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Saturday, May 17, 2008

The Art of War, by Sun Tzu (or Sun Zi)


Treatise.

Have you ever had to fight someone? This was Sun Tzu’s daily bread, since he was a Chinese General of the 5th century B.C.

In this book, Sun Tzu shares with us his knowledge in the art of war, conflicts, and how can we overcome in them. The book was written as a practical war manual for ancient times. It tells us about considering geography, ground, how to use fire and spies against our enemies, if we should position ourselves standing in the wind and sun’s direction, or if we should do the opposite, among other things. However, these advices could be translated and applied to any situation in which we have to struggle against something. This is the essence of war, after all.

We could say that if Sun Tzu could come back to life in our times he could be something of the following at least: CEO of a multinational company, professor of a Business School, philosopher, economist, chess champion, coach, statesman, or even General again. The list follows…

Here is a portion of the book which shows its elegant prose:

The combination of direct and indirect tactical methods are like:

(1) Inexhaustible haven and earth.

(2) Endless flow of rivers.

(3) Endless sun and moon rises and falls each day.

(4) Four seasons repeated endlessly.

(5) Five musical notes with their different combinations could produce melodies that one has never heard before.

(6) Five primary colors with the different combinations will produce endless hues.

(7) Five basic tastes such as sweet, sour, bitter, chili and salty with different combinations to create endless flavors.

Chapter five (Posture of Army), a fragment.

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