Since military theory is less limited by national boundaries, any country can absorb excellent and effective military theories from other countries and apply them to its own military Therefore, Sun Tzu's art of war works are not only widely circulated in China, but also valued by military strategists and scholars throughout the history. Moreover, it travels far across the ocean and is widely praised and praised in many countries in the world. For the convenience of discussion, we divide Sun Tzu's influence in the world into three parts: Asian countries, European countries and American countries.
(1) Asian Countries
Sun Tzu’s art of war works are spread in Asian countries, mainly in Japan. During the Nara period in Japan (71O-784 AD), the famous scholar Kibi Masabi was sent as a Tang historian in 717 AD and crossed the sea to China. He stayed and studied in China for eighteen years, and returned home in 735 AD with "Sun Tzu's Art of War" and other ancient Chinese books. This was the beginning of the spread of Sun Tzu's works to Japan. According to the 22nd volume of "The Chronicles of Japan", in the fourth year of Tenpyei Hoji (760 AD), Emperor Junhito sent officials Kasukabe Sanseki, Toshi Sumi Sekikinari and six other people to Kyushu Dazaifu to prepare the final preparation. Study military works such as "Sun Tzu Nine Places" and "Zhuge Liang's Eight Formations". Since then, Sun Tzu's military theory has been valued by all walks of life in Japan. During the Heian period (794-1192), Fujiwara Sase collected books and compiled the "Japanese National Library". Among them, the "strategic strategist" category includes "Two volumes of "The Art of War," written by Wu general Sun Wu"; "Sun Yu's Art of War" in three volumes, "Wei Wu Jie" and so on. It can be seen that at that time, Sun Wu's book on the art of war was already well-known in Japan, and there were many books circulating. By the Tokugawa period (1603-1867), various annotated editions of Sun Tzu were published in Japan, making Sun Tzu's books more widely circulated. According to records in "Jingji Visiting Ancient Records", "Japanese Edition of Classical Books" and "Guanhaitang Bibliography", there are multiple versions of "Lecture Notes on the Seven Books of the Martial Arts" by Shi Zimei of the Song Dynasty alone. In addition, there are "Direct Interpretations of the Seven Books of the Military Classics" by Liu Yin in the Ming Dynasty, "Explanations of Sun Zi's Book Review" by Zhao Benxue, "Comments on Sun Zi's Collection" by Huang Bangyan, and "Annotations on Ten Schools of Sun Tzu" by Sun Xingyan in the Qing Dynasty. Among them, Zhao Benxue's annotations are the most popular, probably because Zhao was the teacher of Yu Dayao, a famous anti-Japanese general.
In addition to publishing the original text of "Sun Tzu" and various annotated editions, making Sun Tzu's books widely circulated, Japanese scholars and military personnel have become increasingly popular in commenting and researching "Sun Tzu". There are one hundred and fifty sixty kinds of books written by the Japanese about "Sun Tzu". Published in the fifth year of Tianwen (1536), "Sun Tzu" titled "Huancui Xuan Lecture" can be regarded as the earliest Japanese book interpreting "Sun Tzu". It can be found in the "Ancient Book Catalog" of Linlang Pavilion in Tokyo. In the eleventh year of Qingchang (1600), the "School and Training Point Sun Tzu" written by Shuiwei monk Yuanji was published. Since then, Japanese annotation and research works have sprung up and been published one after another. The more famous ones include: Lin Luoshan's "Explanation of Sun Tzu's Proverbs", Yamaga Soyuki's "Sun Tzu's Proverbs and Meanings", Hojo's "Grandson's Gaiden", and Monosu "Sun Tzu's Explanation" by Lai, "Sun Tzu's Detailed Explanation" by Ito Kokutoku, "Tzu's Complementary Interpretation" by Sato Issai, Hirayama Qian's "Sun Tzu Eclectic", Furuta Shoin's "Tzu's Commentary", Fukuzawa Yukichi's "Sun Tzu's Commentary" "Lectures of Sun Tzu", "New Interpretations of Sun Tzu" by Kubo Tensui, and "Collected Comments of Sun Tzu" by Mikami Chiyuki. Also found in the "Seven Books" are: Shigehide Oka's "Seven Books of Justice", Kanda Hakuryu's "Seven Books of Proverbs", etc. Among them, the commentaries by Cu Lai and Song Yin are the most popular.
The use of "Sun Tzu's Art of War" by the Japanese military is particularly commendable. According to Sato Kenji's "History of Japanese Martial Arts", shortly after Kibi Mabe brought back "Sun Tzu's Art of War", he used Sun Tzu's "soldier's love leads to speed" and other combat principles to quell the attack launched by Emi Otsuki. A rebellion. Tsubaki Fukumoto said in his "Comments on Sun Tzu's Training": ""Sun Tzu" has far-reaching intentions, sophisticated strategies, and accurate tactics. In ancient times, Japan's wise kings and generals read it carefully, and it established Japan's unique military style, and its military power was promoted. Overseas. "Various ancient Japanese military art works, such as "Jiayang Military Mirror", "Art of War", "Secret Biography of the Art of War", "The Book of Fighting", etc., many of the military principles are derived from "Sun Tzu". The famous general Taro Hachiman saw wild geese flying in front of him during an offensive battle. He thought of the famous sentence "The bird rises and falls down" in "Sun Tzu March". He concluded that there was an enemy ambush, so he changed the attack plan to avoid it. Yu Difficulty. Another famous general, Takeda Shingen, even admired Sun Tzu. He especially admired the four sentences in "Sun Tzu: Military Struggle": "It is as fast as the wind, its speed is like the forest, it invades and plunders people, and it is as motionless as a mountain." He also compared the four sentences of "Wind Forest and Volcano" The characters are written on the flags and planted on the military gates to strengthen the morale of the troops.
In modern times, the Japanese military has become increasingly interested in the application of Sun Tzu's military theory. During the Russo-Japanese War, the commander of the Japanese Navy, Togo Heihachiro, used the principle of "waiting for work with ease and waiting for hunger with food" in "Sun Tzu: Virtual Reality" to defeat the Russian Navy in the Battle of Tsushima. Sun Tzu's famous saying, "Know your enemy and yourself, you can fight a hundred battles without danger"; "The first step is to fight with troops, and the second is to fight with friends." This has become the motto of Japanese intelligence agencies in the past dynasties. When the Japanese fought against Russia in 1904 and attacked American warships at Pearl Harbor in 1941, their strategies for collecting intelligence and applying them in practice were inspired by "The Art of War".
Sun Tzu's military theory was widely used in Japan's foreign wars, making it a required course in Japanese military schools when training officers.
In modern Japan, there are even more numerous works on the study of "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. Climax after climax. Among them, the works that interpret Sun Tzu's thoughts from the perspective of a soldier include: "Lectures on Sun Tzu Yujin" written by Navy Vice Admiral Sato Tetsutaro to teach the Emperor, Army Lieutenant General Ochiai Toyozaburo's "Explanations of Sun Tzu's Examples", and "Explanation of Sun Tzu's Thoughts" by Lieutenant General Ochiai Toyosaburo Lieutenant Shigeru Okamoto's "Sun Tzu's Explanation of Ancient Oriental Military Science", Army Sergeant School instructor Ogawa Keiji's "Lectures on Sun Tzu", Air Force Major General Yahei Ohba's "The Art of War", etc.; there are works that elucidate Sun Tzu's thoughts as a scholar. "New Research on Sun Tzu" by Shunsuke Tatani, "New Commentary on Sun Tzu" by Mitsui Otani, "Commentary on Sun Tzu" by Yoshihiro Kitamura, "Commentary on Sun Tzu" by Tsubaki Fukumoto, "Commentary on Sun Tzu" by Sueo Sakai, Kenji Sato "Research on the History of Sun Tzu's Thought" and so on. Most of these works use modern war principles and military practices, philosophical thoughts and political diplomacy to explain "Sun Tzu". The content is rich and novel, and they give Sun Tzu a very high evaluation. For example, Shunsuke Ado said in the "Preface" to his treatise: "Sun Tzu is a man of genius. The sophistication of his mind and the lofty ideas are amazing, and people today feel inferior to the ancients. Therefore, scholars call him Sun Tzu." As a military sage, his book is the Military Classic. "Ogawa Keiji also commented: "Sun Tzu is the originator of Eastern military science and the crown of martial arts. It is said that all kinds of Eastern military techniques come from "Sun Tzu". , which matches the perfection of the content, and is much superior to the "Six Classics". "The research and admiration of "Sun Tzu" in modern Japan can be seen from this.
In other countries in Asia, such as Korea and Vietnam, Sun Tzu's works are circulated. According to the "General History of Joseon", from the 15th century to the reign of King Sejo of the Yi Dynasty, an annotated version of the "Seven Books of the Military Scripture" was published, including "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. In 1777, North Korea issued another "New Issue with Additional Notes on Sun Wuzi's Direct Interpretation". The book is divided into three volumes: upper, middle and lower volumes. In the "New Issue with Additional Notes on the Seven Books of the Military Classics, Zhijie", Liu Yin's "Zhijie" is used as the base. Supplementing old notes and updating. By 1863, Zhao Yichun's "Sun Zi Sui" was published. In Vietnam, a translation of Shi Dazhi's "Sun Tzu" was published in 1961. In addition, according to Yan Lingfeng's "Bibliography of Scholars in Zhou, Qin, Han, and Wei", a Manchu version of "The Art of War" was published in 1722; in 1973, another Hebrew version of "Sun Tzu" was published in Israel.
(2) European Countries
Sun Tzu’s works are also widely circulated in Europe. In 1772, French priest Joseph Amio selected several famous Chinese military works, translated them into French and published them in Paris under the title "Chinese Military Art", including "Thirteen Parts of Sun Tzu" and "Five Parts of Sima Fa". This is the earliest translation of ancient Chinese military books in Europe. Because of the beautiful printing. Demand exceeded supply, and a second edition was published in 1782. By 1905, "Sun Tzu" translated into English by the Englishman Casru was published in Tokyo, Japan; in 1908, the book was published in London, titled "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. In 1910, "The Art of War - The World's Oldest Military Book" was re-translated by the famous British sinologist Lionel Giles and published in London. In the same year, the German "Sun Tzu's Art of War - Chinese Martial Arts" translated by Bruno Navarre was published in Berlin. The Russian version of "Sun Tzu" was first published in 1860 and was translated by Sreznevsky; by 1957, there was a new translation by Sidorenko. The Dutch translation of "The Art of War" was first published in 1986 by the Netherlands Science Press. It was translated by Schmitt, an English teacher in a Dutch middle school, from the English translation by James Cofer from the United States. The printing run of this Dutch edition is 7,000 copies. In a small country like the Netherlands with a population of just over 10 million, 7,000 copies of "The Art of War" in Dutch were sold out in less than three months. In addition, the German Democratic Republic, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have also published new German and Czech versions of "The Art of War" in recent years.
In European countries, Sun Tzu's books are not only widely circulated, but also have great influence. It is said that the French bourgeois politician. When the military strategist Napoleon led his army to launch foreign wars, he often read the French translation of "Sun Tzu" in the battle array to guide war practice. Kaiser Wilhelm II, who launched World War I, read the German version of "The Art of War" after he failed in the war and was deposed. "Sun Tzu: Fire Attack Chapter" says: "The general cannot be angry and raise an army, and the general cannot be warm and lead to war. The platform moves when it is beneficial, and stops when it is not suitable for benefit. Anger can restore joy, warmth can restore joy; a country cannot be destroyed. It can be resurrected, but the dead cannot be resurrected. Therefore, a wise king should be cautious and a good general should be vigilant. This is the way to secure the country and the entire army." William II couldn't help but sigh with excitement after reading this: "I wish I had read this book twenty years earlier. If you read the book, you will never suffer the pain of national subjugation. "Marshal Montgomery, the famous British commander in World War II, once said when he visited China in the early 1960s: "All military academies in the world should learn "" "Sun Tzu's Art of War" is listed as a required course. "In fact, many Western countries do exactly this.
Many European scholars speak highly of Sun Tzu and his works.
Liddell Hart, the famous British military strategist, quoted twenty-one quotations from military strategists at the beginning of his book "Strategy", of which the first to fifteen were all taken from "Sun Tzu"; he praised Sun Tzu for saying " "Subduing the enemy's troops without fighting is the best thing to do", that is, "the kind of strategy that can achieve the goal without going through serious battles" is "the most perfect strategy"; he also used some war facts to illustrate "the strategy in history" There are many such examples." On February 15, 1963, the British "Daily Telegraph" published an article entitled "China's Military Proverbs" written by Air Marshal John Slesser to introduce "The Art of War" translated by Griffiths. The article praised Sun Tzu for "telling others how to fight with clear expressions and concise language." In his recent book "The Secret History of Japan's Intelligence Agencies", the British man Richard Deacon called Sun Tzu "the greatest spy master". In his book "The Soul of the Chinese Soldier", the modern Russian scholar Guo Tainav called Sun Tzu "the world's first-class military strategist". In 1957, the Soviet Union published the book "On Bourgeois Military Science" written by Milishdankyi and Slobochenko, stating that among ancient military treatises, "the earliest and best is the work of Sun Tzu." It laid the foundation for The author of "Sun Tzu's Art of War" "has extremely rich military knowledge" and "he has extremely profound methods for studying military issues."
(3) American Countries
The spread of "Sun Tzu's Art of War" in American countries is mainly in the United States. Sun Tzu's works there are very popular and best-selling, with several translations available. You can often hear American military experts praising Sun Tzu. Many Americans can skillfully talk about the famous lines in "Sun Tzu" and use them to comment on social affairs. It is said that former U.S. President Roosevelt loved "The Art of War" very much and often used Sun Tzu's principles to guide war practice during World War II; former U.S. Secretary of Defense McNamara also often read "The Art of War" by U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Samuel Griffin translated "The Art of War", which made some of Sun Tzu's famous quotes widely recited in the US military.
Americans also have a very high opinion of Sun Tzu. In 1964, General Thomas of the U.S. Army edited the book "The Foundations of Strategy" and called "The Art of War" one of the world's five outstanding representative works on military science. In 1973, John Collins, an American scholar and director of the Institute of Strategic Studies at the National Defense University, published the book "Grand Strategy". In the section "The Founding Master of Strategy", Collins pointed out: "The first great person to formulate strategic thought was Sun Yu, who wrote one of the earliest works known in the world on the art of war. His short The short thirteen-cylinder is the first masterpiece at all times and in all countries. Even Clausewitz's "On War" written 2200 years later is beyond its reach.
No one today has a clear understanding of the relationship between strategy and strategy. Considerations and limitations can have a deeper understanding. Most of its concepts are still as valuable in our current environment as they were back then. "The famous American economist Hodges also wrote "Business Management". The "Management in Ancient China" section of the book points out: "The ancient Chinese also made brilliant contributions to management thinking. The most well-known among them is "The Art of War" written in 500 BC. This is It is the oldest military work in history; however, many of the principles revealed in the book are still unbreakable and still have application value. "This is evident from the admiration of "Sun Tzu's Art of War" by American scholars.
What is even more worth pointing out is that Americans often use Sun Tzu's famous sayings to comment on government policies.
For example, a famous American critic wrote an article in the "New York Pioneer Tribune" on March 6-7, 1965, using Sun Tzu's principles such as "the enemy must be surrounded" to criticize the then US President Johnson. policy in Vietnam. Westmoreland, the former chief of staff of the U.S. Army and former commander in Vietnam, quoted Sun Tzu's aphorism more than once in "A Soldier's Report" published in the 1970s: "A husband's army lasts for a long time, but the country does not benefit." , reviewed the U.S. war in Vietnam. When former US President Ronald Reagan visited China, American Sexton published an article titled "Ancient Principles Help China Win in Foreign Relations" in Newsday on April 24, 1984. The article said that President Reagan's trip to China was a victory achieved by the Chinese using Sun Tzu's principle of "conquering the enemy without fighting". It even said that "the Chinese used Sun Tzu's Art of War to manipulate the United States." Former U.S. President Richard Nixon's recent book "1999-Victory without Fighting" makes extensive use of Sun Tzu's strategic thinking to analyze the situation in the world. All the above show that Americans are fond of and familiar with "The Art of War".