ABSTRACT

The Art of War by Sun Tzu is an ancient yet invaluable Chinese military classic that is still relevant today. This book presents a systematic and in-depth investigation into the translation and reception of The Art of War in Western strategic culture.

Aided by three self-built corpora, this book adopts a mixed method of qualitative and quantitative analysis, and takes both the core text and its paratexts of The Art of War into consideration. The author highlights the significance of proper approaches to translating culture in regards to the core text and effective measures of culture reconstruction in regards to the paratexts. It is revealed by this investigation that the translated Sun Tzu has undergone three major stages before its canonization in Western discourse. The findings bring to light the multiple factors that contribute to the incorporation of Sun Tzu’s strategic wisdom into Western culture.

For scholars interested in translation studies, (critical) discourse analysis, as well as strategic studies, this book provides fresh insights and new perspectives.

chapter 2|19 pages

Relevant theories and concepts

A literature review

chapter 3|14 pages

Research methodology and data

One framework, two methods and three corpora

chapter 5|46 pages

Reception of translated Sun Tzu in Western discourse

A re-canonization process

chapter 7|7 pages

Conclusion

Findings, implications and beyond