Modern Application of Sun Tzu's Art of War
As a top work that reveals the laws of competition, "Sun Tzu's Art of War" shows the "light of reason" that guides people out of the maze of modern competition. This "light of reason" is demonstrated through a series of profound strategic concepts such as "conquering strength with wisdom", "conquering strength with softness", and "victory without fighting". Profound philosophical concepts such as "human unity" are displayed.
The influence of this masterpiece has gone far beyond the country, making many famous foreign strategists intoxicated in the profound and profound traditional Chinese strategic culture.
This masterpiece not only crosses national boundaries, but also transcends time and space. As British Air Marshal John Slesser said in the article "China's Military Proverbs": "The fascinating thing about Sun Tzu is how amazingly up-to-date his ideas are - by slightly changing some words and phrases, his maxims It’s like it was written just yesterday.”
This famous book is no longer a war book in the simple sense, but has become a must-read for leaders in various fields of politics, economics, and diplomacy. Sun Tzu's ideas have been widely used not only in the modern military field but also in various fields such as politics, economics, diplomacy, and sports. In this wide range of applications, people not only gain inspiration from the profound thoughts of the ancients, but also inject the vitality of the new era into Sun Tzu's Art of War.
1. The current application status of Sun Tzu's Art of War
The current application status of Sun Tzu's Art of War is first reflected in its extremely high popularity rate. According to relevant media reports: "The Art of War" has been translated as "The Art of War" in the West. In the world's largest online bookstore "Amazon", there are currently as many as 102 titles related to "Sun Tzu". Among them, the paperback version of "The Art of War" translated by Samuel Griffiths and published by Oxford University Press in 1986 is the most popular (see picture), and it has always been at the top of the bookstore's science bestseller list. According to the Los Angeles Times, this version of "The Art of War" sold 16,000 copies within a month after the "9.11" incident. Friends who often go abroad will find that the counters of bookstores in many airports are filled with "Sun Tzu's Art of War". You can also see many people reading "Sun Tzu's Art of War" in places waiting for flights or buses.
A famous American-Chinese writer said: "With the vigorous development of China's economy, American business people are becoming more and more curious about China's thousand-year-old "Sun Tzu's Art of War". How to use Sun Tzu's Art of War has become a Westerners explore another secret to success in shopping malls. Under the business book section of major picture stores in the United States, there are numerous explanations and insights from "Sun Tzu's Art of War" by different authors, even when giving lectures to American business school students. "Sun Tzu's Art of War" has just been mentioned to me, and a small quotation from "Sun Tzu's Art of War" has been held up by American students."
(1) Application of Sun Tzu's Art of War in the military field
< p>Sun Tzu's Art of War has been widely used in modern military fields. Many well-known military analysts in the world believe that nearly 2,500 years after the death of Sun Tzu, the famous Chinese military thinker, is profoundly affecting the modern battlefield. According to relevant reports: Since the late 1970s, the United States has held thousands of lectures on "The Art of War" among Department of Defense officials and US military officers. General Kelly, commander of the U.S. Marine Corps, believes that "Sun Tzu's Art of War" is the foundation of all maneuver warfare. He made the book an annual reading for the troops, requiring every Marine to read it.Recently, an expert named Mark McNeely wrote a book called "Sun Tzu and the Art of Modern Warfare". He said: ""Sun Tzu's Art of War" is a must-read book for high-level military students and has been integrated into the military doctrines of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps." The publisher of this book introduced this book to Western readers. , calling "Sun Tzu's Art of War" a "Swiss Army Knife" of military theory, enough to deal with any situation.
James Clavell, an American who translated "The Art of War" said: "If I were the supreme commander, or was elected president or prime minister, I would have to establish it in the form of law: All officers, especially generals, must take the "Thirteen Chapters of Sun Tzu" exam twice a year, one oral exam and one written exam. General officers who fail the exam will be automatically dismissed immediately and no appeal will be allowed. Officers with military ranks will be automatically demoted. ”
After World War II, strategists from Western developed countries once again discovered the great value of Sun Tzu’s Art of War and used its strategic principles to think about practical and difficult strategic issues. Get satisfactory answers and results. For example, some experts formulated a national nuclear strategy based on Sun Tzu's strategic deterrence theory. In his book "Real War", Nixon directly used the ideas of Sun Tzu's Art of War to criticize the United States' strategy of "Mutual Assured Destruction" at that time.
Many modern military theories are based on Sun Tzu's Art of War. When Lieutenant General Richard Lawrence, a famous American strategic theorist and president of the National Defense University, elaborated on "Air-Land Battle - Deep Attack", he believed that the principle on which this combat principle is based is a "strange change" from "The Art of War" and "avoiding the truth and attacking the fictitious". The new version of the United States' 1982 "Outline of War" directly quoted a large number of Sun Tzu's famous sayings on the Art of War. The members of the writing team of this "Battle Outline" conducted careful research on Sun Tzu's Art of War for a long time.
The second chapter of "Military Strategy" published in the United States in 1983 is titled "The Evolution of Military Strategy—The Wisdom of Sun Tzu."
Many strategic decision-makers directly rely on Sun Tzu’s Art of War to think about practical war issues. There is information that when the Gulf War broke out in 1990, there were two books on the desk of US President Bush, one was "The Biography of Caesar" and the other was "The Art of War". According to media reports, during this war, a 90-page English translation of "The Art of War" was shipped to the desert of Saudi Arabia for combatants to read. An American reporter sent back news from the war-filled Gulf battlefield: "Although China has not stationed a single soldier here, a mysterious Chinese has come to the front line in person to control combat operations. He is Sun Tzu from more than 2,500 years ago."
In the recent Iraq War, the US commander said that his combat theory was based on "Sun Tzu's Art of War". Media reports said: During the Iraq War, Franks, who served as commander of the U.S. Central Command, was a man who was familiar with "The Art of War". Many of the tactics used by the U.S. military in this war were consistent with Sun Tzu's ideas. Among them, Sun Tzu's "Yong Jian" idea was a masterpiece in the Battle of Baghdad without fighting. An Agence France-Presse article titled "Sun Tzu Appears on the Iraqi Battlefield" said: "Nearly 2,500 years after the death of China's famous military thinker, he is profoundly affecting the way of thinking and action of British and American field commanders on the Iraqi battlefield. ". "The strategic thinking of Sun Tzu's classic work "The Art of War" runs through the overall strategic concept of conquering Baghdad."
Sun Tzu’s Art of War has also had a great impact on the combat concepts of other countries. Liddell Hart, an advocate of the "indirect route" strategy, said that almost all of the strategic and tactical principles he discussed in more than 20 years are reflected in Sun Tzu's 13 articles. Yuma Miltinen, Chairman of the Finnish Association for Science and Technology and former Director of the Institute of Strategic Issues of the Ministry of Defense, pointed out when talking about the Western view that “new technology determines everything”: “As early as more than two thousand years ago, the great strategist Sun Tzu Listed some factors that determine the outcome of a war." He criticized some modern military strategists for ignoring the most important factor called "morale" by Sun Tzu. In the "History of the Indian Army" written by an Indian, it is written: The reason why the Indian army was able to win the third India-Pakistan War was because they successfully used Sun Tzu's strategy of avoiding the truth and attacking the fictitious.
(2) Application of Sun Tzu’s Art of War in the Economic Field
Sun Tzu’s Art of War has been applied in the economic field of our country for a long time. According to "Historical Records·Biographies of Huozhi", the first person to introduce "Sun Tzu's Art of War" into business management was Bai Gui during the Warring States Period of Wei Wenhou. He applied the principles of Sun Wu's Art of War and Shang Yang's method to production and management, was good at observing changes in time, and adopted strategies such as "I take when others abandon me, and I take when others take", and achieved success. At present, many entrepreneurs and economists have a profound understanding of the value of Sun Tzu's Art of War in business warfare. Hu Dayuan, the Chinese dean of the International MBA at Peking University, said: ""The Art of War" is an incisive summary of a large number of war examples from more than two thousand years ago. The core of today's MBA education is to cultivate students' ability to deeply observe real problems and find out their laws. "Every enterprise welcomes managers who are good at solving problems." Xu Erming, dean of the Business School of Renmin University of China, said: "Studying strategy abroad uses "Sun Tzu's Art of War" as a classic reference book, and they believe that there are many ways of thinking in strategy. It was solved more than 2,000 years ago. In fact, the book that foreigners like to read is our "The Art of War". They find it very useful. In recent years, many management scholars have discovered that corporate competition has many similarities with war. The concepts of "Sun Tzu's Art of War" have been applied to management operations. "Lu Yongyue, President of LG China, said: "I like China's "Sun Tzu's Art of War" very much. There are many wise things in it that are also very useful for business management. " /p>
In the 1960s, Japan introduced "Sun Tzu's Art of War" into corporate management. Japanese scholar Fu Murayama said: There are two pillars for the survival and development of Japanese enterprises, one is the modern management system of the United States, and the other is the strategy and tactics of "Sun Tzu's Art of War". Japanese entrepreneur Takeo Ohashi wrote "The Art of War and Management", which describes how to apply the theory of the art of war to business warfare, with special emphasis on the use of Sun Tzu's Art of War to manage enterprises. Japan’s “God of Management” Konosuke Matsushita publicly declared that Sun Tzu’s Art of War was the magic weapon for their success. He said: "The grandson of the ancient Chinese sage is the number one god in the world. Employees of our company must worship him, memorize his art of war carefully, and apply it flexibly, so that the company can prosper." Kenichi Ohmae, chairman of Japan's Mackenzie Company, wrote " The article "Sun Tzu's Influence on Japanese Business Management" pointed out that the reason why Japanese companies can defeat European and American companies is that Japan "adopts Chinese military art to guide business management, which is more reasonable and effective than American business management." In his book "The Strategist's Mind", he quoted extensively from "The Art of War" and declared that "The Art of War" is the "top management textbook" for Japanese companies.
The economics and business circles in the United States are no less than the Japanese in worshiping Sun Tzu's Art of War. The famous American management scientist George said in "History of Management Thought": "Do you want to become a management talent? You must read "Sun Tzu's Art of War"!" Today's famous American business strategist Hamer quoted it many times in his articles Sun Tzu Quotes. He said: “Merely estimating the current strategic advantages of known competitors does not help to understand the determination, endurance and creativity of potential competitors.
Sun Tzu, a Chinese military strategist, argued 3,000 years ago: ‘To take something by surprise, attack it when it is unprepared’. Yang Zhuang, associate dean of the Fordham University School of Business and American dean of the International MBA at Peking University, said: "The Art of War is a masterpiece handed down from generation to generation in the field of strategic theory and a classic in the history of the world's art of war. A masterpiece on how to succeed in business. "
Smart and successful entrepreneurs in other countries have also seen the value of Sun Tzu's Art of War. Bernabe, President of Italy's Eni Company, said: "As for the topic of strategy, I am reading "Sun Tzu's Art of War" , a classic textbook written by Sun Tzu, a Chinese general about 2,500 years ago, is a comprehensive textbook on strategy that can still be applied to various human activities today. ”
Sun Tzu’s thoughts have left a deep imprint on modern economic strategy theory. American marketing guru Philip Kotler also discussed the role of the art of war in his book "Marketing Management" Application in marketing. Japanese entrepreneurs highly admire Sun Tzu's thought of "the one who shares the same desire from above and below will win" and combined it with Confucianism to create a warm-hearted cooperative management model called "SWOT". "Strengths, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats", that is, "Strengths, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats". John Alley, an American scholar who came to China to teach economics, linked "SWOT" with "Sun Tzu's Art of War: Virtual and Real" . He pointed out: "The distinction between fiction and reality in "The Art of War" and the effect of using reality to defeat fiction are exactly the same as the effect of modern SWOT analysis method. SWOT analysis is a popular strategic method in marketing. This method gives the company's areas of strength and weakness, as well as the market's opportunities and risks. The concept of using strength to pursue opportunities can be said to be a reprint of "The Art of War". This is another way of saying what we set out to do. "This scholar also wrote a special article titled "Sun Tzu's Seven-Character Strategy - How Marketing Managers Apply Sun Tzu's Art of War." He wrote in the article: "Although "Sun Tzu's Art of War" is ancient, it may become a blueprint for the future."
Sun Tzu's Art of War has helped many entrepreneurs achieve huge business results. General Motors Chairman Roger Smith sold 8.3 million cars in 1984, ranking first in the world. He said the secret of his success was "learning a lot from the book "The Art of War" written by a Chinese strategist 2000 years ago", thus giving him a "strategist's mind".
"Soldiers have no constant momentum, and water has no constant shape. Those who can win due to the changes of the enemy are called gods." The market is ever-changing, and operators should flexibly adopt countermeasures based on market changes. Sony has achieved success by applying Sun Tzu's idea. Over the past 50 years, Sony has been "complying with the right and winning with the unexpected", constantly launching new products based on market demand, occupying the market, and supporting corporate development.
"The shape of a soldier is like water. The shape of water avoids heights and tends to go down. The shape of soldiers avoids reality and hits the weak." This idea has become an important strategic idea for enterprises. Many companies avoid the main battlefield of market competition and find unique ways to open up market segments that no one has set foot in. They achieve success in one fell swoop, achieving the effect of exploiting strengths and avoiding weaknesses, avoiding the real and attacking the weak. In this regard, Japan's Nintendo is a successful example. It was originally a small company that produced playing cards. In 1980, it developed a unique way to develop a popular home game console and opened up the Japanese market. In 1986, it launched a game console suitable for American families and opened up the American market. Now it is sweeping the European market.
my country's famous entrepreneur Zhang Ruimin has conducted in-depth research on Sun Tzu's Art of War. He believes that to seize the market, you must have speed. This is what Sun Tzu said: "The rapids are strong, and the stone is drifting," and this "stone" is the customer. He used the strategic thinking of Sun Tzu's Art of War to achieve great success in the fierce market competition, making China's Haier go global.
Volvo China CEO Wu Yuzhang is a very successful entrepreneur who uses Sun Tzu's Art of War. When he first joined Volvo in 1997, the company's annual sales in China were only 27 vehicles. After five years of hard work, he defeated its main competitors, increased Volvo's annual sales by more than 30 times, and occupied a major share of China's large car market. He said with deep understanding: The market is the battlefield. Entrepreneurs who do not understand the science of market warfare are unlikely to lead their companies to achieve final victory in long-term market competition. Entrepreneurs who do not understand Sun Tzu's Art of War cannot be truly successful. As the old saying goes: half of the "Analects of Confucius" can rule the world. Jin Zhaoyun: Half of "Sun Tzu's Art of War" can conquer the country. "The Art of War" is the "Bible" in business warfare. Especially in today's era when China is rapidly transitioning from a planned economy to a market economy, that is, in the era of business wars in various industries, from the unification of the "Emperor Zhou" to the "Spring and Autumn Period", and then to the "Warring States Period", Sun Tzu "The Art of War" has more profound guiding significance and practical significance for our entrepreneurs. This is one of my personal favorite books. Make sure to read it once a month. Depending on the situation and location, your feelings and experiences will naturally be different. "The Art of War" is the "charger" of my career.
Dawang Town in Shandong, my country, has assets of more than 7 billion. Its success is also closely related to the application of Sun Tzu's Art of War. The town's "king spirit" reflects the traditional Chinese military culture represented by Sun Tzu's Art of War.
(3) Application of Sun Tzu's Art of War in other fields
Sun Tzu's Art of War has also been widely used in other fields. For example, in the field of diplomacy, Brzezinski, the famous American international strategy expert, in his book "Planning Strategies", directly based on Sun Tzu's thoughts to elaborate on the strategy of defeating the Soviet Union without a fight, and through Sun Tzu's "win the world" "The understanding of "qudi" puts forward the concept of "key country". In the field of sports, it is reported that Brazilian football coach Luiz Felipe Scolari took "Sun Tzu's Art of War" to the world and won the world's favor by applying Sun Tzu's ideas. I saw an article about Sun Tzu's Art of War and chess, which wrote: "If we can master Sun Tzu's Art of War and apply it to actual chess combat, we can say that we have mastered most of the chess tactics. Source, our chess skills will also develop by leaps and bounds, and our level will be closer and closer to the level of a master, or even surpass them." In addition, Sun Tzu's Art of War has great influence on leadership art, personnel management, life pursuits and even family. In terms of relationships, there are also practical connections of one kind or another. If we carefully browse the catalogs of libraries and bookstores, we can easily find application books in these areas.
(4) Sun Tzu’s Art of War application activities and achievements
In recent years, the application of Sun Tzu’s Art of War is expanding to a higher level and a wider range, and many wonderful applications of Sun Tzu’s Art of War have been organized Many outstanding experts and application results of Sun Tzu's Art of War emerged during the event.
1. Research and exchange on the application of Sun Tzu's Art of War
Various types of seminars or symposiums on the application of Sun Tzu's Art of War have been held in many places at home and abroad. For example, the Shandong Sun Tzu Art of War Research Institute successfully organized three international forums on the application of Sun Tzu's Art of War, and organized a cross-strait forum on the application of Sun Tzu's Art of War. Sun Tzu's Art of War application forums on different topics were held in Huimin and Guangrao, Shandong. Suzhou Sun Wuzi Research Association organized its own activities on the application of Sun Tzu's Art of War. Tianjin Sun Tzu Art of War Research Council has made a series of plans to develop the application of Sun Tzu's Art of War. Peking University has organized the Sun Tzu Art of War Club to organize or participate in some exchange activities on the application of Sun Tzu's Art of War.
China Sun Tzu’s Art of War Research Association pays attention to the research on the application of Sun Tzu’s Art of War at home and abroad. For example, it participates in press conferences on the publication of foreign works on the application of Sun Tzu’s Art of War, pays attention to the research on the application of Sun Tzu’s Art of War in universities across the country, and pays attention to the applicability of Sun Tzu’s Art of War in various places Regarding the lecture, pay attention to the application of Sun Tzu's Art of War by the Malaysian Sun Tzu Art of War Research Association. The previous international seminars on Sun Tzu's Art of War organized by the China Sun Tzu Art of War Research Association have conducted a large number of exchanges on applied research on Sun Tzu's Art of War. Our Sixth International Symposium on Sun Tzu's Art of War, with the theme of "Strategic Culture", highlights the application aspect.
2. Training on the application of Sun Tzu's Art of War
Organizing training on Sun Tzu's Art of War is an important part of the application of Sun Tzu's Art of War. The School of Business and Management of Harvard University and Columbia University in the United States both offer courses on Sun Tzu's Art of War, requiring students to memorize "The Art of War". Training on Sun Tzu's Art of War has been carried out in various fields in China. Some tickets for Sun Tzu's Art of War short-term training courses in Beijing are worth more than 5,000 yuan. The China Sun Tzu Art of War Research Society has established Sun Tzu Art of War teaching and research bases and training centers in Huimin, Tancheng, Menglianggu, Shandong, and Longmai Hot Spring in Xiaotangshan, Beijing.
It is worth mentioning that the China Sun Tzu Art of War Research Association positions the application training of Sun Tzu's Art of War at a high level, and together with the International MBA of Peking University, successfully organized Sun Tzu's Art of War experiential strategic teaching for corporate elites. This teaching received great attention from the media and was highly praised by students. The following is the actual experience of Peking University students who have participated in this teaching.
Wei Zhenzhen, chairman of Beijing Zhengrong Internet Technology Co., Ltd., said: Through this strategic experience teaching, I have a clearer understanding of what strategy is and what business war is. Strategy is a collection of wisdom and ideas that goes far beyond war. In "The Art of War", Sun Tzu said: "In all military methods, the whole country is the first, and the destruction of the country is the second. Therefore, the first is to attack the enemy with the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, and the third is to attack the city." This is a very classic way of raising strategic thinking. The height of victory. I believe that BIMBA’s on-the-ground strategic case teaching provides us with a vast space for strategic thinking, allowing us to break away from the ideological limitations of modern business strategy operations. At the same time, we have absorbed the breadth, depth, meticulousness and completeness of thousands of years of ancient conquest strategies, as well as the essence of China’s long history and humanistic culture.
Shell (China) Co., Ltd. Project Manager Gu Jing said: In this event, I felt that I gained a lot by studying previous successful cases, learning military strategic theories, and communicating with military experts. Although I may not necessarily apply every strategy in "Sun Tzu's Art of War" to actual work, this strategic way of thinking can help me analyze and solve problems.
Fang Zhu, general manager of the General Department of China Netcom, believes that on-the-spot experience can not only appreciate the essence of "Sun Tzu's Art of War", but also allow one to go deep into the front line and feel the impact of a leader's decision-making on the front line. As a decision-maker, you cannot just talk about the impact of implementation. All decisions must be based on the actual situation. Commercial competition and military strategy have the same roots.
3. Sun Tzu’s Art of War application results
There are many achievements in this area. It is impossible to list them all. We are just selecting representative results within the scope we are exposed to as examples. Introduction to sex.
(1) In terms of publication of works:
In China, there are "Sun Tzu's New Treatise on the Art of War" by Wu Rushong, vice president of the China Sun Tzu Art of War Research Association, and "Sun Tzu's New Treatise on the Art of War" by Yu Rubo, vice president of the association. "Application of Sun Tzu's Art of War in Modern Warfare", "Sun Tzu's Art of War and the Way of Managers and Generals" by Hong Bing, vice president of the association, "New Reading of Sun Tzu's Art of War" by Huang Pumin, deputy secretary-general of the association, Liu Qing, deputy secretary-general of the association "Basic Principles of the Art of War and Commercial Warfare", "Sun Tzu's Art of War Experience Strategy Tutorial" edited by Peking University International MBA Professor Hu Dayuan, and "Sun Tzu's Art of War and Administration" by Guan Zheng, president of the Suzhou Sun Wu Zi Research Association. In addition, there are a large number of works and papers on the application of Sun Tzu's Art of War in China, which are very valuable.
Abroad, Japanese entrepreneur Takeo Ohashi wrote "The Art of War and Management". "Sun Zi and I", "Sun Zi's Art of War", "The Iraq War in the eyes of Sun Zi", Lu Luoba, president of the Malaysian Sun Zi Art of War Research Association, Chen Wanhua, professor of finance and business economics at MacMaster University in Canada, and Chen Bingfu, professor of the Department of Management at Nankai University, co-authored "Sun Tzu's Art of War and Its General Application in Management". An influential new book was recently published in the United States - "Sun Tzu and the Art of Business: Six Strategic Principles for Managers". It was written by an American named McNelly. He serves as a strategic advisor to IBM in the United States and was an officer in the U.S. Army. There are two paragraphs in the recommendation of this book:
If you have ever felt that shopping malls are like battlefields, then this book based on the teachings of ancient Chinese masters will tell you a lot. ——American "Entrepreneur" magazine.
Finally, someone has written a book that thoroughly explains how to apply "The Art of War" to business management! This book made me ecstatic. ——Brian Bloom, President and CEO of Great Eastern Telegraph Company.
(2) In terms of film and television production:
Shanghai Asian Television Art Center filmed a large-scale special art film "Chinese Generals' Talk of War"; CCTV broadcast "Sun Tzu's Art of War and Three "Sixteen Strategies"; it is said that the famous Hong Kong film actor Jackie Chan is planning to invest 600 million to shoot the movie "The Art of War".
(3) In terms of cultural relics development:
Due to the cultural driving role of "The Art of War", famous ancient Chinese generals, ancient Chinese battlefields, ancient Chinese weapons, etc. related to ancient Chinese military The development of cultural relics in this area also shows broad prospects. Zhang Wei of Sigan Company is an entrepreneur who has made special contributions to the development of Sun Tzu's Art of War culture. He gathered a hundred famous calligraphers to write a highly collectible "The Art of War". He is now planning to build a Chinese cultural theme park including Sun Tzu's Art of War. Many copies and souvenirs of cultural relics related to "The Art of War" occupy a large share in the market. Xiwan Publishing House recently launched the exquisite golden book "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, which has become a gift book given by the country to foreign countries. Sun Tzu's Art of War has been made into game software. Commemorative stamps commemorating Sun Tzu and "The Art of War" have been released in society.
(4) In terms of special tourism:
Sun Tzu's hometown, the place where Sun Tzu made great achievements, and the ancient and modern battlefields where "Sun Tzu's Art of War" was successfully used have attracted the attention of the tourism industry , will become hot spots for tourism in the future. Shandong Huimin invested huge sums of money to build Sun Tzu Art of War City. The Yinqueshan Bamboo Slips Museum in Linyi, Shandong Province also takes on a new look.
2. The main problems existing in the modern application of Sun Tzu's Art of War
At present, the modern application of Sun Tzu's Art of War has made great achievements, but there are also many problems, some of which are cognitive. , and some are objectively formed in the process of modern application. We must pay attention to and make great efforts to solve these problems, especially those outstanding problems that have a major impact on the overall situation as soon as possible. Otherwise, the modern application of Sun Tzu's Art of War will be led astray, and the precious legacy left by our ancestors will be ruined.
Problem 1: Belittle yourself and always think that the moon in foreign countries is rounder than your own.
I have seen this phenomenon very sadly. While foreign countries are talking about Sun Tzu's Art of War, some people in our country really disdain Sun Tzu's Art of War. Some domestic experts have not even read "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, so they comment on it and describe it as useless, while praising foreign "On War", "On Sea Power" and "On the Prince". Arrived in heaven. In the minds of these people, Sun Tzu's Art of War does not even have a basic status, so how can it be applied. A reporter once reported on this phenomenon: "The author visited the army and learned that some officers and soldiers did not know much about "Sun Tzu's Art of War", did not study it enough, and some even dismissed it. He believed that modern warfare, especially high-tech parts, The practice of precision strikes beyond visual range is far removed from the Warring States period when combat was fought in close combat. The methods and forms of combat have undergone fundamental changes. This view of Sun Tzu's Art of War is obviously one-sided.
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We do not deny that Sun Tzu’s Art of War has its historical limitations, and some of its discussions are not completely applicable to modern times. We also do not deny that some famous foreign masterpieces have their own uniqueness, but we cannot draw conclusions from this. To deny the practical value of Sun Tzu's Art of War, we cannot ignore the universal guiding role of the basic principles of Sun Tzu's Art of War. We cannot conclude that Sun Tzu's Art of War is "shallow" because of our own shallow knowledge of ancient times.
The most important part of using Sun Tzu's Art of War is his strategic thinking. Some foreigners, including some Chinese, believe that strategy originated from foreign countries, not China. They believe that China only introduced the term "strategy" from foreign countries in modern times. This is a wrong view. In fact, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, China had already formed a relatively systematic and complete strategic thought. Chinese strategic thought had already highly abstracted and summarized the confrontation of forces and reached a philosophical level. "Sun Tzu's Art of War" is a mature work of strategic theory with obvious characteristics of dialectics and macro-thinking. "Huangshi Gong's Three Strategies" and "Huainanzi Military Training" have gone far beyond the military scope and revealed the deepest aspects of strategy. Some principles. I once talked about this point in my book "Analysis of Chinese Strategy Principles": The real strategy lies in China. Some people are surprised and fascinated by the miracle of China's economic development. Of course, China's profound strategic thinking cannot be ruled out. I believe that China has the most say when it comes to strategy. Chinese strategists are the teachers of Western strategists. We should have confidence in building our own China. Our own strategic theory and cultivating our own strategic experts in various fields.
There is an important article on the Internet that can help us understand this issue more deeply. The title of this article is "Looking from the east and looking from the west." Come here, who will carry forward the traditional management culture? ". The article writes: "The wisdom of these ancient Chinese sages such as Sun Tzu's Art of War, The Analects of Confucius, and the Tao Te Ching are being studied by foreigners with yellow hair and blue eyes and regarded as management guidelines; when domestic enterprises While experts are deifying "foreign management" and flocking to it, "foreigners" are digging into the traditional cultural treasures of our Chinese nation. They have picked up "The Art of War", "The Analects of Confucius" and "Tao Te Ching" one by one, and started to study it. He influenced hundreds of scholars in China and achieved great success. This is a very interesting phenomenon. “Today, while domestic entrepreneurs are relishing the theory and practice of Western MBA management courses, their foreign counterparts are concentrating on studying how to apply ancient Eastern philosophical ideas to business management and strategic decision-making. According to a recent report by the Global Times: A little-known British company has gained new vitality by studying the "Tao Te Ching" and achieved impressive results with a 200% increase in profits, attracting the attention of many major British media.
Problem 2: Low-level, vulgar, confusing "great wisdom" with "little strategy".
Nowadays, many people have reduced Sun Tzu’s Art of War to a very low level, connecting it with trivial matters in life and officialdom, and even with the relationship between husband and wife. The sacred scriptures on military science have been made vulgar. Some people think that this is the best application of Sun Tzu's Art of War, and it is the best manifestation of the modern application value of Sun Tzu's Art of War. In fact, this is a distorted use of Sun Tzu's Art of War, completely distorting the original intention of Sun Tzu. of contamination.
One reason for this phenomenon is that these people simply do not understand the difference between "strategy" and "strategy". Strategy is a kind of overall and long-term planning, a science and art of using power under the guidance of high-level rationality, and great wisdom; while strategy is a kind of deception that lacks rational support and moral requirements. It's a little ploy. Strategy focuses on the "big" and plans big things, but strategies don't matter big or small, and can be used by anyone or at any level; strategy emphasizes "using the right combination to win by surprise", and the right and wrong are unified, while the strategy does not matter whether it is right or wrong, as long as the goal is achieved, Any means or trick can be used. Because there is no clear distinction between "strategy" and "strategy", some people interpret Sun Tzu's Art of War using a microscopic and practical concept of "small strategies" and use some common people's experiences to interpret Sun Tzu's Art of War. For example, some publications confuse Sun Tzu's Art of War with the Thirty-Six Strategies, and talk about some common methods such as "killing with a borrowed knife", "hiding a knife in a smile", "beauty trap", "bitter meat scheme" and so on. Some people even say that talking about Sun Tzu's Art of War is now outdated and that the so-called "strategy" should be used to replace Sun Tzu's Art of War. Therefore, we must clearly point out: Sun Tzu's Art of War is great wisdom, "the way of commanding", a science with deep philosophical foundation that reveals the laws of competition, and a knowledge that can be understood and used at a strategic level. It is different from what people often say. The so-called "strategy" is completely different and cannot be compared.
We cannot one-sidedly understand the idea of ??"fighting with deception". Using strategy without understanding it can be very harmful.
Some experts have described similar problems existing in Chinese companies. They said that today’s Chinese business community is in a state of