The Art of War
AN EDITORIAL READING MAP · SUN TZU

Thirteen chapters.
One movement.

Select a chapter to see its role in the larger reading.

Follow the clockwise arc
A READING OF THE WHOLE BOOK

Thought becomes action.
Action returns to thought.

CHAPTERS 01—03

Strategic judgment and aims

The opening chapters establish the values and aims of action: assess conditions, reckon with cost, and decide what outcome is worth pursuing.

  1. 01始计Laying plansBegin with comparison and judgment. The information gathered here becomes the ground for every estimate that follows.
  2. 02作战The cost of conflictCount the cost of time, supply, and exhaustion; a campaign must preserve the strength it needs to continue.
  3. 03谋攻Strategy before battleName the outcome before choosing the method, and understand what each objective will demand.
CHAPTERS 04—07

Reading conditions and advantage

Read position, momentum, and relative strength, then carry that judgment into movement. Maneuvering connects the framework to action in the field.

  1. 04军形Position before actionBuild a position that is difficult to break before looking for a chance to move.
  2. 05兵势The power of momentumShape momentum through timing, coordination, and the interplay of expected and unexpected action.
  3. 06虚实Weakness & strengthRead where strength gathers and where it thins; movement changes the conditions on both sides.
  4. 07军争ManeuveringAt the threshold, a prepared intention becomes an actual objective in the field.
CHAPTERS 08—13

Frontline command and adaptation

Meet changing conditions directly: adapt decisions, read terrain, guide the army, use force with restraint, and keep judgment supplied with intelligence.

  1. 08九变Adapting to changeChange the rule when the situation changes, while keeping judgment intact.
  2. 09行军On the marchMaintain the army in motion and read what the landscape and the opposing force reveal.
  3. 10地形Reading the terrainLet the terrain shape deployment, and recognize the commander's responsibility for the result.
  4. 11九地The nine situationsAdapt morale and strategy to the wider situation in which the army finds itself.
  5. 12火攻Fire & restraintTreat fire as a force that magnifies conditions, with restraint governing its use.
  6. 13用间Knowing through othersGather knowledge from people and events, then carry it back to the next round of planning.
THE CYCLE CLOSES

Employing spies returns knowledge to Laying Plans. The next estimate begins with what the last campaign has taught.

Begin again with intelligence