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
What Is Art? art. In short, new artists imitate the classics, setting their own feelings aside, which, according to Tolstoy, is contrary to the point of art. Art schools teach people how to imitate the method of the masters, but they cannot teach the sincerity of emotion that is the propellant of great works. In Tolstoy's words, "[n]o school can call up feelings in a man, and still less can it teach a man what is the essence of art: the manifestation of feeling in his own particular fashion". Throughout the book Tolstoy demonstrates a willingness to dismiss generally accepted masters, among them