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Sun Tzu Art Of War Analysis

Decent Essays

Objective Analysis
69. Sun Tzu’s The Art of War (Sunzi bingfa) is a remarkably lucid, compact and sometimes enigmatic treatise. Although the main purpose was to be applied in war, its philosophies can be applied in any activity involved with conflicts or competition. Written in the sixth century BCE, it emphasises the role of military force in international relations: “Warfare is the greatest affair of the state, the basis of life and death, the Way (Tao) to survival or extinction. It must be thoroughly pondered and analysed.” Several points about The Art of War are frequently noted. First, the text appears to suggest ambivalence about employing violence: “One who excels at employing the military, subjugates other people’s armies without …show more content…

Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near”. To prevent the enemy from fathoming one’s intentions is of the first importance. Thus deceived, the enemy will not know whether or where to attack or defend and, thus, will have to prepare on all fronts. Such an enemy has his forces stretched, is consequently weak everywhere, and will certainly be defeated.

72. If it is essential to keep all knowledge of one’s operations secret, it is equally vital to know as much as possible of the enemy’s plans. Good intelligence is a second essential in war, and this lies behind Sun Tzu’s view that an extensive spy network is a basic necessity. “Wars are won as a result of good ‘foreknowledge’ (i.e. intelligence) and this cannot be elicited from spirits, or from gods, or by analogy with past events, nor by astrological calculations. It must be obtained from men who know the enemy situation.” The Army relies on the information gathered by spies for its every move. There is no place, Sun Tzu argues, where espionage is not possible, and a large network of well-paid spies is a requisite and valuable investment for the state. As Sun Tzu stresses, knowledge or intelligence is of vital importance in war.

73. The person responsible for strategy, and so for deceiving the enemy and evaluating the

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