60 Fun Facts About Sun Tzu

The name Sun Tzu is an honorific. What does it mean?

His birth name was said to be Sun Wu, and he was known posthumously by the courtesy name Changqing.

What was Sun Tzu's birth name said to be?

Some scholars think the name is an invented cognomen meaning roughly 'the fugitive warrior'.

Which Han-dynasty historian wrote the earliest account of Sun Tzu's life, in the Shiji?

The sinologist Victor Mair considers that short biography 'essentially fictional'.

Around what year was the Shiji biography of Sun Tzu written?

That puts the first written record of him some four centuries after he supposedly lived.

Traditional historians placed Sun Tzu as a minister to which king?

They dated his lifetime to 544–496 BC, though his historical existence is uncertain.

According to the Shiji, Sun Tzu was born in which state?

He was said to have fled to the southeastern state of Wu, where he impressed the king with his skill at drilling troops.

How many concubines did King Helü have Sun Tzu drill to test his training ability?

Sun Tzu split them into two companies under the king's two favourite concubines, who promptly ignored his orders and laughed.

When the two concubines commanding his companies laughed instead of obeying, what did Sun Tzu do?

Over the king's protests, the rest of the 'soldiers' fell into line at once and the king made him a general.

Sun Tzu is said to have led Wu to victory over the much larger state of Chu in 506 BC at which battle?

The Zuo Zhuan gives a detailed account of the same battle and never mentions him, which is one reason scholars doubt he existed.

After the victory of 506 BC, the Wu army captured and destroyed the Chu capital. What was it called?

During the sack, King Helü tried to assault the Chu dowager queen, who fought him off with a knife.

Later accounts say Sun Wu was introduced to King Helü by which refugee from Chu?

The same man was credited with writing the Wuzi, another ancient military text, and designed the great city that became Suzhou.

Song-dynasty sceptics noted which classic chronicle of the era never mentions Sun Tzu?

It was written centuries before the Shiji and describes the Battle of Boju in detail without him.

Which Song-dynasty scholar (1150–1223) is credited with first doubting Sun Tzu's historical existence?

Most later Song, Qing and modern scholars followed him in dating the text to the start of the Warring States period.

Which weapon in The Art of War is cited as an anachronism for Sun Tzu's supposed lifetime?

There are also no records of professional generals in the Spring and Autumn period, casting doubt on his rank.

In 1972 bamboo-slip copies of The Art of War were unearthed at Yinque Shan, in which Chinese province?

The tombs had been sealed between 134 and 118 BC, and the text matches about a third of the modern chapters very closely.

The tombs that yielded the 1972 bamboo slips dated from which dynasty?

Tomb 1 alone held 4,942 bamboo strips, more than 38% of them heavily damaged.

The same 1972 tombs contained a lost military treatise attributed to which supposed descendant of Sun Tzu?

Because both men were called 'Master Sun' in classical texts, some historians had assumed they were the same person.

Framed for treason while serving Wei, Sun Bin was crippled by having what removed?

He later declined a command post in Qi because he could not ride a horse, fearing it would harm troop morale.

Which jealous fellow student framed Sun Bin for treason and later died in an ambush by Sun Bin's Qi army?

Folklore says Sun carved 'Pang Juan dies under this tree' at the ambush site, and the torch Pang lit to read it made him a target.

Sun Bin's famous strategy of 354 BC is remembered as 'besieging Wei to rescue' which state?

Instead of relieving the siege of Handan directly, Qi attacked the Wei capital and ambushed the withdrawing Wei army at Guiling.

At which battle did Sun Bin lure a Wei army into ambush by cutting his troops' cooking stoves?

The Wei read the shrinking stove marks as mass desertion and walked into a narrow valley full of Qi archers.

How many chapters make up The Art of War?

Each chapter is devoted to a different aspect of warfare, and the whole is referred to as one zhuan.

Which emperor formalised the Seven Military Classics anthology, led by The Art of War, in 1080?

For imperial officers, some or all of the seven works were required reading to earn promotion.

Which early 3rd-century warlord wrote the earliest known commentary on The Art of War?

His preface admits he edited the text and removed passages, though nobody knows how much he cut.

In what year was The Art of War introduced into Nara-period Japan?

It quickly became popular among Japanese generals and later shaped the 'Great Unifiers' Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu.

Takeda Shingen's battle standard names four elements: wind, forest, fire and what?

The four-character slogan Fūrinkazan may be a later invention, popularised by Yasushi Inoue's 1953 novel of that name.

Which French Jesuit priest produced the first European-language translation of The Art of War in 1772?

He arrived in Beijing in 1751 and never left, becoming Europe's main source on Chinese music as well.

Who published the first annotated English translation of The Art of War in 1910?

He was the son of the diplomat-sinologist Herbert Giles and also translated the Analects of Confucius that year.

The 1910 English translator of The Art of War kept Oriental manuscripts at which institution?

He was educated privately in Belgium, Austria and Scotland before reading Classics at Wadham College, Oxford.

What did British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop title his partial 1905 English translation?

It preceded the standard Giles translation by five years and is still on Project Gutenberg.

Which admiral, who led Japan to victory in the Russo-Japanese War, was an avid reader of Sun Tzu?

After the Meiji Restoration the book stayed popular throughout the Imperial Japanese armed forces.

Mao Zedong partly credited The Art of War for his 1949 victory over which opponent?

Its influence runs through Mao's Little Red Book, which in turn shaped communist insurgencies around the world.

Which Vietnamese leader translated The Art of War for his officers to study?

Some Viet Cong officers reportedly could recite entire passages from memory.

At which battle did General Giáp end major French involvement in Indochina?

The resulting accords partitioned Vietnam into North and South.

Which five-star American general said, 'I always kept a copy of The Art of War on my desk'?

The U.S. defeat in Vietnam, more than anything else, pushed Sun Tzu onto American military reading lists.

In Wall Street (1987), which character constantly quotes The Art of War as a trading guide?

He praises his protege for being able to quote a relevant passage from memory.

In which Bond film do Colonel Moon and his father share The Art of War as a spiritual guide?

It was the 20th film in the series, released in 2002.

In The Sopranos, who suggests to Tony Soprano that he read The Art of War?

The scene comes in season 3, episode 8, 'He Is Risen'.

In which first-season Star Trek: TNG episode does Riker quote The Art of War, delighting Picard?

The line Riker quotes is 'Fear is the true enemy, the only enemy'.

Which Brazilian coach slipped Art of War passages under players' doors at the 2002 World Cup?

Brazil won that tournament, its fifth world title.

Which NFL coach with the most Super Bowl wins has repeatedly praised The Art of War?

Applications of the book have been claimed everywhere from esports to trial strategy.

Which Robert Greene book contains many quotations from The Art of War?

Some Japanese companies make Sun Tzu required reading for key executives.

Who starred in the 2000 action spy film titled The Art of War?

Christian Duguay directed, with Michael Biehn, Anne Archer and Donald Sutherland in support.

Scholars generally date the earliest version of The Art of War to which period?

That is at least a century after Sun Tzu's traditional dates, which is why many doubt he wrote it.

King Helü of Wu died of wounds while invading Yue in 496 BC. Which son succeeded him?

Fuchai went on to annex Yue and capture its king Goujian, avenging his father as instructed.

How many bamboo strips were recovered from Tomb 1 at Yinqueshan?

The tomb's occupant was identified as a military officer with the surname Sima.

How many chapters of Sun Bin's Art of War have been identified from the Yinqueshan slips?

Historical texts had credited the work with 89 chapters, and unlike Sun Tzu it offers advice on attacking besieged cities.

Sun Tzu lived during which broad period of Chinese history?

The Eastern Zhou ran from 771 to 256 BC and spans both the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

Prince Guang became King Helü after having which king assassinated in 515 BC?

The assassin was Zhuan Zhu, introduced to the prince by Wu Zixu.

What courtesy name is Sun Tzu posthumously known by?

His birth name was said to be Sun Wu, and some scholars think that name was an invented label meaning 'the fugitive warrior'.

Which scholar considers Sima Qian's biography of Sun Tzu 'essentially fictional'?

No text before the Records of the Grand Historian mentions the name Sun Wu at all.

Which military text was attributed to Wu Zixu, the man said to have introduced Sun Tzu at court?

Wu Zixu was a refugee from Chu who served King Helü of Wu.

The Sun Bin treatise found in 1972 suggests the legendary Sun Tzu was created by what process?

Unlike Sun Wu, Sun Bin appears to have been a real authority on military matters.

Which 12th-century compiler gathered the commentaries on The Art of War, from Cao Cao to Zhang Yu?

The collection includes the Tang poet Du Mu and the Song writer Mei Yaochen among its commentators.

Which early 20th-century Chinese reformer argued The Art of War was really written by Sun Bin?

The 1972 bamboo slips showed the two texts were separate, though Sun Bin's overlaps heavily with the older one.

Between which years were the Han tombs at Yinqueshan sealed, preserving The Art of War on bamboo?

The tombs lay near Linyi in Shandong and also held the lost text of Sun Bin.

What does Takeda Shingen's battle standard 'Fūrinkazan' mean?

The four words stand for fast as the wind, silent as a forest, ferocious as fire and immovable as a mountain.

Which US military academy teaches The Art of War in its course Military Strategy (470)?

It is also on the Marine Corps reading list and recommended at Sandhurst.

Which spy agency is said to have widely studied the book's strategy of deception?

The quoted maxim: make the enemy take your strength for weakness and your weakness for strength.

The Art of War was released in 2014 as an e-book companion to DLC for which PC strategy game?

Paradox Development Studios' DLC shared the book's title, with a foreword by Thomas Johansson.