"Sun Tzu's Art of War" is the earliest and most outstanding art of war in my country. It has always been called the "Military Classic" and is known as the "ancestor of a hundred generations of military talk." Its exquisite thoughts, wonderful strategies, profound philosophy, and beautiful language have nurtured the growth of generations of military strategists in our country. During the Tang Dynasty in my country in the 8th century AD, it was introduced to Japan and immediately received great attention from all walks of life in Japan. Research, annotation, explanation, and use of it were endless. In recent centuries, it has been spread to European and American countries and translated into more than a dozen languages. In addition to the military field, it has also been used in diplomatic activities, business management, market competition, sports competitions, etc., becoming the favorite of people around the world. One of the readings.
However, who is the author of "The Art of War" has long been a puzzling question. "Historical Records: Biography of Sun Tzu Wu Qi" says that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were two "grandsons" - Sun Wu and Sun Bin. Sun Wu was a general of the Wu State in the late Spring and Autumn Period, and Sun Bin was a military advisor of the Qi State in the middle of the Warring States Period. Each of them had their own military skills passed down from generation to generation. "Hanshu·Yiwenzhi" "Military Power Planner" also records "Wu Sun Tzu's Art of War" and "Qi Sun Tzu". The author of the first book of Tang Yanshi's ancient annotation is "Sun Wu", and the author of the second book is "Sun Bin". However, Sun Bin's book on the art of war has been lost since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In this way, the two "Sun Tzus" only have one "Art of War". Therefore, since the Song Dynasty, it has aroused suspicion and speculation among many people. Some people believe that the book originated from Sun Wu and was completed by Sun Bin based on the fact that many of the situations described in "The Art of War" were from the Warring States Period. Some people simply argue that it was written by Sun Bin.
Since there are two "Sun Tzu" and only one "Sun Tzu's Art of War", many people even doubt the existence of Sun Wu. According to the "Zuo Zhuan", Ye Shi of the Song Dynasty did not mention Sun Wu at all, and the "Historical Records: Biography of Sun Tzu" stated that Sun Wu used troops to "try women", and his story was "unbelievable because of the strange dangers", so he pointed out: "Therefore, everyone is called Rang. Ju and Sun Wu both argue and make false accusations, which are not true." ("Xixue Jiyan") Quan Zuwang of the Qing Dynasty fully agreed with the above point of view and believed: "There is no such person in Wu Yuan, and his affairs and books are all faked by political experts." ("Collection of Bao Zhiting·On Sun Wuzi") Modern scholar Qi Sihe's "A Study of the Times of Sun Tzu's Art of War Writings" also maintains: "Sun Wu may not be the real person, and the thirteen chapters are books of the Warring States Period." (Journal of Yanjing Academic Journal, Issue 26) Some people believe that Sun Wu is Sun Bin. For example, the Japanese scholar Saito Saito commented in his article "Sun Zi Ben": "Sun Wu and Sun Bin are the same person after all. Wu is named, and Bin is his nickname." (See the middle volume of "An Examination of Pre-Qin Classics" compiled by Jiang Xia'an) Modern scholar Qian Mu also pointed out: Sun Tzu lived in both Wu and Qi countries, but Tai Shigong couldn't tell them apart, so he "mistakenly classified them as two people" ("An Examination of the Pre-Qin Scholars") Discrimination"). It can be seen that the academic circles have different opinions on this issue.
In 1972, a large number of bamboo slips writing "Sun Tzu's Art of War" and "Sun Bin's Art of War" were also discovered in Western Han Dynasty tombs in Yinqueshan, Linyi, Shandong. This discovery not only brought Sun Bin's works that had been lost for more than 1,700 years to light, but also confirmed that the records in "Historical Records: Biography of Sun Tzu" and "Han Shu: Yi Wen Zhi" about the two "grandsons" having two art of war are true. However, some scholars believe that it cannot prove that "The Art of War" was written by Sun Wu in the late Spring and Autumn Period, because most of the "Art of War" describes the situation in the Warring States Period:
(1) "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu Many terms were popular in the Warring States Period but not seen in the Spring and Autumn Period. For example, the "Position Pian" says, "Fighting against a large number of people is like fighting against a few, and this is what the form and name are." The "Nine Places Pian" says, "When a man dominates a king's army and attacks a big country, the people will not be able to gather together." The "form name" and "overlord" here are both words commonly used during the Warring States Period.
(2) "Sun Tzu" said that the number of troops used could easily be one hundred thousand. For example, the "War Chapter" says: "Wear a hundred thousand troops with armor"; the "Yongjian Chapter" also says: "Raise an army of one hundred thousand troops." The great powers of the Spring and Autumn Period could only use hundreds of troops, about 20,000 to 30,000 people. By the middle of the Warring States Period, there were only 100,000 to 100,000 men with armor.
(3) Great wars in the Spring and Autumn Period were usually resolved within a few days, and even sieges only lasted a few months. However, the wars discussed in "The Art of War" were often protracted.
For example, the "War Chapter" says: "If the army is violent for a long time, the country will be short of resources"; the "Yongjian Chapter" also says: "Stay together for several years to win in one day." This is clearly the situation in the Warring States Period.
(4) The tactics discussed in "Sun Tzu's Art of War" are mostly mobile warfare, advocating going deep behind enemy lines and deploying over long distances. For example, it says: "Any way to be a guest, the deepest is the most specialized"; "If you meet the enemy at the same time, you will kill the generals thousands of miles away" ("Nine Places"); "The people who come after you are the ones who have come before you, so those who know the roundabout strategy are the ones who know the straight and rounded strategy." ("Military Struggle"). These are all styles of play during the Warring States Period.
(5) "Sun Tzu" is particularly easy to use the number "five". For example, "Shi Pian" says: "The changes in the five tones are indescribable when heard"; "The changes in the five colors are inextricable when seen." "The changes in the five flavors are indescribable." "The Virtual Reality Chapter" also says: "The Five Elements are not always victorious." These are all statements made after the "Five Elements" theory became popular during the Warring States Period.
(6) The genre of "Sun Tzu" is similar to the chapters "Shangxian Xian" and "Universal Love" in "Mozi". The title of each chapter summarizes the main idea of ??the whole chapter, and each chapter is preceded by "a certain scholar said". This genre is roughly later than "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius" and earlier than "Xunzi" and "Han Feizi", and appeared in the middle and late Warring States Period.
(7) In wars during the Spring and Autumn Period, the monarch generally led the army in person, or the marshal of the Chinese army commanded the upper and lower armies. When "Sun Tzu" talks about military affairs, "general" is responsible for it alone. For example, it says: "The general will be ordered by the king" ("Nine Transformations"); "The general will be able but the king will not control him, and he will win" ("Strategy and Attack"). Such a pattern existed during the Warring States Period.
(8) The armies fighting in the Spring and Autumn Period generally brought their own food. The so-called "sitting in armor wrapped in food" ("Zuo Zhuan: The Twelve Years of Wen Gong") meant that the food was exhausted and then returned, which was not specified. The enemy is a prey. However, "Sun Tzu" has repeatedly emphasized: "Because food is from the enemy", "Wise generals must provide food to the enemy" ("Combat Chapter"). This was another strategy during the Warring States Period.
(9) In the Spring and Autumn Period, the officials were called "lord", while calling the monarch "lord" only happened after the three families were divided into the Jin Dynasty. "Sun Tzu" always calls the king "lord", which is another proof that it comes from the Warring States Period. In addition, the terms "yezhe", "menzhe" and "sheren" mentioned in "Yongjian Pian" are also terms used in the three periods of the Warring States Period.
(10) The bamboo slips from the Yinqueshan Han Tomb in "Sun Tzu's Art of War·Yongjian" contain the phrase "When Yan was prospering, Su Qin was in Qi". The era of Su Qin's activities was the middle and late Warring States Period, about 200 years after Sun Wu. This is more sufficient to explain the late writing of "Sun Tzu". Because this sentence was too obviously inconsistent with Sun Wu's era, it was later deleted