A 2019 Review by Sun Tzu France

1. The School of Sun Tzu by David G. Jones
Review from Sun Tzu France
(Google translation)

2. Review of The School of Sun Tzu
Published on May 8, 2019
https://suntzufrance.fr/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/The-school-of-Sun-Tzu.jpg
A true study of The Art of War
The School of Sun Tzu is one of the rare Anglo-Saxon
books to conduct a real analysis of The Art of War.
Many books, which have the name of Sun Tzu or his
treatise in their title, in fact, only use the text of the
Chinese strategist to illustrate a previously
constructed doctrine. Here, the will of the author is
to deliver a sincere study of the The Art of War.

3. David G. Jones is Canadian. He has been a
manager in different companies and has served in
the army. The publication of this book dates from
2012 but its writing was probably greatly
achieved in the late 90s.
Let us point out immediately, David G. Jones has a
strong bias – but clearly displayed: “The Art of
War has been read throughout its history only as
a military treatise. It was not until the end of the
20th century that we understood that it could
relate to a different subject.”

4. The author deplores that, "the military
metaphor used in The Art of War - an
extraordinary process of learning - was seen not
as the medium, but as the message".
Thus, the author first reads in The Art of War (as
most modern commentators do) a management
methodology: the purpose is, in his view, the
description of the "strategic planning processes
that define roles, relationships, dynamics, values
and methods for effective engagement
management.”

5. This reading of The Art of War from a business
angle, typically Anglo-Saxon, is not what we
prefer from the book. David G. Jones even notes
that "although the treaty uses military imagery,
there is nothing that a soldier can really use.”
(see my end note on this observation)
The origin of this grid of reading is more
interesting. As the author explains, “My Rosetta
Stone was the Tao Te Ching. The main difference
between The Art of War and Tao Te Ching is that
the first addresses the practice, the second the
philosophy.”

6. Read with the prism of Tao Te Ching, The Art
of War appears transparent and
metaphorical.
Hence David G. Jones' claim that "military
intent is actually a metaphor, the real
meaning being elsewhere.”

7. The School of Sun Tzu is extremely rich.
The book addresses many topics related to the
strict exegesis of text: the period and context
of the creation of the two treatises, the reality
of the existence of the man “Sun Tzu” the
exact meaning of “Bing-fa” – the author says
“incorrectly rendered by ‘Art of War’ - but it
would be more accurate (but a less seller) – to
say ‘Art of Diplomacy’ or, more precisely, ‘Art
of Successful Management of Engagement.”

8. Regarding the exegesis of the treaty, the
main themes that David G. Jones derives
from his reading of The Art of War are:
The recommendations:
• Respect the Moral Law
• Win without conflict
• Manage your world

9. The Commandments:
• Be prepared
• Use intelligence
• Designate, delegate, authorize
• Practice wu-wei*
• Manage strength
• Use deception
• Be adaptive
*Wu-wei is the Taoist concept of “non action” – which
advocates in particular to behave in conformity –
and not in opposition – with the cosmic order.

10. David G. Jones summarizes Sun Tzu’s
guidelines:
"Be strong and always on the alert.
Manage your strength and that of others.
When it's essential, engage on your terms.
Be observant, adaptive and subtle. Do not
lose control. Act resolutely. Conclude
quickly »

11. It also proposes a reading method consisting
of counting the appearance of the main
messages (occurrences in brackets):
• Manage commitments (40)
• Manage strength (38)
• Acquire knowledge, modify plans (37)
• Deception (21)
• Move quickly and resolutely (14)
• Manage engagement start (12)
• Take orders from ruler but be guided by
strategy (6)

12. Finally, besides an index - always welcome, a
comment line by line of the treaty of Sun Tzu
(using the translation of Lionel Giles)
completes the whole. (see my comment on
this point in endnotes)
In conclusion: an excellent and too rare study,
in English, of The Art of War.

13. Author’s Comments:
1. The School of Sun Tzu is now in a revised
edition. There, I clarify the comment about
Bing-fa’s application. In my view it is clearly
not intended for the management of
conflict, but management without conflict.
Therefore, Bing-fa does have a military
application, but in combat only as a
methodology for reducing, and concluding
conflict.

14. 2. The revised edition provides only my
rendering of the Bing-fa. I have removed the
line by line relationship to the Giles
translation (available everywhere on line). I
made this decision because my readers want
to see meaning in plain English. The Giles
(and virtually all other) contemporary
renditions seem compelled that the story be
told from a military perspective. The military
language was a Qin academy teaching and
memorization aid. It is unhelpful for
contemporary understanding and
application.

15. 3. My book is available from iuniverse.com
and amazon.ca in hard, soft and electronic
versions.
I have numerous Bing-fa essays and
analyses posted on WordPress and
SlideShare. You can find me on Twitter
under the handle ShibumiMC which is
short for Shibumi Management Canada –
my consulting firm.

16. 4. I welcome comments and questions on all my
Bing-fa writing and views. Please post to the
respective sites.
A final note. I am a strong advocate for
collaborative, cooperative, conflict free
organizations and activities. I feel the militarist
Art of War is, in this regard, unhelpful as well as
incorrect. If you disagree, don’t feel that you
need to attack me or my work – write an
analyses that refutes my thesis.