War as Art. Conversations with the Master: How to Apply Strategies in Real Life

The treatise Sun Tzu Bing Fa "Sun Tzu. War as Art" (literally "Wise Sun on the Methods of Waging War") is the main work of the "military school" Bing Jia. Written in the classical era of Eastern Zhou (8th–3rd century BC) by military thinker Sun Wu (544–496 BC), this work illuminates the philosophy, theory, and practice of military affairs. It is popular both as a philosophical monument of "general application" and useful in many areas where interaction with an opponent occurs. The translation is preceded by a study revealing the correspondence of the content to the classical classification scheme of Yin ("five transitions") as applied to various levels of military art. For the reader's convenience, each stanza of the text is provided in the original language. The edition also contains a section "Conversations with the Master," which presents a practical interpretation of the treatise from the perspective of A.V. Skalozub — a master of Chinese "internal family martial arts" (neijia quanshu), showing how Sun Tzu Bing Fa's strategies can be applied in real life. The book will be of interest to specialists in sinology of any profile, as well as a wide range of readers interested in the legacy of Classical China.