The Art of War

SUN TZU ON THE ART OF WAR
THE OLDEST MILITARY TREATISE IN THE WORLD
Translated from the Chinese
By LIONEL GILES, M.A. (1910)

The Art of War (Traditional Chinese: ????; pinyin: S?nz? B?ngf?; literally "Sun Tzu's Military Strategy") is a Chinese military treatise written during the 6th century BC by Sun Tzu. Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare, it has long been praised as the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time.

The Art of War is one of the oldest and most famous studies of strategy and has had a huge influence on Eastern military planning , business tactics, and beyond. First translated into a European language in 1782 by French Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, it had been credited with influencing Napoleon [citation needed], the German General Staff [citation needed], and even the planning of Operation Desert Storm [citation needed]. Leaders as diverse as Mao Zedong, Vo Nguyen Giap, and General Douglas MacArthur have claimed to have drawn inspiration from the work.

The Art of War has also been applied, with much success, to business and managerial strategies.[citation needed]