ABSTRACT
This chapter will highlight, not only the developments that appear to have shaped Chinese military history from a twenty-fi rst century academic perspective, but the events the Chinese themselves considered particularly important. Where possible, it will explore the ways in which the ancient Chinese put strategic ideas into practice, in order to illuminate what these ideas actually meant to them. This chapter will also note the outcome of these attempts. Although this chapter will not explore the writings of the various strategists in as much detail as later portions of this book, it will introduce the broad themes that ancient Chinese strategic thinkers appear to have been responding to.
