SOURCE: Griffith, Samuel B. Introduction to The Art of War, by Sun Tzu, translated by Samuel B. Griffith, pp. 1-56. London: Oxford University Press, 1963.

In the following essay, Griffith discusses problems with determining the authorship of The Art of War, discrepancies in the size of the work, the nature of warfare in Sun Tzu's time, and Sun Tzu's influence on Mao Tse-Tung.

I

The Author

Over the centuries countless Chinese critics have devoted a great deal of attention to examination of literary works ascribed to the ‘classical’ period, an era usually defined as extending from 551 b.c., the probable birth year of Confucius, to 249 b.c., when King Chao of Ch'in liquidated the Chou dynasty.

One of the principal results of this scholarly endeavour has been to confirm, or more often to disprove, traditional claims relating to the authenticity of the works in question. The Art of War...