孙子兵法（全书十三篇） · ABOUT 2,000 WORDS
The Art of War in Chinese (all 13 chapters)
Sun Tzu’s 2,500-year-old book on strategy, complete: every passage of the classical text, followed by Min’s version in simple modern Chinese for readers who know about 2,000 words. Read the original aloud, get the meaning from the Chinese below it. It opens with the story of how Sun Wu trained the king’s palace ladies, and comes with woodblock illustrations from a Ming-dynasty military manual.
Min goes through the book on YouTube, one chapter at a time, in 14 episodes. This pack has them all: to print, to read ahead of the videos, and to check against the English translation.
$12 one-off · PDFs to keep
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After paying, the files are on My books in your Good Talk account, to download whenever you like. Changed your mind? You can have a refund until you first download or play a file.
LOOK INSIDE
What the pages look like
WHAT’S INSIDE
Everything for reading The Art of War on your own
- How to use this pack
- Chinese text
The pages you see in the videos: each classical passage, then simple Chinese, with the woodblock illustrations. A5; prints on A4 or Letter with “fit to page”.
- With pinyin
The same text with pinyin above every character, for when you get stuck.
- Study notes
The words worth learning and the grammar in each section, with pinyin and English, plus classical Chinese words and famous lines.
- English translation
Lionel Giles’s 1910 translation, chapter by chapter, to check the meaning of the classical text.
- All the PDFs in one download
Try the first episode free
The first episode reads the story of Sun Wu and chapter 3, Attack by Stratagem: “know your enemy and know yourself”. Its study notes are free: the names, the words worth learning and the grammar, paragraph by paragraph, plus some classical Chinese words and famous lines. If you can follow them with a little help, this book is for you.
Download the chapter 3 study notesQuestions
What level is this for?
Upper-intermediate: about 2,000 words (New HSK 4–5). Min’s simple Chinese is checked against the word list of the new HSK 3.0 standard, where levels 1–4 add up to 2,000 words. A book about war also needs words like 敌人, 将军 and 士气, and some ideas of its own (势, 虚实), which is why we say HSK 4–5. They’re all explained in the study notes. Not sure? Download the free chapter 3 study notes on this page. If you can follow along with the pinyin edition, this book is for you.
Do I have to read classical Chinese?
No. Every passage of the original is followed by the same thing in simple modern Chinese, so you can get the meaning from that. Read the classical lines aloud and pick up the famous ones as you go (知己知彼, 不战而屈人之兵 …). The pinyin edition has pinyin over both.
Is the whole book here?
Yes, all 13 chapters, none of them shortened. It opens with the story of Sun Wu from Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian. There are 14 episodes in all: chapter 11, the longest, is split in two.
Which English translation is included?
Lionel Giles’s, from 1910: the classic one, and in the public domain. It’s there to check the meaning, chapter by chapter. Giles’s long notes are left out.
What are the pictures?
Woodblock prints from the Wujing Zongyao, a Ming-dynasty military manual printed in 1439 (siege ladders, war chariots, fire attacks), and Sun Wu with the palace ladies from a book of famous generals printed in 1643.
Do I need to watch the videos?
No. The book is complete and works on its own. Min is releasing free YouTube videos that go through it episode by episode, so they’re a great companion if you’d like explanations. All 14 episodes are already in the book, so you don’t have to wait for the videos to start reading.
What’s the difference between the two text editions?
The Chinese text is the same as the pages in the videos. The pinyin edition has the same text with pinyin above every character, the classical passages too. Use it when you get stuck on a character.
Can I read it on my phone?
Yes. The texts are PDFs with A5-size pages, which read comfortably on a phone or tablet.
Can I print it?
Yes. The texts are A5; on A4 or US Letter paper, choose “fit to page”. The study notes are A4.
I’d like to read with a teacher.
1-on-1 lessons with Min are on her Good Talk page.
Can I get a refund?
Yes, before your first download.
Or one-to-one with Min
In a lesson you explain a chapter in your own words, and Min helps you say what you couldn’t.
The Art of War (孙子兵法) by Sun Wu (5th century BC); English translation by Lionel Giles (1910); woodblock illustrations from the Ming-dynasty Wujing Zongyao (武经总要, 1439) and Guang Baijiang Zhuan (广百将传, 1643). All in the public domain. Simple Chinese version and study notes by Min, for the buyer’s own use.