The Art of War Japanese daimyō Takeda Shingen, and American military general Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. have drawn inspiration from the book. "The Art of War" is traditionally attributed to a military general from the late 6th century BC known as "Master Sun" ("Sunzi" or "Sun Tzu"), though its earliest parts probably date to at least 100 years later. Sima Qian's 1st century BC work "Records of the Grand Historian" ("Shiji"), the first of China's 24 dynastic histories, records an early Chinese tradition stating that a text on military matters was written by a "Sun Wu" from the State of Qi, and that this text
Sun Tzu stories about Sun Tzu, taken from Sima Qian, illustrates Sun Tzu's temperament as follows: Before hiring Sun Tzu, the King of Wu tested Sun Tzu's skills by commanding him to train a harem of 360 concubines into soldiers. Sun Tzu divided them into two companies, appointing the two concubines most favored by the king as the company commanders. When Sun Tzu first ordered the concubines to face right, they giggled. In response, Sun Tzu said that the general, in this case himself, was responsible for ensuring that soldiers understood the commands given to them. Then, he reiterated the command, and