The Original Sun Tzu Art Of War Book - Where & What To Buy?
- by J. Khoo @ Mr Art of War
- Jan 7
- 6 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
The Sun Tzu Art of War book is the original book of strategy.
To win, you need the right strategy.
No matter how hard you work and how resilient you are, you cannot win with the right strategy.
The ORIGINAL Sun Tzu's Art Of War Book:
What is The Art Of War Book About?
The Art of War book is about "The Art of Winning".
It's about winning with minimal resources and maximizing profits through ingenuity.
Winning through ingenuity, not brute force.
This quote by Sun Tzu is the fundamental principle of The Art of War.
The objective is to be victorious in war; if it is a prolonged war; the men's weapons will grow dull, and their ardor will be dampened. And the siege will exhaust your strength.
The Art of War book talks about how to be victorious while avoiding a prolonged war.
Because in war, many soldiers will lose their lives, and the nation's people will bear the burden.
Then how can you be victorious without fighting?
Sun Tzu, in his book, talks about the strategies needed to win without bloodshed. Only when we have no choice, like defending ourselves, do we have to fight.
As Sun Tzu says,
Hence, to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
Sun Tzu teaches you the strategies and tactics you need to win without fighting.
However, he cautions his reader by saying,
The Art of War is of vital importance to the State.
It is a situation of life and death, a road either to safety or ruin. It is a subject of inquiry that needs to be studied carefully.
In Sun Tzu's "The Art of War," the book talks about self-awareness by knowing your capabilities and shortcomings and comparing them with your competitor.
To sum up what The Art of War is all about, Sun Tzu teaches:
Assessing your situation against your enemy.
Effective planning,
Psychological warfare
Costing in warfare
Effective Leadership
Managing your army
The Art of Strategy in Winning.
Let me leave you with this Sun Tzu's profound quote,
He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, which means conquering the enemy that is already defeated.
Therefore, in war, the victorious strategist wins first and then seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and later looks for victory.
Sun Tzu teaches you to be prudent and not reckless, to use ingenuity, not brute force.
The Sun Tzu Art of War book is all about how to win. You, as a reader, can learn and apply his philosophy and thoughts to your business, career, and life.
Which Sun Tzu Art of War book to read?
It depends on what you want to achieve from reading The Art of War.
Let me explain,
Most of the hundreds of books will translate what Sun Tzu wrote in his original "bamboo strips".
Most Art of War books will have 2 sections.
One section is the translation of Sun Tzu's Art of War written on "bamboo strips". The other part is an explanation of the concepts and applications from Sun Tzu's Art of War.
Some books only show the translation and no explanation of his concepts.
Remember that regardless of the book you purchase, your comprehension will be constrained by your current experience and knowledge when you read it.
It depends on how much you want to learn from Sun Tzu's Art of War book.
To truly master "The Art of War," simply reading the book won't suffice. It's similar to reading hundreds of other books, which doesn't automatically make you an expert.
The most popular Art of War books will be sufficient to know about this subject. If you want to master "The Art of War" then look for a more comprehensive book program.
What is the Original Sun Tzu Art Of War Book?
"The Art of War," written by Sun Tzu, comprises 13 chapters that were originally inscribed on bamboo strips.
Sun Tzu's Art of War was written around 510 BC by Sun Wu.
Sun Wu is the author of The Art of War. He was called Sun Tzu, which means "Master Sun".
The Art of War treatise was written in Classical Chinese (文言文), which served as the formal written language of China until roughly a century ago, after which it was translated to Mandarin.
The original Sun Tzu Art of War book was written for rulers, commanders, and generals during the Warring States Period.
How do you understand the Sun Tzu Art Of War book?
Most readers who read the English-translated Art of War book will read Sun Tzu's quotes and understand them.
The Chinese reader will also do the same.
Sun Tzu's quotes are very brief, as he did not provide extensive explanations or many examples, and in some cases, none at all.
Why did Sun Tzu not give more explanation?
Sun Tzu expects you to understand what he wrote. He did not expect his Art of War book to be read by readers 2,500 years after he had written it.
Sun Tzu being in the noble class, had the privilege to learn other philosophy and subjects of his time that serve as part of an extention of his Art Of War book.
One in his time would know what message he was trying to say.
The Sun Tzu Art of War book is an extension of what an experienced leader back then should already know.
One may read his book but may not really know the books and experience he went through for a reader to fully understand his book fully.
Sun Tzu assumes that you as the reader who would read it would have some knowledge or basics in governing and leadership.
To understand Sun Tzu's philosophy, you either do research on the philosophy, history, culture, and historical events during the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period.
Or,
You find a book program that covers and explains the meanings of Sun Tzu's quotes.
Why is Sun Tzu's Art of War book so special?
Sun Tzu did not become a military genius by reading books.
His environment, the supportive people surrounding him, his noble status that enables him to receive a proper education, and the period he lived in, marked by hundreds of wars, all contribute to his circumstances.
Sun Tzu was born and raised in the state of Qi around 544 BCE. The state of Qi is a very important state historically as it was rich with war history and wisdom from the founder of the state, who was Jiang Ziya.
Through Jiang Ziya, he helped King Wen to defeat the Shang Dynasty and helped establish the Zhou Dynasty.
Through the rich military history, Sun Tzu learned a lot of wise wisdom on leadership, military strategy, and tactics, as also most scholars during that time in the Qi state would have learned.
Also, during the period when Sun Tzu lived, it was a time of turmoil when there were hundreds of big and small battles among the hundreds of states vying to conquer more land to gain power, wealth, and control.
Sun Tzu's vast knowledge was also taught by his relatives and family members who were government officials and generals in the Qi state.
Proper education, a rich military history, a period of hundreds of battles, and wisdom from his family made Sun Tzu very wise in his military expertise.
Where can you get the best Sun Tzu Art of War book with a full explanation?
You cannot learn the Art Of War by just reading the quotes. What you want to learn is the Art Of War principles.
We have not discovered any book that thoroughly explores Sun Tzu's strategies and his application in warfare.
Through this, you will learn how to apply his philosophy to your personal and business challenges.
With more than 32 years of experience and a commitment to originality, we created a program called the "Original Sun Tzu Art Of War Book" program.
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