It is Sun Tzu and The Art of War

“Know yourself and your enemy, and in a hundred battles you will never be in danger.” Sounds pretty familiar right? Well, this is one of many variations of a translated quote from The Art of War, a military text that provides an extensive analysis of the different aspects of warfare and strategies for success. Its author? The legendary Chinese general Sun Tzu. I’m sure you’ve heard of Sun Tzu or a quote from The Art of War referenced somewhere at least once — whether it be from a reference made by a character in a film or perhaps something a friend has jokingly mentioned before. However, do you know about Sun Tzu’s history or relevance? If not, don’t fret! You are not alone; most people cite a quote from his book and just leave it at that. Moreover, a large amount of his life remains shrouded in mystery, and several historians still debate on the accuracy of multiple representations of Sun Tzu. Nevertheless, let’s take a look at one historical interpretation of Sun Tzu and how The Art of War came to be.

Sun Tzu was believed to have been active as a strategist and general largely associated with The School of Military, a philosophical thought system that focused on the studying of warfare and how to excel in it, during the Spring and Autumn period of China. The Spring and Autumn period, is the period preceding the Warring States period and characterized mainly with the decline of the Zhou dynasty’s power and growing conflict between vassal states vying for control of territories. Interestingly enough, during the earlier portion of the Spring and Autumn period, those involved in conflicts would engage in traditional chivalric fashion, which is completely different from the “all’s fair in love and war” mindset that typically encompasses modern conflicts. Nonetheless, this chivalric tradition would result in a lack of decisive breakthroughs, as the states could not seem to gain an advantage over each other since they all followed a similar protocol; as such, this stagnant situation is believed to have played a major part in inspiring the writing of The Art of War.

A significant part of Sun Tzu’s mentality involved winning the war by any means necessary, regardless of the ethicality of the action, so he sought to deviate from the traditional chivalric protocol and turned to more deceptive measures. In fact, one of Sun Tzu’s most popular quotes states “all warfare is based on deception”. Furthermore, a popular story about Sun Tzu claims that a king wanted to test Sun Tzu’s skill and asked him to train 180 of his concubines as soldiers. Sun Tzu divides the concubines into two groups with the king’s two favorite concubines as the commanders of each group and gives his first order. Apparently, it is said that the women laughed instead of complying with the order even after Sun Tzu gave it once again, so the story goes that he ordered the executions of those two women against the king’s protests. After the harsh demonstration, the concubines followed his commands with no hesitation. While the authenticity behind the story is debatable, Sun Tzu’s extreme dedication to winning is clearly demonstrated by stories like the one above and, of course, his book The Art of War. It is believed that by following and implementing Sun Tzu’s philosophy of total war in contrast to the chivalric traditions, Ying Sheng, king of the state of Qin, was able to conquer the other states and unified them under one dynasty; perhaps you might recognize the new name he adopted for himself: Shi Huangdi, first emperor of China and founder of the Qin Dynasty.

All in all, Sun Tzu’s influence continues to extend to modern times, with his advice utilized by business advisors and military strategists and applied even in everyday life. Here are some quotes from The Art of War:

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”
“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”
“Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.”
“The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.”
“He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.”
“Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots.”
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.”