Sun Tzu was an influential Chinese army chief and war strategist during 544-496 BC. It is believed that he was the writer of one of the renowned war epics The Art of War, a widely influential work of military strategy that has affected both Western and Eastern philosophy.Sun Tzu is revered in Chinese and the Culture of Asia as a legendary historical figure. His birth name was Sun Wu. The name Sun Tzu by which he is best known in the West is an honorific which means "Master Sun".Sun Tzu's historicity is uncertain. SimaQian and other traditional historians placed him as a minister to King Helü of Wu and dated his lifetime to 544–496 BC. Modern scholars accepting his historicity nonetheless place the existing text of The Art of War in the later Warring States period based upon its style of composition and its descriptions of warfare.