The Art of War (Library of Chinese Classics ChineseEnglish/Hardcover)

Sunzi (a.k.a. Sun Tze): The Art of War is the earliest and most valuable Chinese treatise on military science extant, dating from the late Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.). The book is a condensation of the experience of warfare in that historical era, with the emphasis on precautionary and intelligence strategy. By revealing the nature and important rules of warfare. The Art of War has had a tremendous influence on military, political and philosophical thought in China. Down the ages it has been called a “military classic,” and its author a “military genius.” This work, now over 2,000 years old, has been translated into various languages since the 17th century, and even today has a profound influence all over the world. Sun The Art of War is another ancient Chinese classic dealing with military science, written during the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.). Sun Bin was a direct descendant of Sunzi. It incorporates the experience of warfare into this later historical period. It inherits and develops the military theories contained in The Art of War, and has been lauded throughout the ages. Sun The Art of War was lost for about 1,000 years, until 1972, when a copy of the work written on strips of bamboo was found in a tomb dating from the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. – A.D. 220) at Yinqueshan, near Linyi in Shandong Province. The present translation, the first into English of Sun The Art of War, is based on editing work done on the bamboo strips.