Sun-Tzu
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Overview
The most widely read military classic in human history, newly translated and revised in accordance with newly discovered materials of unprecedented historical significance. Fluid, crisp and rigorously faithful to the original, this new text is destined to stand as the definitive version of this cornerstone work of Classical Chinese. Of compelling importance not only to students of Chinese history and literature, but to all readers interested in the art or the philosophy of war.
The most widely read military classic in human history, this work has been the seminal guide on the philosophy of war for two millenia. But in 1972, Chinese archaeologists unearthed a cache of manuscripts, and scholars found five hitherto unknown chapters. This edition is the first English translation to take advantage of the newly discovered materials. 8-page photo insert.
Synopsis
The most widely read military classic in human history, newly translated and revised in accordance with newly discovered materials of unprecedented historical significance. Fluid, crisp and rigorously faithful to the original, this new text is destined to stand as the definitive version of this cornerstone work of Classical Chinese. Of compelling importance not only to students of Chinese history and literature, but to all readers interested in the art or the philosophy of war.
Library Journal
This is an essential text for any library with a research collection in Chinese history and philosophy, as it is the first translation of the military/philosophy work Sun-tzu ping fa to incorporate the five chapters unearthed by archaeologists in 1972 at Yin-chueh-shan in Shantung province, China. It is also the first English translation to use the 13-chapter version of Sun-tzu found in that same dig dated 1000 years prior to previously available texts. The translator, who heads the University of Hawai'i's Center for Chinese Studies, provides an elucidating introduction to the text, the excavations, and the authorship of Sun-tzu and describes its import as a philosophical text. The translation adds the romanized form for certain key translated terms, which some readers may find intrusive. Some of the translated fragments are so brief as to be impenetrable, but their inclusion results in a level of completeness never before reached in a translation of Sun-tzu. Since there was frequent mention of this book as Gordon Gekko's primer in the film Wall Street , there may be popular interest in it as well.--Ed.-- D.E. Perushek, Univ. of Tennessee Libs., Knoxville