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The "other" Art of War: strategic implications of Sun Pin's Bing Fa.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

While many business leaders throughout the world are familiar with The Art of War by Sun Tzu, very few have read, or know of, the subsequent manuscript by the equally skilled strategist, Sun Pin. Sun Pin's manuscript in an extension and refinement of Sun Tzu's work, and offers additional insight into methods of gaining a strategic advantage. This paper compares Sun Pin's Art of War to the earlier work of Sun Tzu and explores its strategic implications.

Introduction

China's recent and impressive economic gains have captured the attention of the world. With the world's fastest-growing economy and largest population, China is poised to change the landscape of global business. China's economic growth requires an increased need to better understand the strategic thinking of the Chinese. The last few years have seen greater interest in understanding Chinese business and managerial practices (Quer, Claver, and Rienda, 2007). For a number of years, Westerners have studied The Art of War by Sun Tzu in the hope of gaining a better understanding of the strategic mindset of Asian business leaders and perhaps to gain a competitive advantage in their own markets. Recently another manuscript titled the Art of War has been discovered, this one by another military strategist called Sun Pin. This manuscript adds additional information on strategic advantages.

A number of authors (Rarick 1996; Pang, Roberts, and Sutton, 1998; Wong, Maher, and Lee, 1998; de Man, 2002; Fernandez, 2004; Macdonald and Neupert, 2005) have explained the managerial implications of Sun Tzu and the application of his work in a variety of different settings. Frequently, select quotes are used from Sun Tzu to explain a strategic direction or advance a position. McCormick (2001), on the other hand, argues the use of Sun Tzu for current strategic advice is of little use in a modern economic setting, while Cummings (2007) argues that past military strategies can be useful for thinking creatively about modern business environments. Regardless of the debate, The Art of War is still widely read and its principles followed, especially throughout Asia. While one may argue the merits of the application of military strategies and tactics to modern business, to gain a better understanding of the mindset of potential competitors, it is prudent to investigate their sources of influence.

Sun Tzu's Art of War

While Sun Tzu is well known in the West for his manuscript, Bing-fa, translated as the "art of the soldier," another military strategist who expanded upon his work is seldom mentioned. The literature is almost void of the "other" Art of War, this one by Sun Pin. While rumored to have existed, the manuscript was lost for almost 2,000 years. Parts of the manuscript and its recommendations were known, but the actual manuscript, or other early copies, had never been found. With a relatively recent discovery of an ancient partial text and a somewhat lengthy process of restoration and translation, we can now gain insight into this other ancient military classic. While there is much overlap between the two texts, the differences are worth noting. Sun Pin's manuscript was most likely an annotated version of Sun Tzu's work,...

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