PHILOSOPHER

Sun Tzu

543 BC - 495 BC

Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu ( soon DZOO, soon SOO; Chinese: 孫子; pinyin: Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese general, military strategist, writer and philosopher who lived in the Eastern Zhou period of ancient China. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, an influential work of military strategy that has affected both Western and East Asian philosophy and military thinking. His works focus much more on alternatives to battle, such as stratagem, delay, the use of spies and alternatives to war itself, the making and keeping of alliances, the uses of deceit and a willingness to submit, at least temporarily, to more powerful foes. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Sun Tzu has received more than 3,005,328 page views. His biography is available in 101 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 98 in 2019). Sun Tzu is the 36th most popular philosopher (down from 33rd in 2019), the 6th most popular biography from China (up from 7th in 2019) and the 3rd most popular Chinese Philosopher.

Sun Tzu is most famous for his book The Art of War, which is a military strategy guide.

Memorability Metrics

3.0M
Page Views (PV)
85.45
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
101
Languages Editions (L)
11.20
Effective Languages (L*)
4.29
Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of Sun Tzus by language

Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Sun Tzu ranks 36 out of 1,089. Before him are Diogenes, David Hume, Laozi, Martin Heidegger, Søren Kierkegaard, and Auguste Comte. After him are Plutarch, Al-Ghazali, Michel de Montaigne, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Maria Montessori, and Parmenides.

Most Popular Philosophers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Diogenes
404 BC - 322 BC
HPI: 86.10
Rank: 30
David Hume
1711 - 1776
HPI: 86.05
Rank: 31
Laozi
604 BC - 600 BC
HPI: 86.03
Rank: 32
Martin Heidegger
1889 - 1976
HPI: 86.01
Rank: 33
Søren Kierkegaard
1813 - 1855
HPI: 85.75
Rank: 34
Auguste Comte
1798 - 1857
HPI: 85.46
Rank: 35
Sun Tzu
543 BC - 495 BC
HPI: 85.45
Rank: 36
Plutarch
46 - 127
HPI: 85.27
Rank: 37
Al-Ghazali
1058 - 1111
HPI: 85.22
Rank: 38
Michel de Montaigne
1533 - 1592
HPI: 85.09
Rank: 39
Ludwig Wittgenstein
1889 - 1951
HPI: 84.82
Rank: 40
Maria Montessori
1870 - 1952
HPI: 84.74
Rank: 41
Parmenides
501 BC - 470 BC
HPI: 84.61
Rank: 42

Contemporaries

Among people born in 543 BC, Sun Tzu ranks 1. After him is Prince Vijaya. Among people deceased in 495 BC, Sun Tzu ranks 2. Before him is Pythagoras. After him are Lucius Tarquinius Superbus and Hystaspes.