Famous Chinese and Foreign Art of War

Chinese Art of War

"Sun Tzu's Art of War": The author is Sun Wu, the great military strategist of the Spring and Autumn Period, and it was written around the end of the Spring and Autumn Period. Since its publication, the book has had a huge and far-reaching impact on the development of ancient Chinese military scholarship, and is revered as the "Military Classic" and the "ancestor of centuries of military talk." "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu is divided into: "Planning Chapter (also known as "Initial Plan")", "Operation Chapter", "Planning Attack Chapter", "Military Form Chapter", and "Military Situation Chapter" (also known as "Strength Chapter"). ")", "Virtual and Real Chapter", "Military Struggle Chapter", "Nine Changes Chapter", "March Chapter", "Terrain Chapter", "Nine Places Chapter", "Fire Attack Chapter" and "Yongjian Chapter" 13 Chapter, "Soldiers are deceitful", "Soldiers who subdue others without fighting" and "Know yourself and the enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger" are all well-known famous sentences.

"Sun Bin's Art of War": written by Sun Bin, an outstanding military strategist in the middle of the Warring States Period, was lost around the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In April 1972, a large number of bamboo slips were unearthed from the Yinqueshan Han Tomb in Linyi County, Shandong Province, including the long-lost "Sun Bin's Art of War". According to the "Yinqueshan Han Tomb Bamboo Slips (1)", there are a total of 16 chapters in "Sun Bin's Art of War", that is, 15 chapters in the 1975 edition of "Sun Bin's Art of War", plus one chapter on "Five Teachings" , ***222 Jane, nearly 5,000 words.

"Wu Zi": It is a military work as famous as "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. It is said to have been written by Wu Qi, a famous military strategist during the Warring States Period. The book has been compiled and deleted by later generations during its long-term circulation. Some chapters and contents have been lost. Currently, only "Pictures of the Country", "Making Enemies", "Governing the Army", "On Generals" and "Li Shi" remain. "Six chapters, far from a complete masterpiece.

"Thirty-Six Stratagems": It is a culmination of the "strategies" and "deceptions" of the past dynasties that have been passed down from ancient times to the present in our country. Its use extends to all aspects of society, military, and life. It can be divided into "victory strategy", "enemy strategy", "offensive strategy", "melee strategy", "merging strategy" and "defeat strategy". There are six parts to the plan, and each part has six plans. The familiar strategies of "taking advantage of the fire", "hiding a knife in a smile", "spurring the tiger away from the mountain", "beauty trap" and "taking advantage of the enemy" are all strategies recorded in "Thirty-Six Strategies".

Western Military Science

"On War": Written by Clausewitz (1780-1830), the founder of modern Western military theory and a Prussian military theorist.

War is the continuation of politics; the political purpose of war is to destroy the enemy. Strategy includes five major elements: spirit, material, mathematics, geography, and statistics; numerical superiority is the most common victory in strategy and tactics. Factors; offense and defense are the two basic forms of combat in war. The two are interconnected and transform into each other; we must actively learn from war history.

"On War" is known as a classic of modern Western military theory and played a major role in the formation and development of modern Western military thought. Clausewitz himself is therefore regarded as the originator of modern Western military theory.

"On Sea Power": written by Mahan (1840-1914), a U.S. naval officer and naval theorist.

Any big country must have its own freedom of movement at sea and control the ocean; to control the ocean, it must build a powerful navy composed of heavy battleships equipped with large-caliber artillery to seize control of the sea.

Mahan's "Sea Power Theory" played an important role not only in the overseas expansion of the United States and the construction of battleships, but also in the naval construction of Britain, Germany, Japan, France, Russia and other countries.

"Total War": written by Ludendorff (1865-1937), a German general and military strategist.

Military operations must implement the principles of coordination, suddenness, and rapidity; a dictatorial war command system must be established.

The theory of "Total War" was proposed based on the experience and lessons of the First World War and the development level of industrial production, science and technology, and weapons and equipment in the early 20th century. It has a major role in promoting the development of modern military thought.

"Air Dominance": written by Douhet (1869-1930), an Italian air force theorist.

The outcome of an air war will determine the outcome of the war. Seizing air supremacy is a necessary condition for winning the war. The air force should be under unified command and centralized use, rather than dispersing its power.

"Air Dominance" laid the theoretical foundation for air superiority. After its publication, it became popular around the world and attracted the attention of various countries in the construction of air forces.

"Mechanical Warfare": written by Fuller (1878-1966), a British military theorist.

Future wars will mainly be mechanized wars, and attention should be paid to using methods of demoralizing the enemy instead of using military force to destroy the enemy; offense is the main style of mechanized war.

The first people to be interested in Fuller's ideas on mechanical warfare were German soldiers. Guderian, the father of German armored forces, could even recite large sections of "Mechanical Warfare". During World War II, German tanks once swept across Europe.

"Strategy": written by Liddell Hart (1895-1970), a British military theorist.

The most perfect strategy is one that "achieves the goal without going through serious battles"; methods to destroy the enemy's stability include material means and spiritual means; strategy is divided into two levels: strategy and grand strategy ; The most basic principle of combat is to disperse the enemy's forces and concentrate one's own forces.

In the opening chapter of "On Strategy", Liddell Hart also quoted a large part of the motto of the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Wu. It can be seen that his "indirect route" strategy was deeply influenced by Sun Wu and reflected the trend of Western military theory. The convergence of Eastern military science represented by "The Art of War".

"Grand Strategy": written by John Collins, American strategic theorist.

Strategy can be divided into three different levels: national strategy, grand strategy, and military strategy; emphasizing national interests is the basis for correct strategy; without foresight, political warfare, economic warfare, social warfare, and psychological warfare Without cooperation, the army cannot win.

Koslin’s grand strategic thinking is based on the lessons learned by the United States in the Vietnam War. He himself admitted that his ideas originated from ancient Eastern and Western strategists such as Sun Wu and Alexander.