The Sunzi doesn't seem to be that he has a direct subordinate relationship with the ruler. So once he's put in charge, he becomes sort of the top person and even the ruler cannot touch him. He likes the soldiers, but he likes them as a tool, as something that he can command with. But within that relationship, it's obvious that his position is extremely important. Being attentive to all sorts of factors could have an impact on whether or not he's going to be successful in the move that he wants to make.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas attributed to Sun Tzu (544-496BC, according to tradition), a legendary figure from the beginning of the Iron Age in China, around the time of Confucius. He may have been the historical figure Sun Wu, a military adviser at the court of King Helu of Wu (who reigned between about 514 and 496 BC), one of the kings in power in the Warring States period of Chinese history (6th - 5th century BC). Sun Tzu was credited as the author of The Art of War, a work on military strategy that soon became influential in China and then Japan both for its guidance on conducting and avoiding war and for its approach to strategy generally. After The Art of War was translated into European languages in C18th, its influence spread to military academies around the world.
The image above is of a terracotta warrior from the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor, who unified China after the Warring States period.
With
Hilde De Weerdt
Professor of Chinese History at Leiden University
Tim Barrett
Professor Emeritus of East Asian History at SOAS, University of London
And
Imre Galambos
Reader in Chinese Studies at the University of Cambridge
Producer: Simon Tillotson.