It was first in China (400 – 200 BC) which military leaders started to write down their military methods and experiences, methods and experiences which have survived to our days. Sun Tzu is the greatest of them all with his “Art of War”. Other masters whose works have survived to our days are “Ta’i Kungs Six Secret Teachings”, “The Methods of the Ssu-ma”, “Three Strategies of Huang Shih-Kung”, and the “Military Methods by Sun Pin”.
In chinese culture war is weived upon as something bad (Creveld. M, The Art of War, 2002, pg 29). “Weapons are instruments of ill omen” said Sun Tzu. “He who takes pleasure in military will perish” added Sun Pin. War was however a necessary evil, an important business of the state. But as Sun Tzu mentioned “No state has ever benefited from a long war”.

The virtue of an army takes the form of strict discipline. Discipline is the basis for all military action. The perfect army is the one which will fights beavely without rewards or punishments and can behave as one body. When all discipline is achieved it is time to discuss the armys organization, equipment and supply. Accordning to Wei Liao Tzu, organization is about establishing clear regulation so that evry soldier know what is expected from him. The army should also be divided into units. The legendary emperors T’ang and Wu made missileweapons. Four types of weapons and equipments are listed 1) provides formations with staying power, 2) enables users to act from a distance, 3) provides mobility 4) enables them to dominate the enemy. The art of war consists of combining the four in correct interaction with the others so as to bring out their advantages and mask their weaknesses.

When it comes to supply Sun Tzu says that “money is the sinews of war”. War cost money. Supplies, equipment, good organization and discipline is the fundament on which a succesfull campaign can be bulit. The nst step is to take four other factors into consideration. Those are 1) the weather 2) the terrain 3) command and 4) doctrine. The weather will determine which season is the most favourable for campaigning. Knowledge about the terrain will make planning easier. Command refers to the competencies of the general and doctrine is all about the enemy. The strongest most successfull action is the one which is most economic. To carry out the action in a beneficial way two things are needed. First: flexibility, to take advantage og oppurtunities and second: intelligence, to collect information about the enemy. You must know you enemy. However this is not enough, you must know yourself as well. Ta’i Kung said“know the enemy and know yourself” is the essence of military strategy. But in chinese military thought, no clear line is drawn between military affairs and the rest of life(Creveld. M, The Art of War, 2002, pg 41). An underlying humanity pervades all and spare people from death. Accordning to Tao, the best war is that which never is fought.