Wikipedia says about The Art of War:
[It] is a Chinese military treatise 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 and most famous studies of strategy, and has had a huge influence on both military planning and beyond.
Furthermore, The Tao has a lot of information about Sun Tzu and The Art of War. I found the following interesting:
Have you heard the expression: "Long time, no see"? I bet it confused you the first time you heard it. Its meaning is in the words, but you need to think about the situation and implications to work out its common English meaning, which would be "I haven't seen you in a long time." The reason the expression is so cryptic is it originates from a literal, character by character translation of [a] Chinese expression [...]. The expression, like the Art of War, is written in an old fashioned, poetic style that is hard to translate into modern English without interpretation. This is the problem for translators.
The cultural context makes the translator's job difficult too. If the text refers to an ancient kind of military equipment or a distance in old Chinese measures, do you convert or retain the original meaning. If you exactly translate Lao Tzu's famous saying for example, it would become: "Even a 2,440 mile journey begins with a single step." It loses some of the magic, but gains in accuracy.
The following quotes are gathered from the no longer copyrighted translation by Lionel Giles (1910). You can skip directly to a chapter below.
All warfare is based on deception.
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Thus, while we have heard of stupid haste in war, we have not yet seen a clever operation that was prolonged, for there has never been a protracted war which benefited a country.
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For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence. Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.
Know your enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are sure to be defeated in every battle.
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Invincibility depends on oneself, but the enemy' vulnerability on himself.
One defends when his strength is inadequate; he attacks when it is abundant.
Therefore, the skillful commander takes up a position in which he cannot be defeated and misses no opportunity to overcome him enemy.
(The skillful warrior takes up a position in which he cannot be defeated and misses no opportunity to master his enemy.
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...The momentum of one skilled in war is overwhelming, and his attack precisely timed.
In tumult and uproar, the battle seems chaotic, but there must be no disorder in one's own troops. The battlefield may seem in confusion and chaos, but one's array must be in good order. That will be proof against defeat.
Therefore, a skilled commander seeks victory from the situation and does not demand it of his subordinates. He selects suitable men and exploits the situation.
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Generally, he who occupies the field of battle first and awaits his enemy is at ease; he who comes later to the scene and rushes into the fight is weary. Therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.
To be certain to take what you attack is to attack a place the enemy does not or cannot protect. To be certain to hold what you defend is to defend a place the enemy dares not or is not able to attack.
When I wish to give battle, my enemy, even though protected by high walls and deep moats, cannot help but engage me, for I attack a position he must relieve. When I wish to avoid battle, I may defend myself simply by drawing a line on the ground; the enemy will be unable to attack me because I divert him from going where he wishes.
Therefore, analyze the enemy's plans so that you will know his shortcomings as strong points. Agitate him in order to ascertain the pattern of his movement.
(Determine the enemy's plans and you will know which strategy will be successful and which will not; agitate him and ascertain the pattern of his movement.
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He who knows the artifice of diversion will be victorious. Such is the art of manuevering.
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This page was last updated: Sunday, 22-Jul-2007 15:16:09 CEST