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Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu

c. 544 BCEc. 496 BCE · Military Strategist · Le'an, State of Qi (traditional birthplace)

Sun Tzu is the name traditionally attached to the author of The Art of War, the earliest known treatise on military strategy in the Chinese canon. According to the Han-dynasty historian Sima Qian, he was a general and strategist who served King Helü of the state of Wu during the late Spring and Autumn period and helped direct Wu's campaigns against Chu. Little about his life can be independently confirmed, and modern scholars debate whether he was a single historical individual, a composite, or a later attribution. The text bearing his name shaped East Asian military thought and, through later translation, influenced strategy, business, and sport worldwide.

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Le'an, State of Qi (traditional birthplace)

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