Top 10 Ancient Chinese Military Books

1, "The Art of War"

The earliest surviving military book in China, also known as "The Art of War", "The Art of War", "The Book of War", "The Book of War", etc., is called "The Art of War" in English, which is a brilliant treasure in China's classical military cultural heritage and an important part of China's excellent cultural tradition. It is one of the world's three major military books (the other two are: "On War" (Clausewitz) and "Five Wheels" (Miyamoto Musashi)) Its content is broad and profound, the thinking is sophisticated and rich, and the logic is meticulous and rigorous. The author is Sun Wu (character Changqing), a native of Qi in the late Spring and Autumn Period. There are 13 articles in existence.

2, "Sun Bin Art of War"

The famous military book in ancient China is also another masterpiece of the "Sun Tzu School" after "The Art of War". "Sun Bin Art of War" was known as "Qi Sun Tzu" in ancient times, the author is Sun Bin, legend has it that he is a descendant of Sun Wu, born in the Warring States period between Qi and Juan (now Yanggu, Juancheng, Shandong), and Pang Juan studied the art of war together. In 1972, the bamboo slips of the Han Tomb of Yinque Mountain in Linyi were unearthed, and this ancient art of war began to see the light of day. However, due to its age, the bamboo slips are incomplete and seriously damaged.

In 1975, the Cultural Relics Publishing House published a simplified version of "The Art of War", which collected a total of 364 bamboo slips, divided into upper and lower editions, with 15 articles each. For this batch of brief texts, the academic community generally believes that the first part is undoubtedly the original work, which was compiled and sorted out by his disciples on the basis of Sun Bin's writings and remarks; Although the content of the second part is similar to the content of the first part, there are also differences in the compilation style, and there is no sufficient evidence whether it was written by Sun Bin and his disciples.

In 1985, the Cultural Relics Publishing House published the "Yinque Mountain Han Tomb Bamboo Slips (One)", including "Sun Bin Art of War" 16 articles, which are the original compilation of articles plus the next part of the "Five Teachings", and its articles are: capture Pang Juan, see Wei Wang, Wei Wang asked, Chen Ji asked the base, usurper, moon battle, eight formations, Di Bao, potential preparation, military situation, usurpation, killing, Yanqi, official one, five teachings, strong soldiers.

3. "Wuzi"　

During the Warring States Period, it was written by Wu Qi. Wei State Wenhou, Wei State Wuhou compilation, "Hanshu Art and Literature Chronicles" recorded "Wu Qi" 48 articles, has been lost, this "Wu Zi" six articles ("Tuguo", "Expected Enemy", "Governing the Army", "On Generals", "Change", "Lishi"), is entrusted by posterity. Its main strategic idea is: "internal cultivation of virtue and external governance". On the one hand, he stressed that it is necessary to achieve coordination and unity within the state and the army before using troops abroad, and pointed out that if the country has "four discords," it cannot send troops to fight. On the other hand, the need to strengthen the military power of the country was emphasized.

　　Wu Qi inherited Sun Wu's idea of "knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent, and not being defeated in a hundred battles", emphasized the importance of understanding and analyzing the enemy's situation in the chapter "Predicting the Enemy", and specifically pointed out that countries in six situations should not easily fight against them. He understood that war is ever-changing, and it is necessary to take contingency measures according to different situations. In the chapter "Contingencies", the emergency tactics and strategies for defeating the enemy are specifically discussed in the case of encountering a strong enemy in a hurry, the enemy is outnumbered, the enemy resists danger and defends, the enemy cuts off our rear road, the enemy is attacked on all sides, and the enemy suddenly attacks.

　　The three articles "Governing the Army", "On Generals" and "Lishi" mainly expounded his thoughts on governing the army. He believes that whether or not an army can win a war does not depend entirely on its superiority in numbers, but on the quality of its troops. The standards for high quality are: to have capable generals, to have rigorously trained soldiers; There must be a unified order; There must be strict rewards and punishments. He attached great importance to the role of generals, especially the strategies of generals, and emphasized that good generals should have excellent qualities and work styles. Attach importance to the training of non-commissioned officers and improve their actual combat capability. Emphasis is placed on rewarding meritorious service to encourage soldiers.

4, "Liutao"　　

"Liutao" is also known as "Taigong Liutao" and "Taigong Art of War", the old title was written by Taigongwang (i.e., Lu Shang and Jiang Ziya) at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, and it is generally believed that it is relied on by later generations, and the author is no longer examinable. It is now generally believed that the book was written during the Warring States period. The whole book is compiled in the form of a dialogue between the prince and the king of Wen and the king of Wu. This book is not recorded in the "Hanshu Art and Literature Chronicles" Zhuzi Luo Bingjia category, but in the "Taoist" list "Taigong" 237 articles, including "Mou" 81, "Yan" 71, "Bing" 85; Confucian works include "National History VI", which is now known as "Liutao", which covers the world and military affairs. The word is the same as Tao. ”

The Book of Sui and the Chronicles of the Sui Dynasty clearly recorded: "The five volumes of "Taigong Liutao" were written by Jiang Wang, the king of Zhou Wen. But since the Southern Song Dynasty, "Liutao" has been suspected of being a forgery, especially in the Qing Dynasty, and it has been identified as a forgery. However, in April 1972, a large number of bamboo slips were found in the ancient tomb of Yinque Mountain in Linyi, Shandong Province, including more than 50 pieces of "Liutao", which proves that "Liutao" has been widely circulated at least in the Western Han Dynasty, and the doubts and denials about it are also self-defeating.

5. "Lieutenant Child"　

Wei Xuanzi is an influential work in ancient China. There have been various theories about its author and the year it was written.

　　The first opinion: "Wei Xuanzi" is a fake book. Although there are 31 articles on "The Situation of the Soldiers" and "Wei Yu" in the "Hanshu Art and Literature Chronicles", the surviving "Wei Yizi" does not talk about the "military situation", which is obviously not the "Wei Yu" recorded in the "Hanshu Art and Literature Chronicles", but is a forgery from later generations. However, since 1972, after the excavation of the fragments of the Han Tomb of Yinque Mountain in Linyi, Shandong Province, scholars have found that six of the fragments are consistent with the existing "Wei Xuanzi", and the theory of forgery has been denied by most people. In addition, Tang Weizheng's "Group Books and Governance" series "Wei Xuanzi" has 4 articles, which are of great value to the examination of this book.

　　The second opinion: The author of "Wei Yuzi" is named Wei Yu, who was a native of the Warring States Period, and the predecessor of this book is the 31 articles of "Wei Yu" of the "Military Situation" recorded in "Hanshu Art and Literature Chronicles".

　　The third opinion: It is roughly the same as the second opinion, except that it believes that the predecessor of this book is the 29 chapters of the "Miscellaneous Family" "Wei Yu" recorded in the "Hanshu Yiwen Zhi". "Miscellaneous" is also a combination of Confucianism and Mo. The "Miscellaneous Family" "Wei Yu" belongs to the "study of Shang Jun", and in addition to discussing military affairs, it should also discuss politics and economics. Although it talks about the art of war, it is not a soldier. "Sui Shu Jing Ji Zhi" has 5 volumes of "Miscellaneous Family" and "Wei Xuanzi". This is the same as the content and volume of the existing "Wei Xuanzi", which shows that the current "Wei Xuanzi" is the "miscellaneous" "Wei Xuanzi". The Song people included the "miscellaneous family" "Wei Xuanzi" in the "Seven Books of Wujing" and classified it as a soldier. Therefore, later generations often mistook "Wei Xuanzi" as the book of soldiers.

This book is divided into five volumes.

　　Volume 1: It includes five chapters: "Heavenly Officials", "Soldiers' Talks", "System Talks", "Strategy", and "Offensive Power", which mainly discuss the relationship between politics, economy, and military, and the principles of siege and warfare, and advocate that actions should not rely on ghosts and gods, but on human wisdom.

　　Volume 2: It includes five articles: "Shou Yi", "Twelve Tombs", "Wu Yi", "Jiangli", and "Yuan Guan", which mainly discuss the nature and role of war and the principles of defending the city.

　　Volume 3: It includes five articles: "Cure the Root Cause", "War Power", "Heavy Punishment Order", "Military Control Order", and "Separation Order", mainly talking about the principles of employing soldiers, military discipline, and the reward and punishment system.

　　Volume 4: It includes 5 chapters: "Binding Order", "Pawn Order", "Restraint Order", "General Order", and "Heel Order", which mainly describe the law and discipline of the battlefield, the organization of troops, signs and command signals, and the marching sequence.

　　Volume 5: It includes four articles: "Military Training", "Military Instruction", "Military Order", and "Military Order", which mainly discuss the training of the army and the way to win.

6, "Sima Law"

Sima Fa is one of the important military books in ancient China. The author of Sima Fa: According to relevant information, it was written by Sima Sui Tho, the general of the Qi State in the Spring and Autumn Period, whose surname was Tian, and he was named Sima Sui Tho, so he was called Sima Sui Tho. It was written around the beginning of the Warring States period. According to the "Historical Records: The Biography of Sima Sui Tho", it is recorded: "King Qi Wei (356-320 BC) made the doctor follow the ancient Sima Art of War and attached it to it, because it was called "Sima Sui Tho The Art of War". "The Han Dynasty had a high opinion of Sima Fa.

During the time of Emperor Wu, "the official who is still martial is selected, and the rank is compared to the doctor". Sima Qian praised the "Sima Law" as "far-reaching, although three generations of conquests, failed to fulfill its meaning, as its text also." (See "Historical Records: The Biography of Sima Sui Tho"). According to the records of the Hanshu Art and Literature Chronicles, there were 155 volumes of Sima Law at that time. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, the works of Ma Rong, Zheng Xuan, Cao Cao and others all cited Sima Law as an important document to verify the military system of the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period. Between the Jin and Tang dynasties, Du Pre, Jia Gongyan, Du You, Du Mu and others also used the "Sima Law" as the basis for their arguments. It can be seen that Sima Fa still had the reputation of being a military authority at that time.

Fengzhong of the Song and Yuan dynasties (1078-1085 AD) listed the "Sima Law" as one of the "Seven Books of the Book of Martial Arts", promulgated martial arts, and designated it as a compulsory book for general schools. Until the Qing Dynasty, Yao Jiheng, Gong Zizhen and others were suspected of being fake books. However, a closer examination of the issues they are questioning is clearly not well founded.

7, "Taibai Yin Sutra"

　 The full name is "The Divine Mechanism Enemy Taibai Yin Sutra". The ancient Chinese believed that Taibai Xing was the main killing, so it was mostly used as a metaphor for military affairs, from which the name of "Taibai Yin Jing" came from. The author is Li Quan of the Tang Dynasty.

　　Li Qian, his background is unknown, but "The Legend of Immortals" said that he was the deputy envoy of Jingnan Jiedu, and the history of Xianzhou Thorn. And "The Legend of the Immortals" cloud, there is a general strategy, as "Taibai Yin Fu" 10 volumes, into the mountain to visit the road, I don't know what to do. "Taibai Yin Fu" is this book immediately. This book is divided into human strategy, miscellaneous rituals, battle equipment, preparations, formation diagrams, sacrificial texts, shortcut books, prescriptions, miscellaneous occupations, Dunjia, miscellaneous formulas, etc. The first word is that the lord has morality, and the latter says that the country is rich and strong, and it is both internal and external, which can be described as a fair theory, which is very different from the general military book who uses power to seek each other.

Du You's "General Dictionary" "Soldiers" takes two general theories, one is Li Jing's "Art of War", and the other is this scripture. It can be seen that it is valued by the people of the time. The hand-me-down editions mainly include the "Mohai Golden Pot" according to the Song Dynasty manuscript and the "Shoushan Pavilion Series" according to the fragments of old banknotes, all of which are 10 volumes.

　　This book is rich in content, and Li Quan said in the book entry table: "Human strategy, planning, siege, equipment, tuntian, war horses, camps, formation diagrams, all included, and everything is recorded." Its yin and yang heavenly way, the wind and clouds are back, although they are far away, they also exist and do not forget. Later generations attach great importance to it

8, "The Book of Tigers"

　 Written by Xu Dong, a native of Wu County (now Suzhou City) in the Northern Song Dynasty, Xu Dong was the son of Xu Zhongrong, the prince of Xima, and the second uncle of the scientist Shen Kuo. He is good at martial arts, proficient in military science, and his literary talent is also very good. But it was not reused in his life. The book consists of 20 volumes and 120 articles.

9, "New Book of Discipline and Effectiveness"

　 The "New Book of Discipline and Effectiveness" is a summary of Qi Jiguang's experience in training and administering the army during the Pingwei War on the southeast coast. He said in the "Self-Introduction": "In the past few years, Yu Chengwu has been lacking in eastern Zhejiang, but he knows Sun Wu's law, and the program is subtle. The first is to start with the detailed program, and none of them are enough. The so-called superior teachings of the Judah Zen family are also, and the scholars are not able to take measures. Therefore, it is a collection of training soldiers, self-selection of * mu of people and orders, tactics, camps, martial arts, guards, water warfare, and in-between the practical and effective ones, respectively, coaches, in order, each for a volume, with the three armies of the sea to practice. Caring for the difficulty of writing, I love to teach people.

The guest title said: "The New Book of Discipline and Effectiveness". The husband said that it was 'discipline', which was not empty words, and that it was a 'new book', so it was clear that it was out of the law and not from the law, and it was appropriate to take measures at the right time. This passage explains the purpose of writing the book, the era in which it was written, its background and main contents, and its characteristics, as well as the origin and meaning of the title. However, the specific date of its writing is not stated. According to the second volume of the "Qi Shaobao Annals": "The thirty-ninth year of Jiajing,...... In the first month of spring, he created a mandarin duck array and wrote "A New Book of Discipline and Effectiveness". It shows that the "New Book of Ji Xiao" was written in the sixth year of Qi Jiguang's transfer to Zhejiang to resist the Japanese, that is, in the thirty-ninth year of Jiajing (1560).

　 The original eighteen volumes of the "New Book of Ji Xiao" were one volume, and the frontispiece was one volume. The specific articles are as follows: The frontispiece includes three articles: "Ren Linguan Asks for the Establishment of the Barracks and Transfers to the Public", "The New Taijin Strict Requests for the Appointment of the Officials to Move", and "Discipline and Effectiveness or Questions". The main text is divided into: the first chapter of the binding army, the second chapter of the drill order, the third chapter of the battle order, the fourth chapter of the command, the fifth chapter of the law prohibition, the sixth chapter of comparison, the seventh chapter of the camp, the eighth chapter of the drill chapter, the ninth chapter of the expedition, the tenth chapter of the long soldier, the eleventh chapter of the card wrestle, the twelfth chapter of the short soldier, the thirteenth chapter of the archery chapter, the fourteenth chapter of the fist scripture, the fifteenth chapter of the weapons chapter, the sixteenth chapter of the banner chapter, the seventeenth chapter of the guard chapter, the eighteenth chapter of the sailor, a total of eighteen articles and eighteen volumes.

10, "Actual Record of Military Training"　　

"The Actual Record of Military Training" was written by Qi Jiguang when he was training in Jizhen. The book is in 9 volumes and 6 volumes in miscellaneous works. It and the "New Book of Ji Xiao" are called the sister chapters of the Qi Soldier's Book of Soldiers. There are a total of 264 articles in the nine volumes and nine articles, and the specific articles are: the first training method, the second training courage, the third training of ears and eyes, the fourth training of hands and feet, the fifth training camp formation (field exercises), the sixth training camp formation (marching camp), the seventh training camp formation (camping), the eighth training camp formation (battle covenant), and the ninth training general. Attached are six volumes and six articles of miscellaneous collections: General Theory of Chu Lian (upper and lower parts), Baojian of the general's arrival, dictation on the altar (Li Chao, Hu Shouren), military weapon solution, and chariot and cavalry camp formation. At the front of the book, there are also 15 articles entitled "Ordinary Cases", that is, "Assigned to Teachers and Scholars", which describe the content and standards that generals and pawns should study, the methods for distributing teaching materials, and the measures for supervising learning

　　The "Actual Record of Military Training" covers a wide range of contents, including the selection of soldiers, the establishment of troops, banners and golden drums, weapons and equipment, the cultivation of generals, military etiquette and military methods, the formation and maintenance of chariots and cavalry, and their training. Volumes 1 to 4 focus on individual training; Volumes 5 to 8 and the "Miscellaneous Collections" of "Armament Solution" and "Infantry Cavalry Battalion Formation Solution" talk about camp formation training; In the ninth volume of the main text and the "Miscellaneous Collections", such as "General Theory of Chu Lian (Part II)", "Baojian of the Arrival of Generals" and "Dictation on the Altar", etc., the selection and training of generals and the conditions that should be met are described.

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