A 2500-Year-Old Book Dealing With Today's Problems: The Art of War (English/Turkish)

in #politics6 years ago (edited)

Some books are special. Even years after reading, you can't forget them. Some books continue to educate people and inspire them for many years, regardless of when and in which geography they were written. I will try to introduce you the book named The Art of War written 2500 years ago by Sun Tzu today.

Why does a man who has nothing to do with military service and who doesn't like war, like a book about the strategy of war? I have multiple answers to this question.

Although The Art of War is about the strategies and tactics to be followed in the battles, it can be used as a guide to overcoming any challenge. I read the book to understand how competitive advantage can be achieved in the period of intense competition in banking. It's not unique to me; it's the bedside book of many people who are managing a business.

Many features distinguish The Art of War from the personal development books that tell the secrets of success in business life. Sun Tzu, a wise commander who has experienced many battles, recommends avoiding the war as much as possible in the book. He gives this advice knowing that war is intertwined with politics and that in some cases it is inevitable. Sun Tzu has no naive point of view, on the contrary, he approaches events in a pragmatic manner that inspired Machiavelli centuries later.

The book has a simple, concise description so that Sun Tzu's advice does not even reach 40 pages. Chinese war philosophers' comments expressed after Sun Tzu's advice, add an epic atmosphere to the book. You feel collective wisdom unfolding in front of you. The use of metaphors and images during the lecture reinforces the effect of the writing on the reader.

The Art of War is known to have been written in the "Warring States" period between the fifth and third centuries in ancient China. This period is the time of fragmentation of the central government known as the Chou dynasty. After the collapse of the regime, deterioration of relations between the States resulted in an unending conflict between the states that were mobilized to take over the dynasty.

The book emerged from the practice of life as a result of lessons learned from these suffering. It was learned from the bitter experience that the force should not be used unless it is mandatory.

There's an asymmetrical aspect of the war that I don't like. 20-year-olds are dying while 50-year-olds are are giving commitment speeches. Those who have decided on war are almost never the same who die. While the rich and the strong choose to fight, the poor and the weak are suffering from the war. Although I don't like war, I think each country must have a strong army to defend its territory.

Whether hot or cold, low density or violent, regular or guerrilla tactics, declared or disguised, the wars continue without stopping. In another classic strategy book named About the War, Carl von Clausewitz presents his experiences in the Prussian and Russian army during the Napoleonic wars with statistical data. In his book, Clausewitz states that war is an integral part of politics.

Information on the art of war is presented for the first time 8. Century, in Japan. Until then, only the rulers and generals had access to the book. Now we have access to nearly all kinds of information, but the knowledge that will help us better understand the world is hidden within the data bombardment.

Parallel the work Tao-te Ching, Sun Tzu's book is under the influence of the philosophical and political impact of Tao teachings. In both works, the words suggested are expressed by a scholar who resembles the epic heroes. In the books, a wise person calls upon us and tells us that if their teachings are fulfilled, success is absolute. Otherwise, failure is absolute, and he conveys his suggestions with a style that does not accept discussion. Below is a list of the names of the war philosophers, other than Sun Tzu, who is involved in the expression of The Art of War.

Çao Çao (m.s. 155-200)
Meng Shi (Liang dynasty m.s. 502-556)
Jia Lin (Tang Dynasty, 618-906)
Li Quan (Tang Dynasty, 608-906)
Du You (735-812)
Du Mu (803-852)
Zhang Yu (Sung dynasty, 960-1278)
Mei Yaochen (1002-1060)
Wang Xi (Sung dynasty, 11. beginning of the century)
Chen Hao (Sung dynasty 12. beginning of the century)
Ho Yanxi (Sung dynasty)

People are so interested that six different translations of the book from 6 publishing houses are sold on the market in Turkey.

I'd like to quote an introduction to reflect the style of the book.

SUN TZU

1. The art of war is vital to a state.
2. It's a matter of life and death. It is the measure of security or destruction. Therefore, it is utterly unthinkable to be ignored.

Comments

Li Quan: Military operations are ominous. The only reason that war art is important is that it is a matter of life and death and that the higher risk is not paying attention to the issue of war.

Du Mu: The survival or destruction of people living in a country is often dependent on military action. For this reason, it should be examined carefully.

Jia Lin: The terrain is the area where the war will take place. The winner wins, the loser dies. For this reason, war is the place where death and life are born. People who adapt to the conditions will live to find the way to guarantee victory, and the one who does not will die. For this reason, this issue has to be examined. An old saying: "there is a way of life, it will help you and give you strength. Another way is the way of extinction, which will lead you to oblivion."

Mei Yaochen: Whether you live or not depends on the location of the battlefield; whether you survive or not depends on the situation of the battlefield.

Examples of poetic expression in the book:

As fast as wind,
Be as tight as a forest.

Attack like fire,
Be solid as a mountain.

Your plans should be invisible and unpredictable like night,
And as you move, fall like lightning.

Sun Tzu, in the book, advise the shape of the strategy to be as vague as water. Thus, you do not have a weak spot, the opponent can not predict any movement, how to attack and how to protect.

It is more accurate to see his work as one of the principal works of psychological warfare or diplomacy than war because the main message of the work is to win without fighting. In addition to the philosophy of "it is best to win without a fight," the author's main principle of winning in many parts of the book is the surprise. "When you're hungry, look full. Do a power show while you're tired, play the miserable while you're in power. Because a struggle can only be won easily with surprises," he says.

The book gives importance to the use of information and emphasizes that a good commander must know his party and his opponents well: "If you know your enemy and yourself, you don't have to be afraid of a hundred battles. If you know yourself, but you don't know the enemy, you'll have a defeat for every victory you win. If you know neither yourself nor the enemy, you will be defeated in every battle."

Although Sun Tzu sees the war as a reality of the world, he dislikes the use of force: "true warriors are not the winners of every battle he has ever fought. Those who leave their enemy armies helpless without fighting are the true warriors."

I strongly recommend reading the book as understood from the above lines.

Thanks for reading.

Cover Image: https://pixabay.com

star-wars-2369317_1920.png

Bugünün Problemleriyle İlgili 2500 Yıllık Bir Kitap: Savaş Sanatı

Bazı kitaplar özeldir. Okuduktan yıllar sonra bile akıldan çıkmaz. Bazı kitaplar ne zaman hangi coğrafyada yazıldığından bağımsız olarak uzun yıllar boyunca insanları eğitmeye ve onlara ilham vermeye devam eder. Sözünü ettiğim kitaplardan biri Sun Tzu tarafından 2500 yıl önce yazılmış olan Savaş Sanatı.

Askerlikle hiç ilgisi olmayan ve savaştan hiç hoşlanmayan bir insan savaşın stratejisini anlatan bu kitabı neden bu denli sever? Bu sorunun birden fazla yanıtı var.

Savaş sanatı her ne kadar fiziki güç kullanılan savaşlarda izlenmesi gereken stratejileri ve taktikleri anlatsa da herhangi bir mücadelede üstün gelmek için rehber olarak kullanılabilir. Ben kitabı bankacılıkta yoğun bir rekabetin yaşandığı dönemde nasıl rekabet avantajı sağlanacağını anlamak için okumuştum. Bana özel bir durum değil bu, Savaş Sanatı yöneticilik yapan birçok insanın başucu kitabı durumunda.

Savaş sanatını iş hayatında başarının sırlarını anlatan kişisel gelişim kitaplarından ayıran çok sayıda özellik var. Çok sayıda savaş yaşamış bilge bir komutan olan Sun Tzu kitapta savaştan mümkün olduğunca kaçınmayı tavsiye ediyor. Bu tavsiyeyi savaşın politikayla iç içe olduğunu ve bazı durumlarda kaçınılmaz olduğunu bilerek veriyor. Sun Tzu'nun naif bir bakış açısı yok, aksine olaylara yüzyıllar sonra Machiavelli'ye ilham verecek ölçüde pragmatik bir biçimde yaklaşıyor.

Kitabın sade, özlü bir anlatımı var, o kadar ki Sun Tzu'nun öğütleri 40 sayfayı bile bulmuyor. Çinli savaş filozoflarının Sun Tzu'nun öğütlerinden sonra yaptığı açıklamalar kitaba destansı bir hava katıyor. Kolektif bir bilgeliğin önünüze serildiğini hissediyorsunuz. Anlatım sırasında benzetmeler ve imgelerden yararlanılması da kitabın okuyanın üzerinde bıraktığı etkiyi pekiştiriyor.

Savaş Sanatı'nın eski Çin'de M.Ö. beşinci ve üçüncü yüzyıllar arasındaki "Savaşan Eyaletler" döneminde yazıldığı biliniyor. Bu dönem Çin tarihinde Chou hanedanı olarak bilinen merkezi yönetimin parçalanma dönemidir. Hanedanın çöküşü sonrasında ortaya çıkan otorite boşluğu eyaletler arasındaki ilişkilerin bozulması ile sonuçlanınca, hanedanı ele geçirmek için harekete geçen eyaletler arasında sona ermek bilmeyen bir çatışma başlamıştır.

Kitap yaşanan bu acılardan çıkarılan dersler sonucunda, hayatın pratiğinden beslenerek ortaya çıkmış. Zorunlu olmadıkça güç kullanılmaması gerektiğini yaşanan acı tecrübelerle öğrenilmiş.

Savaşın hiç hoşlanmadığım asimetrik bir tarafı var. 50 yaşındakiler kararlılık nutukları atarken 20 yaşındakiler ölüyor. Savaş kararını alanlarla ölenler hemen hiç bir zaman aynı kişiler olmuyor. Zengin ve güçlü olanlar savaşmaya karar verirken yoksul ve güçsüz olanlar savaşın ceremesini çekiyor. Savaştan hiç hoşlanmasam da her ülkenin topraklarını savunmak için güçlü bir orduya sahip olması gerektiğini düşünüyorum.

Sıcak ya da soğuk, düşük yoğunluklu ya da şiddetli, düzenli ya da gerilla taktiğine dayalı, ilan edişmiş ya da örtülü olsun savaşlar hiç durmadan devam ediyor. Savaş Üzerine ismini taşıyan bir diğer klasik kitapta Carl von Clausewitz Napoleon savaşları boyunca Prusya ve Rus ordusunda kazandığı tecrübeleri, istatistiksel verilerle destekleyerek sunar. Clausewitz kitabında savaşın politikanın ayrılmaz bir parçası olduğunu ifade etmiştir.

Savaş Sanatı'nda sunulan bilgiler ilk defa 8. yüzyılda Japonya'da gün yüzüne çıkmış. O döneme kadar kitaba sadece hükümdarlar ve generaller ulaşabiliyormuş. Şimdilerde her türlü bilgiye kolayca ulaşabiliyoruz. Bilgilere erişimde bir sıkıntımız yok ama dünyayı daha iyi anlamamızı sağlayacak bilgiler enformasyon bombardımanı içinde gizlenmiş durumda.

Tao öğretilerinin felsefi ve siyasal etkisi altındaki Sun Tzu'nun Savaş Sanatı, Tao klasiği Tao-te Ching adındaki eserle paralellik gösterir. Her iki eserde de önerilen deyişler destan kahramanlarını andıran bir bilgenin ağzından söylenmektedir. Kitaplarda bir bilge bizlere seslenerek kendi öğretilerinin yerine getirilmesi halinde başarının, aksi taktirde ise başarısızlığın mutlak olduğunu söylemekte ve önerilerini tartışma kabul etmez bir üslup ile iletmektedir. Savaş sanatının anlatımında rol alan Sun Tzu dışındaki savaş filozoflarının isimlerinin listesi aşağıda yer alıyor.

Çao Çao (m.s. 155-200)
Meng Shi (Liang hanedanı m.s. 502-556)
Jia Lin (Tang hanedanı, 618-906)
Li Quan (Tang hanedanı, 608-906)
Du You (735-812)
Du Mu (803-852)
Zhang Yu (Sung hanedanı, 960-1278)
Mei Yaochen (1002-1060)
Wang Xi (Sung hanedanı, 11. yy başı)
Chen Hao (Sung hanedanı 12. yy başı)
Ho Yanxi (Sung hanedanı)

Savaş Sanatı o kadar büyük bir ilgi görüyor ki şu anda Türkiye'de 6 yayın evinden kitabın 6 ayrı çevirisi piyasada satılır durumda.

Kitabın havasını yansıtmak üzere giriş bölümünden bir alıntı yapmak istiyorum.

SUN TZU

  1. Savaş sanatı bir devlet için yaşamsal öneme sahiptir.
  2. Ölüm - kalım meselesidir. Güvenliğe kavuşmanın yahut yok olmanın ölçüsüdür. Bu nedenle ihmal edilmesi kesinlikle düşünülemez.

YORUMLAR

Lİ QUAN: Askeri harekatlar uğursuzdur. Savaş Sanatının önemli olmasının tek nedeni savaşın bir ölüm-kalım meselesi olması ve savaş meselesine genellikle gerekli özenin gösterilmemesi riskinin büyük olmasıdır.

DU MU: Bir ülkenin ve üzerinde yaşayan insanların yaşamını sürdürmesi ya da yok olması çoğu zaman askeri harekatlara bağlıdır. Bu nedenle bu konu olanca dikkatle incelenmelidir.

JİA LİN: Arazi, savaşın yer alacağı alanı gösterir. Avantajı elde eden kazanır, yitirense ölür. Bu nedenle savaş, ölüm ile yaşamın doğduğu yerdir. Koşullara uyumu sağlayarak zaferi güvence eden yolu bulmasını beceren yaşayacak; bulamayan ise yok olacaktır. Bu nedenle bu konu mutlaka incelenmek zorundadır. Eski bir deyiş: "Yaşamın bir yolu vardır, bu size yardımcı olup güç verecektir. Bir diğer yol da yok oluşun yoludur, bu yol sizi unutulmaya götürecektir."

MEİ YAOCHEN: Yaşayıp yaşamayacağınız, savaş alanının konumuna; kurtulup kurtulmayacağınız ise savaşın durumuna bağlıdır.

Kitaptaki şiirsel anlatıma örnekler:

bir rüzgar gibi hızlı,
bir orman gibi sıkı ol.

ateş gibi saldır,
bir dağ gibi sağlam ol.

planların görünmez ve gece gibi anlaşılamaz olsun,
ve hareket ederken, bir yıldırım gibi düş.

Sun Tzu, kitapta stratejinin şeklinin su gibi belirsiz olmasını öğütler. Böylece zayıf bir noktan kalmaz, rakip hiçbir hareketini kestiremez, nasıl saldıracağını da nasıl korunacağını da bilemez.

Eseri savaştan ziyade, psikolojik savaşın ya da diplomasinin temel eserlerinden birisi olarak görmek daha doğrudur. Çünkü eserin verdiği temel mesaj savaşmadan kazanmaktır. "Savaşmadan kazanmak en iyisidir" felsefesine ek olarak kitabın birçok yerinde yazar kazanmanın temel prensibi olan şaşırtma olayından dem vurur. "Açken tok gözük, tokken aç. Yorgunken güç gösterisi yap, gücün yerinde iken mazlumu oyna. Çünkü bir mücadele ancak şaşırtmacalarla kolayca kazanılabilir" der.

Kitapta bilginin kullanımına özel bir önem verilir ve iyi bir komutanın kendisini ve rakiplerini iyi tanıması gerektiği vurgulanır: "Eğer düşmanı ve kendini biliyorsan, yüz savaşın sonucunda bile korkmana gerek yok. Eğer kendini biliyor ama düşmanı bilmiyorsan, kazandığın her zafer için bir de yenilgi tadacaksın. Eğer ne kendini ne de düşmanı biliyorsan, her savaşta yenik düşeceksin."

Sun Tzu savaşı dünyanın bir gerçeği olarak görmekle birlikte güç kullanımına pek de sıcak bakmamaktadır: "Gerçek savaşçılar girdiği her savaşı kazananlar değildir. Düşman ordularını savaşmadan çaresiz bırakanlar, işte onlar gerçek savaşçılardır".

Yukarıdaki satırlardan da anlaşıldığı üzere kitabı okumanızı hararetle tavsiye ederim.

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This art of war book of Sun Tzu is widely used today in many areas like business, politics, military and etc. His way of dealing with the given problem in a given situation is very logical and brilliant and this will surely gives you an advantage over your opponent or competitor who doesnt have any idea of Sun Tzu had. He is totally genius and his prowess is still relevant until to this age of time.

Very cool how some literature contains such amazing wisdom that it's timeless

Very cool how some literature contains such amazing wisdom that it's timeless

Very cool how some literature contains such amazing wisdom that it's timeless

Some things never really change: the laws of nature and the laws of war. To confirm the last, it is enough to spend an hour and a half to read this little tract, written two and a half thousand years ago. We have atomic bombs, tanks and guns, which the ancient Chinese did not have, but in fact it does not change anything. Because they are only tools, the use of which depends on only two words: strategy and tactics. About them is the "Art of War", because - they are the art of war, in which there is nothing new, but full of what each of us did not think much about. And then, the war is not only on the battlefield and besieged cities. Everyone will have his own personal Third World - and its logic will remain exactly the same. That's really what "must be read"...

I agree wholeheartedly that sun tzu's art of war is indeed a special book, it's advice can be adapted to any situation and because it's advices are really basic, it's timeless. I just started reading it and was astonished by both the easily approachable format and the depth of the material once you delve deeper, highly reccomend you guys to read it :)

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Some posts are special.
Like this one.
Re-Steemd.
-exp

Really good. , appreciate it

Nice compliment, thank you, I liked it 😃

Loved this book ,i have in hindi version.
Must read book .
Thanks for for share.
I will read it again.Read two year before .

Amazing post. I am really happy, that people are still fascinated by such timeless works. Asian philosophy, in general, has some of the most universal truths ever written and Sun Tzu absolutely counts as one of the great philosophers despite only writing one book. Being able to speak about life, death, heavens and earth, by writing about war strategy is unthinkable for me how it was achieved. Asian philsophy is as mysterious as it is amazing. Thank you for this analysis and thank you for bringing it into popularity. If you are a fan of philosophy, i would be grateful if you could check my posts, friend.
Thank you and have a nice day.

As we know that the confidence level of human being starts from him/her only. @muratkbesiroglu By that way only after listening to motivational and inspiration books the thing is to believe in yourself and start putting efforts to get towards success. @steemit
Good blog 👌 👍 @muratkbesiroglu

By yours,
@majestyman

Well said sir

Thanks for information. AMp5EkG-1.jpg

Really wana know business politics very long post thanks dear

@muratkbesiroglu goood information for all steemians, thanks a lot

As usual great article. Useful information art of war efficiently explained .
I love to read it
No need to explore web
This article teach me so much...

Reading always makes you grow, especially the art of war, commonly taught in military schools, but the truth is that it is an excellent tool for daily life.

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@muratkbesiroglu
Nice post as always.
Keep going mate

Appreciate it sir

I appreciate your post at the same time I wonder how come this book was written 2500 years back and giving solutions to current senario problems...

Absolutely right, appreciate it

Good luck going to be a nice profit, I wish

“Wonderful, touching, and terrifying writing.

I believe Pixabay is a free image site with a good collection of copyright free images. Nice post, upvoted>>>

@muratkbesiroglu goood information for all steemians, thanks a lot

Actually the book can not be dispensed with as we have to quickly return information.

I do recommend to you the reading of "The Book of Five Rings" (Go Rin No Sho) by Miyamoto Musashi. It deals with the same subject, but from another point of view. In Japan it's a work of worship. At the moment I am writing some posts on that topic, from my particular experience. Good post, greetings.

Thank you for the recommendation. I took "the book of five ringds" in my reading list.

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@ muratkbesiroglu -Interesting blog. You always come with some interesting blog. Keep it up. Reply please.

This has honestly been one of my favorite books of all time! I think that it's philosophies like this and writings like those from Seneca, Alan Watts, and Robert Greene now apply to our present lives now more than ever! :)

Nice post I like this. Thanks you !!!

It is such a great book.

Congratulations @muratkbesiroglu!
Your post was mentioned in the Steemit Hit Parade in the following category:

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there is no art in war. but ofcourse the elites use this do to control and destory our planet as it is. what happened to the books of art of love hey

Not my battles. Not my war. Every soldier who signs up better know what he/she is going to be used for. Don't be somebody else's pawn.

Sun Tzu Art of War is certainly a classic. Most of its concepts revolves around human psychology. The fact that it is still very much applicable in the current world indicates that nothing much have changed for thousands of years in terms human psychology :)

If you like Sun Tzu Art of War, then another book you might find interesting will the Thirty-Six Stratagems. It is a consolidation of 36 essays depicting different strategies and tactics. I find them very relevant in today's world as well. Some of those essays are based on stories from the era of Sun Tzu.

One of the best books you can read ! the best fight it's the which one you don't never fight !

Nice post

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Very excellent and interesting post, greetings

As far as I know, there was no democracy in China over two thousand years ago and society was divided into priests, warriors, rulers and dominated. Among them traders and farmers. Better said, I would call the warriors soldiers. For at the time of the warriors there were not yet any great empires but rather smaller clans, where all male members of the clan had still been involved in fighting physical conflicts. While in larger civilizations the organizational structure was and is characterized by specialization.

There are no more warriors today.

War is one of the most difficult topics I can imagine and from my female point of view, I have the role of preserving and renewing as a mother. It is deeply reluctant to see lives killed and warfare seen as art. Although, of course, I know that's the way it is seen.

There's a lot of interest in the war. When I enter "war" and "strategy" in the search engine, I get countless results. If, on the other hand, I enter "mediation", I get meagre results. Nevertheless, I would regard mediation as the highest art form of human mediation to be aspired to. Conciliation between conflicting parties is one of the greatest human achievements that I can imagine when it comes to illuminating the apron in the context of war. Part of this is diplomacy. But while a diplomat can be hypocritical and manipulative, a mediator of his profession is beyond that. He is interested in the well-being of both parties, between whom he mediates in a moderating capacity. He's authentic, compassionate, all-party. The high dexterity that this requires and the absolute uncorrorrumpability demand a great deal of admiration from me. Unfortunately, there are almost no historical examples documenting this but only fictional stories describing this ideal.

Therefore, I would agree that probably the best warfare is one in which the opponents part without having killed each other. There are many who need killing as a traumatic experience in order to honor life afterwards more than they have done so far. PTSD is therefore very one-sided and the re-integration of what a person had to learn is a better approach. Instead of pity and hatred, the man so superficially applies.

Well, then. I think it's a book worth reading.