The Art of War by Sun Tzu

 

Ÿ         Instructions on how to win a war in China many years ago

Ÿ         War became an industry

Ÿ         Philosophers served as “coaches”

Ÿ         Tombs were very useful in determining who a person was and what they did

Ÿ         The Art of War was transferred form bamboo sticks to actual paper

Ÿ         Tells th best ways and times to use fire

Ÿ         In Asian view, war is not confined to the battle field, but is seen in trade and other things

Ÿ         Japan overestimated their military power

Ÿ         “Attack a place that the enemy does not protect”

Ÿ         “The expert is divinely mysterious and inaudible”

Ÿ         An army’s goal is to move their enemy from a place of harmony to a place of psychological confusion

Ÿ         What we see as war, Tzu considers the worst method

Ÿ         Tzu believed war revolved around psychologically dislocating the enemy

Ÿ         War is about preserving and maintaining a society

Ÿ         On April 30, 1975 the last American plane left Vietnam

Ÿ         The Art of War is applied to business. Wall Street - winning with little effort and much reward

Ÿ         War uses deception

Ÿ         Calls for a deep psychological understanding of another - know your enemy and know yourself

Ÿ         “You are what your role says you are” -Asian belief

Ÿ         Weapons should not be used unless absolutely necessary; “instruments of misfortune”