Sun-tzu

Modern scholars dispute Sun-Tzu’s existence, but classical historians place him during the Spring and Autumn period, around the sixth century BC. Even his given name creates suspicions, as Wu translates as “warrior.” In an era of continual conflict between rival nations striving for total control of the empire, desperate rulers paid well for skilled generals. According to ancient historian Sima Qian (c. 145 to 85 B.C.), Sun was contracted by King He Lu of the Qi state after reading The Art of War. The historian narrates Sun’s interview process, during which he has two of the king’s unruly concubines beheaded, though many commenters doubt the accuracy of this account. Yet, Sun is absent in other influential historical accounts from the period, leaving much about his life, work, and death unknown. Nevertheless, his military treatise has been connected with his name—Sun-Tzu, an honorific meaning simply Master Sun—since antiquity.