Sun Tzu 544 BC – 496 BC
Sun Tzu (544 BC – 496 BC) was a Chinese philosopher of the Ancient era.
Sun Tzu was a Chinese strategist of the late Spring and Autumn period, traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, the earliest and most influential treatise on military strategy in the world's literature. The work treats warfare as an extension of political life and develops a philosophy of action centered on the rational assessment of conditions, the management of information, the indirect approach, and the goal of victory without battle. Although composed for the prince and the general, it has been read for two and a half millennia as a guide to strategy in politics, business, and the conduct of life.
Sun Tzu, traditionally dated to the late sixth century BC, is presented in Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian as a general from the state of Qi who served King Helu of Wu during the Spring and Autumn period. The biographical record is thin and disputed: modern scholarship places the text associated with him in the Warring States era and treats the figure of Sun Tzu as a composite or symbolic author rather than a fully reconstructible historical individual.
The Art of War (Sunzi Bingfa), in thirteen chapters, is the work that bears his name and the oldest surviving treatise on strategy in the Chinese tradition. Its bamboo-strip exemplar recovered at Yinqueshan in 1972 confirmed essentially the received text. The book entered the canonical Seven Military Classics under the Song and was studied throughout the East Asian world by generals, officials, and scholars.
The work's central themes — the supreme importance of intelligence and deception, the manipulation of strategic configuration (shi), the ideal of subduing the enemy without battle, and the demand that a commander know both the adversary and himself — have made it the most widely read strategic text in world history. Its influence extends well beyond military practice into modern management, diplomacy, and political theory.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Chinese
- Era
- Ancient
Selected quotes
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“All warfare is based on deception.”
兵者，詭道也。故能而示之不能，用而示之不用，近而示之遠，遠而示之近， -
Attributed to Sun Tzu:
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
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Attributed to Sun Tzu:
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”
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Attributed to Sun Tzu:
“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”
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“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”
是故勝兵先勝而後求戰，敗兵先戰而後求勝。
Sun Tzu by topic
Frequently asked about Sun Tzu
- When did Sun Tzu live?
- Sun Tzu was born in 544 BC and died in 496 BC.
- Where was Sun Tzu from?
- Sun Tzu was a Chinese philosopher of the Ancient era.
- What was Sun Tzu known for?
- Sun Tzu was a Chinese strategist of the late Spring and Autumn period, traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, the earliest and most influential treatise on military strategy in the world's literature.
- How many quotes are attributed to Sun Tzu?
- There are 17 attributed quotations from Sun Tzu in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.
Quotes that are not actually from Sun Tzu
These lines are widely circulated as Sun Tzu, but they do not appear in Sun Tzu's works. Each entry below identifies the actual source.
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“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: This has often been attributed to Sun Tzu and sometimes to Petrarch . It comes most directly from a line spoken by Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974), written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola : My father taught me many things here. He taught me in this room. He taught me: keep yo
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“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: Probably apocryphal. This quotation does not appear in any print translation of Sun Tzu. The first citation in Google Books is from 2002; no citation in Google Books occurs in a translation of Sun Tzu.
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“The true objective of war is peace.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: This is attributed to Sun Tzu in The Art of War . Actually James Clavell’s foreword in The Art of War states , “’the true object of war is peace.’” Therefore the quote is stated by James Clavell , but the true origin of Clavell's quotation is unclear. Nonetheless the essence of the quote, that a lon
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“In peace, prepare for war. In war, prepare for peace.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: Sometimes erroneously prepended to the opening line "The art of war is of vital importance to the State", but appears to be a variation of the Roman motto "Si vis pacem, para bellum". It is not clear who first misattributed this phrase to Sun Tzu. The earliest appearance of the phrase in Google Book
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“Fear is the true enemy, the only enemy.”
This quote is commonly attributed to philosophers but its actual source is uncertain or unverified in the standard reference works. Wikiquote's note on this attribution: Attributed implicitly to Sun Tzu by " William Riker " in the episode The Last Outpost of the TV program Star Trek: The Next Generation , but no source for this quote predates the episode's airing in 1987.
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“This has often been attributed to Sun Tzu and sometimes to Petrarch . It comes most directly from a line spoken by Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II (1974), written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola :”
My father taught me many things here. He taught me in this room. He taught me: keep your friends close but your enemies closer.
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“Niccolò Machiavelli , who is also sometimes credited, wrote on the subject in The Prince :”
It is easier for the prince to make friends of those men who were contented under the former government, and are therefore his enemies, than of those who, being discontented with it, were favourable to him and encouraged him to seize it.
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“There are also some attributions of a relatable comment to Genghis Khan :”
To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy. This is sometimes attributed to Sun Tzu in combination with the above quote, as well as alone, but it too has not been sourced to any published translation of The Art of War , though it is similar in concept to his famous statement in Ch. 3 : "It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles..."
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“To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.”
This is sometimes attributed to Sun Tzu in combination with the above quote, as well as alone, but it too has not been sourced to any published translation of The Art of War , though it is similar in concept to his famous statement in Ch. 3 : "It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles..."
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“Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.”
This has appeared as a variant of Sun Tzu's assertion to "leave a way of escape." Tu Mu, commenting on Sun Tzu, advises, "Show him there is a road to safety..." Ch. 7; it has also recently appeared on the internet attributed to Scipio Africanus , but without citation. (Disputed.)
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“Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price.”
Attributed to Sun Tzu in multiple books and internet sites, but this text does not appear in The Art of War and seems to be a more recent creation. (Disputed.)