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The only surviving source on the life of Sun Tzu is the biography written in
the 2nd century BC by the historian Sima Qian, who describes him
as a general who lived in the state of Wu in the 6th century BC,
and therefore a contemporary of one of the great Chinese thinkers
of ancient times—Confucius. According to tradition, Sun Tzu was
a member of the shi. The shi were landless Chinese aristocrats who
were descendants of nobility who lost their dukedoms during the
territorial consolidation of the Spring and Autumn Period. Unlike
most shi, who were traveling academics, Sun Tzu worked as a mercenary
(similar to a modern military consultant). According to tradition,
King Helü of Wu hired Sun Tzu as a general approximately 512 BC
after finishing his famous military treatise. What is now known
as the The Art of War was titled Sun Tzu; naming a work after the
author was common in China prior to the Qin era. After his hiring,
the kingdom of Wu - which had previously been considered a semi-barbaric
state - went on to become the most powerful state of the period
by conquering Chu, one of the most powerful states in the Spring
and Autumn Period. Sun Tzu, always wanting a peaceful and quiet
life, suddenly disappeared when King Helü finally conquered Chu.
As a result, his exact date of death remains unknown.
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