Ralph Sawyer

An independent historical scholar, lecturer, and consultant to both government agencies and international conglomerates, Ralph Sawyer has specialized in Chinese military, technological, and intelligence issues for nearly four decades. His written works focus on the Chinese military writings and their impact on battlefield history, and his lectures and consulting emphasize their relevance and importance in modern contexts, including the formulation and practice of contemporary PRC doctrine. A Senior Research Fellow with the Warring States Project, he is a member of numerous professional organizations such as SHOT, HISS, SMH, CMHG, AAS, AOS, NCIS, AHA, and ISA, and a frequent presenter at academic conferences. His translations of the fundamental military classics feature extensive historical introductions and contextual analysis while his analytic works explore fundamental topics and modes of warfare in Chinese military history. A former Fulbright Fellow, following undergraduate work at M.I.T. and graduate study in Chinese studies at Harvard, Sawyer continued the traditional Chinese practice of public activity and private study over the decades, much of which were spent in Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia. After intelligence work during the late Viet Nam era he provided informationally based, strategically oriented consulting services throughout Asia, but over the past decade has increasingly emphasized historical research and intelligence issues. A sometime university lecturer, he has been a frequent radio commentator and contributor to more popular publications, such as The World and I. In addition to fluency in modern Chinese, Classical Chinese, and Japanese, he has minimal competency in Malay, Korean, French, and Greek.