Abstract:Sun Tzu’s Art of War, is a systematic and theoretical abstraction of classical art of wars by absorbing war experiences and the military strategies of Zuo Zhuan, Sun Bin and other works. Sun Tzu’s Art of War, which can be called the comprehensive expression of Chinese art of wars, was developed based on various war experiences and military thoughts during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring-States Period. Till the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the war skills had been relatively simple and the ancient war principles still had their impact, for example “no attack to the enemies who are not lined up”, by which the complex tactical system of Sun Tzu’s Art of War could not be possibly supported. It is a good wish that Sun Tzu’s Art of War would be the earliest, the most complete, insurmountable work and origin of art of war. The truth is quite unlikely that such a theoretical masterpiece would appear explosively in the era of the early stage of military theory. The law of discipline development is generally from simple to complex. Sun Tzu’s Art of War not only includes war experience, but also achieves the theoretical deduction that goes beyond the actual combat experience, some of which even exceeds the possibility of actual combat. That leaves little space for the art of war to develop in the cold weapon era.
关万维. 《孙子兵法》成书时间新证[J]. 华中师范大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2022, 61(5): 148-158.
Guan Wanwei. A New Proof of the Time of Completion of Sun Tzu’s Art of War. journal1, 2022, 61(5): 148-158.