世界第一部兵书——《孙子兵法》

　　《孙子兵法》又称《孙子》，是中国古代著名的兵书，也是世界上现存最早的兵书，作者是春秋末期杰出的军事家孙武。孙武是齐国人，后来迁到吴国。那时候，各诸侯国为了争夺霸主的地位，不断地发动战争，社会动荡不安。孙武居住在吴国时，各国的战争吸引他去思考并总结战争的规律。经过艰苦的努力，终于完成了兵书的写作。

　　孙武将兵书献给了吴王阖闾。吴王任命孙武为大将，让他训练吴国军队。他军纪严明，练兵认真，在他的帮助下，吴国成为春秋时期的一个军事强国。

　　《孙子兵法》现存13篇，共6,000多字。在这不长的篇幅中，孙武全面论述了对战争的看法。他强调战争中要对敌我双方的情况调查清楚，提出了“知彼知己，百战不殆(dai)”(了解敌人，了解自己，无论打多少仗都不会受损)，“攻其无备，出其不意”(在敌人没有防备时进攻，在敌人意想不到的地方下手)，以及集中优势兵力打败敌人等思想。孙武特别强调“非危不战”(不到危急的时候，不要发动战争)，因为打仗会大大加重人民负担。战国时的军事家孙膑，比孙武晚100多年，他继承了孙武的军事思想，写有《孙膑兵法》。

　　《孙子兵法》已被译为英、法、日、德、俄、捷等多种文字，这本书虽然讲的是战争规律，但对其他行业也有启示意义，因此在世界上享有很高的声誉。

　　Sun Zi's Art of War - The World's First Treatise on Military Science

　　Sun Zi's Art of War is the earliest work of military science extant in the world. Its author, Sun Wu, was an outstanding strategist in the late Spring and Autumn Period. Sun Wu was born in the State of Qi, later moving to the State of Wu. The endemic wars between the various states at that time caused Sun Wu to think deeply about military strategy. He wrote The Art of War, and presented it to the ruler of Wu, who put him in command of his army. In consequence, Wu soon became a major military power in the Spring and Autumn Period.

　　The Art of War consists of 13 chapters, amounting to some 6,000 characters. In this limited space, Sun Wu expounds his wide-ranging views on war. He emphasizes the importance of "knowing yourself and knowing your enemy", "attacking the enemy unexpectedly" and concentrating a superior force to thoroughly defeat the enemy. He was also probably the first to recommend the use of spies. Sun Wu especially stressed the importance of using war only as a last resort, because war was a grievous burden on the people. Some 100 years later, during the Warring States Period, Sun Bin inherited Sun Wu's military theory, and wrote Sun Bin's Art of War.

　　Sun Zi's Art of War has been translated into English, French, Japanese, German, Russian, Czech and other languages. Because it is deemed applicable to many of life's problems, not just war, it enjoys high international prestige.