The Art of War (Chinese: 孫子兵法; pinyin: Sūn Zǐ Bīng Fǎ) is a Chinese military treatise that was written by Sun Tzu in the 6th century BC, during the Spring and Autumn period.
Written more than 2500 years ago, Sun Tzu’s Art of War consists of a mere 5000 Chinese characters. Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare, it is said to be the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time, and still one of the basic texts.The Art of War is one of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy. It has had an influence on Eastern military thinking, business tactics, and beyond. Sun Tzu suggested the importance of positioning in strategy and that position is affected both by objective conditions in the physical environment and the subjective opinions of competitive actors in that environment. He thought that strategy was not planning in the sense of working through an established list, but rather that it requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions. Planning works in a controlled environment, but in a changing environment, competing plans collide, creating unexpected situations.
Since then, the Art of War became a classic for strategists throughout Chinese histories and therefore, it is deep rooted in Chinese thinking and culture. The Art of War has by now transcended military applications. The thinking in Art of War is applied in very, many different human endeavors: economics, business, politics, diplomacy, sports or wherever there is competition.
The Art of War is divided into 13 chapters (or P’ien), and the collection is referred to as being one Ch’üan (”whole” or alternatively “chronicle”). As different translations have used differing titles for each chapter, a selection appears below.
I
Laying Plans
Detail Assessment and Planning
(Chinese: 始計，始计)
II
Waging War
Waging War
(Chinese: 作戰，作战)
III
Attack by Stratagem
Strategic Attack
(Chinese: 作戰，作战)
IV
Tactical Dispositions
Disposition of the Army
(Chinese: 始計，始计)
V
Energy
Forces
(Chinese: 始計，始计)
VI
Weak Points and Strong
Weaknesses and Strengths
(Chinese: 始計，始计)
VII
Maneuvering
Military Maneuvers
(Chinese: 始計，始计)
VIII
Variation of Tactics
Variations and Adaptability
(Chinese: 始計，始计)
IX
The Army on the March
Movement and Development of Troops
(Chinese: 始計，始计)
X
Terrain
Terrain
(Chinese: 始計，始计)
XI
The Nine Situations
The Nine Battlegrounds
(Chinese: 始計，始计)
XII
The Attack by Fire
Attacking with Fire
(Chinese: 始計，始计)
XIII
The Use of Spies
Intelligence and Espionage
(Chinese: 始計，始计)
Professor Foo Check Teck, Founder of Sun Tzu Art of War Institute on Sun Tzu
