I am very interested in reading The Art of War by Sun Tzu and The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. With so many publications and versions (pocket,mass paperback) how can I ensure a correct purchase of these titles. Please help.
2007-02-15 00:21:52 · 5 answers · asked by The One 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Hello,
I cannot help you much with "The Prince" but for "The Art of War by Sun Zi", I hope my five years experience with the book would help you.
If you are looking for a book with good translation, please select a translator that is sufficiently immersed in the Chinese Language and Culture for obvious reason. For this reason, I recommend you the following book "Sun Zi Art of War: An Illustrated Translation with Asian Perspective and Insights" by Prof Wee Chow Hou. The author of this book is a Chinese and is bilingual. His version is the best I have seen so far. Being a Chinese myself, I feel that the other translations that I have seen, most of the translations did not capture the essence of the book and worse, some of the translation is ridiculous, making readers even more confused.
If you are looking for a website, might I suggest a website I am working on. The site aims to help people understand Sun Zi Art of War and other Ancient Chinese Works better. You can find some articles on its application on business as well.
Hope it helps! Cheers!
2007-02-15 12:05:05 · answer #1 · answered by efmkoo 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As for 'The Prince', I am sorry - I cannot help you. I have not read the book. As far as The Art of War (sun zi bing fa) I can give you a few ideas. There are many translations from many publishers. The copy I have is a translation (with introduction/foreword by military men) to help understand the MILITARY applications of this book. Other translations will focus on its BUSINESS applications, or as a work of ancient Chinese PHILOSOPHY.
2007-02-15 01:50:19 · answer #2 · answered by WMD 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since those are old, out of copyright titles, there are a variety of translations available. Although they all try to be like the original, the quality of translation does vary.
I would go for something translated in the nineteen fifties, when scholarship was at it's peak and when academic language (which we now call political correctness) took a brief holiday.
Take a look at who translated it, and on the inside cover, translation copyright, it should say when.
2007-02-15 01:04:57 · answer #3 · answered by dude 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Technically they should all be identical. Changing anything within the book is a violation of copyright laws. I would personally go with a hard back edition anyway - they hold up better and these are not casual reading books so you'll want to keep them around.
I've read Machiavelli...it's extremely interesting. Hope you enjoy them!
2007-02-15 00:30:44 · answer #4 · answered by Enchanted 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
look for the ISBN number and i guess the original ones coming these days have a hologram too...however its really impossible to find out the original ones...just see the paper quality and the printing quality...buy from a genuine Book dealer...leave the rest to GOD
2007-02-18 23:52:38 · answer #5 · answered by varaprasad143 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋