Art of War

Written in the 6th century BC, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is still used as a book of military strategy today. Napoleon, Mae Zedong, General Vo Nguyen Giap and General Douglas MacArthur all claimed to have drawn inspiration from it. And beyond the world of war, business and management gurus have also applied Sun Tzu’s ideas to office politics and corporate strategy. Using a new translation by James Trapp and including editorial notes, this bilingual edition of The Art of War lays the original Chinese text opposite the modern English translation. The book contains the full original 13 chapters on such topics as laying plans, attacking by stratagem, weaponry, terrain and the use of spies. Sun Tzu addresses different campaign situations, marching, energy and how to exploit your enemy’s weaknesses. Of immense influence to great leaders across millennia, The Art of War is a classic text richly deserving this exquisite edition.

Sun Tzu (also known as Sunzi) was traditionally thought by historians to have been born around 544BCE, and that he later served as a general leading the forces of King He Lü of Wu, one of the seven Warring States of Eastern China during the Spring and Autumn period, and The Art of War is based on his many victories, although modern scholarship suggests the book may have been written later. James Trapp is the author of Chinese Characters: The Art and Meaning of Hanzi,Chinese Proverbs and also has translated a new edition of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. A Chinese language graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, he teaches and translates Mandarin and is a former Education Officer at the British Museum.