Strategy Combo: The Art of War + The Book of Five Rings

by Sun Tzu, Miyamoto Musashi, GP Editors

Bookshub. co.in

The Art of

The Art of War' is an ancient Chinese military treatise written by Sun Tzu, a high-ranking military general, strategist and tactician. The text is composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare. It is commonly known to be the definitive work on military strategy and tactics of its time. It has been the most famous and influential of China's Seven Military Classics, and for the last two thousand years it remained the most important military treatise in Asia, where even the common people knew it by name.

Sun Tzu believed war to be an essential wrongdoing that must be got rid of whenever it can be. The war should be fought fleetingly to reduce economic decline. Sun Tzu harped on the significance of placement in military tactics. The planning to position an army must be dependent on the stipulations in the physical surroundings and the subjective thoughts of various militants in those conditions. He believed that strategy cannot be considered as planning with respect to glancing through a previously decided list. It is better represented by the fact that it needs speedy and suitable reactions to altering situations. Planning gives results in restrained surroundings. But in case of an altering environment, similar plans come in each other's ways and give rise to undesired outcomes. It has had an influence on Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, legal strategy and beyond.




The Book of Five

Along with Sun Tzu's the art of War, the book of five rings is considered to be one of the most insightful texts on the subtle arts of confrontation and victory to emerge from Asia. It analyses the process of struggle and mastery over conflict that underlies every level of human interaction. For Musashi, the way of the martial arts was a mastery of the mind rather than simply technical prowess-and it is this path to mastery that is the core teaching in the book of five rings. This brilliant manifesto is written not only for martial artists but for anyone who wants to apply the timeless principles of this text to their life.

179 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2023

About the author

Sun Tzu (traditional Chinese: 孫子; simplified Chinese: 孙子; pinyin: Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC). Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, an influential work of military strategy that has affected both Western and East Asian philosophy and military thought. Sun Tzu is revered in Chinese and East Asian culture as a legendary historical and military figure. His birth name was Sun Wu (traditional Chinese: 孫武; simplified Chinese: 孙武) and he was known outside of his family by his courtesy name Changqing (Chinese: 長卿). The name Sun Tzu—by which he is more popularly known—is an honorific which means "Master Sun".
Sun Tzu mastered the military science of ancient China and created the military doctrine of asymmetrical warfare. According to it, an attack on the enemy should begin only after the enemy has no opportunity to either defend or counterattack. It was used in the wars in the era of the Warring States in ancient China (about 475–221 BC). It differs from the modern interpretation of asymmetric military strategy. The ancient warriors used to call it the Victorious Methods of Warfare (sheng er zhan zhi), but it has the same meaning as the modern asymmetrical military strategy. The ancient professional warriors used it in individual combats against the enemies in the wars. As a result, a variety of armed and unarmed combat combinations have been created for various combat situations as the individual battle plans. Those combat combinations had specific names, descriptions and classifications.
Sun Tzu's historicity is uncertain. The Han dynasty historian Sima Qian and other traditional Chinese historians placed him as a minister to King Helü of Wu and dated his lifetime to 544–496 BC. Modern scholars accepting his historicity place the extant text of The Art of War in the later Warring States period of 475 to 221 BC, based on its style of composition and its descriptions of warfare. Traditional accounts state that the general's descendant Sun Bin wrote a treatise on military tactics, also titled The Art of War. Since both Sun Wu and Sun Bin were referred to as "Sun Tzu" in classical Chinese texts, some historians believed them identical, prior to the rediscovery of Sun Bin's treatise in 1972.
Sun Tzu's work has been praised and employed throughout the arc of East Asian military history since its composition, and eventually earned global attention. During the twentieth century, The Art of War grew in popularity and saw practical use in the Western world as well. It remains influential in many contemporary competitive endeavors across the modern world beyond military strategy and warfare, including espionage, culture, governance, business, and sports.