Sun Tzu: The Art of War

C

CIkari17

Active member
Hello all,

The way I see it the majority of you in these forums have forgotten more about military strategies/history/tactics than I have ever learned. So I was wondering what some of your opinions on Sun Tzu as a person are, and also what you think of his book/manual "The Art of War". Do you belive that he was underrated, overrated, ect., and how valuable do you belive his theories to be in reference to Military strategy?

I apologize to the mods if this topic should have been placed elsewhere. I also apologize if any of these questions are to vague, or just stupid. I know enough to know that I don't know much ;) .
 
lol, yeah yeah...

Anyways, sun tzu eh? well i got the book and i must say that its quite interesting and tru too.. but maybe he was quite overated..exagirated u know...but he is really an intriguing fella
 
I personally believe that he was a genius,well not really a genius,but a brilliant man.He managed to attain his knowledge from his family the Sun which was a clan famous for it's expertise in war.

The book the Art of War was created out of Sun Tzu's own knowledge and the knowledge of his own peers and fellow strategists.

There are people who would criticize this work of art,mostly people who haven't read it or simply make assumptions on the title.

For example:

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44877

The pitiful half-wit of an author Vox Day,just by reading the few tiny facts of information that he has in this article,will show you that he has never read the Art of War and he has made extremely weak arguments proving it.
 
i've never read it, been meanin to for quite a while now lol, but supposedly some of the parts in it were used by the japanese ninjas. SO it must have been very good to have been used by an enemy, a bit of espionage wasnt uncommon, but to copy pretty much a whole book> fweesh!
 
Well actually Sun Tzu encouraged the use of spys because he wasn't in favor of engagements with enemy armies because there were great consequences for the victor and the loser.

Sun Tzu states that the highest excellence is to defeat an army without fighting and bloodshed.He even goes to state ingeniously that the greatest crime against humanity is the disuse of spys,because the effort of a single spy could save hundreds or thousands of lives depending on the situation.
 
whats that book about?

I saw it is full of poems. Right?

Could any one tell me more about it? Is it a recommended book to read?
 
Read it and comprehend, you will go far grasshopper.

I have run the businesses I owned according to the underlying principles of the book with great success in each venture.
 
The Art of War, is a masterpiece written by a genius, not only of his time. It provides the cornerstone for the strategies of many of the greatest commanders in history. The greatest military mind of our generation Lt.Col John Boyd used the Art of War, as his primary source when writing his briefings on warfare. People who say that it’s overrated are usually not well enough versed on the subject to make an informed decision.
 
I've just recently started studying the book and I think he was one of the most forward thinkers of his time. From what I can tell so far, it should be required reading (with quizzes) in every US Military College.
 
Interesting is hardly the word to describe it, perfect is more like it. First thing i would like to say is he's not japanese and hes not a ninja for who ever said that. He's chinese and ive never heard of any exploits of his on the battlefield. He wrote his book only because the emporer asked him to create a guide to war for his generals (almost like a modern day military doctrine). He was a jenious not in the way Ceasar or Alexander was, he was more in the logic of war. He simply stated what was needed to win a battle, sustain a long term campaign or simply defeat the enemy before any battle took place. He ignored the code of honor wich most knights followed and as we all know was their downfall. For instance he insisted that Spy's were the most valuable weapon of war. This is true but most Lord did not openly employ spy's (of course they spy's on their payrole) because they knew it was dishonorable. Sun Tzu also taught that nothing should be put to chance, he wrote that it was necesary to always have better terrain, generals, soldiers, and number. My personal favorite part of his book where he talks of how to fight someone depending on your numbers.


"The art of using troops is this:
 ......When ten to the enemy's one, surround him;
 ......When five times his strength, attack him;
 ......If double his strength, divide him;
 ......If equally matched you may engage him;
......If weaker numerically, be capable of withdrawing;
......And if in all respects unequal, be capable of eluding him,
..........for a small force is but booty for one more powerful."
- Sun Tzu, the Art Of War


He almost reminds me of Machiavelli.
 
"Killer Angels", Sun Tzu's "Art of War" and a few other books were on the "recommended" reading list of our Senior TAC when I was attending OCS.
 
bulldogg said:
"Killer Angels", Sun Tzu's "Art of War" and a few other books were on the "recommended" reading list of our Senior TAC when I was attending OCS.
Click to expand...

Sun Tzu should be required reading for any budding military strategist/tactician.
 
Our Senior TAC, Captain Lynch was prone to understatements a Briton would be proud of Doppleganger. He also had "recommendations" to memorise certain Field Manuals, always be prepared for locker inspections etc.
;)
 
Sun Tzu provides the ulitmate in "how to not screw up at Warfare" done in a format that works for just about any level of technology. Much is insanely obvious. Some is very insightful and learnable only by a lot of experience in war.

I've been wondering abouit something, and maybe Bulldog can answer it. Sun Tze is supposedly the ancestor of the rulers of the Wu kingdom rulers (Sun Jian, Sun Ce, etc.) Is this certain, or is it a case of nobility making stuff up to make their lineage/family gain in reputation??

Isn't it interesting that most of the best/useful original works of ancient China were written before China was ever forged into a unified "nation"? Confucious was from the same era, for instance, if I'm not mistaken.
 
Sun Tzu? underrated in value by the vast majority of today's leaders (fixed)

Clausewitz forms the basis for our military framework, and while on a grand scale his ideas were generally good within his own time, maybe a little beyond that, times change, and so should doctrines. Sun Tzu, with the emphasis on creating friction within an opponent, has arguably the best doctrinal basis for the U.S. in a terrorist encounter
 
when i read The Art Of War i thought to myself... hey, this is easy basic stuff...

and indeed i still think so... its very basic. every single commander should know everything that the book says and i believe that everyone does... the only diffrence between Sun Tzu and other people is that he actually took the time to write it down ~_-
 
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