What Sun Tzu thinks about war
Chinese military general and strategist of the Eastern Zhou period, whose lifetime traditional historians dated to 544 to 496 BC; traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, though the earliest parts of the work probably date to at least a century after him.
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Sun Tzu did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
3 dated positions, c. 500–430 BCE, in their own words. Our reading of what Sun Tzu has said — not written or endorsed by them.
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Our readingWarfare is based on deception
Their wordsAll warfare is based on deception.
↗The Art of War, traditionally attributed to Sun Tzu (tr. Lionel Giles, 1910)gutenberg.org All 7 from this book
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Their wordsThere is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.
↗The Art of War, traditionally attributed to Sun Tzu (tr. Lionel Giles, 1910)gutenberg.org All 7 from this book
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Their wordsTherefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions.
↗The Art of War, traditionally attributed to Sun Tzu (tr. Lionel Giles, 1910)gutenberg.org All 7 from this book
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Dashed means we only know the words existed by that date; they may be older.