Translated by Yuan Shibing and J.J.L.Duyvendak. With introductions by Robert Wilkinson.

The two political classics in this book are the product of a time of intense turmoil in Chinese history. Dating from the Period of the Warring States (403-221BC), they anticipate Machiavelli's The Prince by nearly 2000 years.

The Art of War is the best known of a considerable body of Chinese works on the subject. It analyses the nature of war, and reveals how victory may be ensured.

The Book of Lord Shang is a political treatise for the instruction of...