Far East