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Title: The Tao of War by Wang Chen, Ralph D. Sawyer, Mei-Chun Lee Sawyer ISBN: 0-8133-4081-0 Publisher: Westview Press Pub. Date: 17 December, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)
Rating: 5
Summary: Ian Myles Slater on: The Way of War and Peace
Comment: As discreetly acknowledged on the back cover, this book was originally published in hardcover as "The Tao of Peace." That edition, published by Shambhala, clearly identified itself on its cover as a translation of a work by the T'ang Dynasty general Wang Chen (about 800 C.E.), a product of one of the classical periods of Chinese history. The Westview Press version is a little harder to recognize for what it is.
In both versions, it is in fact a translation, with an introduction and commentary by the translators, of "Tao-te-Ching lun-ping yao-yi-shu," one of the more unusual of the many surviving Chinese commentaries on the "Tao Te Ching" or "Lao-Tzu." The "5000-character Classic" (as it is also known, and as Wang Chen sometimes cites it) was of exceptional importance to the T'ang; the supposed author was officially an ancestor of the dynasty, the Chinese roots of which were often questioned.
The Westview edition has been repackaged, slightly revised in references to the title, and expanded by a section of "Further Reading" which is in effect a catalogue of the translators' other books on Chinese military thought for Westview.
Ralph D. Sawyer explains in the Preface that they have also provided a translation of the "Tao-Te-Ching" itself, which uses Wang Chen's apparent readings and parsing of the text, and so differs from the many earlier translations, and from the Sawyers' own understanding of the book. Each of the eighty-one chapters consists of a passage of the Lao-Tzu, Wang Chen's explanation of its application, and the translator's explication of its (mainly military and political) context and significance.
The two alternative titles of the translation reflect the thrust of Wang Chen's commentary equally well, although the choice seems to reflect the markets served by the two publishers. As is the case with many Shambhala publications, the volume is rather thin on references, although Sawyer does mention some important translations of the "Tao Te Ching." Since he explains that the book is directed at ordinary readers, he might have expanded some of these brief comments in the Preface -- the ordinary reader may not be familiar with, say, the difference between the Ho Shang Kung and Wang Pi texts of Lao-Tzu, which he mentions in passing.
Wang Chen and his "commentary" are the main focus of the book. The Sawyers attempt to show how the general connects his views to a book usually treated from religious and philosophical perspectives. The question of whether Wang Chen is correctly interpreting his canonical text is, of course, of no great concern. The commentary is a common form for expressing original ideas in many cultures with strong text-based traditions, Hebrew and Sanskrit, for example, as well as Chinese. This one is an attempt to find a consistent basis for humane and effective government. It was intended to replace the T'ang tendency for random shifting between ruthless interventionism and quietist failure to govern. Whether this instability in policy was a cause of the dynasty's difficulties, or a dangerous symptom, is another matter. Having a contemporary analysis of the dynasty's problems is only part of the book's considerable interest.
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Title: The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China: Wu Ching Chi Shu (History and Warfare) by Ralph D. Sawyer, Mei-Chun Sawyer ISBN: 0813312280 Publisher: Westview Press Pub. Date: May, 1993 List Price(USD): $37.50 |
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Title: Fire and Water: The Art of Incendiary and Aquatic Warfare in China by Ralph D. Sawyer, Mei-Chun Lee Sawyer ISBN: 0813340659 Publisher: Westview Press Pub. Date: 06 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: The Tao of Spycraft: Intelligence Theory and Practice in Traditional China by Ralph D. Sawyer ISBN: 0813342406 Publisher: Westview Press Pub. Date: January, 2004 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Sun-Tzu: The Art of War (History and Warfare) by Ralph D. Sawyer ISBN: 081331951X Publisher: Westview Press Pub. Date: January, 1994 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: The Complete Art of War (History and Warfare) by Sun-Tzu, Sun Pin, Ralph D. Sawyer, Mei-Chun Lee Sawyer, Sun Tzu ISBN: 0813330858 Publisher: Westview Press Pub. Date: May, 1996 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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