Woolfe : The story of Sun Tzu's life is much more exciting than his book because he didn't just write a book about war, he lived the wars...
The time when Sun Tzu lived was known as 'Era of Warring States' because all the kingdoms in Ancient China were always at war with each other. China was not unified yet.
It's fascinating stuff.
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smw84 : I wouldn't say they 'invented' strategies... merely wrote down the obvious.
If you look at the strategies in Sun Tzu's book, they are nothing beyond the obvious.
But it takes a genius to notice it.
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It is an amazing work, with a stunning look firsthand into the mind of a man who is still considered one of the most brilliant military minds ever to have been born. I don't look upon war as anything short of "a bloody mess," however, war has been a part of human history since the beginning, and to ignore it would be a shame. After all, "Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it."
And also, if this kind of work interests you, look up "The Prince" by Niccolo Machiavelli. A truly brilliant man writing on what it takes to be a ruler. And do not be disturbed by the bluntness of what he says, because if you look past your initial reaction-you will find that much of it is exactly what those in power would do to keep it. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely.."
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It comes from a longer quote. "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." In essence, it means that the more power one obtains, the more greedy he becomes, and what he will do to satiate his selfish urges gets worse and worse.
When a person obtains all the power someone can reasonably obtain (absolute power), that individual will use his power to obtain anything he wants, at the behest of all others.
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Brilliant man.
Keep in mind, however, that he did lose the power he had held. In fact, he didn't even write "The Prince" until after he was dethroned
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Indeed, 'The Prince' was merely Machiavelli's attempt to curry favour with the ruling Medici family who had returned to Florence. (Machiavelli had previously been an active figure in the relatively short-lived Florentine Republic.) As such 'The Prince' is merely how Machiavelli thinks a Prince needs to govern if he wishes to continue governing, not how he thinks a state 'ought' to be governed.
Fred
Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.
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Sun Tzu - The Art of War
