Sun Tzu's Art of War

A detailed Summary of Sun Tzu's Art of War

As we are to think of China as the greatest peace-loving nation on earth, we are in some danger of forgetting that her experience of internal wars that no modern state can parallel. Her long military records stretch back to a point at which they are lost in the mists of time. She had built the Great Wall and was maintaining a huge standing army along her prolonged frontier centuries before the first Roman legionary was seen on the Danube. Her history is marked by the countless rebellions that stir up the unforgettable wars that the clash of arms and masters of minds determine the new dynasties. And during this continuous belligerency, Art of War is found.

When we consider the phrase Art of War, we no doubtfully relate to Sun Tzu's manuscript, Art of War. But Art of War is not merely a writing itself, it is a branch of study that long existed before Sun Tzu's work. If we to translate directly the meaning of Art of War, it is in fact a law of orders in military organization, not an aesthetic master piece. Therefore in any military state where there are orders, we can say that it is practicing the art of war.

However, Sun Tsu's work is creditable enough to receive the name, Art of War. Thus making him the predominant father o

Sun Tzu said: The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy (chapter 4)

Since the first appearance of Art of War, voluminous amount of commentaries emerged through out the next two millenniums. One of the commentary Si Mah family was a famous historian who devoted two generations completing a long eclectic history of china since the beginning of recorded time. His writing on the legacy of Sun Tsun was particularly meticulous which made his works a credulous source for later historians. But if we are to observe Art of War in actual practice, we will have to resort to the famous era of the Romance of three Kingdoms. It is a time of warfare of elegance, it is also time where obtrusive honors and abstruse intellects play the saga of three clashing kingdoms. During this time, an eminent military leader, Kong Ming, extrapolate Sun Tsu's ideas to an artistry that win him the title of the one of the greatest military minister ever lived. Sun Tsu's ideas were not mere applied in war, it was also utilized in the economical world, board games, etc... Many new books and new critiques are still written nowadays, thus demonstrating the interminable thought of Sun Tsu.

Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.

Although not directly illustrated, a great majority of Art of war is the battle of intelligence, which bring upon the study of human psychology. Sun Tsu continuously states that to only attack when the defeat of enemy is certain, and the decision of this certainty is the basis of the art of war. The

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Approximate Word count = 1239
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English