The Art of War

Cultural Writing. Philosophy. Asian Studies. Military History. Translated from the Chinese by Lin Wusun. THE ART OF WAR, written by Chinese philosopher Sun Tsu in the second century B.C., is a treatise on military strategy and warfare that has exerted a powerful influence on the development of both Eastern and Western philosophy and strategy. Although it is concerned with warfare, it repeatedly emphasizes the use of restraint, careful analysis, and, most importantly, introspection and cultivation of one's inner self. The text is also a profoundly nuanced and intimately revealing work of literature. Although often misunderstood as a selection of koans or idiomatic expressions, THE ART OF WAR, like the writings of Confucius and the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu, in reality forms one of the founding pillars of Chinese philosophical thought and is one of the finest examples of the "Golden Age" of Chinese classical prose.