CHINA:

Sun Tzu (also rendered as Sun Zi) was a Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher
who lived in the Spring and Autumn Period of ancient China.

Sun Tzu and his Art of War are studied and quoted in military strategy courses and
corporate boardrooms around the world. There’s just one problem – we aren’t sure that
Sun Tzu actually existed!

Traditional Accounts of Sun Tzu:

According to traditional accounts, Sun Tzu was born in 544 BCE, during the late Spring and
Autumn Period of the Zhou Dynasty (722-481 BCE). Even the two oldest known sources
about Sun Tzu's life differ as to his place of birth, however. Qian Sima, in theRecords of the
Grand Historian, claims that Sun Tzu was from the Kingdom of Wu, a coastal state that
controlled the mouth of the Yangtze River during the Spring and Autumn Period. In contrast,
the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Lu Kingdom state that Sun Tzu was born in the State of
Qi, a more northerly coastal kingdom located approximately in modern Shandong Province.

From about the year 512 BCE, Sun Tzu served the Kingdom of Wu as an army general and
strategist. His military successes inspired him to write The Art of War, which became
popular with strategists from all seven rival kingdoms during the Warring States Period (475-
221 BCE).

Sun Tzu's Legacy:

Whoever he was, and whenever he wrote, Sun Tzu has had a profound influence on military
thinkers over the past two thousand years and more. Tradition avers that the first emperor
of unified China, Qin Shi Huangdi, relied on The Art of War as a strategic guide when he
conquered the other warring states in 221 BCE. During the An Lushan Rebellion (755-763
CE) in Tang China, fleeing officials brought Sun Tzu's book to Japan, where it greatly
influenced samurai warfare. Japan's three reunifiers, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi,
and Tokugawa Ieyasu, are said to have studied the book in the late sixteenth century.
More recent students of Sun Tzu's strategies have included the Union officers pictured here
during the American Civil War (1861-65); Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong; Ho Chi
Minh, who translated the book into Vietnamese; and US Army officer cadets at West Point
to this day.

Reference: http://asianhistory.about.com/od/ancientchina/p/Sun-Tzu-Art-of-War.htm

Confucius

Confucius would no doubt be surprised and quite pleased to know that more than 2,500
years after his birth, people all over the world remember his name and his teachings. How
he would feel about his aphorisms being stuffed into fortune cookies, though, I cannot say.

Confucius, more properly known as Kong Qiu, was not particularly successful in his own
lifetime. He did have a handful of dedicated students, who wrote down and preserved his
sayings for posterity. However, he sought throughout his life to reform the government of
his day, but the Dukes of Lu ignored his calls for change.

The Teachings of Confucius:

In his teachings, Confucius emphasized a harmonious society based on respect and

Confucius taught a situational type of ethics - in other words, a person had to decide the
right course of action based upon the situation at hand, rather than simply memorizing and
applying rules of conduct. Many of his sayings have come down to us, including the
following: "If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if
in terms of 100 years, teach the people," "The strength of a nation derives from the integrity
of the home," and "The perfecting of one's self is the fundamental base of all progress and
all moral development."

Legacy:

Confucius died in 479 BCE, probably at the age of 73 or 74. After his death, his disciples
recorded his teachings in a book now known as the Analects, and spread his teachings far
and wide. Confucianism became the basis for government and family relationships not only
in China itself, but also in Korea, Vietnam and (to a lesser extent) Japan over the next two
thousand years.

One of Confucius's foundational ideas was that of the junzi, or ideal man. Originally, the
word simply meant "the son of a lord," so any nobleman was a junzi. Confucius changed the
usage, however, to mean an educated man of good character and benevolent mind - a true
gentleman, regardless of birth. As Confucianism developed, the Chinese government began
to choose gentleman scholars as court officials, rather than filling the court with anyone
who had a hereditary claim to nobility. This civil service exam system meant that even the
son of a peasant, if he was smart and lucky enough to get a rich patron, could become a
government official.

Although some people over the years have worshiped Confucius as a deity of learning, and
have built temples to honor him, Confucius himself says absolutely nothing about gods or
religion in his teachings. The closest approach to religion is in his emphasis on respecting
one's ancestors.

Reference: http://asianhistory.about.com/od/ancientchina/p/Confucius.htm
INDIA:

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Ghandi)

His image is one of the most recognizable in history: the thin, bald, frail-looking man
wearing round glasses and a simple white wrap.

This is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also known as the Mahatma ("Great Soul").

His inspirational message of non-violent protest helped to lead India to independence from
the British Raj. Gandhi lived a life of simplicity and moral clarity, and his example has
inspired protestors and campaigners for human rights and democracy the world over.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the preeminent leader of Indian nationalism in British-
ruled India. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence and
inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
The honorific Mahatma (Sanskrit: "high-souled", "venerable")—applied to him first in 1914
in South Africa,[3]—is now used worldwide. He is also called Bapu (Gujarati: endearment for
"father",[4] "papa"[4][5]) in India.

Born and raised in a Hindu merchant caste family in coastal Gujarat, western India, and
trained in law at the Inner Temple, London, Gandhi first employed nonviolent civil
disobedience as an expatriate lawyer in South Africa, in the resident Indian community's
struggle for civil rights. After his return to India in 1915, he set about organising peasants,
farmers, and urban labourers to protest against excessive land-tax and discrimination.
Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide
campaigns for easing poverty, expanding women's rights, building religious and ethnic
amity, ending untouchability, but above all for achieving Swaraj or self-rule.

Gandhi famously led Indians in challenging the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km
(250 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later in calling for the British toQuit India in 1942. He
was imprisoned for many years, upon many occasions, in both South Africa and India.
Gandhi attempted to practise nonviolence and truth in all situations, and advocated that
others do the same. He lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community and wore
the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn hand spun on a charkha. He ate
simple vegetarian food, and also undertook long fasts as means of both self-purification and
social protest.

Gandhi's vision of a free India based on religious pluralism, however, was challenged in the
early 1940s by a new Muslim nationalism which was demanding a separate Muslim
homeland carved out of India. Eventually, in August 1947, Britain granted independence,
but the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two dominions, a Hindu-
majority India and MuslimPakistan.[7] As many displaced Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs made
their way to their new lands, religious violence broke out, especially in
the Punjab andBengal. Eschewing the official celebration of independence in Delhi, Gandhi
visited the affected areas, attempting to provide solace. In the months following, he
undertook several fasts unto death to promote religious harmony. The last of these,
undertaken on 12 January 1948 at age 78, also had the indirect goal of pressuring India to
pay out some cash assets owed to Pakistan. Some Indians thought Gandhi was too
accommodating.[8][9] Among them was Nathuram Godse, a Hindu nationalist,
who assassinated Gandhi on 30 January 1948 by firing three bullets into his chest at point-
blank range.

Gandhi is commonly, though not officially,[10] considered the Father of the Nation[11] in India.
His birthday, 2 October, is commemorated there as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and
world-wide as the International Day of Nonviolence.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi and About.com

In 326 BCE, Chandragupta Maurya was just a teenager when Alexander the Great of
Macedonia invaded India. Facing stiff resistance all through what is now Pakistan, and
hampered by the high Hindu-Kush Mountains, Alexander’s army lost its will to conquer India
at the Battle of Jhelum (or Hydaspes River).

Although the Macedonians made it through the Khyber Pass and defeated Raja Puru (King
Poros) near modern-day Bhera, Pakistan, the fighting was almost too much for Alexander’s
troops. Worst of all, Raja Puru’s army included 30 war elephants, who spooked the
Macedonian cavalry’s horses (and probably the men, as well). When the victorious
Macedonians heard that their next target - the Nanda Empire - could muster 6,000 war
elephants, the soldiers revolted. Alexander the Great would not conquer the far side of the
Ganges.

Although the world’s greatest tactician could not convince his troops to take on the Nanda
Empire, five years after Alexander turned away, a 20-year-old Chandragupta Maurya would
accomplish that feat, and go on to unite almost all of what is nowIndia. The young Indian
emperor would also take on Alexander’s successors - and win.

Chandragupta Maurya's Legacy:

The dynasty that Chandragupta founded would rule over India and the south of Central Asia
until 185 BCE. His grandson Ashoka would follow in Chandragupta’s footsteps in several
ways - conquering territory as a young man, but then becoming devoutly religious as he
aged. In fact, Ashoka's reign in India may be the purest expression of Buddhism in any
government in history.
Today, Chandragupta is remembered as the unifier of India - like Qin Shihuangdi in China,
but far less blood-thirsty. Despite the paucity of records on his life, Chandragupta’s life story
has inspired movies such as the 1958 “Samrat Chandragupt” novels, and even a 2011 Hindi-
language TV series.

Reference: http://asianhistory.about.com/od/india/p/Biography-of-Chandragupta-
Maurya.htm
PHILIPPINES:

Dr. Jose Rizal

Jose Rizal was a man of incredible intellectual power, with amazing artistic talent as well. He
excelled at anything that he put his mind to - medicine, poetry, sketching, architecture,
sociology... the list seems nearly endless.

Thus, Rizal's martyrdom by the Spanish colonial authorities while he was still quite young
was a huge loss to the Philippines, and to the world at large.

Today, the people of the Philippines honor him as their national hero.

Jose Rizal was a man of incredible intellectual power, with amazing artistic talent as well. He
excelled at anything that he put his mind to - medicine, poetry, sketching, architecture,
sociology... the list seems nearly endless.

Thus, Rizal's martyrdom by the Spanish colonial authorities while he was still quite young
was a huge loss to the Philippines, and to the world at large.

Trial and Execution:

The Philippine Revolution broke out in 1896. Rizal denounced the violence, and received
permission to travel to Cuba in order to tend victims of yellow fever in exchange for his
freedom. Bonifacio and two associates sneaked aboard the ship to Cuba before it left the
Philippines, trying to convince Rizal to escape with them, but Rizal refused.

He was arrested by the Spanish on the way, taken to Barcelona, and then extradited to
Manila for trial. Jose Rizal was tried by court martial, charged with conspiracy, sedition and
rebellion.
Despite a lack of any evidence of his complicity in the Revolution, Rizal was convicted on all
counts and given the death sentence.

He was allowed to marry Josephine two hours before his execution by firing squad on
December 30, 1896. Jose Rizal was just 35 years old.

Jose Rizal's Legacy:

Jose Rizal is remembered today throughout the Philippines for his brilliance, his courage, his
peaceful resistance to tyranny, and his compassion. Filipino school children study his final
literary work, a poem called Mi Ultimo Adios ("My Last Goodbye"), as well as his two famous
novels.

Spurred on by Rizal's martyrdom, the Philippine Revolution continued until 1898. With
assistance from the United States, the Philippine archipelago was able to defeat the Spanish
army. The Philippines declared its independence from Spain on June 12, 1898. It was the
first democratic republic in Asia.

Andres Bonifacio

Andres Bonifacio simmered with rage and humiliation. The movement that he had created
to oppose Spanish colonial rule inthe Philippines had just voted (likely in a rigged election)
to make his rival Emilio Aguinaldo president in his stead. Bonifacio was given the lowly
consolation prize of an appointment as Secretary of the Interior in the revolutionary
government.
When this appointment was announced, however, delegate Daniel Tirona objected on the
grounds that Bonifacio did not have a law degree (or any university diploma, for that
matter). Incensed, the fiery rebel leader demanded an apology from Tirona. Instead, Daniel
Tirona turned to leave the hall; Bonifacio pulled out a gun and tried to shoot him down, but
General Artemio Ricarte y Garcia tackled the former president and saved Tirona's life.

Who was this scrappy and hot-headed rebel leader, Andres Bonifacio? Why is his story still
remembered today in the Republic of the Philippines?

Establishment of Katipunan:

In 1892, Bonifacio joined Jose Rizal's new organization La Liga Filipina, which called for
reform of the Spanish colonial regime in the Philippines. The group met only once, however,
since Spanish officials arrested Rizal immediately after the first meeting and deported him
to the southern island ofMindanao.
After Rizal's arrest and deportation, Andres Bonifacio and others revived La Liga to continue
pressure on the Spanish government to free the Philippines. Along with his friends Ladislao
Diwa and Teodoro Plata, however, he also founded a group called Katipunan.
Katipunan, or Kataastaasang Kagalannalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan to give its
full name (literally "Highest and Most Respected Society of the Children of the Country"),
was dedicated to armed resistance against the colonial government. Made up mostly of
people from the middle and lower classes, the Katipunan organization soon established
regional branches in a number of provinces across the Philippines. (It also went by the
rather unfortunate acronym KKK.)

In 1895, Andres Bonifacio became the top leader or Presidente Supremo of the Katipunan.
Along with his friends Emilio Jacinto and Pio Valenzuela, Bonifacio also put out a newspaper
called the Kalayaan, or "Freedom." Over the course of 1896, under Bonifacio's leadership,
Katipunan grew from about 300 members at the beginning of the year to more than 30,000
in July. With a militant mood sweeping the nation, and a multi-island network in place,
Bonifacio's Katipunan was prepared to start fighting for freedom from Spain.

Sham Trial and Execution:

After Emilio Aguinaldo "won" the rigged election at Tejeros, Andres Bonifacio refused to
recognize the new rebel government. Aguinaldo sent a group to arrest Bonifacio; the
opposition leader did not realize that they were there with ill intent, and allowed them into
his camp. They shot down his brother Ciriaco, seriously beat his brother Procopio, and some
reports say that they also raped his young wife Gregoria.

Aguinaldo had Bonifacio and Procopio tried for treason and sedition. After a one-day sham
trial, in which the defense lawyer averred their guilt rather than defending them, both
Bonifacios were convicted and sentenced to death.
Aguinaldo commuted the death sentence on May 8, but then reinstated it. On May 10,
1897, both Procopio and Andres Bonifacio likely were shot dead by a firing squad on
Nagpatong Mountain. Some accounts say that Andres was too weak to stand, due to
untreated battle wounds, and was actually hacked to death in his stretcher instead. Andres
was just 34 years old.

Andres Bonifacio's Legacy:

As the first self-declared President of the independent Philippines, as well as the first leader
of the Philippine Revolution, Andres Bonifacio is a crucial figure in that nation's history.
However, his exact legacy is the subject of dispute among Filipino scholars and citizens.

Jose Rizal is the most widely recognized "national hero of the Philippines," although he
advocated a more pacifist approach of reforming Spanish colonial rule rather than
overthrowing it by force. Aguinaldo is generally cited as the first president of the Philippines,
even though Bonifacio took on that title before Aguinaldo did. Some historians feel that
Bonifacio has gotten short shrift, and should be set beside Rizal on the national pedestal.

Andres Bonifacio has been honored with a national holiday on his birthday, however, just
like Rizal. November 30 is Bonifacio Day in the Philippines.