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Sun Tzu

The Art of War: Sun Zi's Military Methods (Translations from the Asian Classics) Hardcover – Illustrated, November 8, 2007

by Sun Zi (Author), Victor H. Mair (Translator)

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Compiled during the Warring States period of 475-221 B.C.E., The Art of War has had an enormous impact on the development of Chinese military strategy over the past two thousand years and occupies an important place in East Asian intellectual history. It is the first known attempt to formulate a rational basis for the planning and conduct of military operations, and while numerous editions of the work exist, Victor Mair's translation is the first to remain true to the original structure and essential style of the text.

Mair's fidelity to the original, along with his insightful commentary and reliance on archaeologically recovered manuscripts, breaks new ground in solving The Art of War's difficult textual and contextual problems. He confronts complex questions concerning the authorship of the work, asserting that Sun Wu, a supposed strategist of the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 B.C.E.) to whom the text is traditionally attributed, never existed. Instead, Mair claims that The Art of War coalesced over a period of around seventy-five years, from the middle of the fourth century to the first quarter of the third century B.C.E.

Mair also reveals the way The Art of War reflects historical developments in technological and military strategy in civilizations throughout Eurasia, especially in regards to iron metallurgy. He demonstrates the close link between the philosophy in The Art of War and Taoism and discusses the reception of the text from the classical period to today. Finally, Mair highlights previously unaddressed stylistic and statistical aspects and includes philological annotations that present new ways of approaching the intellectual and social background of the work. A phenomenal achievement, Mair's comprehensive translation is an indispensable resource for today's students, strategists, and scholars.

Print length

256 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Columbia University Press
Publication date

November 8, 2007
Dimensions

5.84 x 0.85 x 8.42 inches
ISBN-10

0231133820
ISBN-13

978-0231133821
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Mair provides insight on how this manual came to exist. ― Indianapolis Star

Lean, clear, all fustian removed. -- Donald Richie ― Japan Times

Mair's excellent new translation of Sunzi's (Sun Tzu) Art of War... brings a new, and extremely useful perspective to the text. -- Peter Lorge ― Journal of Military History

About the Author

Victor Mair is a graduate of Dartmouth College, the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, and Harvard University. He is professor of Chinese language and literature at the University of Pennsylvania and is the founder and editor of Sino-Platonic Papers, an academic journal that examines diverse aspects of Chinese language, script, and culture, paying particular attention to historical relationships with other societies in Eurasia. For the past two decades, he has led a major international investigation of the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age peoples of Eastern Central Asia, a project that has resulted in numerous publications and several films. His Columbia books include The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature and The Columbia History of Chinese Literature.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Columbia University Press; Illustrated edition (November 8, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0231133820
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0231133821
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.84 x 0.85 x 8.42 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,086,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,307 in Chinese History (Books)
- #2,474 in Military Strategy History (Books)
- #7,713 in Eastern Philosophy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
61 ratings

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5 star		66%
4 star		19%
3 star		12%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		3%

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Erik C. Pihl

Victor Mair meets Sun Tzu

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2010

Verified Purchase

Sun Tzu's writing is notorious for its opaqueness. In this translation, Sinologist Victor Mair creates not only a readable piece of work, but one that is comprehensible (relatively speaking, of course). As a person who has read several translations of this work, including the one by Lionel Giles, I believe that it is perhaps not the best translation for a beginner, (Minton's is probably better for that), but it certainly is the best one for a continuing study of this important, enigmatic work. This translation should be in the library of anyone interested in the philosophical underpinnings of armed conflict.

7 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Great translation

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2017

Verified Purchase

If you looking for this title then I'm sure you already know what the book is about. I choose this version because I wanted an accurate translation of the authors work without the translators assumptions and paraphrasing detracting from what was originally written. Very pleased with this version.

One person found this helpful

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john erley

Read for the quotes.

Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2017

Verified Purchase

I was told to read this for business. It is more philosophy than anything. Great quotes. Great book.

Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2007

Verified Purchase

Victor Mair is amazing! I own an older version of Sun Zi, and I have to say hands down that this is much more readable and insightful a piece of work. Mair is an excellent writer in his own right, and his expert scholarship is clear from the authoritative introduction, some 55 pages long but easy to read. I have devoured this book. It is hard to put down and it doesn't bog down. His translation is superior to the older Shambala edition. I enjoyed the discussion on putting the treatise into a historical and military context. Even the forward by another author, comparing Sun Zi with Clausewitz, is excellent, thought-provoking work. I think this moves Sun Zi scholarship forward but in a way that is also perfectly readable to the layman. Mair gives the more serious scholar ways to get more into the weeds in the notes section and in references to more academic papers he has done on the subject, which is fine by me.

I highly recommend this to anyone interested the Sun Zi, tactics, and Chinese philosophy.

21 people found this helpful

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LW

Nice translation

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2017

Verified Purchase

the notes are inundating, but helpful

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Ms. Long

It is a great classic. There's always more to learn every time ...

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2016

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It is a great classic. There's always more to learn every time you read it. Thank you.

Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2019

Verified Purchase

its nice

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2019

Verified Purchase

Has all the right stuff. Great for academic classes and study. Easy to get to footnotes. Really cheap to buy.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Lay

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 30, 2016

Verified Purchase

Nice book

kamazas235

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2015

Verified Purchase

its just awesome, i love it. came in good quality, no damage or any kind of wear.

Customer (Calgary)

Excellent translation

Reviewed in Canada on November 20, 2012

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This book is probably the best translation of Sun Zi’s. I enjoyed reading about the historical and cultural context of the original writing. Tracing historical documents to find the true Sun Zi is most interesting. The book includes a section of Chinese words in Pinyin and brief comments on the translation of these words. It would help the reader to identify where these words are if the original text in Pinyin is interleaved with the translated text.

PREPARED4LIFE

Great book

Reviewed in Canada on October 23, 2018

Verified Purchase

Great copy

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