Sun Tzu uses language that may be unusual in a Western text on warfare and strategy. For example, the eleventh chapter states that a leader must be "serene and inscrutable" and capable of comprehending "unfathomable plans". The text contains many similar remarks that have long confused Western readers lacking an awareness of the East Asian context. The meanings of such statements are clearer when interpreted in the context of Taoist thought and practice. Sun Tzu viewed the ideal general as an enlightened Taoist master, which has led to "The Art of War" being considered a prime example of Taoist strategy. The book
Sun Tzu relationship between their modern struggles and those of China in Sun Tzu's time. There is a great perceived value in Sun Tzu's teachings and other traditional Chinese writers, which are used regularly in developing the strategies of the Chinese state and its leaders. In 2008, the Chinese television producer Zhang Jizhong adapted Sun Tzu's life story into a 40-episode historical drama television series entitled "Bing Sheng", starring Zhu Yawen as Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu Sun Tzu (; ; also rendered as Sunzi) was a Chinese general, military strategist, writer, and philosopher who lived in the Eastern Zhou period of ancient