sayings are terse yet elegant, simple yet profound, perspicuous and eminently practical. Such works as the Lun Yü , the I Ching and the great Commentary, as well as the writings of Mencius, Hsün Kʽuang and Yang Chu , all fall below the level of Sun Tzǔ .
Chu Hsi , commenting on this, fully admits the first part of the criticism, although he dislikes the audacious comparison with the venerated classical works. Language of this sort, he says, “encourages a ruler’s bent towards unrelenting warfare and reckless militarism.”