Art militaire des Chinois, ou Recueil d'anciens traités sur la guerre, composés avant l'ere chrétienne, par différents généraux chinois [...] On y a joint [...] des planches gravées [...]. Traduit en franc̜ois, par le P. Amiot, missionnaire à Pe-king, revu & publié par M. Deguignes.

4to: xii-397-[2] pp. (half-title and title trimmed a little short, light damp stain and small marg. lack of paper to the half-title, some sl. fox.).

Contemp. calf, gilt orn. flat spine (binding rubbed).

1st European edition and 1st French translation by Joseph Amiot (1718-1793), a Jesuit missionary and astronomer in China from 1749. Ill. (complete) with 33 engr. plates, all nicely handcoloured, picturing military exercises and operations together with various equipments, costumes, armours, bows, swords, guns, banners etc. The treatise is largely inspired by "Sunzi, Wuzi", Sima Rangju's "Bingfa", and to a lesser extent, from "Liu tao" and other sources.
Ref. Löwendahl 560. - Cordier Sinica:1555 (21 pl.). - DBS I:296:10. - Conlon 72:518.
Prov. Armorial stamp (half-title). - Modern stamp (at the end).
For Amiot "Mémoires", see n. 645.