“If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve.”

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.