Art of Leadership by Sun Tzu - A New-Millennium Bilingual Edition of Sun Tzu's Art of War [Paperback]

David H. Li (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 2000

Subtitle: A New-Millennium Bilingual Edition of Sun Tzu's Art of War

The work by Sun Tzu (circa 535-483 BCE), in the form of 13 essays, was termed by him, simply, as Thirteen Essays. The work is a treatise on leadership -- by one who aspires to be a leader in war management, for the eyes of a leader in state governance. The label "Art of War" was added by an annotator, a leader in his own right, three quarters of a millennium later -- as was his name (Tzu = master, a reverential address; his original name was Sun Wu).

The following is from the preface: "[W]hile the world reveres at his war-specific contributions, important they assuredly are, Sun Wu has made, in my judgment, an even more important, though much subtler, contribution -- his view that war management is a profession, that war management is an exercise in leadership."

The thirteen essays are grouped into four parts, as follows:

Part I Top-Level Planning
Essay 1 Topmost-level planning
Essay 2 Total-resource planning
Essay 3 Strategic planning

Part II Field-Level Planning
Essay 4 Formation planning
Essay 5 Momentum planning
Essay 6 Preparedness planning

Part III Battlefield Strategies
Essay 7 Battlefield maneuvers
Essay 8 Battlefield contingencies
Essay 9 Battlefield logistics

Part IV Battlefield Management
Essay 10 Management of terrain
Essay 11 Deployment of field forces
Essay 12 Use of incendiary
Essay 13 Use of intelligence

This book differs from all other renditions currently on the market in one important respect: it is augmented by 26 cases, two for each eassy, closely coordinated to the text.

Eleven cases are war-related: Sun Wu (512 BCE), Alexander the Great at Hydaspes (312 BCE), Han Xin (203 BCE), American Revolution (1776), Napoleon's campaign in Russia (1812), American Civil War - Second Bull Run (1862), World War I - World's first tank battle (1917), World War II - Normandy (1944), Korean War (1951), Vietnam War (1954), Gulf Waw (1991)

Eleven cases are on Year 2000 Presidential Nomination Process - Iowa straw poll, Iowa caucus, New Hampshire primary, Delaware primary, South Carolina primary (3 cases), Virginia ptimary, Super Tuesday

Three cases on war-simulation games - Xiangqi (203 BCE), western chess, Kriegspiel

One case on business

Taking a leaf from the author's translation of Confucius's Analects, this volume has the following features acclaimed by critics:

line-by-line bilingual text
meticulous annotation
year-by-year chronology
indexes (subject, cases on war, cases on politics, text

passages referenced in cases)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Chinese

About the Author

The translator has native fluency in Chinese. He also has some 65 years' exposure to English (and has been in daily contact with English for more than 50).

The translator is experienced in research and writing -- he was in academia for more than 30 years, and has authored 17 book-length work previously, both in academia and in retirement. One of his books, The Genealogy of Chess (1998, 385 pages), was honored as Book of the Year by a chess periodical.

The translator's discipline is business management -- MBA, Wharton School, University of Pennyslvania; PhD, University of Illinois

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Premier Pub (July 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096378529X
• ISBN-13: 978-0963785299
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,247,115 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding translation and annotation, February 9, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Art of Leadership by Sun Tzu - A New-Millennium Bilingual Edition of Sun Tzu's Art of War (Paperback)

David H. Li draws upon his native fluency in Chinese and sixty-five years exposure to English to present an outstanding translation and annotation of Sun Tzu's (512 BCE) writings, integrating them with such diverse matters as war, the Year 2000 American presidential nomination process, war-stimulation games, and business. This informative and engaging work argues that the fundamental and unifying principle of leadership on or off the battlefield is professionalism, and that leadership in war management must be separated from leadership in state government. The Art Of Leadership By Sun Tzu is thoughtful, thought-provoking, and occasionally inspired and inspiring.

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important military books in history, October 3, 2009

By 

Michael A Neulander "Political Philosophy" (VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Art of Leadership by Sun Tzu - A New-Millennium Bilingual Edition of Sun Tzu's Art of War (Paperback)

The Warring States period Warring States Period 475-221 BCE is a history of constant warfare, of alliances and counter-alliances, and of treaties made and broken. The nature of warfare evolved during the period. During the Warring States period, political stability was impossible to gain by adventurous military action. With the advent of swelling ranks of soldiers, protracted sieges, and an ever increasing drain on state treasuries, warfare became a serious matter for study.

Thus, the opening remark of "The Art Of War" states--without exaggeration--war had become the most serious business of the state, the key to survival or ruin. The author of this and other pithy aphorisms on how to successfully fight a war was Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu scholars place his writing "The Art of War" in the Warring States Period, based on the descriptions of warfare in the text. The book has received great exposure in the west starting in the eighteenth century after being translated by a French missionary. It has been reported that Napoleon studied the text and effectively put many of its teachings to good use. For the past 2,000 years, it has been the most important military treatise in all of Asia, even known by name with the common people. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese military figures have studied it and employed its concepts to good effect. This is especially evident in the military tactics of 20th century revolutionaries like Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh.

The book is comprised of 13 chapters. The thesis of Sun's work is one should employ an army after a thorough analysis mandated by careful planning and the formulation of an overall strategy before embarking on a campaign. Sun emphasizes rational self-control, influenced by Daoist teachings throughout the book.

Chap 1-Laying Plans
18. All warfare is based on deception. 19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

Chap 6-Weak Points And Strong
8. Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.

The best translation is the Samuel B. Griffith edition