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Sunzi.pdf

Bloom's Literature

Sunzi

Sunzi was a native of the Qi (Ch'i) state who worked as a military adviser of the kingdom of Wu ruler, He Lu. Not much is known about Sunzi's early life, as there are few existing works containing only scant biographical information; however, an anecdote of how he came to the Wu king's attention is contained in the work of Sima Qian (Ssu-Ma Ch'ien), the grand chronicler of pre-Han China. As the story goes, Sunzi was asked to demonstrate how he could put his theories of military organization into practice. Sunzi convinced the Wu king of his ability when he was able to transform a cohort of the king's concubines into an organized and disciplined drill unit. Scholars have estimated that this incident probably occurred not long after He Lu came to the throne.

According to Sima Qian and the Shiji (Shi-chi), Sunzi most probably died before his patron's death in 496 B.C.E. The last time Sunzi was mentioned was in connection with his role in assisting He Lu in his defeat of the Qu (Ch'ü) state in 512 B.C.E. Sunzi's greatest legacy is his composition on military strategies, titled Ping-fa (The Art of War). In his translation and commentary on Sunzi's work, Lionel Giles praises the author's genius: "They [Sunzi's words] reflect the mind not only of a born strategist, gifted with a rare faculty of generalisation, but also of a practical soldier closely acquainted with the military conditions of his time."

The Art of War represents the work of an experienced warrior. This has led to speculation that Sunzi began to write this work close to the end of his career when He Lu's military adviser. The work contains 13 chapters, each one examining a particular military topic or strategy. The Art of War is not merely a collection of sound and effective military plans and strategies; it is also a historical text that describes the events and personalities of Sunzi's lifetime. In two passages, for example, Sunzi refers to the size of the armies of the Wu kingdom and its adversaries, the Yueh.

Sunzi's work attained recognition and status from not only his contemporaries but also later generations of famous generals and warriors. Military leaders, including Han Xin (Han Hsin) and Yue Fei (Yueh Fei), learned much from The Art of War and acknowledged their debt to it. Even purely literary men such as Su Shi's father, Su Xun, paid compliments to the great strategist.

The scholar Zheng Hou (Cheng Hou) also praised Sunzi in this extract contained in Impartial Judgements in the Garden of Literature:

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Sun Tzu's 13 chapters are not only the staple and base of all military men's training, but also compel the most careful attention of scholars and men of letters. His sayings are terse yet elegant, simple yet profound, perspicuous and eminently practical. Such works as the Lun Yu, the I Ching and the great Commentary, as well as the writings of Mencius, Hsun Kuang and Yang Chu, all fall below the level of Sun Tzu.

Sunzi's work continues to influence present-day society, in both military and commercial matters. Modern writers have tried to adapt Sunzi's ingenious cunning to the new competitive age of commerce and international business. Examples include Mark McNeilly's work Sun Tzu and the Art of Business: Six Strategic Principles for Managers and Check Teck Foo and Peter Grinyer's book Organizing Strategy: Sun Tzu's Business Warcraft. Further Information

An English Version of a Work by Sunzi

The Art of War. Translated by Lionel Giles. Singapore: Graham Brash, 1988.

Works about Sunzi

Foo, Check Teck and Peter Grinyer. Organizing Strategy: Sun Tzu's Business Warcraft. Boston and Singapore: B-H. Asia, 1994.

McNeilly, Mark. Sun Tzu and the Art of Business: Six Strategic Principles for Managers. Washington, D.C.: National Defense University Press, 1997.

———. Sun Tzu and the Art of Modern Warfare. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Zi Chang Tang. Principles of Conflict: Recompilation and New English Translation with Annotation on Sunzi's Art of War. San Rafael, Calif.: T. C. Press, 1969.

Boucquey, Thierry. “Sunzi.” Encyclopedia of World Writers, Beginnings through the 13th Century, Facts On File, 2005. Bloomʼs Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=100535&itemid=WE54&articleId=40760.

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History-Print-_i_TheEpicofGilgamesh__i_.pdf

Bloom's Literature

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the world's first epic poem, and versions of it have for decades appeared in world literature anthologies read by high school students throughout the United States. Until Stephen Mitchell published Gilgamesh: A New English Version (Free Press, 2004), most readers found the work dense and inaccessible although much of the same content was at their disposal, albeit in different form. Earlier translations of the poem were intended for scholars and students, but Mitchell created a new translation of the poem that was intended for the general reader, and it is accessible and understandable and in a easily read form.

The epic poem is older than the Iliad, and it remains only a fragment of a much longer work, although the fragments that have been found and translated create a relatively complete, if episodic, account of the journey of Gilgamesh, the young king of Uruk (now Iraq). Originally inscribed in the Akkadian language on stone tablets, the poem was buried during the fall of Nineveh and was not recovered and deciphered until the late 19th century. The existing fragments appear on 11 tablets, and scholars suggest that many more than that number of tablets have been lost.

The Epic of Gilgamesh opens with an arrogant Gilgamesh, possessed of great wealth, power, and physical attractiveness, who oppresses his people as he satisfies his own selfish needs. The gods hear the pleas of his subjects to free them from their oppression and create Enkidu, a ferocious wild man who is said to be the companion of animals, and they offer him as a double or second self for Gilgamesh. Upon first learning of Enkidu, the young king seeks to conquer him, and he sends Shambat, a temple priestess (sometimes translated as "harlot"), to find the wild man and to defuse his power by seducing him. The plan has the expected result, because coupling with Shambat for six days and seven nights awakens the humanity in Enkidu, pushing his animal identity into the background and strengthening his human characteristics. The wild animals no longer consider him one of their own, and they leave him.

Enkidu, seemingly tamed by his sexual experiences, is taken to the city of Uruk, where he meets Gilgamesh and defies the young king by blocking his attempt to enter a bridal chamber and assert his claim of first night with the bride. The two wrestle fiercely and are nearly equal in strength, but Gilgamesh is lauded as the nominal winner. After the fight, the men bond instantly, becoming soul mates, and they are represented in various translations as engaging in what in modern terminology might be labeled a man crush. Without preamble, Gilgamesh asks Enkidu to accompany him in an act of defiance of the gods as he enters the Cedar Forest with the goal of killing the monster Humbaba, who

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guards the forest. The sun god Shamash sends violent winds to attack Humbaba and to aid Gilgamesh in the fight. Gilgamesh and Enkidu cut off the monster's head and return triumphantly to Uruk.

Gilgamesh returns as a hero and attracts the attention of Ishtar, the goddess of sexual love, who wants him to be her lover. When the young king rejects her with insults and reminders of the many mortal men she has destroyed or turned into animals after tiring of them, she vows revenge. In a rage, she asks her father, the sky god Anu, to give her the Bull of Heaven to destroy Gilgamesh and his kingdom, which he does. Although the bull rampages and kills hundreds of people, Gilgamesh and Enkidu capture and kill it. Enkidu dreams that a council of gods has convened and determined that one of the two men must die as punishment for killing the bull, and that he is the chosen one. Shortly after having the dream, Enkidu becomes ill and dies after suffering for 12 days.

Gilgamesh grieves deeply after his friend's death, ripping off his clothes and tearing out his hair as he laments loudly. He makes elaborate plans to honor his dead friend and orders artisans to create an opulent statue of Enkidu. He offers jewels, gold, ivory, weapons, and other treasures to the gods and considers damming the Euphrates River to place Enkidu's tomb in the riverbed.

Both grief-stricken and now fearful of death, Gilgamesh goes on a quest for immortality. He begins to live as a wild man, killing lions, eating them, and wearing their skins as he searches for Uta-napishti, who found eternal life and whose secret Gilgamesh wants to learn. To find Uta-napisthi, Gilgamesh must travel to the edge of the world. Before reaching his destination, he must cross an ocean, which he does with the assistance of the ferryman Ur-shanabi, who helps him to avoid the Waters of Death. Uta- napishti does not relate the secret of eternal life to Gilgamesh, but he does give him a plant that is supposed to restore youth. On the journey home, however, Gilgamesh carelessly leaves the plant unguarded as he bathes in a pool and a snake steals it. After his many efforts, Gilgamesh returns to Uruk, not immortal in a traditional sense but able to continue his life and to serve as a much wiser and more compassionate ruler. Further Information

Ackerman, Susan. When Heroes Love: The Ambiguity of Eros in the Stories of Gilgamesh and David. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005.

"Censorship Dateline: Libraries." Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom 56, no.1. (January 2007). Accessed April 4, 2010.

Mitchell, Stephen, trans. Gilgamesh: A New English Version. New York: Free Press, 2004.

Sova, Dawn. “The Epic of Gilgamesh.” 120 Banned Books, Third Edition, Facts On File, 2022. Bloomʼs Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=100535&itemid=WE54&articleId=478009.

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Wk7PaperEng.docx

Research Paper

Instructions:

For your research paper due in week 7, you will write a literary analysis with a specific, creative thesis and opinionated argument. Your finished essay will meaningfully incorporate 2 of the assigned readings this quarter and make a unified argument with specific assertions and researched support. Your paper is expected to contain some focus on your chosen literature’s status as world literature and what can be learned by examining the author(s) or work(s) from cultural, historical, or sociological perspectives. In terms of content, the most effective essays will

· Evaluate and apply diverse perspectives (such as cultural, disciplinary, and ethical) to complex global subjects

· Articulate an understanding of cultural differences

· Demonstrate sophisticated understanding of the complexity of elements important to members of another culture in relation to its history, values, politics, communication styles, economy, or beliefs and practices.

· Explore complex questions about other cultures and articulate answers to these questions.

To support your analysis, you must use at least four secondary sources from the Institution Library in addition to the literary work(s) discussed in your paper. The final paper must be at least 1500 words in length (and no more than 2000).

Requirements:

Thesis/Analysis

· Your research paper must be a cohesive literary analysis of 1-2 of the assigned readings.

· Your thesis statement must be clear, debatable, assignment-appropriate, and supported throughout your paper.

· Avoid irrelevant biographical information or extensive plot summary. Your paper should prioritize focused literary analysis.

Research

· You must use at least 4 secondary sources (in addition to primary sources- the literature itself) that provide critical arguments about the reading you've chosen. Research must come from class-provided resources or relevant scholarly articles from the Institution Library databases.

· You may quote, paraphrase, or summarize your sources, but don't let your research dominate the paper- you are the primary writer and thinker here, not your sources.

· Your paper must be formatted according to MLA style.

· You must include proper in-text citations within the body of your paper when quoting or paraphrasing primary and secondary sources.

· You must include a works cited page at the end of your paper. Your works cited should include entries for both your research sources as well as the assigned literature you've chosen to write about.

Grammar/Mechanics

· All written assignments should be mechanically and grammatically correct, with proper punctuation.

· Avoid first-person point-of-view formal academic writing.

· Take time to edit and revise your paper as needed prior to submission.

Organization

· The introduction should name all relevant authors/works involved, and include a clear, appropriate thesis statement.

· Each body paragraph should have a clear topic sentence that relates back to the thesis. The information in each paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

· The conclusion should rephrase your thesis, summarize key supporting ideas, and offer your final impressions and observations on the topic.

· Bear in mind that the structure of a paper- the thesis statement, the introduction, and the conclusion- should all work together. Before you begin writing, write an outline to organize your ideas. Doing so should help you write a more well-organized essay.

5. Research Paper Rubric

CATEGORY	20 – Meets Standards
Thesis 15%	The writer provides a thoughtful, valid thesis that clearly states the purpose of the paper.
Analysis and Critical Thinking 20%	Student consistently demonstrates effective critical thinking and thoughtful analysis.
Organization 10%	The paper is organized in a clear, logical manner throughout.
Research and Textual Evidence 20%	The author uses a sufficient amount of specific details from valid research and literary texts that effectively and convincingly prove the paper's thesis. All required research is scholarly and present in the paper.
Grammar/Mechanics 15%	All sentences are clear and understandable; the author employs vocabulary, grammar and mechanics that are nearly perfect.
MLA Style 20%	MLA format/documentation is present and consistently effective throughout.

Literatures chosen:

· The Art of War (chapters 1-3, 6-8, 13)

· The Epic of Gilgamesh

· *** Only Use the Literatures provided***

Use all the references from the annotated bibliography that is attached as well as the references below. All reading materials attached as well:

Boucquey, Thierry. “Sunzi.” Encyclopedia of World Writers, Beginnings through the 13th Century, Facts On File, 2005. Bloom’s Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=100535&itemid=WE54&articleId=40760.

https://www.worldhistory.org/The_Art_of_War/

https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Art-of-War/infographic/

Sova, Dawn. “ The Epic of Gilgamesh.” 120 Banned Books, Third Edition, Facts On File, 2022. Bloom’s Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=100535&itemid=WE54&articleId=478009.