Could someone give me in essence of The Art of War by Sun Tzu?

Question

All I want is the main points and I will give 10 points to the first sensible answer

Answer 1

Look here-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_art_of_war

I. Laying Plans
II. Waging War
III. Attack by Stratagem
IV. Tactical Dispositions
V. Energy
VI. Weak Points and Strong
VII. Maneuvering
VIII. Variation in Tactics
IX. The Army On The March
X. Terrain
XI. The Nine Situations
XII. The Attack By Fire
XIII. The Use of Spies

Answer 2

it is a very summarised book anyhow.

try it, probably take you about an hour

http://classics.mit.edu/Tzu/artwar.html

as far as i could glean the top ten points were -

1 war is important in politics
2 try not to fight any wars
3 if you have to then prepare well
4 have lots of inteligence
5 know exactly how you are going to win in advance
6 prepare
7 prepare
8 prepare
9 prepare
10 stop fighting asap after you hav accomplished what you want.

i think he saw it basicaly as something you would strive at all costs to avoid doing, but that if you had to you would employ a huge amount of skill and absolute ruthlessnes to make sure that the actual conflict was over as soon as possible. thus attempting to reduce the problems that wars can cause.

interesting, because it seems certain current world leaders could do with a little refresher course.

Answer 3

The essence of ping fa is to achieve PEACE.

Answer 4

Attack by the most unexpected route, at the least expected time....to defeat your opponent phsychology before the battle is joined.....

Answer 5

Beat your opponent by any means and using every available tactic.

Answer 6

it basically says u should know your enemy well, and by knowing your own weaknesses your enemies will become more apparent

(thats the preparation part, like a boy scouts motto)

Answer 7

beat the b******ds