The Art of War: The Denma TranslationConflict is an inevitable part of life, according to this ancient Chinese classic of strategy, but everything necessary to respond to conflict wisely, thoroughly, and victoriously is right before us at all times. The key to skillful action in any situation is in knowing those things that make up the environment and then seeing the patterns they form so that their power becomes available to us. It is not necessary to change the nature of things to find victory. Since, as Sun Tzu teaches, aggression and response in kind can lead only to destruction, we must learn to work with conflict in a more profound and effective way. The Art of War shows us how. The Art of War gives us proven strategic skills to apply when we need to take action and overcome obstacles in rapidly changing, chaotic situations. Though ancient in origin, these strategies are accessible because they are based on the ways we already do things. As Sun Tzu shows, rather than getting mired in conflict, we can create momentum and bring about the tipping point to achieve success. |
Contents
1 | |
Three Essays | 67 |
Taking Whole | 69 |
The Sage Commander | 92 |
Joining the Tradition | 126 |
Commentary | 149 |
About the Translation | 275 |
wwwvictoryoverwarcom | 282 |
About the Denma Translation Group | 284 |
Acknowledgments | 287 |
Notes | 290 |
Common terms and phrases
able action all-under-heaven appraisals arises Art of War attain victory await bamboo text bring called setting fire century bce ch’i chaos Chapter chariots Chinese Chinese language Chuan Chu conflict contending for advantage counting rods create death ground defeat defend earth employing the military enclosed ground enemy’s extraordinary feudal lords five forces Four Emperors general’s half of victory heaven junction ground kinship knowing oneself knowledge lineage mander manifest means meant by spiritlike method of employing mountain move multitude nature nine grounds one’s orthodox patterns people’s perspective positioning the army qualities rely rocks round rocks ruler sage commander sage commander’s seeks shih situation skilled at battle skilled at employing soldiers sovereign spies spread-out ground standard text strategy strength strike Sun Tzu T. E. Lawrence taking whole text says things sell dearly three armies tion tradition troops turned spy vincibility whole is superior wisdom words Yellow Emperor