“Meme them until they cry. Then make memes about them crying.—Sun Tzu, ‘The Art of War’” is a jocular saying that has been printed on many images. Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer Sun Tzu is widely quoted from his book The Art of War, but he died in 496 BC—long before internet memes. Having this historical figure say this about memes is part of the joke.
   
“meme them until they cry” was posted on Twitter by Quentin in August 13, 2015. “meme them until they cry, then make memes about them crying” was posted on Twitter by Exi(s)t on June 27, 2020. “‘Meme them until they cry…. then make memes about them crying’—SUN TSU, THE ART OF WAR” (shown on an image) was posted on Twitter by ShortBusSatan on July 1, 2020. It’s uncertain who made the original image for this meme.
   
     
Wikipedia: Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu (/suːn ˈdzuː, suːn ˈsuː/ soon DZOO, soon SOO; simplified Chinese: 孙子; traditional Chinese: 孫子; pinyin: Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, an influential work of military strategy that has affected both Western and East Asian philosophy and military thinking. It focuses much more on alternatives to battle and even to war than on war itself, such as stratagem, delay, the use of spies, the making and keeping of alliances, the uses of deceit, and a willingness to submit, at least temporarily, to more powerful foes. Sun Tzu is revered in Chinese and East Asian culture as a legendary historical and military figure.
         
Twitter
[Quentin] ⊂(`ω´∩)
@ItsNoriaki
Replying to @hxnasong
@spacekin_ meme them until they cry
9:33 AM · Aug 13, 2015·Twitter for Android
   
Twitter
Exi(s)t
@jososeis
meme them until they cry, then make memes about them crying
8:20 PM · Jun 27, 2020·Twitter for iPhone
   
Twitter
ShortBusSatan
@ShortBusSatan
Meme them until they cry… Then make more memes about them crying.
(The following text is shown on an image.—ed.)
“Meme them until they
cry…. then make memes
about them crying”
—SUN TSU, THE ART OF WAR
9:56 PM · Jul 1, 2020·Talon Android
   
Twitter
Ein-Drei
@Adreinelyn
Meme them until they cry
Then make memes about them crying
7:13 AM · Jul 20, 2020·Twitter for Android
   
Twitter
Big Mac 🍔
@Lord_Big_Mac
Meme them until they cry ...then make memes about them crying.” ~Sun Tzu: the art of war
1:00 PM · Aug 14, 2020·Twitter Web App
   
Facebook
Donna Morrell Gafford
August 28, 2020 at 11:16 AM ·
#Meme them until they #cry and then make memes of them crying! #ArtOfWar #SunTzu
(The saying is also shown on an image.—ed.)
 
Twitter
Maxxtees
@maxxtees
Meme Them Until They Cry Sun Tzu T-Shirt For Unisex
Get this shirt here >>https://maxxtees.com/product/meme-them-until-they-cry-sun-tzu-t-shirt/
7:22 AM · Dec 30, 2020·Twitter Web App
 
iFunny
Jcreighton6
29 jun 2021
“Meme them until they cry… then make memes about them crying.” -Sun Tzu, “The Art of War”
     
Clearance Jobs 
Channeling the Military Master: Top 10 Sun Tzu Memes
Steven Matthew Leonard / Sep 21, 2021
(...)
3. “Meme them until they cry, then make memes about them crying.”
When it comes to memes, this is the supreme art of war.
(...)
10. “When I die, I swear to god I hope no one makes up fake quotes from my book.”
Too late.
 
Twitter
MG Blackrock
@lord_satoshi
“Meme them until they cry, and when they do, make memes about them crying”
—Ben Franklin
10:00 AM · Nov 12, 2021·Twitter for Android
 
Twitter
𝕃𝕚𝕞𝕖𝔾𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙
@LimeGlitch
Replying to @_GHOSTBREAD_
I have a friend who’s email signature is “‘meme them until they cry, then make memes about them crying’ -Sun Tzu”
12:16 AM · Mar 31, 2022·Twitter for Android
 
Twitter
Bob Kostic
@causticbob
“Meme them until they cry…
then make memes about them crying.”
-Sun Tzu, “The Art of War”
6:31 PM · Jun 30, 2022·Twitter Web App
 
Twitter
Rothmus 🏴
@Rothmus
(The following text is shown on an image.—ed.)
MEME THEM UNTIL THEY CRY
THEN MAKE MEMES
ABOUT THEM CRYING.
—SUN TZU
8:11 PM · Sep 5, 2022·Tweet From Twetch