Cheating is cheating, but it's no use cheating if people don't fall for it. Deception is not the main part of the art of war. Nowadays, many publishing houses combine Sun Tzu's Art of War and Thirty-six Strategies into one book, which seems to be a misunderstanding.
The Spread of Sun Tzu's Art of War
Many works believe that the spread of Sun Tzu's Art of War abroad was first in Japan, followed by Korea. Because these two countries adjacent to China have frequent cultural exchanges with China in history, and Nara sent overseas students to study in China many times, which undoubtedly built a convenient bridge for the eastward spread of Sun Tzu's Art of War.
According to historical records, Kibi No Asomi Makibi, a Japanese student who studied in China for 17 years, went through hardships to return to the motherland in 734 AD, that is, in the 22nd year of Kaiyuan, the heyday of the Tang Dynasty.
This well-read man, who studied civil and military affairs, left the prosperous capital of the Tang Dynasty without any silk treasures. Instead, he used the money given to him by the Tang Dynasty to buy books, bundled a large number of books recording China's military science and legal knowledge, and passed them on to Japanese literati and military commanders after returning home.
According to an ancient Japanese book named "The Continuation of Japanese History", in the twenty-six years after Jibei returned to China (AD 760), Nara Dynasty sent six people, including Kasugabe, a sword keeper, and Sumi Guancheng, a central defender, to Taizaifu to learn from Jibei about Sun Tzu's nine places, Zhuge Liang's eight arrays and how to tie knots.
This shows that Sun Tzu's Art of War, regarded as a "military classic" by people, is indeed included in this batch of ancient books brought back to northern Hebei. If this record is accurate, the Art of War has been introduced to Japan for at least 1200 years.