The Art of War

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Overview

The Art of War is a short Chinese treatise on strategy, traditionally attributed to Sun Tzu (Sun Wu), a general said to have served the state of Wu. It is divided into thirteen chapters and argues that war is costly and dangerous, that the best result is to win with little or no fighting, and that victory depends on preparation, information and understanding both yourself and your opponent. It is read today in military academies, business schools and negotiation courses because its questions travel well: what are my real strengths, what does the other side want, and what will this cost.

Context

The text comes from a China divided among competing states, in the late Spring and Autumn or the Warring States period. Armies were growing larger, wars were lasting longer and states were being destroyed. Rulers needed advisers who treated war as a problem to be calculated, not a display of honour. The book belongs to a wider Chinese tradition of statecraft that also includes Legalist and Daoist thinking.