Sun Tzu's The Art of War
Bilingual Edition - Complete Chinese and English Text
Sun Tzu's The Art of War has been the premier manual of Chinese military strategy for the past two millennia and, as thousands of Asian businessmen can attest, this classic work is as applicable to the corporate world as it is to the battlefield. This is the only contemporary edition of the classic Lionel Giles translation to contain all of the translator's original notes, to help you better understand Sun Tzu's powerful maxims and apply them in your daily life. John Minford's foreword brings insights to this classic text and its timeless relevance to the modern world.
This edition also marks the first time Giles' translation has been converted to Hanyu Pinyin—the standard Chinese romanization system.
Sun Tzu, originally named Sun Wu and also called Chang Qing, authored The Art of War in the sixth century BC. This military strategy book became one of the most influential books of war, and Sun Tzu became well-known for being a military strategist, but also an international relations realist.
Lionel Giles worked in the British Museum for most of his professional life, becoming Keeper of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts in 1936. In addition to The Art of War, he also translated many other Chinese classics including The Sayings of Lao Tzu, Musings of a Chinese Mystic, The Sayings of Confucius, Taoist Teachings from the Book of Lieh Tzu, and The Book of Mencius.
John Minford is dean of the School of Arts and Social Sciences at the Open University of Hong Kong and has taught Chinese literature and translated numerous works including Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling and The Art of War.