Art of War - Book Report/Review Example

Topic TOPIC The ‘Art of War’ is a very old and ancient military thesis in China. It is credited to Sun Tzu who is also known as the"Sun Wu" and "Sunzi". Zi is basically added onto the name to show respect and roughly translates either ‘Sir’ or master. Sun Tzu was a Chinese superiorly ranked military general. His strength and popularity was based on his superior capabilities as both a strategist and an amazing tactician. This book attributed to Sun Tzu is thought to have been collected and compiled in either the late spring and the early autumn period or during the early Warring States period(Griffith, 2005). The content within this compilation is composed of a total of 13 chapters. Each one of the chapter is dedicated to one particular facet of combat and warfare. This assemblage is extremely famous and renowned and is commonly recognized as the ultimate and definitive work which is near to perfect when it comes to all things war and the military tactic, policies and strategies of the general’s time. The Art of War is the most eminent work and extremely famous in China. It is the most prominent and perhaps even the most dominant of the Seven Military Classics in China. It has been on occasions quoted to be the biggest and the most important military treasure which is cited to have great value for all of Asia. The prominence and popularity of the book is depicted in the fact that it is not only known in military circles but is also a recognized name amongst common people. The book’s power is not only limited to Asia and has the potential to sway and has swayed both the Eastern as well as Western military tactics and thinking, business strategies, legal policies and procedures and much more. There have been several translations of the famous compilation. The first one ever was done by Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot who was a French and naturally the first translation was in the French language done in 1772. Everard Ferguson Calthrop, a British army officer attempted a partial translation of the Art of War into the English language in the year 1905. The translation into the English language translation was finally done and was published in 1910 by Lionel Giles. The fact that this book has the power to influence the overall warfare strategy lies in the proof that several diverse leaders such as General Vo Nguyen Giap, Mao Zedong, General Douglas MacArthur, Baron Antoine-Henri Jomini, and several many leaders of Imperial Japan have been inspired with this work of art on the subject of war. Sun Tzu is majorly of the belief that war was evil and that it must be avoided whenever it was possible to. However, in addition to firmly believing that, he said that war might be evil but it was a necessary evil in some situations and couldn’t always be possibly avoided. He has said that the parable of war is like fire that engulfs one and all equally and people who do not lay down their arms will probably die by their arms. He noted that the war needed to be fought promptly and quickly to minimize and avoid economic losses as much as possible. He has very clearly said that a war has never profited a country in history even if a country had a perfect record of a 100 victories in the 100 battles they have fought. He simply said that this victory rate was a ridiculous notion. The real victory was not in winning the war but dealing with the curbing threat of any potential war before it happens. He said that strength of a country lay in dealing with any threats so that a war could be avoided. So the author was of the clear view that a country expert at defeating others managed it before the matters reached to the battle field. The book advises and presents the view that one must keep as far away as possible from bloodshed, massacres and slaughter because all that this does is provoke the other side into resistance and could possibly even lead the enemy to turn around the whole fate of the war in their favor. The best type of victory is the one where the victor can manage to capture the entire state as intact and in its original form as is possible. Sun Tzu clearly says that destruction is the last option and needs to be avoided as long as it is possible to. Now this philosophy behind the book is incredible. A person who is believe to be a master of war, when he says that war needs to be avoided, his words have merit and provoke people to think. Coming from someone who was probably a great tactician and military leader and had the power to steer his army towards victory in almost every war, when he says that war needs to be avoided, people stop and think because they know its not cowardice or any ulterior motive that the general has but perhaps it is his superior understanding and expertise that has lead him to make this observation. Also, it is necessary to have this particular philosophy for people need to understand that war is the last option and just because this book talks about war, it does not support it. Sun Tzu clearly put great emphasis on the significance of ‘positioning’ and its good execution in a military’s strategy. The decision concerning positioning in an army needs to be supported by several factors. All the objective conditions in the physical environment need to be given thought. The subjective beliefs of everyone need to be considered along with all the competitive actors within the particular environment. Sun Tzu believed that strategy was not the name of planning and making established procedures and action to a situation that might occur. Strategy involves having the quick reflexes to deal with any situation that is impromptu. It requires quick thinking and immediate response to even a situation that was never even expected to occur. Strategy also needs to deal with changing dynamics of an environment and the capacity to deal with the ever evolving changes brought into the environment. The scope of planning and strategies are totally different and where planning works in a closed environment where there are minimum external factors, strategy is all about change and situations that are totally unexpected. In several compilations of the book, the order of chapters is re arranged and the script in the difficult Chinese language might mean that some of the message of the book is lost but the overall context remains the same. The book and what is written in it is beautifully written. It addresses all the fundamental dilemmas that are commonly faced by an individual or a party that is facing a conflict of interests. This book is not only usable for war and armed conflict and has uses far beyond the limited scope where there is war. At already talked about earlier, the core concept of “taking whole” in the book and by Sun Tzu itself is anything but violence. It gives new meaning to true victory and that it is possible to be victorious out of the battlefield. Preserving a state that has been laid siege to or one that is being fought upon is repeatedly emphasized. It is also important to realize that Sun Tzu when talks about state, he doesn’t mean it in the literal state. He advises armies to capture what they are in pursuit of by the method that will attract least resistance and will have minimalistic damages. When this concept and philosophy becomes clear, perhaps the greatest book of all times on war becomes extremely non violent to the extent of actually promoting the concept of peace. Sun Tzu’s argument are not based on any moral implications but in the knowledge gained from his experience that war was injurious and harmful for everyone involved, the victor and the loser. War is the last resort because no victory can compensate for the losses suffered in that war. Hence, to quite an extent, it can be said that this book can be used to establish as well as maintain peace. References Griffith, S. B. (2005). The Illustrated Art of War. Oxford University Press. Read More