孙子兵法前言

　　周向群

　　孙武，春秋时著名军事家、思想家，他从齐国出奔到吴国，经伍子胥推荐，吴王阖闾用为将军。公元前504年，孙武率三万之众，大败二十万楚军，这便是历史上著名的“吴入郢都”战役，堪称以少胜多、以弱胜强的典型战例。

　　孙武装所撰兵法十三篇，总结了春秋各国的作战经验，是中国也是世界上最早的军事著作，它比普鲁士克劳塞维茨的《战争论》早二千三百年。千百年来，被认为是“兵学圣典”、“东方兵学鼻祖”、“世界古代第一兵书”。据说，法国拿破仑将它奉为至宝，作战时经常翻读，迄至于今，美国西点军校仍将它作为必读书目。

　　孙子兵法把战争艺术与战争理性、武力运用与武德要求完美地结合为一体，既是一部军事经典，又是一部哲学著作，它所蕴含的深刻思想，对现代军事学、管理学、经济学和行为学等诸多学科都有指导和借鉴价值。

　　孙武在苏州的遗迹较多，香山有教场山、拜将坛，枫桥有孙武宅，孙武桥，陆墓有孙武墓。后人为纪念他，在虎丘建孙武子祠、孙武子亭，在孙子兵法著述地穹隆山又建孙武苑。可以这么说，孙子兵法已是人类文化的一部分，已经成为致力于世界和平的一种学术思想，对于尊重各国主权和****，都具有积极的意义。

　　今将《孙子兵法》介绍给大家，为的是更好地弘扬苏州悠久而丰厚的历史文化，更好地认识这既作为苏州、作为中国，又作为世界宝贵财富的重大价值。

　　Preface

　　by Zhou Xiangqun

　　A well-known military strategist and a thinker during the Spring and Autumn Period, Sun Wu came to the State of Wu from the State of Qi, and then was made the chief commander of the army by the King with the recommendation of Wu Zi-Xu. Here in 504 BC, he led an army of 30 thousand and won a battle against an army of 200 thousand from the State of Chu, thus setting up the earliest example in history of “the few beating the more and the weak beating the strong”.

　　The Art of War as written by such a figure has 13 sections. It is a classic book on strategy based on the actual military experiences of all the states of the period, the earliest classic of military strategy and warfare in China as well as in the world. It came into being 2,300 years earlier than On War by

　　For thousands of years, Art of War has been considered as ‘the sacred book on warfare’, ‘the origin of the oriental military studies’, and ‘the first book on war” . It is said that this book was kept by Napoleon as a great treasure, who often managed to find some time to read it in-between battles. Up till now it is still used by the US West Point as a book for compulsive reading.

　　In Art of War, there is a perfect integration of the various aspects involved in warfare: the art, rationality, force maneuver, and the virtue. This has made it reasonable to consider it both as a classic on military affairs and an important book of philosophy. Its contained provocative thought has proved very valuable as a resource of reference for various social and economic studies beyond the scope of the pure military.

　　Along with The Are of War are quite a number of cultural and historical relics left behind Sun Wu in Suzhou: Among them are Exercise Ground and the Platform for Greeting the General in Mount of the Sweet (Xiangshan), Sun Wu’s Residence and Sun Wu’s Bridge in Fengqiao Area, and Sun Wu’s Mausoleum in Lumu. To honor this important figure in history, people have recently restored or set up other places in some other places nearby. Among all this, we can say that The Art of War is now an indispensable part of the human culture, a learned thought that can greatly to world peace, state sovereignty and human right.

　　As our purpose of the above introduction, we hope to carry forward the long-living, rich historical and cultural heritage of Suzhou, to enhance its value in our awareness as a spiritual treasure of China as well as of the whole world.