Taoist Influence on Sun Tzu\'s

¶ … Taoist Influence on Sun Tzu's "Art of War"

Sun Tzu was a legendary Chinese general who wrote one of the earliest and most influential treatises on war titled the Art of War, in about 500 BC. Although the writing contains all the essential advice on strategy and tactics about winning a war, the underlying philosophy of Sun Tzu draws a number of parallels with Taoism and seems to have been greatly influenced by the ancient Chinese folk religion.

The origins of Taoism are hard to pinpoint but most historians agree that it probably developed between the 5th and the 3rd century BC; hence the philosophy of Taoism was conceived at approximately the time when the Art of War was written and may have influenced its author. Taoism, which can be roughly translated as 'a way of life' puts forward the concept of the "natural working of the universe" and emphasizes the importance of being in harmony with our world. Hence, it is not in favor of forcing things on people, which would jeopardize the harmony of the universe, and contains the philosophies of "wuwei" -- the art of "not doing" or "doing without doing" -- and "yin and yang" -- opposing forces that promote harmony when kept in balance. ("Daoism," 2007)