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
What Is Art? to justify their own tastes. Jahn notes the "often confusing use of categorisation" and the lack of definition of the key concept of emotion. Bayley writes that "the effectiveness of "What is Art?" lies not so much in its positive assertions as in its rejection of much that was taken for granted in the aesthetic theories of the time". Noyes criticises Tolstoy's dismissal of beauty, but states that, "despite its shortcomings", "What is Art?" "may be pronounced the most stimulating critical work of our time". Simmons mentions the "occasional brilliant passages" along with the "repetition, awkward language, and loose terminology".