For the hardcore strategists, we recommended Dr. Sawyer's latest translation- Strategies for the Human Realm.
This book was composed by Li Ch’üan (Li Quan), a provincial military official who served in the middle T’ang dynasty, the T’ai-pai Yin-ching revitalized the theoretical study of warfare in China. Remarkably comprehensive, it first focuses upon the human realm, devoting a quarter of its hundred chapters to the grand issues of government, warfare, human society, ethical values, and man’s orientation within the universe while pondering the more concrete problems of the nature of command, methods for evaluating men, the role of rewards and punishments, and the implementation of subversive measures. Instead of conquering through combat or achieving the fabled hundred victories in a hundred clashes, Li’s aim was victory without combat so as to preserve the state rather than debilitate it in warfare. The remaining seventy-five chapters, not translated here, briefly discuss important battle equipment and techniques before unfolding extensive material on sacrifices and arcane prognosticatory methods. Highly regarded thereafter, the T’ai-pai Yin-ching stands at the beginning of the later military tradition in China and numerous chapters appear in the military compendia produced over the next thousand years. It also continues to be the subject of conscious study as the PRC strives to develop “military science with unique Chinese characteristics.”
You can get a copy of this classic at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
It is also available for the Kindle.
We will post more information about Li Quan and this unique book at a later time.
Side note
"Li’s aim was victory without combat so as to preserve the state rather than debilitate it in warfare. ... "
In order to achieve this monumental step, one must be able to assess the tangible state of their competition's strategic power. Do you know how to achieve this first step?
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