Korin wrote:I had a feeling he was real, but I don't understand why people thought some of the Art of War wasn't? So people would consider him "overrated"? - explain, since I don't quite understand. Also what genre of books would be TAoW?
The Art of War could be considered a manual, as far as genre is concerned.
I am not an expert, but as far as I know, and as I said last post, since the sources about him are few and non consistent in certain aspects his role as author of the book and as a Wu general (and his very existence) are debeated, that might be why someone considers him to be overrated regarding his fame of "creator" of military strategy.
As I said I am no expert and would love to hear an opinion from somene who has a better grasp on the matter than myself.
Korin wrote:It's like saying Luo Guanzhong wasn't author of his fiction novel ROTK, or Chen Shou didn't do ROTK (Records, not Romance), same with Sima Qian or Confucius actually existing..
Well developed by different authors over time, his work has also been completed and corrected by the Mao brothers who fixed several consistency problems.
Just as Sun Zi, his role as an author is debeated and not to be taken for granted.
Also, as Chen Shou collected Zhuge Liang's writings one may inquire that some parts of the Sanguo Zhi may have been compiled from already existing chronicles.
Sima Qian and Confucius' lifes are well documented, differently from Sun Zi's.