Summary and Comments on "Sun Tzu: The Essence of the Art of War" by Yoshihiro Watanabe - A recommended reference book for learning a classic among classics that is still relevant today in an easy-to-understand way.
I would like to introduce "Sun Tzu: The Essence of the Art of War" by Yoshihiro Watanabe, published by Chuokoron Shinsha in 2022.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
Sun Tzu" is known as a classic of military strategy and strategy theory. Although it has been read for more than 2,000 years, it is not widely known that the version currently read is based on the annotations of Cao Cao, the hero of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. This book first clarifies the mystery of its formation and Cao Cao's interpretation of who was the main author, Sun Wu or Sun Bin. It then investigates the characteristics of "Sun Tzu" by dividing it into rationality, advancedness, practicality, and universality, and seeks hints for applying it to today's world. A translation of all 13 "Sun Tzu" poems into modern Japanese is included at the end of the book.
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Sun Tzu" is a classic among classics, famous as "Sun Tzu's Art of War. Shingen Takeda's "Fu-Rin-Kazan" also comes from Sun Tzu. Even today, "Sun Tzu" is used in business, and has been read and practiced in many places and times.
This is such a very famous classic, and this is the first time I have read it.
In the first half of the book, the historical background of "Sun Tzu" and its history are explained. From there, you will learn about the philosophy of "Sun Tzu" through reading the text. At the end of the book, the full text of "Sun Tzu" in a modern translation is included, which is recommended for those who want to read the whole text at once.
And the most surprising part of this book is the following.
To know "Sun Tzu," one must know Cao Cao (155-ninety), the hero of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms." The present thirteen editions of "Sun Tzu" are due to Cao Cao's establishment.
Chuo Koron Shinsha, Yoshihiro Watanabe, Sun Tzu: Reading the Essence of the Art of War, p. 37
To my surprise, the current "Sun Tzu" was compiled by Cao Cao, the hero of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. This was a surprise. It has been known that Cao Cao was also overwhelmingly talented in literature and art.Chinese History 04: The World of the Three Kingdoms, Later Han Dynasty, Three Kingdoms Period.I had heard about him from books on "Sun Tzu" and other sources, but I had no idea that he had compiled "Sun Tzu" to such an extent!
Of course, Cao Cao was not the author of "Sun Tzu," as he compiled and annotated many "Sun Tzu" documents that had been handed down before that time. However, I think it is very significant that he reincarnated "Sun Tzu" in a form that has been handed down to the present day.
I was also very impressed with the following commentary.
The first principle of the military philosophy of "Sun Tzu" is that although it is a book on the Art of War that discusses winning battles, it teaches to avoid actual combat as much as possible. The words that symbolize this are (1) "To win a hundred battles and win a hundred victories is not to be the best of the best. Even if one wins a hundred battles, one cannot avoid financial ruin due to war. In addition, as was stated at the end of the Fire Offensive Arc, the dead from war will not come back to life again, and the exiled nation cannot exist again. This is why "Sun Tzu" tells us from the beginning of the first chapter that war is a matter of national importance, that it determines the life and death of the people, and that it is the crossroads between the existence and death of a nation.
It is interesting to note that "Sun Tzu," a soldier, considers it best to win without fighting, while "Mokuke," who denies war, actively participates in battles. In the same way that the "Sumija" does not discard the idea of fighting as a contradiction while preaching non-aggression, we can get closer to the essence of the Art of War in "Sun Tzu" by considering why "Sun Tzu" considers not fighting to be the best form of warfare.
Herein lies the fundamental question of why we fight. Mencius' theory of "righteous warfare" was based on the pursuit of justice for the invader. However, justice is relative. For this reason, "Mencius" considered the invasion itself as an absolute evil and tried to carry out "non-offensive" by protecting the invaded party. In contrast, "Sun Tzu" does not judge battles according to right and wrong. Fighting already exists as a reality. Therefore, the purpose of the battle is to find out what the battle is about. In doing so, "Sun Tzu" does not seek the purpose of battle as the overthrow of the other country or the killing of human beings. He considers the purpose of battle to be to make the opponent follow him, and tries to make him follow him without hurting him as much as possible. This is expressed in the phrase (2), "It is the goodness of goodness that makes men's armies yield in battle.
Chuo Koron Shinsha, Yoshihiro Watanabe, Sun Tzu: Reading the Essence of the Art of War, p. 86-87
Mencius" of sexual morality, "Sumi" of pacifism, and "Sun Tzu" of the Art of War. It is very interesting to compare the differences and ideas of these three.
It was very stimulating to read this book with these considerations in mind.
It is indeed a masterpiece that has long been loved as a classic among classics. I highly recommend this reference book to learn the outline and background of "Sun Tzu". Why not pick up a copy?
The above is "Yoshihiro Watanabe's "Sun Tzu: The Essence of the Art of War" - A recommended reference book to learn a classic among classics that is still relevant today in an easy-to-understand way.
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