The Art of War

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise in thirteen chapters, each given over to a distinct set of skills bearing on strategy, tactics and the management of a campaign. Its argument is that war is a matter of calculation before it is a matter of courage. The commander who assesses the terrain, the weather, the discipline of his own troops and the character of his opponent, and who weighs the cost of a campaign against what victory is actually worth, has largely settled the outcome before any fighting starts. Deception runs through the work as a governing principle, appearing weak when strong and near when far, so that the enemy commits to the wrong response. The text values speed and economy, warns against protracted campaigns that drain a state, and treats intelligence, including the deliberate use of spies, as cheaper and more decisive than force. For almost fifteen hundred years it headed the anthology later formalised as the Seven Military Classics, and it has since been read far beyond soldiering, in business, law and politics, as a general treatment of conflict and advantage.

Written from the encyclopaedia article on The Art of War at Wikipedia.

What this vault takes from it

Nothing yet. The title appears in the registry because it has been mentioned in passing, and no concept or person note currently draws on it.

Reliability

Not audited here. 0 notes in this vault draw on it.