“Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from people, people who know the conditions of the enemy.”

Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher and writer, Eastern Zhou period

Sun Tzu was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer from the Eastern Zhou period. He is traditionally credited with writing The Art of War, the classic Chinese treatise on military strategy. The work is associated with the Warring States period, although the earliest parts likely appeared at least a century after Sun Tzu. His name endures above all through this text, which has shaped how military strategy is discussed and studied.