Written: around 500 B.C.E.
Translated: from the Chinese by Lionel Giles, M.A. (1910)
Attributed to the legendary Chinese general, Sun Tzu, the Art of War also has a strong spiritual component. The work blends Taoism with the art of statecraft, applying concepts such as 'doing without doing' to the battlefield. Traditionally written during the Spring and Autumn period (722-481 BCE), others date it, based on historical and internal evidence, to the Warring States Period (403-221 BCE). Sun Tzu is traditionally identified with an historical figure who lived from 544-496 BCE, a general of the King of Wu. Since it first came to the attention of Westerners in the 19th century, the Art of War has influenced leaders from Napoleon to Norman Schwarzkopf. Mao tse Tung attributed it as a source of his thinking on guerilla warfare. The work is considered a masterpiece of military theory.