How many articles are there in The Art of War?

Sun Tzu's Art of War is thirteen articles.

Sun Tzu's Art of War, also known as Wu Sun Tzu's Art of War and Sun Tzu and Sun Wu's Art of War, was written by Sun Wu. Sun Wu was born in Qi at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period. He was exiled to the State of Wu by the State of Qi, assisted the King of Wu in running the country and the army, became a famous vassal, and was honored as a "soldier saint". Sun Tzu's Art of War is known as "the sacred book of military science" and "the first book of ancient military science". It has played an extremely important guiding role in ancient Chinese military art and war practice.

Sun Tzu's Art of War is the earliest extant art book, which has always been highly respected and attracted many scholars. All 13 articles, each of which starts with Sun Tzu, are focused, well-organized, concise in logic, simple in writing, and vivid in metaphor, such as writing about the actions of the army: "It is as fast as the wind, as hot as the fire, as quiet as the mountain, as obscure as the yin, as moving as the sun" ("Army")

Sun Tzu's Art of War inherits and develops the previous military theories, regards politics as the primary factor to determine the outcome of a war, and summarizes the principles and laws of war, including pre-war preparation, strategy application, operational deployment, and judgment of the enemy's situation. , all without details, with meticulous details, complete Zhou Yan and simple materialistic dialectical thought. It has been regarded as a military classic for more than two thousand years, and it still has great practical significance. Mao Zedong admired Sun Tzu's Art of War, and Sun Tzu's wisdom, faithfulness, benevolence, courage and strictness became the "martial virtue" of China soldiers.

Extended data

Many works believe that the spread of Sun Tzu's Art of War abroad was first in Japan, followed by Korea. Because these two countries adjacent to China have frequent cultural exchanges with China in history, and Nara sent overseas students to study in China many times, which undoubtedly built a convenient bridge for the eastward spread of Sun Tzu's Art of War.

According to historical records, Kibi No Asomi Makibi, a Japanese student who studied in China for 17 years, went through hardships to return to the motherland in 734 AD, that is, in the 22nd year of Kaiyuan, the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. This well-read man, who studied civil and military affairs, left the prosperous capital of the Tang Dynasty without any silk treasures. Instead, he used the money given to him by the Tang Dynasty to buy books, bundled a large number of books recording China's military science and legal knowledge, and passed them on to Japanese literati and military commanders after returning home.

According to an ancient Japanese book called "The Continuation of Japanese History", in the 26th year (AD 760) after Jibei returned to China, Nara Dynasty sent six people, including Kasugabe, a swordsman, and Sumi, a central defender, to Taizaifu to learn the knowledge of Nine Places of Sun Tzu, Eight Arrays of Zhuge Liang and How to Camp. This shows that Sun Tzu's Art of War, regarded as a "military classic" by people, is indeed included in this batch of ancient books brought back to northern Hebei. If this record is accurate, the Art of War has been introduced to Japan for at least 1200 years.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Sun Tzu's Art of War (China's Classical Military Culture Works)