Sun Bin's Art of War (孫臏兵法) is a military treatise authored by Sun Bin. The book was believed to be lost after the Han Dynasty, and although there were numerous references to it in post-contemporary texts, some historians still believed that the book was never written and could be a forgery. However, in April 1972, archaeologists excavated several fragments of scrolls from a tomb in Linyi, Shandong province. Sun Bin's Art of War was found among the scrolls. Although ancient texts mention that the original Sun Bin's Art of War was 89 chapters long, the rediscovered copy had 16 verifiable chapters only. As fragments of Sun Tzu's The Art of War were discovered as well, historians believed that some of the chapters might actually belong to The Art of War instead.
The newly discovered text provided historians with a different perspective on the Battle of Guiling and Battle of Maling. In addition, when compared to Sun Tzu's The Art of War, Sun Bin's Art of War contained one major difference from the former. The former advised against siege warfare, while the latter suggested tactics for attacking a besieged city. This paralleled a shift in the strategic consideration of siege warfare during the later stages of the Warring States Period.
Read more about this topic: Sun Bin
Famous quotes containing the words sun, art and/or war:
“While that the sun with his beams hot
Scorched the fruits in vale and mountain,
Philon the shepherd, late forgot,
Sitting beside a crystal fountain,”
—Unknown. The Unfaithful Shepherdess (l. 1–4)
“To save the theatre, the theatre must be destroyed, the actors and actresses must all die of the plague. They poison the air, they make art impossible. It is not drama that they play, but pieces for the theatre. We should return to the Greeks, play in the open air: the drama dies of stalls and boxes and evening dress, and people who come to digest their dinner.”
—Eleonora Duse (1858–1924)
“The contention that a standing army and navy is the best security of peace is about as logical as the claim that the most peaceful citizen is he who goes about heavily armed. The experience of every-day life fully proves that the armed individual is invariably anxious to try his strength. The same is historically true of governments. Really peaceful countries do not waste life and energy in war preparations, with the result that peace is maintained.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)