Sunzi and The Art of War (CHTR 3122)

UVa Collab course site: 17F CHTR 3122

Tuesday: 3:30-6:00pm
New Cabell Hall 187

Mark Metcalf (mmetcalf@virginia.edu or mlm6fk@virginia.edu)

Dept. of East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

(434) 924-1206 [Department Office]

Office Hours: Tuesday, 1:30-3:00pm and by appointment

New Cabell Hall, B057

Overview
This seminar on The Art of War, the 5th century BCE Chinese classic attributed to Sunzi (Sun
Tzu), will familiarize students with traditional interpretations of the text. The course will
emphasize a close reading of several translations of the text and will also consider the influence
of its historical and philosophical contexts. Contemporary Chinese military writings will also be
surveyed to investigate the relevance of the text to modern warfare.

Goals
Cultural knowledge and self-awareness
o Confidently and competently describe, analyze, and interpret The Art of War in
translation.
o Recognize key Chinese philosophical concepts and explain how they used in The Art
of War.
o Describe the role of the Chinese commentarial tradition in our understanding of The
Art of War.
o Recognize the influence of The Art of War on contemporary Chinese culture and
explain how the texts precepts are evidenced in Chinese military contexts.
o Recognize cultural and historical differences that must be negotiated to understand
The Art of War (learning more about your own culture and yourself by
understanding what is required to cross the gulfs--and bridges--between cultures
and across history)
Writing and analytical skills
o Master methods of scholarship and writing in the humanities
o Think and write critically about literature

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Evaluation
Attendance and Class Participation: 30%

You are required to attend class and, as this is a seminar, you are expected to actively
participate in class discussions. See Policies below for additional guidelines.

Weekly Quizzes: 25%

Each weeks session will begin with a brief multiple-choice quiz. The purpose of the weekly
quizzes is to ensure that you are keeping up with the assigned readings.

Weekly Essays: 25%

Each week you will submit a 1-page (~300 words) essay on an assigned topic that is relevant to
the weekly readings. The purpose of the essays is to provide an opportunity for you
demonstrate your understanding of the weekly readings.

Article review and presentation: 20%

During the semester you will read, evaluate, and write a 10-page (~3000-words) review of a
publication (e.g. journal article, book chapter, etc.) that applies Sunzian concepts to a particular
topic. You will also summarize and present your conclusions in a 10-minute class presentation.
The purpose of this review is to provide an opportunity to demonstrate your mastery of
concepts presented in the Sunzi by critically analyzing a publication about the Sunzi.

Research paper [Capstone only]: 45%

In lieu of weekly essays and the article review, you will write and submit a 20 page (~6000-
word) research paper on a topic related to the Sunzi, using both English language and Chinese
language sources. You will present your research in a 20-minute class presentation. This paper
is considered to be the senior essay for Chinese Studies or East Asian Studies majors.
Additional guidance will be separately provided.

Note: There is a sufficient amount of required writing in this course to satisfy the Universitys
Second Writing Requirement. To receive appropriate credit, give me a completed Statement
of Completion form (on the course Collab site) by the last day of class.

Important Dates and Deadlines

Tuesday, 5 September: deadline for adding classes
Wednesday, 6 September: deadline for dropping classes
Saturday, 30 September through Tuesday, 3 October: Reading Days no class

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Course Policies
Attendance and participation

As this is a seminar, class attendance and participation are extremely important; a significant
portion of your grade will be based on your engagement in class discussions. In addition, as this
course meets only once each week, Department of East Asian Languages, Literatures, and
Cultures policy allows no more than one unexcused absence per semester before taking
administrative measures. If you must miss a class, please let me know at your earliest
opportunity. (Note: If you are ill, that is considered an excused absence just let me know)

Academic Integrity

Cheating and plagiarism on quizzes and writing assignments are not tolerated by the university.
It is of the utmost importance that you understand the definitions of cheating and plagiarism as
set forth by the university, so that you do not inadvertently commit them.

Course Schedule
A course reading list is included in this syllabus. Updates to reading assignments will be
provided on the course Collab site.

Sources

The following books have been ordered at the UVa bookstore, and are required for this course.

Roger Ames [translator]. Sun-Tzu: The Art of Warfare (New York: Ballantine, 1993)
Victor Mair [translator], The Art of War: Sun Zi's Military Methods (New York: Columbia,
2007)
Ralph Sawyer [translator]. Sun-Tzu: Art of War (Boulder: Westview, 1994)
Jullien, Franois. A Treatise on Efficacy: Between Western and Chinese Thinking
(Honolulu: U of Hawaii, 2004)

Additional readings (available on the course Collab site) include excerpts from:

Roger T. Ames, The Art of Rulership: A study of ancient Chinese political thought (Albany:
SUNY Press, 1994)
Umberto Eco, Experiences in Translation (Toronto: U of Toronto Press, 2000)
Albert Galvany, Philosophy, Biography, and Anecdote: On the Portrait of Sun Wu,
Philosophy East and West, Vol. 61, No. 4 (October 2011), 630-646
Paul R. Goldin, Those Who Dont Know Speak: translations of the Daode jing by people
who do not know Chinese, Asian Philosophy, Vol. 12, No. 3 (2002)
Mark Edward Lewis, Sanctioned Violence in Early China (Albany: SUNY Press, 1990)

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 Ping-cheung Lo and Sumner B. Twiss [editors], Chinese Just War Ethics: Origin,
development, and dissent (New York: Routledge, 2015)
Mark Metcalf, New Perspectives on the Sunzi (Sun Tzu) from Contemporary Chinese
Military Writings, Education about Asia, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Spring 2016)
-----, Deception is the Chinese Way of War, US Naval Institute Proceedings (February
2017)
Lisa Raphals, Knowing Words: Wisdom and Cunning in the Classical Traditions of China
and Greece (Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1992)
-----, Sunzi versus Xunzi: Two Views of Deception and Indirection, Early China, Vol. 39
(2016), 185-229.

Reading Assignments

Assignments following a date indicate readings to be completed in preparation for that class.

Tuesday, 22 August Course Overview and SZ1: (Initial) Assessments part. 1

[optional] Eco: 1-30, 78-88 The challenges of translation
[optional] Goldin: 183-195 The importance of good translations
[optional] Sawyer: 127-150 An overview of the Sunzi
[optional] Ames: 103-105; Mair: 76-79, Sawyer:167-169 Sunzi 1

Tuesday, 29 August SZ1 part. 2 and SZ2: Doing Battle

Ames: 103-109
Mair: 76-83
Sawyer: 167-174
Lewis: 97-135
Metcalf (2017): 54-57
Raphals (2016): 185-229

Tuesday, 5 September SZ3: Planning for the Attack

Ames: 111-113
Mair: 84-87
Sawyer: 177-179
Lo: 29-48 & 66-79 (including endnotes)

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Tuesday, 12 September SZ4: Positioning
Ames: 115-116
Mair: 88-90
Sawyer: 183-184
Galvany: 630-646

Tuesday, 19 September SZ5: Configuration

Ames: 39-70, 119-121
Mair: XI-XXVI, 91-94
Sawyer: 187-188
Ames: Rulership 66-72, 221-223
Raphals (1992): 101-128

Tuesday, 26 September SZ6: Emptiness and Solidity

Ames: 71-96, 123-127
Mair: 95-99
Sawyer: 191-193
Metcalf (2016): 14-18

Tuesday, 3 October Reading Day no class

Tuesday, 10 October SZ7: The Struggle of Armies

Ames: 129-132
Mair: 100-104
Sawyer: 197-199
Jullien: vii-31

Tuesday, 17 October SZ8: Nine Varieties

Ames: 135-136
Mair: 105-107
Sawyer: 203-204
Jullien: 32-60

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Tuesday, 24 October SZ9: Marching the Army
Ames: 139-144
Mair: 108-112
Sawyer: 207-210
Jullien: 61-103

Tuesday, 31 October SZ10: Terrain Types

Ames: 147-151
Mair: 113-116
Sawyer: 213-215
Jullien: 104-136

Tuesday, 7 November SZ11: Nine Types of Terrain

Ames: 153-162
Mair: 117-124
Sawyer: 219-224
Jullien: 137-169

Tuesday, 14 November SZ12: Incendiary Attack and SZ13: Using Spies

Ames: 165-171
Mair: 125-131
Sawyer: 227-233
Jullien: 170-197

Tuesday, 21 November Video presentation (optional)

Tuesday, 28 November Presentations

Tuesday, 5 December Presentations (continued)

Review (and capstone) papers are due on 5 December in either paper or electronic
format.
Grades for papers that are submitted late will be reduced by 5 points for each day that
the paper is submitted after that deadline.