Analysis: Sun Tzu’s Art of War and the 7 Ancient Chinese military classics

Besides Sun Tzu’s Art of War, there are six other books that are considered military classics of Ancient China. How does The art of War compare to the others? Check out this analysis.
Book list:
Taigong’s Six Secret Teachings
The Methods of Sima
Sun Tzu’s Art of War
Wu Zi
Wei Liaozi
Three Strategies of Huang Shi Gong
Questions and replies between Tang Taizong and Li Jing
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📚SOURCES:
Sawyer, Ralph D.; Mei Mei-chün Sawyer, 1993, The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China
Various, Seven Military Classics of Ancient China
Catherine M. Gilliver, 1993, The Roman Art of War: Theory and Practice
Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus, 5th Century, De Re Militari, Translated from the Latin by Lieutenant John Clarke
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#History #Documentary #Asia

[@CoolHistoryBros]

Would you guys prefer to see animated showcase of early gunpowder weaponry from East Asia or the Mongol invasion of Java?

[@GilangRabbani]

I say explain gunpowder weaponry to explain how the Javanese and Malay army at the time were able to field the same technology against the Mongols.

[@adez5488]

Gunpowder weaponry

[@lebarondeminuit3580]

Both

[@KROKOKOK]

Gun powder weaponry

[@josevaleriano3696]

Nunca3

[@Strangelove101]

Want to bring people's attention to "New Treatise on Military Efficiency" (紀效新書) by Ming Dynasty general Qi Jiguang (who successfully fought off Japanese pirates in the 16th Century), his book is purely a battlefield manual covering training, deployment, combined arms tactics (very early for its time) to weapons use and communications. Available in Chinese, haven't seen it in English yet however.

[@user-kj6uw6hq7f]

Is it illustrated? Where can I buy it?

[@logank444]

The chinese were 1000 years ahead of Europe at this time. The greek city states where just forming by the time china was writing these warfare books. They had mass state warfare, state bureaucracy, and much more then Europe

[@satanwithinternet2753]

Make it all the more impressive that the Europeans were able to surpass them

[@LuisAldamiz]

11:50 Romans were total suckers in what regards to scouting and spionage: they could have perfectly used Gaulish agents (and actually they did) but it's very apparent especially in the early period that they were not focused on intelligence at all, partly because it was apparently above the state of cavalry troops (noblemen) to go around wandering as scouts. This was one of the reasons why Hannibal got the upper hand in the 2nd Punic War: Carthaginians were bad at sieges but good at scouting.

[@funfacttrivias2121]

True bro, also i wonder if only ceasar and hannibal had face off both out of the box thinker both have extraordinary situational awareness and both rely heavily on scouts and both have good caliber fighting warriors what a battle could have been.

[@Alusnovalotus]

They adopted the mentality of the Greeks of nobles being “ the truthful ones” So it wasn’t a good look for the military

[@geordiejones5618]

This is only true before Hannibal. After its a rare occurrence. Invicta goes into great detail on the units they adapted too.

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@geordiejones5618 - Maybe but they still sucked at scouting and general intelligence: remember Teutoburg Forest!

[@LuisAldamiz]

@@funfacttrivias2121 - Caesar vs Hannibal would be interesting indeed, the winner fights whoever wins between Alexander and Temujin... long live anachronism if it's for the good!

[@powerbar1981]

And then come the greatest words from someone a long time ago "The wise win before they fight"....

[@duongtieuta223]

Honestly I do not expect to see General Giap at the beginning of the video. Thank you for featuring him, he is one of Vietnam's greatest military leaders.

[@geordiejones5618]

Fun detail about the Roman work: this was after Diocletion's reforms. There's a lot of them and they reforged the broken empire into the framework of feudal and medieval Europe, but maybe the single most important reform was separating the administration of the Empire from its military. You were mostly born into whatever your family did so military dads raised military sons who did nothing else.

[@tooru3191]

Maybe this won’t be seen, but thanks. Your videos greatly helped my in my philosophy class.

[@CoolHistoryBros]

I see ya. Glad to know that people are learning something from my vids.

[@daedalus2726]

I just came across this channel today and I've already started binge-watching, the production value is great for such a small channel and I'm looking forward to seeing where you guys go in the future!

[@thesnowfox7262]

Why do i smile every time i see the "Nerds Rule" sign and those ministers sweeping aside the soldier? 🤣

[@gwho]

imagine if you got a history lesson of this comparable overview and comparison in school about.... anything. SO GOOD.

[@Asplera]

I’m dazzled that why a quality channel like yours didn’t get more likes and subscription. The narrative and the graphic are outstanding. Thank you for your great work.

[@Xix1326]

I don't often see vids on stuf I actually own, but I have this collection. Thanks for going into these books.

[@mrspeigle1]

My favorite book find in highschool was a compiled version of these 7 military classics.

[@DramaticOTAKU]

Just bought all the books thanks to your video! Please keep up the great work!

[@NaviRyan]

It would be cool comparing military history books of different cultures and the context they would have been used in various wars. Such as in the American civil war Ulysses S grant didn’t care about anything outside of the current battle and would give short and direct orders, while robert e Lee would give overly detailed and superfluous orders that his own soldiers didn’t know wtf he was trying to order them to do.

[@powerist209]

Only closest thing i know is CallMeEzekiel's comparison between Clausewitz and Sun Tzu, former being more military academy material while the latter is more palatable to the public. Same goes with Legend of Galactic Heroes with Yang's Sun Tzu and Lohengramm's Clausewitz.

[@YadiAlamin]

The content, animation and sense of humor make this channel awesome!

[@alexanderborschel2135]

Holy moly, this was amazing. Hadn't even heard of the first text o.o

[@anasevi9456]

best video on the subject i've seen in english yet, thank you!

[@redpanda6125]

OMG the pedagogical content I was waiting for for years and didn't thought I could ever find. And it's awesome! Thank you so much!

[@yapsiauwsoengie6507]

2:25 Jiang Ziya statue from a wellknown Semarang city temple 大覺寺 of Indonesia 😎

[@robisvalton4286]

Very awsome video! Congratulations! Thank you a lot for such amazing information and recommendations! Hope your channel grows more, such good quality videos certantly deserve more views and subs.

[@jasonblalock4429]

I've only read The Art Of War, but what struck me as really interesting about it is how much time it spends saying DON'T go to war. Look for alternative ways of achieving your goals. The best victories are won without fighting. You don't expect that from a war manual. . Also, totally unrelated, but that woman in the middle at 8:00 is CLEARLY a lizard person. Or else shooting lasers from her eyes. Scary!

[@hypoyt0015]

Sun Tzu itself is hate war. So he write his art of war to minimize the casualties

[@egalitarian2207]

this channel is just so so so good

[@christopherthrawn1333]

Excellent work here. I appreciate your help with history.

[@barakdan1858]

Wow, thank you so much for all the research you do, this was amazing 😊

[@italeevn6200]

You are greatly implementing the strategies and tactics of those books, excellent student !

[@adez5488]

The video was fantastic as usual!

[@ganikus8565]

Sun zi is still a legend, and the sunzi bing fa book is a compilation of writings starting around 300 bc to 200 ce... and then came the legend of the general sun zi and his book, that some ignorant in history talk about as history!

[@nomercynodragonforyou9688]

@@ganikus8565 Still a real person

[@pi8chyt]

great video!

[@purdyjohnnie]

You got a subscriber. Keep up the great work

[@lebarondeminuit3580]

My favorite book

[@sp-ye7ht]

Wow.. What a great explanation. That seems to be reasearched thoroughly and star rated for a easy analysis for us.. Thank you man for all the work u have put in... Great.. Also make a video on machievellis "the prince" & how would u rate it in these categories..

[@schoolofalchemy]

CJ your analysis is useful. I'm going to do a book review of The Art of War and your video gave me a broader perspective of the book. I hope you don't mind if I put a link to your channel, I would recommend for my viewers to watch your video before reading the book. The video will be posted next week. Thanks!

[@supahsmashbro]

Love these ancient chinese artwork and works. So sick

[@truezyf]

an informative video.

[@nickwoodfin2690]

I hope you guys do a video on the state of Chu at some point.

[@nomercynodragonforyou9688]

This is a great read, into the minds and visions of the authors through their books. Nothing gets more detailed about warfare, management, and policies than this! I think all 7 should be taken into consideration, not just the Art of War though. Otherwise readers would only get a crude understanding about how to strategize for success. Also using said books for business doesn't make much sense. As these books are for the military and government, not for a general business person.

[@CliffCardi]

“Stop attributing made-up quotes after me!” -Sun Tzu

[@charis7515]

Wow thank you for covering this. Would you also cover 3 kingdoms period? I'm curious about Zhuge Liang's 36 stratagems and the Taoism influence on it. Also his touching memorial Chu Shi Biao, just heard the recited by one china actor.

[@MatZee27]

Would love to know more about shang and zhou period of ancient china

[@hugolorente7705]

Sun tzu: supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy lines without fighting Mac arthur: It says here...nook em

[@macrick]

6:35 You should do the origin of the stirrup

[@imnothere6906]

Hi CJ, just a slight deviation (personal opinion) - the Romans are more into the direct/physical aspect of war (not really much spies) and also have a long history of disdain for the "barbarians" and other cultures. It was said that Sulla and Sertorius did infiltrated and spied on Cimbri and other German tribes but that was the few instants when a Roman noble got their hands dirty. Also the traders are not necessarily reliable due to cultural (racism) issue. It was not until the Europeans developed a bit further then the spying was feasible due to centuries of interaction.

[@christopherellis2663]

Your Latin pronunciation is excellent

[@zhaofei6605]

2:17 Yes, they became influential FINGERS

[@supahsmashbro]

Luv it

[@jajaratmayatayukti5960]

Hen duo xie CJ. As you said these stragetic books are useless unless we use them in our life. Just like my Sifu told me.

[@christianaquilina5434]

How come the Taigong's 6 Secret teachings has 2 separate entries?

[@ominusomega7803]

Around 15:30 there are 2 Taigong’s 6 Secret Teachings....

[@zhubajie6940]

9:28 looks like the Yin Ruins Shell Pit that I've seen. Is that correct?

[@leprechaungiant1]

Bro, love your stuff! However, why do you sometimes use pinyin spelling and sometimes wade giles? As well as jump back and forth between pronunciations? Again keep up the great work!

[@minamotonokuroyoshitsune3237]

I actually personality own this book "the seven military classics of china" its very good for military,politics,and bussiness

[@CoolHistoryBros]

Hey, me too. Yeah, it's really interesting how the books reflect the social and cultural change through the different eras.

[@sagniksarkar6332]

Hi so if one should read about em- should they buy this or buy em individually?

[@CoolHistoryBros]

There is a compilation version which I used as my reference for this video. www.amazon.com.au/Seven-Military-Classics-Ancient-China/dp/0465003044. But to be honest, you will only get the most out of the texts if you buy the versions with commentaries. Without the context and the evaluation by other experts, these text aren't that useful.

[@rcmrcm3370]

Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire Edward Luttwak would be good reference for late Roman strategy.

[@ZecaPinto1]

It seems we need to find the snow white of these seven classics

[@gaiusmarcus8]

I have this books compiled into 1

[@PseudonymsAreGovno]

As far I remember roman senators and consuls were expected to serve in the military. I think what divide between military and civil servants actually became a thing in the time of empire (or even in times of Marius) and not the way around.

[@josephmartinez4275]

If anybody has any other recommendations similar to these drop them below! 🙏

[@wlewisiii]

What are the best english translations of each of these, preferably with commentary?

[@Toshineko]

I would say Ralph D Sawyer, in my opinion. He was the one who also translated the Seven Military Classics, and was a Chinese warfare scholar himself, and thus he managed to provide an accurate and complete translation. He also provided commentary on each translations he did, but also provided some historical background on Sun Tzu and ancient China.

[@TJ-pm6lj]

I bought the art of war by sun tzu collection 7 military classics

[@Thamizh096]

What about books such as sun bin art of war and (Wiles of war) 36 stragies of war

[@countsky8036]

I'd always love to see that scoundrel liu bang animation 😂

[@solidv2]

I heard Cao Cao wrote some strategy books as well, are those any good?

[@CoolHistoryBros]

He wrote a commentary on Sun Tzu's art of war. It's his opinion on what Sun Tzu really meant. It's not very good. Lol! There's a reason why it was laughed at even back then.

[@eveleung8855]

Trust me no books are bad lol, just read it before decide if is good for you or not

[@sumanadasawijayapala5372]

@@CoolHistoryBros Very interesting. It's funny how successful military practitioners were often not good at putting their ideas on to paper.

[@ganikus8565]

Sun zi is still a legend, and the sunzi bing fa book is a compilation of writings starting around 300 bc to 200 ce... and then came the legend of the general sun zi and his book, that some ignorant in history talk about as history!

[@NapoleonAquila]

@@sumanadasawijayapala5372 still Cao Cao was a genius entrepreneur. Gathering talents from various area : courtiers, military, peasants etc.... For to serve his goal to restore lost authority of Hans compared to Sun clan who preferred to be stuck behind Yangtze River, or Liu Bei who lacked terribly of talents support/good decisions. Keeping cohesion of a country with military strength is not stupid and terrible as many occidental countries would think. After all the people suffered of yellow turban uprisings and famine, the people was seeking for peace and foods at the end.

[@anoobyproaz5616]

Would be nice to mention the idiom of 紙上談兵

[@goatscream8345]

What English translations would you recommend for these classics?

[@meiyang7595]

learn Chinese ,baby.Those translation are all not very well

[@TheDamian344]

I started to get into Chinese history thanks to the manga Kingdom and by lookkng for information i found your channel. And damn it is good. Thanks for your work man. Also i have a question : How reliable are the source for the history of ancient china. I'm always suprised by how detailled some of the story are, even thought they are from 200BC. I know that the chinese civilisation was writing a lot but i wonder how accurate are the books.

[@CoolHistoryBros]

There has always been a long line of scepticism among ancient Chinese scholars too, that is why they always try to find multiple references for each historical figure. For example, they are doubting Sun Tzu's historicity because he only appeared in one historical source.

[@TheDamian344]

@@CoolHistoryBros Ok thanks, and are there any translation issues with the ancient text ? Also as you are saying, I've read somewhere that the problem is to have multiple sources, we can imagine that some stories lacking other point of view may have been modified throughout history.

[@chase5177]

@@TheDamian344 Ancient Chinese to Chinese, no. I'm not sure about how it's translated from ancient chinese to other languages though. Students in China still have to learn ancient chinese in their textbooks, starting from primary school if not earlier.

[@TheDamian344]

@@chase5177 I had no idea. Thanks for the knownedge.

[@ganikus8565]

Sun zi is still a legend, and the sunzi bing fa book is a compilation of writings starting around 300 bc to 200 ce... and then came the legend of the general sun zi and his book, that some ignorant in history talk about as history!

[@crimsonfucker4167]

To those who want to see schemes, plotting, strategizing, philosophizing, and related to this amazing video about the seven military classics which make an appearance in this amazing series that I am trying to get more people to read. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ravages_of_Time If you love everything Three kingdoms related stuff you will fall in love with this truly unique gem that has been keep in dark for far too long. And even if you are not a fan of Three kingdoms I'm sure that you can still fall for it.

[@crimsonfucker4167]

If you are curious to know the series if by now in it 11th arc and around after the epic battle of Chibi which like all the other famous battles fans of Three kingdoms know, have been reimagined and redefined beyond the popular conception.

[@arielquelme]

Ive read all of em from cartoonist Wang Xuanming illustrated version. These military treatises fokus es on big picture s of strategy

[@doctorpicardnononono7469]

Linfamy send me here.

[@Linfamy]

I did :P

[@CoolHistoryBros]

Oh, hey! Cheers for the shout out bro!

[@Linfamy]

@@CoolHistoryBros np! You have quality vids :)

[@evans.7501]

Same here

[@Linuxfy]

Same

[@pharmacist5884]

The ultimate skill of war is to subdue your enemy without fighting. Therefore using violence to enforce your will is a sign of weakness.

[@funfacttrivias2121]

SUN TZUs art of war"do not oppose an enemy uphill" 10th ROMAN LEGION at MUNDA closed the book then said. 10thLegion comander:ok men ive'd read the manual now lets drive the enemy back to the top of the hill so they wont go down😅

[@ANTSEMUT1]

Lol the early romans taking a page out Anakin's school of fighting, you underestimate my power.

[@king_royal_nyc239]

I bought the book set for $34 USD

[@evilpiglet]

Sun Zi

[@Draculah79]

There seems to be a mistake on the book in the header when it comes to the last book. It should not be Taigong’s book.

[@moisesaguirre515]

Wait! You forgot the Eastern Roman Strategikon!

[@YaminoSeigi]

So Sun Bin's art of War are not comparable with these 7 military classics?

[@minamotonokuroyoshitsune3237]

4:34

[@Avenrei]

If we wrote an art of war for our time, I wonder how would it look like.

[@ramqi6239]

you forget sun bin work and the general qi jiguang

[@iorifori91]

a must read if u are planning to be isekaied

[@TriNguyen-xi8ji]

I'm disappointed since I was expecting people spamming non existent Sun Tzu's quote in the comment section.

[@phillip76]

I think cool history bros is a hong kong Chinese. My thinking is that leung is a chinese last name, and a common one in HK. Also, CJ is open used by contonese people. I think CJ is contonese chinese.

[@hasjfa]

prob Singaporean or Malaysian Chinese base on accent

[@ANTSEMUT1]

Leung is very common among South East Asian Chinese...

[@ANTSEMUT1]

@@hasjfa Indonesian Chinese.

[@speedstriker]

POV Song Dynasty discovers wargaming victories does not translate into military success about 100 years too late.

[@simbeingguan7957]

Now if every commander reads Sun Tzu, they would cancel each other out! Stalemate!

[@adilyricist1388]

Reading it is easy. Understanding it is difficult. Apllying it to the maximum portential, if you do so i already know your name by now.

[@adilyricist1388]

I read sun tzu bing fa since i was 14. I still found it difficult to understand.

[@RamonChiNangWong078]

Read war manuals are useless if you don't practice them. true. Also there's a book about a Ming general making comments about Shaolin monks and martial arts

[@colinbeck1285]

What does Sun Tzu have to say about the price of tea in China?

[@fiddleriddlediddlediddle]

What's wrong with AD and BC?

[@CoolHistoryBros]

I think those who still use it are mostly Americans. Many other English speaking countries have dropped it, and we are not from America.

[@adityasuresh6607]

Pdf Or audiobook of all these books Link please.

[@Alusnovalotus]

Zheng liang practiced what he preached. He knew Liu Bang was a peasant and explained things on the intellectual level of a peasant. Liu Bang didn’t need honor or deep philosophical prose, he needed success (more so the nobility and intelligentsia that followed him) to prove to the world he was worth following. Manipulative Zhang liang 😏

[@wjz5204]

Bro，in fact this guy is called Zhang Liang，One letter difference，totaly different names in Chinese ☺

[@invictidomini6846]

First

[@GilangRabbani]

It's not that Song dynasty was weak; it's their neighbours that are just as strong.

[@qus.9617]

Yep. For example (wiki) three out of the five commanding generals in the pivotal siege of Xiangyang were Han Chinese. 70% of the Yuan army during the final push into Song territory were Han. Zhang Hongfan was the commander of the Mongol navy which was finally broke the Song military when they took city after city after finally breaking through Xiangyang and went across the Yangtze river. The first governor of Baghdad and of Genghis Khan's dogs of war was Han-Jurchen (Guo Kan) and it was Guo Kan that devised the sieging strategy on Baghdad through the use of flooding. Early Mongol success can be owed not just to their ruthlessness but their sense of meritocracy. Shi Tianze was a Han general that was also the first Han prime minister of the Yuan dynasty and played a pivotal role in setting up the Yuan dynasty's political structure. The Han dynasty was a truly dominant power in East Asia in terms of culture, military, statecraft and technology. That would really not ever be the case after the Tang.

[@rayray6490]

Early Song up to Zhenzong’s time, Song armies fought the Liao to a basic stalemate (even including the two failed campaigns for the 16 prefectures under Taizong). After the long years of peace from the Chanyuan treaty, the Song armies become complacent, neglected and seen as unworthy by civil elites. Relocation to the Southern Song began a revival of Song military prowess with generals like Han Shizhong, Yue Fei, etc. Then another period of complacency up to the Mongol threat.

[@dongf2618]

@@rayray6490 Song always lucked transport animals, so they were having trouble supplying their troops for prolonged campaigns, especially when fighting against the north and northwest Xixia.

[@zsarimaxim692]

Or rather most of their neighbors are not strong enough, leading to the near complete encirclement of the Southern Song by the Mongols.

[@heindrich1988]

@@qus.9617 The greatest enemy of China has never been external foes. The greatest enemy has been internal strife and the prevalence of "Hanjian". Even today, if China remains strong and united, no foreign power can stop the rise of China short of nuclear war. But there's plenty of Hanjian willing to sellout the motherland for some CIA $$$.

[@stevens9625]

3th Century BCE. =P

[@testtestman2355]

why won't be wuzi be a supplementary level he has the same name of Sun Tzu Equal and Best friend and later became the Prime Minister of Wu, Wu tizu

[@ganikus8565]

Sun zi is still a legend, and the sunzi bing fa book is a compilation of writings starting around 300 bc to 200 ce... and then came the legend of the general sun zi and his book, that some ignorant in history talk about as history!

[@nomercynodragonforyou9688]

@@ganikus8565 Stop spamming that shit

[@JohnLee-vi7us]

The only of shaman left in China is my tribe's. Lol

[@gkingalmighty]

technoblade would be happy

[@xihangyang]

no sun ping

[@jasonreviews]

koreans have the ancient text....

[@ganikus8565]

Sun zi is still a legend, and the sunzi bing fa book is a compilation of writings starting around 300 bc to 200 ce... and then came the legend of the general sun zi and his book, that some ignorant in history talk about as history!

[@MCorpReview]

Could it be that it seemed dishonorable to. Write a book about fighting fellow Roman warlords? It happened very frequently (Marius vs Sulla, Caesar vs Pompey, Octavian vs mark anthony); but it was prob not encouraged.

[@amirfarahbakhsh2960]

.

[@sanputhesen9757]

Can you send me your analysis? I want to read. I am weak in listening.

[@colinbeck1285]

IN A DOWN MARKET A 2,000 YEAR OLD EGG HOLDS IT VALUE BETTER THAN THE TEACHINGS OF SUN TZU.