Description
Book SynopsisThe Mandate of Heaven examines the first European version of Sunzi’s Art of War, which was translated from Chinese by Joseph Amiot, a French missionary in Beijing, and published in Paris in 1772. His work is presented in English for the first time. Amiot undertook this project following the suppression of the Society of Jesus in France with the aim of demonstrating the value of the China mission to the French government. He addressed his work to Henri Bertin, minister of state, beginning a thirty-year correspondence between the two men. Amiot framed his translation in order to promote a radical agenda using the Chinese doctrine of the “mandate of heaven.” This was picked up within the sinophile and radical circle of the physiocrats, who promoted China as a model for revolution in Europe. The work also arrived just as the concept of strategy was emerging in France. Thus Amiot’s Sunzi can be placed among seminal developments in European political and strategic thought on the eve of the revolutionary era.
Trade Review“The Mandate of Heaven is a welcome addition to studies on French Jesuits and their impact on the Enlightenment. Parr and the other contributors to the volume are to be applauded for their contributions to understanding eighteenth-century Jesuit missionary culture and the global connections that facilitated and inspired the Enlightenment.” - Daniel J. Watkins, Baylor University, in: Journal of Jesuit Studies, Vol. 7, No. 4 (2020), pp. 687-689
Table of Contents Acknowledgments Contributors Introduction 1The Context of the Translation 1.1The Military Enlightenment 1.2War and Peace 1.3The Suppression of the Jesuits 1.4The China mission 1.5The Standing of China at the Outbreak of the Seven Years’ War 1.6The Physiocrats 1.7The Correspondance littéraire 1Translating theSunzi 1The Texts 2Sources 3Approaching Translation 4Language Barriers 2Joseph Amiot’sSunzi 1Notes on the English Translation 2Preface by the Publisher, Joseph de Guignes 3Translator’s Preface 4The Emperor’s Preface to the Ten Precepts Addressed to Men at Arms 3The Thirteen Chapters on Military Art, a Work Composed in Chinese by Sunzi Preface 1The Fundamentals of Military Art 2On the Beginning of the Campaign 3On What One Needs to have Thought of Before a Battle 4On the Positioning of Troops 5On Skill in the Leading of Troops 6On Fullness and Emptiness 7On the Advantages to Be Secured 8On the Nine Changes 9On the Conduct of Troops 10On Knowledge of the Landscape 11On the Nine Types of Terrain 12Guide to How to Fight with Fire 13On How to Make Use of Dissension and Sow Discord 4Interpreting Amiot’sSunzi 1Utility 2Science, Art, and Perspective 3Grande science and Grand Art 4La Doctrine: The Way 5Benevolence 6A Second Reading 5Postscript: Strategy and Revolution 1Responses to the Art Militaire 2Henri Bertin’s Correspondance Militaire 3Strategy Appendix 1: Joseph Amiot’s Letter to Henri Bertin, Beijing, September 23, 1766 Appendix 2: Amiot’s Life Family Background Education A Jesuit in the Kingdom of France Journey to and Arrival in Beijing The French Mission Early Years (1751–64) The Appeal of Chinese Music Amiot’s Scientific Research Amiot’s Contact with European Academies Amiot’s Major Period of Writing The Abolition of the Society of Jesus Writer, Translator, and Correspondent Further Research into Chinese Music Later Years Final Works: Chinese Dances and Scientific Research A Major Shock: The Impact of the Revolutionary Upheaval in France Amiot the Missionary His Network of Contacts Other Works Ethno-linguistics History Science Art Portraits of Amiot Bibliography Index
