Sun Tzu's work has been around for 2,500 years, but Sun Tzu's text has had a complicated history in China. A complete Chinese language version of the text wasn't available until the 1970s.

A Jesuit missionary, Father Amiot, first brought a version of The Art of War to the West in 1782. This first translation, which became associated with Napoleon's success, redefined our ideas of military strategy.

The English translation of Sun Tzu has progressed dramatically over the years. The first English translations were based on fragmentary and often contradictory Chinese sources.

Today's modern English translations offer the complete Art of War, and one, The Art of War plus the Ancient Chinese Revealed, is the only award-winning translation and the only translation used as a guide for translations into other languages, including Asian languages.