It contains the original Chinese text, an accurate and fancy-free yet highly readable translation, extensive annotations by both ancient Chinese commentators and Giles himself, and a vast introduction to provide an in-depth historical perspective to it all. Despite not having become the final word on Art of War translations, this now public domain text of a brilliant Orientalist remains an ideal yardstick against which other translations can be measured.

This edition aims to offer the reader the full Lionel Giles translation, sans the annotations, corrected of the many small errors and outright omissions present in most freely distributed digital copies of the work[1]. And instead of the lengthy and necessarily dry academic introduction of the original, our book begins with the fascinating ancient Chinese anecdote about Sun Tzu and the Emperor’s concubines.