Sun Tzu strategies is described as "peaceful and passive, favoring silence over speech". This form of communication is parsimonious. Parsimonious behavior, which is highly emphasized in "The Art of War" as avoiding confrontation and being spiritual in nature, shapes basic principles in Daoism. Mark McNeilly writes in "Sun Tzu and the Art of Modern Warfare" that a modern interpretation of Sun and his importance throughout Chinese history is critical in understanding China's push to becoming a superpower in the twenty-first century. Modern Chinese scholars explicitly rely on historical strategic lessons and "The Art of War" in developing their theories, seeing a direct
The Book of the Short Sun which point the narrative connects with the opening of "On Blue's Waters". For much of the first-person account, the narrator is imprisoned on Blue in a town called Dorp on trumped-up charges, and must use his various powers to foment a revolution against the unjust judges who rule the town. In the course of this effort, he again visits the Red Sun Whorl, where he meets a young Severian and inspires him to write a book. Once free, he returns to Lizard and New Viron, where the final riddle of his identity is solved, and helps defend against a massive