Does Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' influence China's military behavior? A case study of the 1962 Sino-India War.

摘要

This study has been developed to test the feasibility of using Sun Tzu's The Art of War to analyze and predict China's future military behavior. The author systematically introduces Sun Tzu's teachings as contained in his book, lists expectations of the Chinese army's performance in the 1962 Sino-Indian War under the assumption that it was influenced by the thoughts expressed in The Art of War, and compares what actually happened in that war with these expectations. Most of the expectations were borne out in the actual war, and this indicates that the thoughts expressed in The Art of War could possibly be used as a practical tool for penetrating Beijing's military thoughts.