“The Art of War 孙子兵法”
The Art Of War” (“Sūnzi bīngfǎ”), written by Sun Wu, is the earliest book on military strategy in existence anywhere in the world. It contains ideas on leadership, survival, and success.
Written over 2000 years ago, it is still relevant today as the lessons can be applied to business, politics and life in general.
The following episode cleverly integrates the ideology of the book into the stories of its author Sun Wu. It emphasizes his thoughts, such as “the importance of war,” “caution in war,” and “keeping a country at peace and an army intact.”
The book, which consists of approximately 6,000 Chinese characters in 13 chapters, structured classical military theory. Sun Wu pioneered the military philosophy of ancient China and thus enjoys a reputation as the “ancestor of military strategies.”
The play is performed by actors including Wu Zhenyu and Wu Yue and is based on the main storyline of Sun Wu’s life. Performed on a multi-dimensional immersive stage, the show presents the play through a dialogue between “contemporary reader” Sa Beining and “ancient author” Sun Wu.
This dialogue takes place across thousands of years in time and space, with Sun Wu traveling to a modern classroom.
For a full chapter breakdown, you may wish to watch these:
- Laying Plans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQe-bL0S2_k&t=0s
- Waging War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQe-bL0S2_k&t=866s
- Strategic Attack https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQe-bL0S2_k&t=1573s
- Tactical Dispositions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQe-bL0S2_k&t=2185s
- Use of Energy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQe-bL0S2_k&t=2900s
- Weak Points & Strong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQe-bL0S2_k&t=3688s
- Manoeuvring an Army https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQe-bL0S2_k&t=4685s
- Variation of Tactics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQe-bL0S2_k&t=5719s
- The Army on the March https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQe-bL0S2_k&t=6356s
- Terrain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQe-bL0S2_k&t=7053s
- The Nine Situations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQe-bL0S2_k&t=7854s
- Attack by Fire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQe-bL0S2_k&t=8427s
13. Use of Spies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQe-bL0S2_k&t=9017s