A Chinese Translation With Extensive Notes Of Aineias' How To Survive Under Siege

Aineias,also called “Tacticus” by the classicists,was a military writer in the fourth-century BC.We know rarely about Aineias' life and career,also most his works are now lost,except the one named How to Survive Under Siege.As the first Greek military manual known to us,it shows extensively on how to resist a siege against the enemy,and also emphasizes on the stability and harmonia inside a polis,furthermore,it left us various social-life details of the ancient time.Aineias knew how to learn from the past,therefore he referred and analyzed numerous examples(paragmata)from wars,battles and plots,which added special historical value on his work.How to Survive Under Siege was perhaps written during the middle of the fourth-century,however,its content covers the whole Greek world;it reflects the historical situations,such as frequent wars and political disturbances at that time.How to Survive Under Siege offers a particular perspective of writing,also it carries abundant information regarding ancient military,history,society and technology,thus has attracted attentions from the modern academy.The present thesis is divided into three parts: a brief introduction,a Chinese translation,and extensive notes.The translation is based on the Loeb edition.The notes refer to the commentary of Hunter and Whitehead editions.The present author also endeavors to add some new academic research about Aineias,and contributes his own perspective in the notes.Based on previous studies of the classicists,the present thesis aims to provide a reliable Chinese translation with extensive notes of Aineias' work.The thesis suggests that with pronoia and phronesis as the core elements of his defensive thought,Aineias has shown a systematic plan on state defenses in his work.Still,a concrete study on a Greek military manual could also help us for a deeper understanding on the development of military practice and theory in the classical time.