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Ralph D. Sawyer

Mei-chün Sawyer

The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China, including The Art of War Hardcover – May 5, 1993

by Ralph D. Sawyer (Author), Mei-Chun Sawyer (Author)

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The Seven Military Classics is one of the most profound studies of warfare ever written. It presents us with an Eastern tradition of strategic thought that emphasizes outwitting one's opponent through speed, stealth, flexibility, and a minimum of force—an approach very different from that stressed in the West, where the advantages of brute strength have overshadowed more subtle methods.Safeguarded for centuries by the ruling elites of imperial China, even in modern times these writings have been known only to a handful of Western specialists. In this volume are seven separate essays, written between 500 b.c. and a.d. 700, that preserve the essential tenets of strategy distilled from the experience of the most brilliant warriors of ancient China.Only one of these seven essays, Sun Tzu's famous Art of War, has been readily available in the West. Thanks to this faithful translation of the complete Seven Military Classics, the insights of these ancient Chinese texts are now accessible in their entirety.It's not uncommon to see a “salaryman” on a crowded Tokyo subway studying one of the many popular Japanese editions of these essays. But why do so many businesspeople in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan study a 2,000-year-old military text? Because it embodies the strategic tradition of outwitting an opponent through speed, stealth, flexibility, and a minimum of effort. These principles have been proven both on the battlefield and in the marketplace. Now they are available in the West for the first time in their entirety.The lessons found in this book were exploited by such pivotal Asian war leaders as Japan's Yamamoto, China's Mao Tse-tung, and Vietnam's Giap to inflict terrible defeats on their enemies. And in more recent times, when Japan and others have decided to win their laurels on the field of international economic competition, these principles have been a key to the achievements of many Asian corporations. Executives in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan regularly study the Seven Military Classics. Unfortunately, even those far-sighted Western business leaders who have read Sun Tzu have glimpsed only a fraction of the knowledge their best Asian competitors use to plan corporate strategy—until now.Those who appreciate Chinese literature and philosophy will also discover much that is new in these pages. Here is a substantial but previously inaccessible body of thought that stands in contrast to Confucianism, which deprecated the military sphere in favor of self-cultivation and the ethical life.The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China remedies a serious gap in Western knowledge of Asian thought. This accurate translation is based on the best available classical Chinese manuscripts, some only recently discovered by archaeologists. It is a uniquely important contribution to the world's military literature and is essential reading for anyone interested in China's rich cultural heritage or in the timeless principles of successful strategy.

Print length

586 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Basic Books
Publication date

May 5, 1993
Grade level

11 and up
Reading age

13 years and up
Dimensions

6.5 x 1.75 x 9.75 inches
ISBN-10

0813312280
ISBN-13

978-0813312286
Lexile measure

1270L
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Military thought was never a popular subject in ancient China--partly because of Confucianism's distaste for the soldier's craft, partly because of the enduring concern of central governments with maintaining a monopoly on effective violence. Nevertheless, between 500 BCE and 700 ACE a number of significant treatises on warfare emerged, the most familiar being Sun Tzu's Art of War ; the others have remained obscure even to specialists. Sawyer's brilliantly edited translation makes the entire body of work generally available in English. These writings reinforce the traditional image of a Chinese way of war emphasizing speed and cunning rather than brute force. They also establish the military's importance in governing China: the virtuous ruler demonstrated his virtue by succeeding in war, which depended on understanding war's nature. Recommended for all public and private collections of military history.
- D.E. Showalter, U.S. Air Force Acad., Colorado Springs
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Ralph D. Sawyer, one of America's leading scholars in Chinese warfare, has worked extensively with major intelligence and defense agencies. After studying at MIT and Harvard and a brief stint of university teaching, Sawyer has spent the past thirty years lecturing and doing international consulting work focused on China.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books (May 5, 1993)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 586 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0813312280
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0813312286
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1270L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 11 and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.34 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.75 x 9.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,051,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,217 in Chinese History (Books)
- #2,510 in Military Strategy History (Books)
- #7,419 in Ancient Civilizations

Customer Reviews:
121 ratings

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David Karke

Fascinating and Scholarly Account

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2019

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Too often we over-focus on Sun Tzu's the art of war when thinking about Chinese military theory, and this book brings six additional ancient Chinese theorists to life, along with Sun Tzu's Art of War. Of particular interest is the quality of the translation of Sun Tzu. In the west, most translations are a derivative of the Gile's translation from 1910. This version, translated by Ralph Sawyer and his wife is much more accurate!

7 people found this helpful

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Troy

One of the best volumes on the core of historical eastern strategic thought ...

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2016

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One of the best volumes on the core of historical eastern strategic thought you can get your hands on, which includes some of the more important texts relating to such in a easily digested format. If you want to learn about strategy you're going to want to start with this one and then branch out from there depending on where you want to go with it. I'd also recommend the Tao of Spycraft and Tao of Deception to compliment this particular volume before you dive into Clauswitz and the core concepts of Western strategic thought/total warfare.

18 people found this helpful

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Diane Lewis

Military info

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2019

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Good information.

One person found this helpful

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Thomas A.

good information

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2019

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the book was a very good read thank you

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DAlex

Great read for any scholar

Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2016

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Great book for anyone to read, much deeper then the initial messages of war are also many life lessons to follow. I truly feel better knowing I have the knowledge this writing provides.

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2007

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Sawyer knows his subject. He is a master of Chinese warfare and culture. He even teaches you how to pronounce some common Chinese words that we in the west always mispronounce.

The book is great. It covers a lot --- not just The Art of War, though that's included. It is a complete study of the Chinese strategies of war and I recommend it to those interested in this topic.

14 people found this helpful

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Melody

Know your enemy.

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2021

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We will see....

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2018

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If you like big thick boring books this one is for you.

5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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Mark Rostron

The only thing that I did not like about the book was the use of Wade-Giles spellings ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 25, 2015

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The book is composed of an introduction to Chinese history, followed by a section for each of the 7 military texts. Each text has its own introduction, followed by the translation of the original book, liberally laced with notes and comments, each of which is referenced to original sources. The notes are actually placed at the end of the book so don't detract from the readability of the main text. The only thing that I did not like about the book was the use of Wade-Giles spellings of Chinese names, places and dynasties. In the modern world all Chinese and most Europeans are using the pinyin spellings, so Wade-Giles spellings are confusing. Compare the pinyin spelling of Beijing to the identically pronounced W-G spelling of Peking and you can see that this can present a problem for less well known names/places.
If pinyin had been used I would have given this book the full 5 stars.

One person found this helpful

PWR

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 23, 2015

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Ancient wisdom eh!

BSP

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 28, 2014

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Brilliant!

Jeffrey Quinn

(Some people will never know the joy of a well-written book with notes and a bibliography

Reviewed in Canada on January 22, 2018

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I have to admit to a bit of a nerdgasm on receiving this book. (Some people will never know the joy of a well-written book with notes and a bibliography.) The introduction gives the best historical coverage of pre-imperial China I've come across. Even if you plan to eventually read the works in Chinese, this book is still worth buying, and if not, it will considerably change how you view the Confucian classics. If it was written using Pinyin instead of Wade-Giles it would be perfect, but in the 90's you might still have been accused of being a Communist sympathiser for that.

This book would make an excellent present for anyone interested in history.

2 people found this helpful

schlimmerdurst

Kriegsführung ist die wichtigste Angelegenheit des Staates

Reviewed in Germany on July 22, 2011

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Das vorliegende Werk ist eine Zusammenstellung einiger der wichtigsten Militärklassiker des alten China. "Die Kunst des Krieges" von Sunzi, der wohl bekannteste Text aus dieser Gruppe von Militärhandbüchern, hat auch heute noch eine enorme Anziehungskraft auf Leserschichten jedweder Couleur. Doch Sunzi steht nicht in einem Vakuum - gerade die Zeit der chinesischen Geschichte vor der Reichseinigung durch die Qin-Dynastie hat einige ähnliche Werke hervorgebracht, die zwar im Westen praktisch unbekannt sind, im Zusammenhang betrachtet aber ein recht deutliches Bild von der damaligen Geisteshaltung geben.

Enthalten sind, neben einem allgemeinen Vorwort, Übersetzungen der folgenden Werke:

"T'ai Kung's Six Secret Teachings"
"The Methods of the Ssu-ma"
"Sun-tzu's Art of War"
"Wu-tzu"
"Wei Liao-tzu"
"Three Strategies of Huang Shih-kung"
"Questions and Replies Between T'ang T'ai-tsung and Li Wei-kung"

Zu jedem der Werke ist ein eigenes Vorwort, das den Inhalt erläutert, und sehr viele Endnoten vorhanden - was bei derart alten Texten, die sich oft genug durch ihre Knappheit und einen gewissen Interpretationsspielraum auszeichnen, auch unbedingt vonnöten ist.

Die Übersetzungen lesen sich sehr flüssig, verzichten auf Altertümeleien und überkomplexen Satzbau, und sind auch für Laien sehr gut verständlich - doch vorsicht, trotz moderner Übersetzung lesen sich diese Texte eher mühsam und wenig aufregend, und man muss einiges an Energie investieren, wenn man wirklich den hinter den teilweise kryptischen und geschichtlich-literarischen Anspielungen versteckten Sinn entdecken will.

Ein Index mit der Zuordnung von Wade-Giles-Bezeichnungen zu den eigentlichen chinesischen Zeichen, einer mit einer Liste von militärischen Prinzipien und wo man sie in den 7 Werken findet, sowie ein allgemeiner Schlagwortindex komplettieren die Zusammenstellung. Das grobe Papier und der labberige Einband werden durch eine gute Bindung gehalten. Die Romanisierung erfolgt leider noch in Wade-Giles und nicht in Pinyin.

Wer liest dieses Buch? Gewiss alle, die sich für Militärgeschichte interessieren, oder auch allgemein für die frühe chinesische Philosophie und Soziologie. Wer allerdings etwas anderes als Handbücher für Handhabung von Armeen sucht, wird hier nicht viel Freude haben. Besonders die Idee, diese uralten Militärtexte auf moderne Gegebenheiten und z.B. auf die Wirtschaft oder zwischenmenschliche Beziehungen zu übertragen, halte ich für wenig zielführend und wird weder diesen alten Texten noch dem Ratsuchenden gerecht werden können.

2 people found this helpful

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