Sun Tzu — The Art of War

← all texts · Classical wisdom · c. 5th c. BCE

What this is

The oldest treatise on strategy — Sun Tzu on deception, terrain, timing and winning without battle. Read far beyond the military as a classic of Taoist-flavored practical philosophy. Giles' translation is on Gutenberg.

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The gods & things in it

The Tao

Companion reading path

What to read alongside it, and why.

The Tao Te Ching Taoist & Chinese

The Taoist philosophy underneath Sun Tzu's strategy.

The I Ching (Book of Changes) Taoist & Chinese

The classic of changing situations Sun Tzu's thought presupposes.