History (TV channel)

History (originally The History Channel, from 1995 to 2008) is an American basic cable and satellite television channel that is owned by A+E Networks, a joint venture between the Hearst Corporation and the Disney–ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company.

It originally broadcast documentary programs and historical fiction series. However, since 2008, it has mostly broadcast a variety of reality television series such as Pawn Stars, Ax Men, and other non-history related content. Additionally, the network is frequently criticized by scientists, historians, and skeptics for broadcasting pseudo-documentaries, unsubstantiated and sensational investigative programming, such as Ancient Aliens, UFO Hunters, Brad Meltzer's Decoded and the Nostradamus Effect. As of February 2015, approximately 96,149,000 American households (82.6% of households with television) receive History.

International localized versions of History are available, in various forms, in India, Canada, Europe, Australia, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. The first European version was launched in Scandinavia in 1997 by Viasat which now operates their own channel, Viasat History.

Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu (/ˈsuːnˈdzuː/; also rendered as Sun Zi) was a Chinese general, military strategist, and philosopher who lived in the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, a widely influential work of military strategy that has affected both Western and Eastern philosophy. Aside from his legacy as the author of The Art of War, Sun Tzu is revered in Chinese and Asian culture as a legendary historical figure. His birth name was Sun Wu, and he was known outside of his family by his courtesy name Changqing. 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. Sima Qian 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. Traditional accounts state that the general's descendant Sun Bin also wrote a treatise on military tactics, also titled The Art of War. Since both Sun Wu and Sun Bin were referred to as Sun Tzu in classical Chinese texts, some historians believed them identical prior to the rediscovery of Sun Bin's treatise in 1972.