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Sunzi

(Reich Qi, Lean = Humin, Shandong ca. 534-ca. 453 v. Chr.) : General, Philosoph

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Index of Names : China / Periods : China : Pre-Han Times (-206 v.Chr.) / Philosophy : China

Chronology Entries (1)

# Year Text Linked Data
1 1983 Sun Tzu [Sunzi]. The art of war. Ed. & with a foreword by James Clavell. [ID D33470].
Foreword
Sun Tzu wrote this extraordinary book in China two and a half thousand years ago. It begins:
The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence under no circumstances can it be neglected.
It ends:
Hence it is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results. Spies are a most important element in war, because upon them depends an army’s ability to move.
I truly believe that if our military and political leaders in recent times had studied this work of genius, Vietnam could not have happened
as it happened; we would not have lost the war in Korea (we lost because we did not achieve victory); the Bay of Pigs could not have occurred; the hostage fiasco in Iran would not have come to pass; the British Empire would not have been dismembered; and, in all probability, World Wars I and II would have been avoided—certainly they would not have been waged as they were waged, and the millions of youths obliterated unnecessarily and stupidly by monsters calling themselves generals would have lived out their lives.
Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
I find it astounding that Sun Tzu wrote so many truths twenty-five centuries ago that are still applicable today—especially in his chapter on the use of spies, which I find extraordinary. I think this little book shows clearly what is still being done wrong, and why our present opponents are so successful in some areas (Sun Tzu is obligatory reading in the Soviet political-military hierarchy and has been available in Russian for centuries; it is also, almost word for word, the source of all Mao Tse-tung's Little Red Book of strategic and tactical doctrine).
Even more importantly, I believe The Art of War shows quite clearly how to take the initiative and combat the enemy—any enemy.
Sun Tzu wrote: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
Like Machiavelli's The Prince and Miyamoto Musashi's The Book of Five Rings, Sun Tzu's truths, contained herein, can equally show the way to victory in all kinds of ordinary business conflicts, boardroom battles, and in the day to day fight for survival we all endure—even in the battle of the sexes! They are all forms of war, all fought under the same rules—his rules.
The first time I ever personally heard about Sun Tzu was at the races in Happy Valley in Hong Kong in 1977. A friend, P.G. Williams, a steward of the Jockey Club, asked me if I had ever read the book. I said no, and he told me that he would be happy to send me a copy the next day. When the book arrived, I left it unread. Then one day, weeks later, I picked it up. I was totally shocked that in all of my reading about Asia, about Japan and China particularly, I had not come across this book before. Since that time it has been a constant companion for me, so much so that during the course of the writing of Noble House many of the characters in it refer to Sun Tzu in all his glory. I think his work is fantastic. Hence this version of his book.
Unfortunately little is known of the man himself or of when he wrote the thirteen chapters. Some ascribe them to approximately 500 B.C. in the Kingdom of Wu, some to approximately 300 B.C.
About 100 B.C. one of his chroniclers, Su-ma Ch'ien, gives this biography:
Sun Tzu, whose personal name was Wu, was a native of the Ch'i state. His Art of War brought him to the notice of Ho Lu, King of Wu. Ho Lu said to him, "I have carefully perused your thirteen chapters. May I submit your theory of managing soldiers to a slight test?"
Sun Tzu replied, "You may."
The king asked, "May the test be applied to women?"
The answer was again in the affirmative, so arrangements were made to bring 180 ladies out of the palace. Sun Tzu divided them into two companies and placed one of the king's favorite concubines at the head of each. He then made them all take spears in their hands and addressed them thus: "I presume you know the difference between front and back, right hand and left hand?"
The girls replied, "Yes."
Sun Tzu went on. "When I say 'eyes front,' you must look straight ahead. When I say 'left turn,' you must face toward your left hand. When I say 'right turn,' you must face toward your right hand. When I say 'about turn,' you must face right around toward the back."
Again the girls assented. The words of command having been thus explained, he set up the halberds and battle-axes in order to begin the drill. Then to the sound of drums he gave the order 'right turn,' but the girls only burst out laughing.
Sun Tzu said patiently, "If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame." He started drilling them again and this time gave the order "left turn," whereupon the girls once more burst into fits of laughter.
Then he said, "If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders are clear and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers." So saying, he ordered the leaders of the two companies to be beheaded.
Now the King of Wu was watching from the top of a raised pavilion, and when he saw that his favorite concubines were about to be executed, he was greatly alarmed and hurriedly sent dow’n the following message: "We are now quite satisfied as to our general's ability to handle troops. If we are bereft of these two concubines, our meat and drink will lose their savor. It is our wish that they shall not be beheaded."
Sun Tzu replied even more patiently: "Having once received His Majesty's commission to be general of his forces, there are certain commands of His Majesty which, acting in that capacity, I am unable to accept." Accordingly, and immediately, he had the two leaders beheaded and straightaway installed the pair next in order as leaders in their place. When this had been done the drum was sounded for the drill once more. The girls went through all the evolutions, turning to the right or to the left, marching ahead or wheeling about, kneeling or standing, with perfect accuracy and precision, not venturing to utter a sound.
Then Sun Tzu sent a messenger to the king saying: "Your soldiers, sire, are now properly drilled and disciplined and ready for Your Majesty's inspection. They can be put to any use that their sovereign may desire. Bid them go through fire and water and they will not now disobey."
But the king replied: "Let our general cease drilling and return to camp. As for us, we have no wish to come down and inspect the troops."
Thereupon Sun Tzu said calmly: "The king is only fond of words and cannot translate them into deeds."
After that the King of Wu saw that Sun Tzu was one who knew how to handle an army, and appointed him general. In the west Sun Tzu defeated the Ch'u state and forced his way into Ying, the capital; to the north he put fear into the states of Ch'i and Chin, and spread his fame abroad among the feudal princes. And Sun Tzu shared in the might of the kingdom.
So Sun Tzu became a general for the King of Wu. For almost two decades the armies of Wu were victorious over their hereditary enemies, the Kingdom of Yueh and Ch'u. Sometime within this period Sun Tzu died and his patron, the King of Wu, was killed in a battle. For a few years his descendants followed the precepts of Sun Tzu and continued to be victorious. And then they forgot.
In 473 B.C. the armies of Wu were defeated and the kingdom made extinct.
In 1782 The Art of War was first translated into French by a Jesuit, Father Amiot. There is a legend that this little book was Napoleon's key to success and his secret weapon. Certainly his battles depended upon mobility, and mobility is one of the things that Sun Tzu stresses. Certainly Napoleon used all of Sun Tzu to his own advantage to conquer most of Europe. It was only when he failed to follow Sun Tzu's rules that he was defeated.
The Art of War was not translated into English until 1905. The first English translation was by P. F. Calthrop. The second, the one that you will read here, is by Lionel Giles, originally published in Shanghai and London in 1910. I have taken a few liberties with this translation to make it a little more accessible—any translation from ancient Chinese to another language is to a certain extent a point of view and have inserted some of Giles's notes, according to the Chinese method, immediately after the passages to wrhich they refer.
I have also, for simplicity, deliberately eliminated all accents over Chinese names and places. It is, really, almost impossible to translate the Chinese sounds of a character into Roman lettering. Again, for simplicity, I've used the old-fashioned method of spelling. Let all scholars great and small please excuse me!
I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this book. Sun Tzu deserves to be read. I would like to make The Art of War obligatory study for all our serving officers and men, as well as for all politicians and all people in government and all high schools and universities in the free world. If I were a commander in chief or president or prime minister I would go further: I would have written into law that all officers, particularly all generals, take a yearly oral and written examination on these thirteen chapters, the passing mark being 95 percent—any general failing to achieve a pass to be automatically and summarily dismissed without appeal, and all other officers to have automatic demotion.
I believe, very much, that Sun Tzu's knowledge is vital to our survival. It can give us the protection we need to watch our children grow in peace and thrive.
Always remember, since ancient times, it has been known that... "the true object of war is peace."
  • Document: Sun Tzu [Sunzi]. The art of war. Ed. & with a foreword by James Clavell. (New York, N.Y. : Delacorte Press, 1983). (ClaJ16, Publication)
  • Person: Clavell, James

Bibliography (13)

# Year Bibliographical Data Type / Abbreviation Linked Data
1 1772 Amiot, Jean-Joseph-Marie. Wou-king, art militaire des Chinois, ou recueil d'anciens traités sur la guerre, comp. avant l'ère chrétienne, par differents généraux chinois. Trad. en français, par le P. [Jean-Joseph-Marie Amiot ; rev. et publ. par M. [Joseph] de Guignes. (Paris : Didot l'ainé, 1772). Übersetzung von Sunzi. Sun zi bing fa.
http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/chine_ancienne/auteurs_chinois.html. 		Publication / Amio-Guig-Sunz1
2 1910 [Sunzi]. Das Buch vom Kriege : der Militär-Klassiker der Chinesen. Mit Bildern nach chinesischen Originalen. Verdt. von Bruno Navarra. (Berlin : Boll u. Pickardt, 1910). Publication / NavB4
3 1940 Phillips, Thomas R[aphael]. Roots of strategy : a collection of military classics : The art of war by Sun tzu, 500 B.C. [et al.]. [Translated by Lionel Giles]. (Harrisburg, Pa. : The Military Service Publishing Co., 1940). [Sunzi].
https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001526641. 		Publication / Giles3
4 1944 Sun tzu wu on the art of war : the oldest military treatise in the world. Translated from the Chinese with introduction and critical notes by Lionel Giles. (Harrisburg, Pa. : The Military Service Publishing Co., 1944). [Sunzi].
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tao/aow/index.htm. 		Publication / Giles13
5 1949 Sunzi. O umeni valecnem. Prelozili Jaroslav Prusek. (Praha : Nase Vojsko, 1949). (Ziva minulost ; 9). Publication / Prus17
6 1960 [Sunzi]. Les plus belles pages du philosophie chinois Suen-tse. Introd. et trad. par Bruno Belpaire. (Bruxelles : Ed. de l'Occident, 1960). (Petits traités chinois inédits ; no 2). Publication / BelB8
7 1980 Sun, Tzu. L'arte della guerra : tattiche e strategie nell'antica Cina. Prefazione e cura di Renato Padoan. (Milano : SugarCo, 1980). [Sunzi. Bing fa]. Publication / Pado1
8 1983 Sun Tzu [Sunzi]. The art of war. Ed. & with a foreword by James Clavell. (New York, N.Y. : Delacorte Press, 1983). Publication / ClaJ16
  • Cited by: Asien-Orient-Institut Universität Zürich (AOI, Organisation)
  • Person: Clavell, James
9 1988 Sun, tzu [Sunzi. L'arte della guerra. A cura di Alessandro Corneli. (Napoli : Guida, 1988). Publication / CornA1
10 1990 Sun, Tzu. L'arte della guerra. A cura di Huang Jialin e Raimondo Luraghi. (Roma : Stato maggiore dell'esercito, 1990). [Sunzi. Bing fa]. Publication / Lura1
11 1994 Sun, Tzu. L'arte della guerra. Cura e traduzione di Riccardo Fracasso. (Roma : Newton Compton, 1994. [Sunzi. Bing fa]. Publication / Frac2
12 1998 Sun, Wu. The illustrated art of war. Transl. by Thomas Cleary. (Boston : Shambhala, 1998). [Sunzi. Sunzi bing fa]. Publication / Clea5
13 2000 Sun Tzu. L'art de la guerre. Traduit du chinois et présenté par Jean Levi. (Paris : Hachette littératures, 2000). [Sunzi]. Publication / Levi18

Secondary Literature (1)

# Year Bibliographical Data Type / Abbreviation Linked Data
1 1970 McNaughton, William. Guerrilla war : Mao Tse-tung, Che Guevara, Sun Tzu, Chuko Liang. (Oberlin, Ohio : Crane Press, 1970). [Mao Zedong ; Sunzi]. Publication / McNa9