Sun Tzu –
Chinese military leader, strategist, philosopher, and author Sun Tzu lived in the Eastern Zhou era. The Art of War, a significant treatise of military tactics that has influenced both Western and East Asian ideology and combat thinking, is traditionally attributed to Sun Tzu. Instead of focusing on war itself, it places a considerably greater emphasis on alternatives to combat and even war, such as delaying tactics, using spies, forging and maintaining alliances, using deception, and being prepared to bow, at least temporarily, to more formidable adversaries.
As a renowned historical and martial figure, Sun Tzu is highly regarded in Chinese and East Asian cultures. Sun Wu was his birth name, and outside of his family, he went by the nickname name Changqing. His more well-known nickname, Sun Tzu, is Chinese honorific that means to “Master Sun.”
The historicity of Sun Tzu is debatable. He was a minister to King Helü of Wu, according to Sima Qian, a historian of the Han dynasty, and his lifespan was between 544 and 496 BC. Based on its manner of authoring and its depictions of battle, modern researchers who accept his historicity place the preserved text of The Art of War in the later Warring States period. According to conventional wisdom, Sun Bin, a grandchild of the general, produced a work on military strategy called The Art of War. Prior to the 1972 unearthing of Sun Bin’s treatise, some scholars thought Sun Wu and Sun Bin were the same person because they were both referred to as Sun Tzu in traditional Chinese writings.
Sun Tzu’s Most Famous Quotes
“Let your plans be dark
and impenetrable as night, and
when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.” – Sun Tzu
“In the midst of
chaos, there is also
opportunity.” – Sun Tzu
“Victorious warriors
win first and then go to war,
while defeated warriors go
to war first and then
seek to win.” – Sun Tzu
“To know your
enemy, you must become
your enemy.” – Sun Tzu
“There is no instance
of a nation benefitting from
prolonged warfare.” – Sun Tzu
“Treat your men as
you would your own beloved sons.
And they will follow you into
the deepest valley” – Sun Tzu
“Even the finest sword
plunged into salt water
will eventually rust.” – Sun Tzu
“Move swift as the wind
and closely-formed
as the wood.
Attack like a fire and be still
as the mountain.” – Sun Tzu
“Opportunities multiply as the are seized.” – Sun Tzu
“There are not more than five
musical notes, yet the combinations of
these five give rise to more melodies
than can ever be heard.” – Sun Tzu
“When the enemy is relaxed,
make them toil. When full, starve
them. When settled, make
them move.” – Sun Tzu
Famous Sun Tzu Art Of War Quotes
“Who wishes to fight must first count the cost.” – Sun Tzu
“If you wait by the river
long enough, the bodies of
your enemies will
float by.” – Sun Tzu
“Know yourself and you will win all battles.” – Sun Tzu
“To win one hundred victories
in one hundred battles is not the acme
of skill. To subdue the enemy without
fighting is the acme of skill.” – Sun Tzu
“Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.” – Sun Tzu
“Be extremely subtle even to the
point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious
even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby
you can be the director of the
opponent’s fate.” – Sun Tzu
“The whole secret lies in
confusing the enemy, so that
he cannot fathom real intent.” – Sun Tzu
“What the ancients called
a clever fighter is one who not only
wins, but excels in winning
with ease.” – Sun Tzu
“Rouse him, and learn
the principle of his activity or inactivity.
Force him to reveal himself, so as to
find out his vulnerable spots.” – Sun Tzu
“You have to believe in yourself.” – Sun Tzu
“If the mind is willing,
the flesh could go on and on
without many things.” – Sun Tzu
“Thus the expert in
battle moves the enemy, and
is not moved by him.” – Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu Quotes on Strategy
“Attack is the secret
of defense, defense is the
planning of an attack.” – Sun Tzu
“Great results
can be achieved with
small forces.” – Sun Tzu
“Ponder and
deliberate before you
make a move.” – Sun Tzu
“If quick, I survive.
If not quick, I am lost.
This is ‘death’.” – Sun Tzu
“Ultimate excellence lies
not in winning every battle, but in
defeating the enemy without
ever fighting.” – Sun Tzu
“If you ignore both: your
enemy and yourself, you are
certain to be in peril.” – Sun Tzu
“Move not unless you see
an advantage, use not your troops unless
there is something to be gained, fight
not unless the position is critical.” – Sun Tzu
“Wheels of justice grind slow but grind fine.” – Sun Tzu
“It is easy to love your
friend, but sometimes the hardest
lesson to learn is to love
your enemy.” – Sun Tzu
“If his forces are united, separate them.” – Sun Tzu
“You can’t trust
a man, who has nothing
to lose.” – Sun Tzu
“Plan for what is
difficult while it is easy,
do what is great while
it is small.” – Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu Quotes on Leadership
“If he sends reinforcements
everywhere, he will be weak
everywhere.” – Sun Tzu
“Be where your enemy is not.” – Sun Tzu
“An enemy is a friend
who knows too much
about you.” – Sun Tzu
“Disorder came from
order, fear came from courage,
weakness came from
strength.” – Sun Tzu
“If your friend is friends
with your enemy, it means that
you should not hang out
with this friend.” – Sun Tzu
“Beware of sugar that is
mixed with poison, beware
of the fly that sat on
a dead snake.” – Sun Tzu
“Who does not
know the evils of war cannot
appreciate its benefits.” – Sun Tzu
“Therefore, just as water
retains no constant shape, so
in warfare there are no
constant conditions.” – Sun Tzu
“Regard your soldiers as your
children, and they will follow you
into the deepest valleys, look
on them as your own
beloved sons.” – Sun Tzu
“A leader leads by example not by force.” – Sun Tzu
“He will win who knows
how to handle both superior
and inferior forces.” – Sun Tzu
“In making tactical
dispositions, the highest pitch
you can attain is to
conceal them.” – Sun Tzu
“Strategy without tactics is
the slowest route to victory. Tactics
without strategy is noise
before defeat.” – Sun Tzu
“The captured soldiers
should be kindly treated
and kept.” – Sun Tzu
“One need not destroy
one’s enemy. One need only
destroy his willingness
to engage.” – Sun Tzu
“Every animal with
blood in its veins and horns on
its head will fight when
it is attacked.” – Sun Tzu
“Never trust a friend
who is silent about
your flaws.” – Sun Tzu
Greatest Sun Tzu Quotes
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”
“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”
“If you know the enemy and know yourself,
you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”
“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”
“All warfare is based on deception.”
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war,
while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”
“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”
“The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming,
but on our readiness to receive him.”
“The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.”
“The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat
and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.”
SUN TZU
(A Chinese general, 544 BC – 496 BC)
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