by Robert Luciani
12. April 2010
Written around the 8th century BC when China was ruled by a feudal system, The Art of War presents a philosophy for managing conflicts and waging battle. I originally bought this book after a conversation with my kung-fu master, where he said that it was the most difficult book in the world, and that people could read it multiple times without understanding it. After buying a copy and seeing how thin it was, I skimmed through the first few pages and thought he must have been exaggerating. Unsurprisingly, now that I've taken the time to actually read the whole book through, I understand what he meant. It's not that the book is difficult to read or understand as such, but rather that it portrays the ideal general to be a Taoist master. Fortunately, despite being a man so inspired by Taoist teachings, the texts describing Sūn Zǐ's ideas on military strategy are comparatively well motivated. It still took me longer than expected to wade through the book's 96 pages though, because after each point I would stop and try to figure out how it would apply to present day, and my life in specific. Funny; I finished the book thinking that I probably should read it again in a few years.
Between detailed tactical advice and broad ideas on diplomacy, I found some statements to stand out more than others:
One has heard of brash hastiness, but never long-winded cleverness.
Being ahead in time counts for more than numeric superiority.
Never execute a simple frontal attack unless you outnumber your enemy at least 5:1.
The supreme act of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
A supreme fighter will never be recognized for bravery,
because his victories are due to calculation on hidden circumstances.
Peace proposals unaccompanied by a sworn covenant indicate a plot.
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