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Sun Tzu

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Ancient History,
Classical History and Mythology

   CAPTION: Sun Tzu

   Portrait of Sun Tzu
       Born:      544 BC
                  Probably in state of Qi
       Died:      496 BC
                  Probably in state of Wu
   Occupation(s): General
    Nationality:  Chinese
    Subject(s):   Military strategy

   Sun Tzu (Chinese: 孫 子; pinyin: Sūn Zǐ; 544– 496 BC) was a Chinese
   author of The Art of War (Chinese: 兵 法), an immensely influential
   ancient Chinese book on military strategy. He is also one of the
   earliest realists in international relations theory.

   The name Sun Tzu ("Master Sun") is an honorific title bestowed upon Sun
   Wu ( 孫 武; Sūn Wǔ), the author's name. The character wu, meaning
   "military", is the same as the character in wu shu, or martial art. Sun
   Wu also has a courtesy name, Chang Qing ( 長 卿; Cháng Qīng).

Sun Tzu as a historical figure

   The only surviving source on the life of Sun Tzu is the biography
   written in the 2nd century BC by the historian Sima Qian, who describes
   him as a general who lived in the state of Wu in the 6th century BC,
   and therefore a contemporary of one of the great Chinese thinkers of
   ancient times—Confucius. According to tradition, Sun Tzu was a member
   of the landless Chinese aristocracy, the shi, descendants of nobility
   who had lost their dukedoms during the consolidation of the Spring and
   Autumn Period. Unlike most shi, who were traveling academics, Sun Tzu
   worked as a mercenary. According to tradition, King Helü of Wu hired
   Sun Tzu as a general approximately 512 BC after finishing his military
   treatise, the Bing Fa (The Art of War). After his hiring, the kingdom
   of Wu, previously considered a semi-barbaric state, went on to become
   the most powerful state of the period by conquering Chu, one of the
   most powerful states in the Spring and Autumn Period. Sun Tzu suddenly
   disappeared when King Helu finally conquered Chu. Therefore his date of
   death remained unknown. The title Bing Fa can be translated as
   "military methods", "army procedures", or "martial arts". Around 298
   B.C., the historian Zhuang Zi, writing in the state of Zhao, recorded
   that Sun Tzu’s theory had been incorporated into the martial arts
   techniques of both offense and defense and of both armed and unarmed
   combat. His Bing Fa was the philosophical basis of what we now know as
   the Asian martial arts.

   The historicity of Sun Tzu is discussed extensively in the introduction
   to Lionel Giles' 1910 translation of The Art of War available as a
   Project Gutenberg online text. In Giles' introduction to his
   translation, he expands on the doubt and confusion which has surrounded
   the historicity of Sun Tzu.

   In 1972 a set of bamboo engraved texts were discovered in a grave near
   Linyi in Shandong. These have helped to confirm parts of the text which
   were already known and have also added new sections. This version has
   been dated to between 134–118 BC, and so rules out older theories that
   parts of the text had been written much later.

   Sun Bin, also known as Sun the Mutilated, allegedly a crippled
   descendent of Sun Tzu, also wrote a text known as the Art of War. A
   more accurate title might be the Art of Warfare since this was more
   directly concerned with the practical matters of warfare, rather than
   military strategy. At least one translator has used the title The Lost
   Art of War, referring to the long period of time during which Sun Bin's
   book was lost. There is, however, no commonality between the content or
   writing style in Sun Bin and Sun Tzu.

   The Art of War has been one of the most popular combat collections in
   history. Ancient Chinese have long viewed this book as one of the
   entrance test materials, and it is one of the most important
   collections of books in the Chinese literature. It is said that Mao
   Zedong and Joseph Stalin both read this book while in war.

   Sun Tzu also is rumored to be an ancestor of Sun Quan, the founder of
   the Wu Kingdom, which was one of the three competing dynasties during
   the Three Kingdoms era.

Books written by Sun Tzu

     * The Art of War

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