La respuesta breve
- Choose our edition if you want the whole Art of War: all 13 chapters, nothing left out, with a 15-minute summary beside it.
- For study: set a few key passages of The Art of War beside a word-for-word scholarly translation.
How translations differ
The Art of War uses terse classical Chinese maxims, and a single line often allows more than one reading. A translator must therefore decide how much to explain in English and how much room to leave for another interpretation of the same line.
What makes The Art of War hard to translate
The Art of War has been read and commented on by later Chinese readers. Some translations present those commentaries alongside the text; others present only the text. Translating the work therefore raises a question about whose explanation the reader encounters. A comment on a passage should remain distinguishable from the passage itself, so that an explanation does not take the place of the text it discusses.
The book is also read as advice for business and daily life, and those uses colour some translations. This raises a question of emphasis: should a passage retain its setting in war, or be explained through another use? The translator must decide how to handle that relationship without making an application to business or daily life stand in for the work's subject of strategy.
The kinds of translation of The Art of War
| Kind of translation | What it keeps | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Word for word | Each Chinese term of The Art of War, as closely as English allows | Study, next to the Chinese. |
| Interpretive | The meaning of The Art of War, put in the translator's own words | A first read. |
| Poetic | The beauty and rhythm of the lines of The Art of War | Reading aloud and reflecting. |
| Library of Alexandria | The whole text of The Art of War, in clear, modern English | A first read, with a 15-minute summary beside it. Open our edition |
When to set a passage beside a scholarly translation
For study, use our edition for the whole text and set a few key passages beside a word-for-word scholarly translation. Compare the opening chapter for the estimates made before a war, Chapter 3 for winning without a battle, and Chapter 13 for the use of spies. Notice how each translation expresses those strategic concerns.
Questions
Why do translations of The Art of War differ?
Its terse classical Chinese often permits more than one reading of a line. Translators must choose how to express short maxims whose meaning is not limited to a single interpretation. The book's use as advice for business and daily life also colours some translations.
How long is The Art of War?
Our edition takes about 4 hours to read at an average pace, covering the whole text. The Art of War is arranged in 13 short chapters, from assessing a war before it starts to the use of spies.
Should I read The Art of War with commentary?
Choose commentary if you want the explanations of later Chinese readers alongside the text. Some translations provide those commentaries, while others give only the text. Keep the distinction in view: the work and a later reader's explanation of it are not the same thing.
Who was Sun Tzu?
Sun Tzu, also called Sunzi, was a general of ancient China to whom The Art of War is traditionally attributed. That attribution is traditional; scholars date the Chinese text on strategy to between about the fifth and the fourth century BC.
Is the Library of Alexandria edition of The Art of War complete?
Yes. The whole text is there, all 13 chapters, in clear, modern language.
