孙子 (Sūnzǐ) · Sun Tzu (ancient military strategist, c. 500 BC)

Meanings

1 Sun Tzu (ancient military strategist, c. 500 BC)
2 The Art of War (the treatise attributed to Sun Tzu)

About Sun Tzu

c. 544–496 BC · 军事家 military leader

General of the state of Wu around 500 BC, traditionally named as the author of 孙子兵法 (The Art of War). Its lines, like 知己知彼 (know yourself and know your enemy), are quoted in China about business, sport and exams.

Also called 孙武、兵圣

Characters

Master (honorific for a thinker)

Examples

HSK 7-9

《孙子兵法》是一本著名的军事著作。

《 Sūnzǐ bīngfǎ 》 shì yì běn zhùmíng de jūnshì zhùzuò.

"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu is a famous military work.

HSK 7-9

孙子是春秋时期著名的军事家。

Sūnzǐ shì Chūnqiū shíqī zhùmíng de jūnshìjiā.

Sun Tzu was a famous military strategist of the Spring and Autumn period.

HSK 7-9

很多商人都在研究孙子的战略思想。

Hěnduō shāngrén dōu zài yánjiū Sūnzǐ de zhànlüè sīxiǎng.

Many business people study Sun Tzu's strategic thinking.

Tips

mistakes

Written exactly like the everyday word 孙子, grandson, which ends in a neutral tone. The strategist is Sūnzǐ with a third tone, so a sentence about warfare, strategy or classical philosophy takes that reading.

culture

The 子 here is the honorific Master, the same one in 孔子, Confucius, and 老子. His family name was Sun, so the name reads as Master Sun.