Sunzi and Art of War

Sunzi's Art of War (Sunzi bingfa), is an ancient classic on war. It consists of 13 chapters in about 6,000 characters. Sun Wu, respectfully called Sunzi, was born sometime between 5 50 and 540 BC, or toward the end of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). He was a native of the State of Qi but later moved to the State of Wu, where he became the king's trusted strategist. As many of the book's contents bear features of the Warring States Period (475-221BC), some scholars believe the book was probably written in the middle of that period. It represents the theories of war of the Sunzi School originated by Sun Wu.
Of the more than 3, 000 books on war from the pre-Qin (before 221 BC) period to the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911), Sunzi's Art of War stands out as the greatest classic. It excels over the other books in terms of strategy design, philosophical grounding and in tactical application. Over the centuries it has been respected as "the source for all books on war."