Sun Tzu, also known as Sun Wu or Sunzi, was an ancient Chinese military strategist believed to be the author of the acclaimed military text, The Art of War. Details about Sun Tzu s background and life are uncertain, although he is believed to have lived c. 544-496 BCE. Through The Art of War, Sun Tzu s theories and strategies have influenced military leaders and campaigns throughout time, including the samurai of ancient and early-modern Japan, and more recently Ho Chi Minh of the Viet Cong and American generals Norman Swarzkopf, Jr. and Colin Powell during the Persian Gulf War in the 1990s.

John S. Bowman, the author of the preface, majored in English literature at Harvard University and did his graduate studies at Trinity College at the University of Cambridge and the University of Munich. After some years in New York publishing, starting with Story Magazine, he has been an independent editor and author, involved in a wide spectrum of publishing projects. His many edited volumes include The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography and the Columbia Chronicles of Asian History and Culture. His own works include The Quest for Atlantis, Diamond.c in the Rough, and Shaker Style.

THE ART OF WAR

VERY LITTLE IS POSITIVELY KNOWN ABOUT SUN TZU.

The only ancient Chinese biography was written some four centuries after he lived; there Sun Tzu is described as belonging to the Chinese aristocracy that no longer owned much land, so he became a mercenary. The only fixed date we have for him is 512 B.C., when he was purportedly hired by a king of Wu, one of China’s then warring states, to serve as a general; allegedly, he was so successful that Wu conquered the powerful state of Chu, at which point Sun Tzu seems to vanish from history. But he is credited with having composed his military treatise even before 512 B.C. - a work titled Bing Fa , which might be literally translated as ¡°military methods¡± or ¡°army procedures¡± but which has come to be known as The Art of War.