A Reader of Sunzi

Name: A Reader of Sunzi
ISBN: 9787559638809

浅野裕一 / 李斌Beijing United Publishing Co., Ltd. · ChinaJan 2023

4.3

Word count: 122K words
Chapters: 18
ISBN: 9787559638809

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Summary

Sunzi is the world's oldest work of military thought, and this book offers a complete annotated translation and interpretation of the original text. The author, Yuichi Asano, is a Japanese sinologist specializing in Chinese philosophy. His reading not only surveys every aspect of ancient warfare—strategy and tactics, offense and defense, reconnaissance and troop deployment, terrain and marches—but also draws on rich historical materials to recreate the era and its figures in three dimensions. From a modern and international perspective, he recounts how Sunzi became a classic and asks why it still prompts us to think about modern warfare.

Editor's review

This Reader is no simple annotated edition of The Art of War but an in-depth guide by the distinguished Japanese historian of Chinese thought Yuichi Asano. Drawing on deep scholarship, the author situates The Art of War within the grand historical and intellectual transformations of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, revealing how a military treatise evolved into a classic of universal philosophical and managerial value. The book's greatest strength is its distinctive interpretive lens: it moves beyond mere military tactics to explore the "theory of circumstances and momentum" (xingshi) embedded in The Art of War—how strategic goals are achieved by creating and exploiting "momentum" (shi)—an idea with profound implications for modern business competition, organizational management, and even personal decision-making. Asano's argument is clear and rigorously logical; he respects the original meaning while incorporating international sinological scholarship, offering readers a professional yet accessible high-level introduction. For readers who wish to grasp the essence of Sunzi's thought rather than skim aphorisms, this Reader provides solid textual analysis and a clear intellectual lineage—an excellent choice for advanced reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who wish to move beyond aphorisms and understand the core thought system of The Art of War systematically
Businesspeople and managers interested in corporate strategy, the philosophy of competition, and management studies
Enthusiasts of ancient Chinese intellectual history, especially the relationship between military thought and the Hundred Schools
Deep readers who prefer scholarly introductions and rigorous textual analysis grounded in historical context

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking only simple storytelling, fable-like interpretations, or fast-food life maxims
Military buffs looking for extensive case studies of actual battles or purely technical military analysis

Reading tips

Begin by reading the introduction to grasp Asano's core interpretive framework, especially the "circumstances and momentum" perspective
Read alongside the original text of The Art of War; the book's chapter divisions and analyses deepen understanding of each chapter
After finishing, reflect on modern business or historical cases to consider how the ideas of "creating momentum" and "harnessing momentum" apply beyond the military realm

About the publisher

Beijing United Publishing Co., Ltd. China · Founded in 1993

Beijing United Publishing Co., Ltd. is a publisher known for its literature and history titles, with 2,065 books in the collection. Its publishing covers foreign literature, contemporary Chinese prose and essays, history, folk literature, and cultural books. Its list ranges from Sima Qian's complete edition of the Records of the Grand Historian to foreign classics such as The Book of Disquiet, All Quiet on the Western Front, Snow Country, The Stranger, and Jean-Christophe, as well as modern Chinese works including Teahouse and Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk. Its authors and translators include Yasunari Kawabata, Fernando Pessoa, Erich Maria Remarque, Jin Xinyi, Zhou Miao, and Chen Chao. Public information is limited, but its catalogue reflects a balance between Chinese and foreign literary classics and historical and cultural works.

版权信息
学术文库版序
凡例
第一章计篇
第二章作战篇
第三章谋攻篇
第四章形篇
第五章势篇
第六章虚实篇
第七章军争篇
第八章九变篇
第九章行军篇
第十章地形篇
第十一章九地篇
第十二章用间篇
第十三章火攻篇
作为经典的《孙子》
出版后记

FAQ

What is this book's Douban rating?

According to available information, Sunzi Reader by the Japanese scholar Yuichi Asano, published by Beijing United Publishing Company, has received strong reviews on Douban, with a rating above 8.5—evidence of readers' recognition of its scholarly quality and interpretive depth.

What sets this book apart from other interpretations of The Art of War?

Its core distinction lies in its scholarly and intellectual character. Asano is a professional historian of Chinese thought; starting from the development of intellectual history, he focuses on the "circumstances and momentum" philosophy of Sunzi and compares it with Confucian, Legalist, and other currents, offering an interpretation with greater historical depth and theoretical weight than the common popularizing or stratagem-oriented readings.

What is Yuichi Asano's background?

Yuichi Asano is a prominent contemporary Japanese scholar of Chinese philosophy and intellectual history and a former professor at Tohoku University, with extensive publications on ancient Chinese thought. Known for rigorous textual scholarship and clear theoretical analysis, his work carries considerable influence in Japan and international sinology, ensuring the authority and currency of this book's interpretation.

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About the author

浅野裕一 Author

Yuichi Asano is a Japanese scholar of classical Chinese thought, though publicly available information about his life remains limited. Judging from the works listed in our catalog, his writing centers on the pre-Qin thinkers and the intellectual world of ancient China. His representative works include a reader's guide to Sunzi and a reader's guide to Mozi, as well as his contribution to the six-volume The Spirit of the Philosophers from Kodansha. These books are largely aimed at general readers, presenting the classics in the form of readable guides and accessible introductions. He places Sunzi's military thought and Mozi's ideas of universal love and opposition to aggression within their respective historical contexts, combining close reading of the texts with intellectual commentary. In Chinese reading circles his works are often classified under Eastern philosophy, offering an approachable entry point into the thought of the pre-Qin masters.

李斌 Author

Li Bin's works span a broad range of subjects, covering legal practice, social documentary writing, and philosophical reading. In corporate law, he offers practical analysis of the design of articles of association and shareholder disputes, using real cases to discuss corporate control, combining operational guidance with cautionary insight. In the field of historical documentary writing, he took part in compiling and translating several volumes of the Historical Materials on the Nanjing Massacre, including the diaries and recollections of Japanese officers and soldiers as well as related reporting in Japanese newspapers of the time, providing primary sources for researchers. He has also produced reader-friendly interpretations of classics such as Mencius: A Reader and Sunzi: A Reader. Because public information is limited, his dates of birth and death, nationality, and educational background remain unknown, but these thirty works show that he attends both to practical legal issues and to historical sources and the popularization of traditional culture.