Sunzi, 'shì' and strategy: How to read 'Art of War' the way its author intended

A copy of the 'Art of War' from a collection at the University of California, Riverside. vlasta2/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

In the mid-1990s, I picked up the military classic “Art of War” hoping to find insight into my new career as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

I was not the only one looking for insights from the sage Sunzi, also known as Sun Tzu, who died over 2,500 years ago. “Art of War” has long been mined for an understanding of China’s strategic tradition and universal military truths. The book’s maxims, such as “know the enemy and know yourself,” are routinely quoted in military texts, as well as business and management books.