The Tao Of Spycraft: Intelligence Theory And Practice In Traditional China by Ralph D. Sawyer (PDF)

Description

In The Tao of Spycraft, for the first time anywhere Ralph Sawyer unfolds the long and venerable tradition of spycraft and intelligence work in traditional China, revealing a vast array of theoretical materials and astounding historical developments. Encompassing extensive translations of relevant portions of theoretical military manuals previously unknown in the West (such as the T’ai-pai Yin-ching, Hu-ling Ching, and Ping-fa Pai-yen), the book spans centuries to trace the development and expansion of agent concepts, insertion and control methods, recruitment, and covert practices such as assassination, subversion, and sexual entrapment and exploitation, going on to explore counter-intelligence and all aspects of military intelligence, including objectives, analysis and interpretation. But The Tao of Spycraft is more than an examination of military tactics, it also provides a thorough overview of the history of spies in China, emphasizing their early development, ruthless employment, and dramatic success in subverting famous generals, dooming states to extinction, and facilitating the rise of the first imperial dynasty known as the Ch’in. The cases discussed-particularly those exploiting women and sex-not only became part of China’s general mindset over the ages, but coupled with the theoretical writings remain the basis for the study and teaching of contemporary spycraft methods and practices as the PRC trains and aggressively deploys thousands of agents throughout the world, including the United States.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: About the Author 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.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Sawyer is considered an authority in this field for a reason. While less geared toward the mass-market’s easy reading, this comprehensive text is a must have for all Sinologists and strategists.

⭐I started reading Sawyer’s translations with his Seven Military Classics of Ancient China, and I really like his style. I’ve learned so much about the theory and history of this stuff, and it’s really been bringing my intrigue storytelling to new heights.

⭐cover all most of the old forms of spy craft forms and its entities in relation to political and military power overall quite an interesting insight

⭐This book is divided into 6 sections with a total of 17 chapters. It is well researched, scholarly and authoritative. And while it is not a page turning spy thriller it is not soporific either. It is meant for the serious students in the “intelligence community” especially those dealing with the Chinese sphere of influence. For while the book deals with ancient China the principles taught in this book can easily be extrapolated to the present and into the future. And in fact the principles taught in this book particularly how to subvert and destroy a state are being used today. But any student of ancient China will profit by reading it. I learned many things from it including that then as now that advice is only as good as the person who takes it. That many wise ministers had to deal with foolish kings who didn’t heed their advice or fell for the same traps that other states had fallen for in the past despite China’s devotion to history. Even the gods strive in vain against stupidity.The author also highlights the tension between the ideals of Confucianism and Realpolitik which has historically tended to weaken China and also give a wrong impression to the world about what China is really like.The title of the book is a bit of a misnomer, or perhaps it may be more accurate to say that the author did not keep the content of the book in line with the title. “The Tao of Spycraft” suggested to me that the book would deal with espionage and spying but this was only true for the first three sections covering nine chapters. These are filled with many fascinating examples from Chinese history of how espionage was carried out. But as we progress farther into the book there are fewer and fewer examples of how the subject matter of the chapters is related to espionage. It is fascinating reading nonetheless but an effort could have been made to relate the topics of discussion to actual historical examples. For example chapter 10, which is in the section on “Theories of Evaluating and Intelligence”, verges on the esoteric in its discussion of the Chinese theories of reality. Digesting it would have been easier if the reader had been rewarded by seeing how this played out in reality with some historical examples. The final chapter regarding divination and prognostication was particularly disappointing as it was basically a translation of some texts with little or no commentary what to speak historical examples.One major flaw in the book that could have easily been avoided is the complete absence of any maps of ancient China showing the geographical positions of the various States who are the main protagonists in the book. I had to resort to the internet to find out where Chin, Lu, Wie, etc. are located. This is an easy to fix lacuna and hopefully future editions will include them. Another irritation is the spelling of Chinese names. What exactly is the difference between Chin and Ch’in? Another mildly irritating usage was the use of unusual turns of phrase. One that surfaced quite often was “fullness and vacuity” which I suppose means strengths and weakness of the state or army. Perhaps such turns of phrase are meant to convey a certain Chinese flavor, but I think that could have been done in a less awkward way.All in all it was a good book. I learned a lot and looked forward to reading it for an hour or two or even three every evening.

⭐Oh where to begin. China is an empire and culture of 4000 years.Their religion is ancestor worship. This means that the words, notes, messages, sayings, actions,etc of ALL their illustrious ancestors are studied carefully and commented upon, just as our Bible is.This means that their rulers have always gone back about 1500-2000 years to study the successes and failures of the past.The first Dynasty collected them into Canon Volumes that were held in the greatest secrecy because they were considered knowledge too dangerous for others to know, so were held in the hands of a special few at any given time.Sawyer who is also the premier translator of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is a Chinese scholar of great depth and serious scholarship. You read this to get information as you read The Art of War, a much shorter book. Gradually Sawyer gives you information, leads your associations into other areas, and at last embeds you in the ruling Chinese mindset. Chinese history is exposed as they were involved in State against State for centuries. Subterfuge,strategies,spying,double agents were their concentration while European knights and kings were warring with unsubtle techniques for winning. Gradually as you read this book you will inject yourself with the Chinese ruling mind set an d begin to read the present political world through Chinese eyes. It is an abrupt awakening let me tell you.As Sun Tzu says, “Victory is excellent.But to win without firing a shot is the very best.” This is what China has in mind for the western world.Snowden showed the world US hegemony with its client States. And China watched. China did not offer asylum in Hong Kong because “the time is not yet ripe.”The prescription for the right time is approaching when criticism will no longer be tolerated from us without draconian punishment. That will be the final straw and we will fold our cards.China’s vision is to become the Hegemon of the World. This is something the US has aspired to be but during the Cold War the Soviets held us at stale-mate. Now it is different.Russia and China just became allies. This is also the way it worked in ancient times. They are watching while we fight ourselves into weakness over a deterritorialized enemy the Muslims while we stupidly fight territorialized wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that we cannot possibly win.And China watches us get weaker and weaker and weaker. They are playing the capitalist game with us, giving us toys while they increase their gold holdings and promote the Yuan to the Currency of the World. All with our cooperation, our eager cooperation I might add. There is more as I am only halfway finished. It leaves you no doubt as to who the victor will be and it will be so subtle we won’t even know it until the restrictions on the limits of our greed begin to be curtailed.

⭐Chinese thought is neglected by westerners. This is foolish because they do know what they are talking about. Clausewitz could learn quite a lot from reading this book. However in common with a lot of books translated from Chinese and japanese it could do with the sentences chopped down in size.

⭐A huge book still getting through it

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