The Meaning of The Art of War

“The Art of War” was written in the late Spring and Autumn Period. It is the earliest, most complete and most famous military work handed down in ancient China. Its content is broad and profound, its thoughts are profound and rich, and its logic is meticulous and rigorous. Since its publication, the book has had a huge and far-reaching impact on the development of ancient Chinese military scholarship, and is revered as the “Military Classic” and “the ancestor of centuries of military talk.” It has been translated into more than a dozen languages, including Japanese, English, French, German, and Russian, and is widely circulated around the world.

Today, people’s understanding of “The Art of War” has gone beyond the scope of military affairs, and the philosophy it contains has penetrated into all aspects of social life.

The 4 levels of Sun Tzu’s Art of War

As an art of war, Sun Tzu’s Art of War is a very comprehensive and complete system. Its most fundamental characteristic is to observe the phenomenon of war from the level of philosophical concepts, explore and reveal the general laws of war, and propose a series of specific methods to guide war. If we analyze it according to the system of modern military science today, “The Art of War” contains at least four levels.

1.Concept of war

The first is its concept of war. A military strategist and a military thinker must first have a basic attitude towards war, whether to affirm war or deny war, what is the relationship between war and politics, and whether war should distinguish its nature, whether it is just or unjust, It has to have a basic perspective.

Sun Tzu’s view of war, the main core of which is “War with caution”, treats war with caution. He did not deny war because at that time and place, war was an inevitable historical phenomenon because divided countries needed to be unified, so he did not deny war. But he was also against militarism, against seeing war as the best cure for all diseases. This is Sun Tzu’s basic attitude toward war, which is simply the idea of War with caution.

2.Strategic thinking

The second level is his strategic thinking. The first very prominent strategic thought is that Sun Tzu advocated the strategy of total victory of “Win without fighting“, which means pursuing the greatest victory at the minimum cost; the second very prominent strategic thought is that Sun Tzu advocated preemptive strike. He believes that you cannot fight passively, but you must take the initiative to attack. The third one is that he believes that the war should be fought quickly, attacking and attacking again, so as to achieve the greatest results in the shortest time and achieve the goal of the war.

3.Tactical thought

The third level is his tactical thought, which is the main part of Sun Tzu’s entire military system and is also his core. Sun Tzu proposed many important principles.

The first tactical idea is his idea of fighting for the initiative in war – “Imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him“. Although this word is very simple, but contains all the war inside the main core meaning, is to take the initiative in their own hands.

The second tactical idea is to “know your enemy and know yourself“, which means that you cannot fight without understanding the situation, and you cannot fight without fully understanding the situation. Not only do we need to know our enemies and ourselves, but we also need to know early. Because war information is time-sensitive, if the information is outdated, everything will be meaningless.

The third tactical idea is – “Avoid strong points and attack weak points.” We cannot confront others head-on. We must use our own advantages to attack others’ weaknesses. This is a key aspect.

4.The theory of military management

The fourth level is the theory of military management, which is a basic idea for managing and building the army. In the past, the army was composed of ordinary people. Without training, certain disciplines, and certain rules and regulations, this army could not form combat effectiveness.

Therefore, Sun Tzu attached great importance to this issue and proposed a series of specific methods for running an army. So these methods include what kind of people the generals use, the training of the troops, the rewards and punishments of the troops, etc.

His core is a sentence, which is called “合之以文，齐之以武“. “合之以文” means using political education, material management, and spiritual encouragement to educate the military so that they can form a basic idea of who and for whom they fight. This is equivalent to our political and ideological education today. “齐之以武” means to use strict military discipline and law. Whoever makes a mistake will be punished without mercy.

The Meaning of The Art of War

“The Art of War” has a very, very great influence on later generations. Li Shimin, the second-generation emperor of the Tang Dynasty in China, said, “Looking at all the military books, none can be compared with Sun Tzu.”The essence of those military books earlier than Sun Tzu’s is contained in The Art of War; the military books later than The art of war cannot go beyond the basic scope of Sun Tzu’s.

Nixon wrote a book called “1999: Victory Without War,” in which he also quoted many quotes from Sun Tzu. The more famous strategists of the 20th century, such as Jomini, Liddell Hart, Collins, etc., all highly praised “The Art of War”.

In fact, the significance of “Sun Tzu’s Art of War” does not entirely lie in its art of war itself. Why do people still study and pay attention to a military book written 2,500 years ago, and sometimes even want to use it today? Because it itself has content worth thinking about.

We know that culture or civilization has two forms. There is one thing that we attach great importance to now, that is to say, it was a very brilliant and valuable thing at that time. For example, our ancient texts or cultural relics. When we study these words, it does not mean that we should use them in input methods, because they are already dead. We use it to understand history, or to understand the evolution of writing, but this is a matter for experts and has little to do with ordinary people.

The second form of civilization is like the Art of War and the Analects of Confucius. These deposits of civilization are alive and well, and these are the things that can best inspir us today.

The meaning of “Sun Tzu’s Art of War” does not entirely lie in its art of war itself. It always reminds everyone: How to deal with problems? How to seize the opportunity? How to win? Its greatest function is to remind ourselves, it constantly reminds us, constantly makes people think, and constantly leaves room for everyone to explore.