Victor Mair on the Art of War

A Philadelpha radio station has a nearly hour-long interview with Victor H. Mair about his new translation of the Sun Zi bingfa: The Art of War: Sun Zi’s Military Methods. It’s available in both MP3 podcast (24 MB) and Real Audio formats.

Mair reads from his translation in the interview. For a written sample, see The Art of War: a new translation.

Note that Amazon’s “search inside” for this book gives the wrong text. But since the ISBN is correct you should receive the correct book if you order from them.

Sweet. Thanks for the heads up.

How do I download that?

Not just a historical document either. It contains valuable lessons for the modern executive:

The wisdom of Sun Zi in action

Right click on the MP3 link and save the file.

Sonshi, the largest website dedicated to Sun Tzu’s Art of War, has evaluated dozens of translations and has selected Mair’s work for the site’s highest recommendation.

[quote]Dr. Victor H. Mair’s 2007 scholarly book, The Art of War: Sun Zi’s Military Methods (published by Columbia University Press), provides not only an accurate translation of The Art of War but also the most recent research into its origin.

With a knack for Sinitic etymology, Sinitic lexicography, and the origins and evolution of Chinese script, Victor Mair pushed for Chinese language reforms in exceptional efforts such as how Chinese dictionaries should be best arranged. Dr. Mair’s expertise allows him to break new ground in his Art of War translation and book which contains bold and original data, analyses, and theories. Like a scientist, he methodically asserts evidences to challenge our current knowledge and leaves us with renewed scholarship and appreciation for The Art of War. You won’t regret owning this refreshing, authoritative, and well-researched edition…

After much debate and discussion, Sonshi.com is ranking Victor Mair’s The Art of War: Sun Zi’s Military Methods the #1 Art of War edition; how rare a book that courageously stands up to centuries of established thought, proceeds to knock it down with sound logic and proof, and succeeds in convincing even the Old Guard to change their views.[/quote]

Sonshi also recently interviewed Prof. Mair.

Sino-Platonic Papers has just released a book-length companion volume to Mair’s translation: “Soldierly Methods: Vade Mecum for an Iconoclastic Translation of Sun Zi bingfa” (1 MB PDF). The complete text is available for free online.

Here’s a description: