The Mandate of Heaven: Strategy, Revolution, and the First European Translation of Sunzi's Art of War (1772) - Hardcover
by Adam Parr
$198.99
Quantity
01
Pay over time for orders over $35.00 with
Offers & Perks
Earn 198 points with this purchase
Added to your rewards balance after checkout.
100 points welcome bonus
Create an account and start with extra points.
Availability:In StockContributor:Adam ParrSeries:Jesuit StudiesTheme:Chronological Period/18th Century, Chronological Period/19th CenturyPublish date:10/17/2019Pages:323
The Mandate of Heaven examines the first European version of Sunzi's Art of War, which was translated from Chinese by Joseph Amiot, a French missionary in Beijing, and published in Paris in 1772. His work is presented in English for the first time. Amiot undertook this project following the suppression of the Society of Jesus in France with the aim of demonstrating the value of the China mission to the French government. He addressed his work to Henri Bertin, minister of state, beginning a thirty-year correspondence between the two men. Amiot framed his translation in order to promote a radical agenda using the Chinese doctrine of the "mandate of heaven." This was picked up within the sinophile and radical circle of the physiocrats, who promoted China as a model for revolution in Europe. The work also arrived just as the concept of strategy was emerging in France. Thus Amiot's Sunzi can be placed among seminal developments in European political and strategic thought on the eve of the revolutionary era.
Adam Parr is a professor at the University of Western Australia. He read English at the University of Cambridge and received his PhD at University College London. His doctoral thesis was on the translation of classical military theory following the Seven Years' War (1756-63).
Publisher: Brill
Free shipping on orders over $75. Standard shipping takes 3-7 business days. Eligible items may be returned within 30 days of delivery. Conditions apply.