James Trapp interview
James Trapp is author of a brand new translation of "The Art of War"and "Chinese Characters: The Art and Meaning of Hanzi." A Chinese language graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, he teaches Mandarin, is an Education Officer on the China Collection at the British Museum and worked for many years in Hong Kong as a dealer in Chinese art. Mr. Trapp’s Art of War edition is hardcover, printed on high quality paper, bound by traditional Chinese book-making techniques.
Sonshi.com: Tell us the background behind your interest in China.
James Trapp: In 1974, at the age of 14, I was taken by my parents to an exhibition at the Royal Academy in London called “The Genius of China”. It was the first exhibition in London of new finds from China in about 50 years.
My father was a professor of classical and renaissance studies and I had been brought up and educated very much within western traditions; this was the first time I had seen real Chinese art, with exhibits spanning the Neolithic to the Yuan Dynasty. Something about them, particularly those of the Han Period, spoke to me at a very fundamental level. From then on I became determined to study Chinese art, and subsequently it became clear that I must also study the Chinese language.
After leaving school I took my degree in Chinese at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, with special papers in pre-Han archaeology and early Buddhist sculpture under Professor William Watson, who had curated the Royal Academy exhibition, at the Percival David Foundation.
Sonshi.com: Having recently translated Sun Tzu's Art of War, you also wrote "Chinese Characters: The Art and Meaning of Hanzi," published last year. You not only give readers the characters' meaning and pronunciation but also the characters' changes and development over time. Along that point, did you have any challenges in translating an ancient text like The Art of the War? If so, what were they?
James Trapp: I had a very traditional school education, including the study of Latin and Ancient Greek from an early age. This instilled in me a respect for the classical periods of civilisations and an interest in the development of language. This transferred directly to my Chinese studies. I find the elegant balance and elliptical nature of classical Chinese both aesthetically pleasing and intellectually stimulating.
I cannot pretend to be a scholar of classical Chinese literature but I enjoy the challenge of attempting to understand the thoughts, and the context in which those thoughts were formed, of someone writing more than 2500 years ago. There are, of course, many problematic passages in Sunzi, and there I was largely reliant on the scholarship of others, although I also attempted to bring my own understanding of the syntax and balance of classical Chinese into play when determining which sense to follow.
Sonshi.com: There are now many versions of Sun Tzu's Art of War, even in comic form. We lost count ten years ago. What is it about your Art of War edition, published by Chartwell Books, that makes readers take notice?
James Trapp: Its readability, I hope. Mine is not a work of Sunzi scholarship, but an attempt to provide an English version of the text that reads fluently and idiomatically whilst retaining some of the restrained style of the original. I think that having it as a parallel text with matching passages of Chinese and English text on facing pages reinforces the connection between original and translation. The adaptation of traditional Chinese binding also makes it an attractive edition to look at and handle – which is always a bonus in a book, I feel.
Sonshi.com: When was the first time you heard of Sun Tzu's Art of War, and what is within its pages you find fascinating still?
James Trapp: I first encountered the Art of War in my second undergraduate year when we started learning classical Chinese. Although it was not one of our set texts, it was recommended that we read it in translation, particularly as an adjunct to our study of Sima Qian’s Shi Ji. I remember being struck then by its apparent simplicity, which I have now come to see also as an extraordinary illustration of man’s enduring urge to fight his fellow man. I believe now that the Art of War should be read not just as a tactical handbook, be it in war or business, but as a warning of the inevitability of conflict and its outcomes.
Sonshi.com: How was your recent trip to Shanghai? Does China have a bright future of it or does it have challenges ahead?
James Trapp: Shanghai is one of the most extraordinary cities on earth, and a constant delight, but the pace of change there is more than a little disconcerting. I first visited it in the early 1980s when there was nothing but mudflats Pudong-side, and now, when I go two or three times a year, I find half the road system has changed each time. China most certainly does have a bright future, but as it enters headlong into the pressure-cooker of world economics, it will be interesting to see what safety valves the government can put in place to save it from explosion.
Commentators in the West watch and attempt to apply Western models and extrapolations, when the one thing that is certain about China is that it will find its own way of handling problems. What may be of greater concern is whether the West is willing to look on and learn that there may be different models and different approaches.
Sonshi.com: Can modern China still learn much from ancient China?
James Trapp: I think, if it is possible to generalise, that China still retains a greater respect for history and the lessons that may be learned from it, than we do in the West. This may well stand it in good stead.
Sonshi.com: Recently you were at the Devonport High School for Girls for Chinese Enrichment Day to teach students about the Chinese culture. What have been your experiences in these types of educational events?
James Trapp: Much of my current work centres on promoting the study of Chinese language, history and culture in schools in the UK at both primary and secondary levels. I think this generation of schoolchildren already have a better, though not fully articulated, understanding of the relevance of China to their future careers than our government does.
At the moment, official pronouncements seem to be limited to the expression of an unspecific and unresourced hope that all children will have a chance to learn Mandarin. Apart from being totally unrealistic, this is also unhelpful. It is far more important that a more general understanding of China as a country is incorporated into teaching across the curriculum. China is a part of the everyday life of children in UK schools: they know that many of the clothes they wear and the equipment they use is made there, they saw the Olympic Games on TV, and some even know the names of famous Chinese generals from the distant past through computer games they play.
So often, teaching about China in schools, and reporting of it in the media, centres on the differences, generally, in the case of the media, with a negative spin. There are, in fact, so many points of contact throughout history, and so many similarities in the everyday lives of Chinese and UK children, that it is these that we should be using to develop a greater understanding. I am always encouraged by the enthusiasm and interest with which the sessions I conduct are greeted in school, just as I am exasperated by the lack of a coherent policy in government.
[End of interview]
Sonshi.com: Tell us the background behind your interest in China.
James Trapp: In 1974, at the age of 14, I was taken by my parents to an exhibition at the Royal Academy in London called “The Genius of China”. It was the first exhibition in London of new finds from China in about 50 years.
My father was a professor of classical and renaissance studies and I had been brought up and educated very much within western traditions; this was the first time I had seen real Chinese art, with exhibits spanning the Neolithic to the Yuan Dynasty. Something about them, particularly those of the Han Period, spoke to me at a very fundamental level. From then on I became determined to study Chinese art, and subsequently it became clear that I must also study the Chinese language.
After leaving school I took my degree in Chinese at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, with special papers in pre-Han archaeology and early Buddhist sculpture under Professor William Watson, who had curated the Royal Academy exhibition, at the Percival David Foundation.
Sonshi.com: Having recently translated Sun Tzu's Art of War, you also wrote "Chinese Characters: The Art and Meaning of Hanzi," published last year. You not only give readers the characters' meaning and pronunciation but also the characters' changes and development over time. Along that point, did you have any challenges in translating an ancient text like The Art of the War? If so, what were they?
James Trapp: I had a very traditional school education, including the study of Latin and Ancient Greek from an early age. This instilled in me a respect for the classical periods of civilisations and an interest in the development of language. This transferred directly to my Chinese studies. I find the elegant balance and elliptical nature of classical Chinese both aesthetically pleasing and intellectually stimulating.
I cannot pretend to be a scholar of classical Chinese literature but I enjoy the challenge of attempting to understand the thoughts, and the context in which those thoughts were formed, of someone writing more than 2500 years ago. There are, of course, many problematic passages in Sunzi, and there I was largely reliant on the scholarship of others, although I also attempted to bring my own understanding of the syntax and balance of classical Chinese into play when determining which sense to follow.
Sonshi.com: There are now many versions of Sun Tzu's Art of War, even in comic form. We lost count ten years ago. What is it about your Art of War edition, published by Chartwell Books, that makes readers take notice?
James Trapp: Its readability, I hope. Mine is not a work of Sunzi scholarship, but an attempt to provide an English version of the text that reads fluently and idiomatically whilst retaining some of the restrained style of the original. I think that having it as a parallel text with matching passages of Chinese and English text on facing pages reinforces the connection between original and translation. The adaptation of traditional Chinese binding also makes it an attractive edition to look at and handle – which is always a bonus in a book, I feel.
Sonshi.com: When was the first time you heard of Sun Tzu's Art of War, and what is within its pages you find fascinating still?
James Trapp: I first encountered the Art of War in my second undergraduate year when we started learning classical Chinese. Although it was not one of our set texts, it was recommended that we read it in translation, particularly as an adjunct to our study of Sima Qian’s Shi Ji. I remember being struck then by its apparent simplicity, which I have now come to see also as an extraordinary illustration of man’s enduring urge to fight his fellow man. I believe now that the Art of War should be read not just as a tactical handbook, be it in war or business, but as a warning of the inevitability of conflict and its outcomes.
Sonshi.com: How was your recent trip to Shanghai? Does China have a bright future of it or does it have challenges ahead?
James Trapp: Shanghai is one of the most extraordinary cities on earth, and a constant delight, but the pace of change there is more than a little disconcerting. I first visited it in the early 1980s when there was nothing but mudflats Pudong-side, and now, when I go two or three times a year, I find half the road system has changed each time. China most certainly does have a bright future, but as it enters headlong into the pressure-cooker of world economics, it will be interesting to see what safety valves the government can put in place to save it from explosion.
Commentators in the West watch and attempt to apply Western models and extrapolations, when the one thing that is certain about China is that it will find its own way of handling problems. What may be of greater concern is whether the West is willing to look on and learn that there may be different models and different approaches.
Sonshi.com: Can modern China still learn much from ancient China?
James Trapp: I think, if it is possible to generalise, that China still retains a greater respect for history and the lessons that may be learned from it, than we do in the West. This may well stand it in good stead.
Sonshi.com: Recently you were at the Devonport High School for Girls for Chinese Enrichment Day to teach students about the Chinese culture. What have been your experiences in these types of educational events?
James Trapp: Much of my current work centres on promoting the study of Chinese language, history and culture in schools in the UK at both primary and secondary levels. I think this generation of schoolchildren already have a better, though not fully articulated, understanding of the relevance of China to their future careers than our government does.
At the moment, official pronouncements seem to be limited to the expression of an unspecific and unresourced hope that all children will have a chance to learn Mandarin. Apart from being totally unrealistic, this is also unhelpful. It is far more important that a more general understanding of China as a country is incorporated into teaching across the curriculum. China is a part of the everyday life of children in UK schools: they know that many of the clothes they wear and the equipment they use is made there, they saw the Olympic Games on TV, and some even know the names of famous Chinese generals from the distant past through computer games they play.
So often, teaching about China in schools, and reporting of it in the media, centres on the differences, generally, in the case of the media, with a negative spin. There are, in fact, so many points of contact throughout history, and so many similarities in the everyday lives of Chinese and UK children, that it is these that we should be using to develop a greater understanding. I am always encouraged by the enthusiasm and interest with which the sessions I conduct are greeted in school, just as I am exasperated by the lack of a coherent policy in government.
[End of interview]