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{{Short description|Chinese general (544–496 BC)}}
{{Hatgrp|{{Redirect-multi|2|Master Sun|Sun Zi|the Three Kingdoms period state|Eastern Wu|other masters surnamed Sun|Sun (surname)}}{{other people}}}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox writer
| name             = Sun Tzu
| image            = 吴司马孙武.jpg
| alt              = A statue of Sun Tzu
| caption          = [[Qing Dynasty|Qing-era]] representation of Sun Tzu
| native_name      = 孫子
| native_name_lang = zh
| pseudonym        = Sun Tzu
| birth_name       = Sun Wu
| birth_date       = 544 BC (Traditional)
| birth_place      = [[Qi (state)|Qi]] or [[Wu (state)|Wu]]
| death_date       = 496 BC (traditional; aged 47–48)
| death_place      = [[Suzhou, Jiangsu|Gusu]], [[Wu (state)|Wu State]]
| resting_place    = 
| language         = [[Chinese language |Chinese]]
| occupation       = Military general, strategist, philosopher, writer
| period           = [[Spring and Autumn period|Spring and Autumn]]
| subject          = [[Military strategy]]
| notableworks     = ''[[The Art of War]]''
| module           = {{Infobox Chinese
|child             = yes
|pic               = Sunzi (Chinese characters).svg
|piccap            = "Sun Tzu" in ancient [[seal script]] (top), [[kaishu|regular]] [[Traditional Chinese characters|Traditional]] (middle) and [[Simplified Chinese characters|Simplified]] (bottom) Chinese characters
|picupright        = 0.425
|t                 = 孫子
|s                 = 孙子
|l                 = "Master [[Sun (surname)|Sun]]"
|p                 = Sūnzǐ
|tp                 = Sun-zǐh
|bpmf              = ㄙㄨㄣ&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ㄗˇ
|suz               = Sen-tsỳ
|w                 = {{tone superscript|Sun1 Tzu3}}
|mi                = {{IPAc-cmn|s|un|1|.|zi|3}}
|gr                = Suentzyy
|mps               = Suēntž
|myr               = Swūndž
|showflag          = wp
|j                 = syun1 zi2
|y                 = Syūnjí
|ci                = {{IPAc-yue|s|yun|1|-|z|i|2}}
|poj               = Sun-chú
|tl                = Sun-tsú
|mc                = suən t͡sɨ<sup>X</sup>
|vie={{unbulleted list|Tôn Vũ|Tôn Tử}}
|hn={{unbulleted list|孫武|孫子}}
|hangul={{unbulleted list|손무|손자}}
|hanja={{unbulleted list|孫武|孫子}}
|rr={{unbulleted list|Sonmu|Sonja}}
|kanji={{unbulleted list|孫武|孫子}}
|hiragana={{unbulleted list|そんぶ|そんし}}
|katakana={{unbulleted list|ソンブ|ソンシ}}
|revhep={{unbulleted list|Sonbu|Sonshi}}
|kunrei={{unbulleted list|Sonbu|Sonsi}}
|oc-bs             = &ast;{{IPA|[s]ˤu[n] tsəʔ}}
|altname           = Sun Wu
|t2                = 孫武
|s2                = 孙武
|p2                = Sūn Wǔ
|tp2                = Sun Wǔ
|gr2               = Suen Wuu
|bpmf2             = ㄙㄨㄣ&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ㄨˇ
|myr2              = Swūn Wǔ
|mi2               = {{IPAc-cmn|s|un|1|-|wu|3}}
|mps2              = Suēn Wǔ
|w2                = {{tone superscript|Sun1 Wu3}}
|mc2               = suən mɨo<sup>X</sup>
|oc-bs2            = &ast;{{IPA|[s]ˤu[n] m(r)aʔ}}
|altname3          = Changqing
|t3                = 長卿
|s3                = 长卿
|p3                = Chángqīng
|tp3                = Cháng-cing
|mps3              = Chángchīng
|mi3               = {{IPAc-cmn|ch|ang|2|.|q|ing|1}}
|gr3               = Charngching
|w3                = {{tone superscript|Ch'ang2-chʻing1}}
|bpmf3             = ㄔㄤˊ&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ㄑㄧㄥ
|myr3              = Chángchīng
|mc3               = ɖɨɐŋ kʰˠiæŋ
|oc-bs3            = &ast;{{IPA|Cə-[N]-traŋ C.qʰraŋ}}
 }}
}}

'''Sun Tzu''' ({{IPAc-en|s|uː|n|_|ˈ|d|z|uː|,_|s|uː|n|_|ˈ|s|uː}};{{lang-zh|t=孫子|s=孙子|first= t|p=Sūnzǐ}}) was a Chinese [[General|military general]], [[strategist]], [[philosopher]], and [[writer]] who lived during the [[Eastern Zhou period]] (771–256 BC). Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of ''[[The Art of War]]'', a [[Classical Chinese]] text on military strategy from the [[Warring States period]], though the earliest parts of the work probably date to at least a century after him.{{sfnp|Lewis|1999|p=604}}

Sun Tzu is revered in [[Chinese culture|Chinese]] and East Asian culture as a legendary historical and military figure; however, his historical existence is uncertain. The [[Han dynasty]] historian [[Sima Qian]] and other traditional Chinese historians placed him as a minister to [[King Helü of Wu]] and dated his lifetime to 544–496 BC. The name ''Sun Tzu''{{mdash}}by which he is more popularly known{{mdash}}is an [[Chinese honorifics|honorific]] which means "Master [[Sun (surname)|Sun]]". His birth name was said to be '''Sun Wu''' ({{lang-zh|t=孫武|s=孙武|first=t}}) and he is posthumously known by his [[courtesy name]] '''Changqing''' ({{lang-zh|t=長卿}}).<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 May 2015 |title=孙子 – 国学网 |url=http://www.guoxue.com/?people=sunzi |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=guoxue.com |language=zh}}</ref> Traditional accounts state that the general's descendant [[Sun Bin]] wrote a treatise on military tactics, also titled [[Sun Bin's Art of War|''The Art of War'']]. Since both Sun Wu and Sun Bin were referred to as "Sun Tzu" in classical Chinese texts, some historians thought them identical, prior to the rediscovery of Sun Bin's treatise in 1972.

==Life==
[[File:Battle of Boju.png|thumb|Situation during the [[Battle of Boju]], which [[Sima Qian]] credits Sun Tzu with having participated in.]]
The earliest account of Sun Tzu's life is a short biography written around 97 BC by [[Sima Qian]] as part of his ''[[Shiji]]'' (Records of the Grand Historian).{{sfn|Mair|2007|pp=133-135}} Sima Qian states that Sun Tzu was born in [[Qi (state)|Qi]] near the end of the [[Spring and Autumn period]] (776–471&nbsp;BC), and that his courtesy name was "Wu." The rest of the biography consists of an account of how [[kings of Wu|King]] [[Helü]] of [[Wu (state)|Wu]], having heard of Sun Wu's ''Art of War'', summoned him to the palace and asked him to demonstrate his ability to train soldiers by training the king's [[harem]] of 180 [[Concubinage|concubines]] into soldiers. 

Sun Tzu was said to have divided them into two companies, appointing the two concubines most favored by the king as the company commanders, and proceeded to give them orders, which they ignored, instead breaking out into laughter. Over the king's protestations, Sun Tzu then had the two concubines executed, at which the rest of the "soldiers" began to behave at once, and the king appointed Sun Wu as a general. He went on to lead the state of Wu to victory against the much larger state of [[Chu (state)|Chu]] during the [[Battle of Boju]] in 506 BC.{{sfn|Mair|2007|pp=133-135}} Later accounts also associate Sun Tzu with [[Wu Zixu]], who was credited with the authorship of the ''[[Wuzi]]'', another ancient Chinese military text. Zixu was said to have been a refugee from Chu, and he introduced Sun Wu to King Helu.{{sfn|Mair|2007|pp=12}}

Beginning in the 12th century (during the [[Song dynasty]]), several Chinese scholars began to doubt the historical existence of Sun Tzu.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=447}} During the [[Song dynasty]], [[Ye Shi]] (1150–1223) noticed that the ''[[Zuo Zhuan]]'', which mentions most of the notable figures from the Spring and Autumn period, does not mention Sun Tzu at all despite the fact that Sima Qian had claimed in the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' that Sun Tzu had proved on the battlefield that his theories were effective at the [[Battle of Boju]]. The ''Zuo Zhuan'', which was written centuries earlier than the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' and provides a much more detailed account of the Battle of Boju, does not mention Sun Tzu at all.<ref name="Zuo Zhuan">{{citation|chapter-url=http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/saxon/servlet/SaxonServlet?source=xwomen/texts/chunqiu.xml&style=xwomen/xsl/dynaxml.xsl&chunk.id=d2.17&toc.depth=1&toc.id=0&doc.lang=bilingual|chapter=Duke Ding|volume=XI|title=Zuo Zhuan|author=Zuo Qiuming|language=zh, en|title-link=Zuo Zhuan|author-link=Zuo Qiuming}}</ref><ref name="Daryl">{{cite web|url=http://www.newhistorian.com/the-art-of-war/3232/|title=The Art of War|author=Worthington, Daryl|date=13 March 2015|publisher=New Historian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190303082729/http://www.newhistorian.com/the-art-of-war/3232/|archive-date=3 March 2019|url-status=dead}} 13 March 2015</ref>

The name "Sun Wu" ({{lang|zh-hant|孫武}}) does not appear in any text prior to the ''Records of the Grand Historian'',{{sfnp|Mair|2007|p=9}} and may have been an invented descriptive [[cognomen]] meaning "the fugitive warrior"{{snd}}the surname "Sun" can be glossed as the related term "fugitive" ({{transliteration|zh|xùn}} {{lang|zh|遜}}), while "Wu" is the ancient Chinese virtue of "martial, valiant" (''wǔ'' {{lang|zh-hant|武}}), or a [[Jianghuai]] dialectal synonym of {{zhi|c=士|p=shì}} "[[Scholar-official#Origins of Shi (士) and Da fu (大夫)|knight]]",<ref>[[Xu Shen]]'s annotation: {{lang|zh|「'''武'''士也；江淮間謂士曰'''武'''。」}} on [[Liu An]] (compiler), ''[[Huainanzi]]'' ({{lang|zh|淮南子}}), "Survey Obscurities" ([[s:zh:淮南鴻烈解_(四庫全書本)/全覽#覽㝠訓|覽㝠訓]]); [[Siku Quanshu]] version. Main text: {{lang|zh|「夫死生同域，不可脅陵， 勇'''武'''一人，為三軍雄。」}}; English translation from John S. Major, Sarah A. Queen, Andrew Seth Meyer, and Harold D. Roth (transl.) (2010) ''The Huainanzi: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Government in Early Han China''. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010. p. 215. quote: "One for whom death and life are the same territory, who cannot be threatened, such a single brave '''warrior''' is the hero of the Three Armies."</ref> which corresponds to Sunzi's role as the hero's [[doppelgänger]] in the story of [[Wu Zixu]].{{sfnp|Mair|2007|p=10}} 
[[File: Inscribed bamboo-slips of Art of War.jpg|thumb|The [[Yinqueshan Han Slips]] unearthed in 1972 include Sun Tzu's ''Art of War'', collection of [[Shandong Museum]]|left]]
Furthermore, the earliest parts of ''[[The Art of War]]'', the work traditionally credited to Sun Tzu, probably dates to at least a century after him.{{sfnp|Lewis|1999|p=604}} Anachronisms in ''The Art of War'' include terms, technology (such as anachronistic [[crossbows]]), philosophical ideas, events, and military techniques that should not have been available to Sun Wu.<ref>Yang, Sang. ''The Art of War''. Wordsworth Editions Ltd (1999). pp. 14–15. {{ISBN|978-1-85326-779-6}}</ref><ref name="Asian History">{{cite web|url=http://asianhistory.about.com/od/ancientchina/p/Sun-Tzu-Art-of-War.htm|title=Sun Tzu and the Art of War|publisher=Asian History|author=Szczepanski, Kallie|access-date=13 March 2016|archive-date=22 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122031644/http://asianhistory.about.com/od/ancientchina/p/Sun-Tzu-Art-of-War.htm|url-status=dead}} 4 February 2015</ref> Additionally, there are no records of professional generals during the [[Spring and Autumn period]]; these are only extant from the [[Warring States period]], so there is doubt as to Sun Tzu's rank and generalship.<ref name="Asian History"/> This caused much confusion as to when ''The Art of War'' was actually written; since the 12th century, most scholars from the [[Song Dynasty|Song]] and [[Qing Dynasty]] along with modern Chinese, Japanese and Western scholars follow [[Ye Shi]] in assigning the text to the beginning of the [[Warring States period]].{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=447}} This later dating has been bolstered by the discovery of the text on bamboo slips accidentally unearthed by construction workers at [[Yinqueshan Han Slips|Yinque Shan]] in [[Shandong]] in 1972,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classicsofstrategy.com/2015/11/sun-tzu-the-art-of-war-c-500-300-bc.html|title=Sun Tzu, The Art of War (c. 500–300 B.C.)|publisher=Classics of Strategy|author=Morrow, Nicholas|date=4 February 2015|access-date=13 March 2016|archive-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020030058/http://www.classicsofstrategy.com/2015/11/sun-tzu-the-art-of-war-c-500-300-bc.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=shandong>{{citation|title=Yinqueshan Han Bamboo Slips|url=http://www.sdwenbo.com/art.asp?id=26&type=6|date=24 April 2008|publisher=[[Shandong Provincial Museum]]|language=zh|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029195157/http://www.sdwenbo.com/art.asp?id=26&type=6|archive-date=29 October 2013}}</ref><ref name="Clements">{{citation|last=Clements|first=Jonathan|title=The Art of War: A New Translation|date= 2012|publisher=Constable & Robinson Ltd|isbn=978-1-78033-131-7|pages=77–78}}</ref> which had been sealed between 134 and 118 BC.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=449}} The content of the earlier text is about one-third of the chapters of the modern ''The Art of War'', and their texts match very closely.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=448}} 

Another text discovered in the same collection was [[Sun Bin]]'s ''Military Methods'',<ref name="Clements"/> a previously lost work that had been attributed to one of Sun Wu's descendants by Han dynasty bibliographies. Due to its close relationship with the ''Art of War'', ''Military Methods'' provides important context on the body of military thought in Chinese late antiquity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sydney Wen-Jang Chu|last2=Cheng-Yu Lee|date=16 January 2013|title=Just another Masterpiece: the Differences between Sun Tzu's the Art of War and Sun Bin's the Art of War|url=http://www.airitilibrary.com/Publication/alDetailedMesh?docid=P20121108003-201301-201302010022-201302010022-59-73|journal=健行學報|volume=33|issue=1|issn=1817-6755}}</ref> In the early 20th century, the Chinese writer and reformer [[Liang Qichao]] had theorized that the text of the ''Art of War'' was actually written in the 4th century BC by this purported descendant of Sun Tzu.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=447}} Although this hypothesis is no longer tenable, the Sun Bin text's material overlaps with much of the "Sun Tzu" text, and the two may be "a single, continuously developing intellectual tradition united under the Sun name".<ref>[[Mark Edward Lewis]] (2005), quoted in Mair (2007), p. 18.</ref> Unlike Sun Wu, Sun Bin appears to have been an actual person who was a genuine authority on military matters and may have been the inspiration for the creation of the historical figure "Sun Tzu" through a form of [[euhemerism]].{{sfnp|Mair|2007|p=10}} This discovery also demonstrated that much of the historical confusion about anecdotes attributed to Sun Tzu could have been due to the fact that there were two authors that could have been referred to as "Master Sun."{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=449}}{{sfnp|Mair|2007|p=10}}

==''The Art of War''==
{{Main|The Art of War}}
{{Asian philosophy sidebar}}
The environment that was fostered was marked by the [[Warring States period]] (475-221 BC). The Warring States period was marked by military conflicts and conquests, as well as political instability. This would then foster the development of [[Zhan Guo Ce|philosophical]] and strategic texts like ''The Art of War.''

''[[The Art of War]]'', traditionally ascribed to Sun Tzu, is a Classical Chinese text dating from the [[Warring States period]]. The work is composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to a different set of skills or [[Art (skill)|arts]] related to warfare and how they apply to [[military strategy]] and [[Military tactics|tactics]]. The book further outlines theories of battle, but it also advocates diplomacy and the cultivation of relationships with other nations as essential to the health of a state.{{sfn|McNeilly|2001|p=3-7}}  

In addition, [[Taoist]] rhetoric is a component incorporated into the ''Art of War''. According to Steven C. Combs in "Sun-zi and the ''Art of War'': The Rhetoric of Parsimony",<ref name="Combs 276–294">{{cite journal|last=Combs|first=Steven C.|title=Sun-zi and the Art of War: The Rhetoric of Parsimony|journal=Quarterly Journal of Speech|date=August 2000|volume=86|issue=3|pages=276–294|doi=10.1080/00335630009384297|s2cid=145097995}}</ref> warfare is "used as a metaphor for rhetoric, and that both are philosophically based arts."<ref name="Combs 276–294" /> Combs writes: "Warfare is analogous to persuasion, as a battle for hearts and minds."<ref name="Combs 276–294" /> Combs compares Taoist and [[Aristotle|Aristotelian]] rhetoric, notably for the differences in persuasion. Taoist rhetoric in ''The Art of War''  is described as "peaceful and passive, favoring silence over speech".<ref name="Combs 276–294" />  Frugal behavior, which is emphasized extensively in ''The Art of War'' as avoiding confrontation and being spiritual in nature, shapes basic principles in Taoism.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Galvany|first=Albert|title=Philosophy, biography, and Anecdote: On the Portrait of Sun Wu|journal=Philosophy East and West|date=October 2011|volume=61|issue=4|pages=630–646|doi=10.1353/pew.2011.0059|s2cid=171035936}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Bamboo book - binding - UCR.jpg|thumb|A copy of ''The Art of War'' written on bamboo|alt=A bamboo book|232x232px]]
Sun Tzu's ''Art of War'' has influenced many notable figures and is accepted as a [[masterpiece]] on strategy. It has been frequently cited and by generals and theorists since it was first published, translated, and distributed internationally.{{sfn|McNeilly|2001|p=3-7}} 

''The Art of War'' was one of the most widely read military treatises in the subsequent [[Warring States period]], a time of constant war among seven ancient Chinese states—[[Zhao (state)|Zhao]], [[Qi (state)|Qi]], [[Qin (state)|Qin]], [[Chu (state)|Chu]], [[Han (Warring States)|Han]], [[Wei (state)|Wei]], and [[Yan (state)|Yan]]—who fought to control the vast expanse of fertile territory in Eastern China.{{sfn|McNeilly|2001|p=3-7}} For almost 1,500 years, it was the lead text in an anthology that was formalized as the [[Seven Military Classics]] by [[Emperor Shenzong of Song]] in 1080. ''The Art of War'' remains the most influential strategy text in East Asian warfare.{{sfnp|Smith|1999|p=216}}  

''The Art of War'' appears throughout the bibliographical catalogs of the Chinese dynastic histories, but listings of its divisions and size varied widely.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=447}} The strategist and warlord [[Cao Cao]] in the early 3rd century of the Common Era authored the earliest known commentary to the ''Art of War''.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=447}} Cao's preface makes clear that he edited the text and removed certain passages, but the extent of his changes was unclear historically.{{sfnp|Gawlikowski|Loewe|1993|p=447}} In the 12th century, [[Ji Tianbao]] compiled a collection of commentaries on ''The Art of War'' which included Cao Cao's commentary along with several later ones that are frequently cited, including [[Meng Shi]] (502-557), [[Li Quan (Taoist)|Li Quan]] ({{circa|750}}), [[Jia Lin]] ({{circa|late 8th c.}}), [[Du You]] (735-812), [[Du Mu]] (803-852), Chen Hao ({{circa|[[Tang dynasty]]}}), [[Mei Yaochen]] (1002 - 1060), Wang Xi ({{circa|1082}}), [[He Yanxi]] ({{circa|late 11th c.}}), and Zhang Yu ({{circa|[[Southern Song dynasty]]}}).{{sfn|Mair|2007|p=3}} Although most of these later commentaries have little value for [[philology]] or historical analysis of the original text, they attest to the continued interest in the text throughout Chinese history.{{sfn|Mair|2007|p=3}}

[[File:Enchoen27n3200.jpg|thumb|Statue of Sun Tzu in [[Yurihama, Tottori]], in Japan|301x301px]]
''The Art of War'' was introduced into [[Nara period|Nara Japan]] in the year 760 of the Common Era, and the book quickly became popular among Japanese generals. Through its later influence on the [[Sengoku period]] "Great Unifiers" of Japan, [[Oda Nobunaga]], [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], and [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]],{{sfn|McNeilly|2001|p=3-7}} it significantly affected the [[Edo period|unification of Japan]] in the early modern era. After the [[Meiji Restoration]], the book remained popular among the [[Imperial Japanese Army|Imperial Japanese armed forces]]. Admiral [[Tōgō Heihachirō]], who led Japan's forces to victory in the [[Russo-Japanese War]], was an avid reader of Sun Tzu.<ref>{{harvnb|Tung|2001|p=805}}.</ref>

The book was translated into French and published in 1772 by the French priest [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] [[Jean Joseph Marie Amiot]]; it was re-published in 1782. A partial translation into English was attempted by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905 under the title ''The Book of War''. The first annotated English translation was completed and published by [[Lionel Giles]] in 1910.<ref name="Lionel Giles 2007. p. 62">Giles, Lionel ''The Art of War by Sun Tzu – Special Edition''. Special Edition Books. 2007. p. 62.</ref> 

In the twentieth century, military and political leaders such as the Chinese communist revolutionary [[Mao Zedong]]  and Vietnamese general [[Võ Nguyên Giáp]] are cited along with American military generals [[Douglas MacArthur]] and [[Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.]] as having drawn inspiration from the book.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hlavatý |first1=Jozef |last2=Ližbetin |first2=Ján |year=2021 |title=The Use of the Art of War Ideas in the Strategic Decision-making of the Company |journal=Transportation Research Procedia |series=14th International scientific conference on sustainable, modern and safe transport  |volume=55 |pages=1273–1280 |doi=10.1016/j.trpro.2021.07.110 |s2cid=238896273 |issn=2352-1465|doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Mao Zedong]] partially credited his 1949 victory over [[Chiang Kai-shek]] and the [[Kuomintang]] to ''The Art of War''. The work strongly influenced writings about warfare in Mao's ''[[Little Red Book]]'', which further influenced communist insurgencies around the world.{{sfn|McNeilly|2001|p=3-7}} [[Ho Chi Minh]] translated the work for his Vietnamese officers to study. His general [[Võ Nguyên Giáp]] was likewise an avid student and practitioner of Sun Tzu's ideas.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.sonshi.com/duiker.html|title=Interview with Dr. William Duiker|work=Sonshi|access-date=5 February 2011|archive-date=18 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118173816/https://www.sonshi.com/william-duiker-interview.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=McCready|first=Douglas M.|title=Learning from Sun Tzu|date=May–June 2003|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0PBZ/is_3_83/ai_109268913/?tag=untagged|newspaper=Military Review|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629011131/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0PBZ/is_3_83/ai_109268913/?tag=untagged|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last1=Forbes|first1=Andrew|last2=Henley|first2=David|name-list-style=amp|year=2012|title=The Illustrated Art of War: Sun Tzu|publisher=Cognoscenti |location=Chiang Mai|asin=B00B91XX8U}}</ref>

In ''Sun Tzu and the Art of Modern Warfare'', Mark McNeilly writes that a modern interpretation of Sun and his importance throughout Chinese history is critical in understanding China's push to become a superpower in the twenty-first century. Modern Chinese scholars explicitly rely on historical strategy and ''The Art of War'' in developing their theories, seeing a direct relationship between their modern struggles and those of China in Sun Tzu's time. Sun Tzu's teachings and  are used regularly in developing the strategies of the Chinese state and its leaders.{{sfn|McNeilly|2001|p=3-7}}

Some admirers of Sun Tzu's work claim that it has relevance in competitive endeavors across the modern world beyond military strategy and warfare, including espionage, culture, governance, business, and sports.<ref name=wp>{{citation|last= Scott|first= Wilson|title=Obama meets privately with Jewish leaders|date=7 March 2013|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-meets-privately-with-jewish-leaders/2013/03/07/dd95b4ca-8733-11e2-999e-5f8e0410cb9d_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=22 May 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724060741/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-03-07/politics/37535039_1_nuclear-weapons-jewish-leaders-president-obama|archive-date=24 July 2013}}</ref><ref name=UPI>{{citation|title=Obama to challenge Israelis on peace|work=United Press International|date=8 March 2013|url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/03/08/Obama-to-challenge-Israelis-on-peace/UPI-70151362729600/|access-date=22 May 2013}}</ref><ref name="Business">{{citation|last=Garner|first=Rochelle|title=Oracle's Ellison Uses 'Art of War' in Software Battle With SAP|date=16 October 2006|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aFA0SRsqGq04|work=Bloomberg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020122222/https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aFA0SRsqGq04|url-status=dead|access-date=18 May 2013|archive-date=20 October 2015}}</ref><ref name=Football>{{citation|last=Hack|first=Damon|title=For Patriots' Coach, War Is Decided Before Game|newspaper=The New York Times|date=3 February 2005|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/03/sports/football/03belichick.html|access-date = 18 May 2013}}</ref>{{sfn|McNeilly|2001|p=301}}

Sun Tzu has been mentioned often in popular American culture. For example, in the 1987 film ''[[Wall Street (1987 film)|Wall Street]]'', the protagonist [[Gordon Gekko]] frequently cites passages from ''The Art of War'' as guiding principles for his aggressive trading techniques.<ref>{{cite web |title=Oliver Stone's ''Wall Street'' and the Market for Corporate Control |work=Economics in Popular Film (course) |publisher=Mount Holyoke |date=November 21, 2001 |url=http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/sgabriel/filmcourse/oliver_stone.html |access-date=18 February 2021 |archive-date=13 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713042945/https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/sgabriel/filmcourse/oliver_stone.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Sun Jian]]
* [[Confucius]]
* [[Li Shizhen]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |title = Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide |first1 = Krzysztof |last1 = Gawlikowski |last2 = Loewe |first2 = Michael |author2-link = Michael Loewe |publisher = Society for the Study of Early China; Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley |year=1993 |isbn=978-1-55729-043-4 |editor-last = Loewe |editor-first = Michael |location = Berkeley |pages = 446–455 |chapter = ''Sun tzu ping fa'' 孫子兵法 }}
* {{cite book |last = Lewis |first = Mark Edward |author-link = Mark Edward Lewis |chapter = Warring States Political History |editor1-first = Michael |editor1-last = Loewe |editor1-link = Michael Loewe |editor2-first = Edward |editor2-last = Shaughnessy |editor2-link = Edward Shaughnessy |title = The Cambridge History of Ancient China |location = Cambridge |publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1999 | pages = 587–650 | isbn=978-0-521-47030-8 }}
* {{cite book |title = The Art of War: Sun Zi's Military Methods |last = Mair |first = Victor H. |author-link = Victor H. Mair |publisher = Columbia University Press |year = 2007 |location = New York |isbn = 978-0-231-13382-1 }}
* {{citation |last = McNeilly |first = Mark R. |title = Sun Tzu and the Art of Modern Warfare |year = 2001 |publisher = Oxford University Press |isbn=  978-0-19-513340-0 }}.
* {{cite book |first = Kidder |last = Smith |chapter = The Military Texts: The ''Sunzi'' |editor-first = Wm. Theodore |editor-last = de Bary |editor-link = William Theodore de Bary |title = Sources of Chinese Tradition: From Earliest Times to 1600, Volume 1 |edition = 2nd |location = New York|publisher = Columbia University Press |year=1999 |pages = 213–224 |isbn = 978-0-231-10938-3 }}
* {{citation |last = Tung |first = R. L. |title = Comparative Management:Critical Perspectives on Business and Management |year = 2001 |volume = 3 |chapter = Strategic Management Thought in East Asia |publisher = Routledge |editor-last = Warner |editor-first = Malcolm }}.
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |author-link = Roger T. Ames |last = Ames |first = Roger T. |title = Sun-tzu: The Art of Warfare: The First English Translation Incorporating the Recently Discovered Yin-chʻüeh-shan Texts |publisher = Ballantine Books |location = New York|year = 1993 |isbn = 978-0-345-36239-1 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Goldin |first1=Paul |chapter = Sunzi| pages= 153–165 | title=The Art of Chinese Philosophy: Eight Classical Texts and How to Read Them |date=7 April 2020 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-20079-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lmW1DwAAQBAJ |access-date=28 May 2025 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last = Graff |first = David A. |title = Medieval Chinese Warfare, 300–900 |series = Warfare and History |location = London |publisher = [[Routledge]] |year = 2002 |isbn = 978-0415239554 }}

==External links==
{{Sister project links |wikt=no |commons=Category:Sun Tzu |b=no |n=no |q=Sun Tzu |s=Author:Sun Tzu |v=no |species=no }}

;Translations
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/sun-tzu}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=Sunzi}}
* {{Internet Archive author |search=("Sun Tzu" OR "Sun Wu" OR "Sun Zi" OR "Sunzi" OR "Changqing")}}
* {{Librivox author |id=3534}}
* [http://ctext.org/art-of-war ''The Art of War''] Chinese-English bilingual edition, [[Chinese Text Project]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080527081835/http://www.ndu.edu/inss/siws/cont.html Sun Tzu and Information Warfare] at the Institute for National Strategic Studies of [[National Defense University (Washington, D.C.)|National Defense University]]
* [https://www.sonshi.com/ Sun Tzu's Art of War Resource] Original translation, reviews of Art of War versions, interviews with translators
* [https://theoriq.com/en?book%5B%5D=the-art-of-war-83 ''The Art of War illustrated version''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224161001/https://theoriq.com/en?book%5B%5D=the-art-of-war-83 |date=24 February 2021 }}, on Theoriq.com
* [https://www.r2plan.com/sun-tzu-the-art-of-war-on-modern-world-english-version/ ''The Art of War on Modern World, by Edward Rico M. Tj''], on r2plan.com
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otMaORoiH7w 11 The Nine Situations | The Art of War by Sun Tzu (Animated)]

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