ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2026.04.015
On the Transmedia Communication of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War
Qihai Zhang1, Lingyun Deng2,*, Yuxiang Qin1
1School of Foreign Languages, Shandong University of Aeronautics, Binzhou 256600, Shandong, China.
2Shandong Huayu University of Technology, Dezhou 253000, Shandong, China.
*Corresponding author: Lingyun Deng
Key Project of Art Science in Shandong Province “A Study on the English Translation of The Art of War from the Perspective of Audience Reception” (Project No.: 24ZZ20015698); Philosophy and Social Science Research Project of Shandong Provincial Universities “A Study on the Translation and Dissemination of The Art of War in African Countries and Its Role in the Construction of China’s National Identity” (Project No.: 2025ZSZX158); Industry-University-Research Cooperation Education Project of the Ministry of Education “Research on the Cultivation Path and Practical Exploration of Translation and Communication Competence for Aeronautical Engineering Major Students”; Teaching Project of Shandong University of Aeronautics “Reform and Innovative Exploration of the Translation Teaching Model for a New Era in the Context of Large Language Models” (Project No.: SHYJYYB202417).
Published: April 30, 2026
Abstract
This paper explores the communication evolution of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, which has primarily gone through four stages: bamboo-slip communication, paper-based communication, television communication, and internet communication. Social media-based communication, with the dissemination of The Art of War on Bilibili and YouTube constituting the most significant component of social media-based communication, is the main form of internet communication. Social media-based communication, where the dissemination of The Art of War on Bilibili and YouTube forms the most prominent component, serves as the primary form of internet communication. Generally, The Art of War spreads on Bilibili mainly through modes of innovative reinterpretations, transferring of existing videos, and reading of the original text, while it does on YouTube through modes of innovative reinterpretations, reading of translations, and Sun Tzu’s wisdom application. Communication content on the two platforms is what is reinterpreted, transferred, read, and applied in The Art of War. Overall, videos on Bilibili tend to be significantly longer than those on YouTube, while viewers on YouTube tend to generate stronger engagement and responses compared to those on Bilibili. The communication of The Art of War via bamboo slips, paper-based texts, television, and digital media forms an integrated whole, inseparable in actual practice. In the contemporary era, for the communication of The Art of War, it is advisable to adhere to Sun Tzu’s original ideas, transform its narrative from a military treatise into a book of wisdom, reconstruct stories that inspire the peaceful resolution of conflicts, and promote collaboration among diverse communication entities.
Keyword
Sun Tzu’s The Art of War; transmedia communication; social media communication
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Copyright
© 2026 by the author(s).
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) license, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not modified or adapted.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
How to cite this paper
On the Transmedia Communication of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War
How to cite this paper: Qihai Zhang, Lingyun Deng, Yuxiang Qin. (2026) On the Transmedia Communication of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 10(4), 487-495.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2026.04.015