Sun Tzu, the Art of War: Overview and Excerpts

Woden’s Day, February 27: Gōngfu Goes To War

EQ: How did Eastern philosophers think about war – and what can we learn from this?

· Welcome! Gather Yesterday’s Work, Art of War sheet, pen/cil, paper, wits!

· Opening Freewrite: The Way of War

· Reading/Discussion: Sun Tzu, The Art of War

· Reading Journal Entry: Sun Tzu, The Art of War

ELABLRL1: Student identifies evidence from text, uses it for interpretation

ELABLRL2: Student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme

ELABLRL3: Student relates literature to historical and modern contexts

ELABLRL4: Student writes in various genres: essays, narratives, poems

ELABLRL5: Student acquires new vocabulary; uses correctly

ELA12W1: Student produces writing that establishes organizational structure,sets context, engages reader, keeps focus, gives closure

ELA12W4: Student uses timed & process writing to develop, evaluate

ELA12C1: Student demonstrates control of rules of writing,, speaking

Freewrite: The Way of War

Remember Krishna’s advice to Arjuna before battle in Bhagavad-Gita:

Be intent on action, not on the fruits of action.

Remember also Confucius’ central tenet:

I follow my heart’s desire without stepping over the line.

FREEWRITE 100 words answering these questions:

· Upon what “action” must a warrior be “intent”? In other words: on what goal must a warrior focus?

· Over what “lines” must the warrior not “step”?

· Now bring those two together – how must we fight?

Remember – Gōngfu came from Chinese Buddhism ….

The Shaolin Monastery, a 5th Century Chinese Buddhist temple, is the birthplace of gōngfu.

Buddhist monks practice combat as meditation.

Remember that the word gōngfu means “human achievement,” and that a person can have gōngfu in anything at which one has worked hard to achieve perfection.

Kung Fu Tea, a café in New York’s Chinatown.

Usually, though, gōngfu is about what we call

“martial arts” –

Literally, the Arts of War.

So today we’re reading from an ancient Chinese book called The Art of War.

Sun Tzu, The Art Of War: Overview

Nobody is sure who Sun Tzu was; indeed “his” book, The Art of War, may have been composed by many people over the centuries. (Authorities place composition between 750 BCE and 220 CE – a not-very-precise window of nearly a thousand years!)

But whoever wrote it, whenever, all agree that The Art of War is one of the oldest books about war; and all agree that its lessons still are valid.

The book is required reading at military academies and business schools the world over because, like much writing from the East, it concentrates great wisdom into small chunks.

So here are some chunks. As you read, ponder; after each chunk, write.

Sun Tzu, The Art Of War: Overview and Excerpts

Adapted from a translation by Samuel B. Griffith, Oxford University, 1963.

Nobody is sure who Sun Tzu was; indeed “his” book, The Art of War, may have been composed by many people over the centuries. Authorities place composition between 750 BCE and 220 CE – a not-very-precise window of nearly a thousand years! But whoever wrote it, whenever, all agree that The Art of War is one of the oldest books about war; and all agree that its lessons still are valid. The book is required reading at military academies and business schools the world over because, like much writing from the East, it concentrates great wisdom into small chunks. So here are some chunks. As you read, ponder; after each chunk, write.

1. All warfare is based on deception. When capable, feign incapacity; when active, inactivity. When near, make it appear that you are far away; when far away, that you are near. Bait the enemy to lure him; feign disorder and strike him. Where he is strong, avoid him. Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.

Like or dislike this passage? __________ 10 words: Why?

2. There has never been a long war from which a country has benefited.