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Ancient Chinese Warfare by Ralph D. Sawyer (2011-03-01) Hardcover

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4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 19 ratings
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01N07L2UB
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

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Ralph D. Sawyer

Ralph D. Sawyer

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Ralph D. Sawyer, one of America's leading scholars in Chinese warfare, has worked extensively with major intelligence and defense agencies. After studying at MIT and Harvard and a brief stint of university teaching, Sawyer has spent the past thirty years lecturing and doing international consulting work focused on China.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
19 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

DesktopReader
5.0 out of 5 stars A Grand Historical Overview of Chinese Warfare
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2011
Verified Purchase
What one learns from the book, is that the strategic leaders of that era (and their advisors) used a grand theory of political, economic and social disorder to channel competition and cooperation in directions favorable to their interests. Not only were they able to establish various grades of alliances, their integrated strategic culture of competition and cooperation expanded.

Securing the right terrain configuration, a general control of economics, a functioning intelligence network and the necessary logistical base allowed them to achieve:

* Fortifications which controlled the physical terrain and access to natural resources

* A technological edge with respect to materiel, armor and weapons, manpower and motive power

* control of key logistics points

These achievements then became the essential foundations for winning future battles.

This grand evolution of these strategic steps was also critical in winning the game of cooperation and competition. Those steps also propelled the strategic leaders to focus exclusively on the strategic direction of state building and the use of extreme warfare (i.e., "total war").

Extreme warfare causes the stimulation of innovation, social change, and material gain. That was true then and as modern historians such as Paul Kennedy and Charles Tilley know, it remains true now.

One more thing, this book is great especially if you are a reader of ancient Chinese military history. The specifics behind each chapter are immense and quite detailed.

In summary, the author provides the strategic foundation for those in the position of the underdog to prevail against favored and better capitalized competitors. This strategy has many useful applications in the present chaotic information economy. As I am writing this review, I wonder if China's current efforts at ascension to world power isn't based on the same conceptual model as that of the Hsia dynasty and the Shang dynasty.

I am looking forward to his next book.
3 people found this helpful
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4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2018
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Excellent condition. Informative, though I was hoping it would cover more of the later Warring States period.
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Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Factual treasure trove
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2019
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Clear, concise, broad, and deep presentation of the documentary and archaeological facts currently available on which opinions about military matters in the earliest Chinese dynasties might be based, along with stringent cautions about speculations from these "knowns." You will wait a bit longer and pay a bit more than most Amazon books, but worth it if your interest goes beyond entertainment.
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David Karke
5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed Account of Ancient Chinese Warfare
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2019
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To western scholars, Chinese Military History is still somewhat of an unexplored topic. Ralph Sawyer helps address this in Ancient Chinese Warfare. It is a detailed account of weaponry, fortifications, logistics, strategy, organization, and how they contributed to numerous historical periods. This is a must-have!
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Milton Schwartz
5.0 out of 5 stars Ancient Chinese Warfare by Ralph Sawyer
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2011
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Sawyers writings on Chinese warfare history are incredibly researched and detailed, so much so that they require meticulous concentration and careful re-readings. Sawyer is to be commended on the scholarly diligence of his research and writing.
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User1
3.0 out of 5 stars getting bogged down in details like the exact dimensions of like 50 different city walls
Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2017
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interesting information but can be dry and academic, getting bogged down in details like the exact dimensions of like 50 different city walls
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S. M.Silver
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2014
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Relies heavily on archeological studies but covers the ground in a very readable fashion.
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oldguy
1.0 out of 5 stars a bet too much
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2013
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It Was very detailed However I learned much about China Too much information for a casual reader I didn't finish the book
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Hansen
5.0 out of 5 stars Tortoise Shells
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2019
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Ralph D. Sawyer, the immensely learned scholar of Chinese history has here written a true tour-de-force on warfare in the early epochs of China, dating from 2500 to 1000 BC. This is the era beginning with the mythical Yellow Emperor and then the Xia and Shang dynasties, the latter being replaced by the Zhou around 1000 BC.

The main issue facing the author is the sources of this history. A number of colourful accounts exist, but these were all written much later, 300 BC – 200 AD. To a large extent they have been regarded as works of myth or fiction, but during the last 100 years archaeological evidence has been uncovered, which actually corroborates many elements of the stories. Most intriguing is the finds of more than 200,000 tortoise shells from the Shang period with Chinese characters written on them. These were used for divination. A question would be written on the shell, which then was heated until it cracked, and the pattern of cracks would provide the answer. Actually, many names from the much later written records have been found here, proving the reality of the existence and deeds of these persons.

Sawyer now has assembled every piece of evidence to reconstruct the military situation in China back then. Archaeological excavations have revealed early towns or cities with fortifications, primitive at first, but then more elaborate. These are described in much detail. Bronze artifacts with inscriptions and the above-mentioned tortoise shells come next. Then of course there are also finds of weapons and human skeletons, many of whose owners obviously suffered violent deaths.

The book has chapters on each epoch, and then more detailed descriptions of major types of weapons and equipment, amongst which the chariot stands out. Manufactured in huge numbers, at great cost, and yet difficult to employ efficiently in battle. Swords are always associated with ancient China, but Sawyer shows that they only came into prominence in the latter part of the Zhou dynasty. Instead, the mysterious dagger-axe was a weapon of choice. And then, of course, the bow and arrow, used expertly by the Chinese.

Sawyer is a careful scholar. He assembles all the evidence and draws his conclusions. These may seem a bit weak in many cases, but this is because Sawyer never wants to move into the realm of speculations or guesswork. Everything is solidly based on the evidence.

This, however, also makes the reading a bit dry here and there, even though the text is kept relatively light, while the more scientific details are relegated to the bulky notes at the end of the book (80 pages of minuscule typescript). Sometimes a few more illustrations would also have made the descriptions of e.g. weapons more comprehensible.

And then of course there is Sawyer’s use of the Wade Giles transcription of Chinese words, whereby Xia, Cao and Zhou become Hsia, Ts’ao and Chou). For people like the present reviewer, who has grown up with Pinyin, this is a bit annoying but forgivable.

All told, Sawyer has written a formidable book here, with lots and lots of fascinating information for anyone interested in the history of early China.
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5.0 out of 5 stars estrutura militar da china antiga
Reviewed in Brazil on October 5, 2016
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desde de o neolítico ate shang em questão de estrategia , abordando , armas , fortalezas , inteligencia etc .
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