What books are included in the Seven Books of the Martial Scriptures? Introduction to the First Military Textbook of Ancient China, The Seven Books of the Martial Scriptures

The Chinese way of governing the country through the ages has been to value and emphasize the integration of the military and the people, and to have both. As early as in the "Zuo Zhuan" year, people have a "state affairs, sacrifices, fighting" **** knowledge. This was reflected in the formation and development of the classical writings, which focused on the construction of the two systems of military and civil affairs. In terms of cultural requirements, this is the formation of the cultural transmission system centered on the Confucian classics such as the Thirteen Classics and the Four Books and Five Classics. In terms of the achievements of martial arts, this is the main line of development of military science represented by the Seven Books of Martial Arts.

A

As early as the Qin and Han Dynasties, the nature and types of Chinese military books were scientifically revealed and summarized. Hong Ren, the commander of the infantry, in the process of organizing the Third Book of War of the Han Dynasty, made a systematic classification of the collected books of war. The Discourse on the Four Second Classes of Military Books of Hong Ren refers to the classification of military experts into four categories, namely, military tactics experts, military situation experts, military yin and yang experts, and military technicians, based on the basic contents and main features of military books before the middle of the Western Han Dynasty. However, although the number of military books at that time was astonishing, most of them belonged to the traditional theory, that is, the academic value of tiger paintings about cats was limited and not worth mentioning. In this sense, the seven military canonical books compiled in the Song Dynasty were among the best. The military canon is the most centralized embodiment of ancient Chinese military culture.

The Song Dynasty is a very interesting dynasty in Chinese history. It is admired for its virtues of good living. The principles of loyalty and forgiveness will always remain. The lives of ordinary people in the Song Dynasty were undoubtedly relatively peaceful and comfortable. Take a look at the scenes of Bianjing people's life as directly reflected in Zhang Zeduan's "Qingming Shanghe Tu", and then take a look at the bustling scenes of hookahs and tiled houses as recorded in Song people's notes in "Wulin Gaidian" and "Tokyo Mengluhua". We have to admit that the prosperity of the cities and economic development in the Song Dynasty basically allowed the common people to lead a decent life.

Meanwhile, the Song Dynasty focused on improving the fighting power of the army and strengthening the research and application of military science theories. As a result, it became a common practice in the Song Dynasty to study theories of military science and utilize the wisdom of military experts to make up for the shortcomings of military power. In the fervor of inheriting and developing theories of military science, seven military classics were produced.

In the northern part of the reign, in order to adapt to the needs of the "martial arts" teaching and training, the court ordered the State Council Zhu Fu, Dr. He Qu Fei and so on. Yuanfeng three years of "Sun Zi, Wu Zi, Liu Tao, Sima method, San Lu, Zi, Li, etc. on the issue of Tang Taizong" to organize, and published in separate volumes. Thereafter, the seven military science works represented by "Sun Tzu's Art of War" were officially named as the classic work of military experts "Seven Books of Military Science", which became the first theoretical teaching material of military science in ancient China published by the official school magazine.

Two

How to select a few representative military books from so many heirloom military books to be compiled into the basic martial arts teaching materials as martial arts classics is a very difficult challenge, and a major test of the academic vision, military literacy, and cultural insight of the writers of the Seven Military Classics. It requires four basic objectives: First, the limited number of military books can systematically and completely reflect the overall achievements and basic features of the development of Chinese military science before the Song Dynasty. Second, the limited selection of military books can each have distinctive individual characteristics and important representativeness, and can complement each other and play a role. Third, a limited number of military books should be different in terms of ideology, scholarship, and literature, leading to perfection and exemplary significance. Fourth, a limited selection of military books, appropriate in length, reading and writing. Meet the needs of martial arts teaching, easy for people to learn and master.

It should be said that Zhu Fu, He Qu Fei and others do have a superior insight. Completed the selection of classic military scripts and realized the original intention of the court to write basic martial arts teaching materials. These seven military books are the best choice

The main value of Sima's Law is that it reflects the main content and basic features of military thought before the middle of the Spring and Autumn period. It is a hybrid military book that focuses on ancient times and combines the ancient and the modern. Its basic content consists of three parts: Ancient King Sima's "Fury in the Fire", the codex military writings learned by officers during the Western Zhou period, is its main component. The military outlook of Sima Langju, a famous military man of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period, and his interpretation of the ancient Sima Art of War. In the middle of the Warring States period, Dr. Jixia, who was under the rule of King Wei of Qi, added some military terms according to the new features of war in the Warring States period when he "discussed" Sima Yi's Ancient Art of War. In general, it was established in the Western Zhou Dynasty from the Yellow Emperor to the Shang Dynasty, developed in the Spring and Autumn Period, and was written in the middle of the Warring States Period. It has a deep historical background, reflecting various military concepts, combat characteristics and military systems of the Shang Dynasty, Spring and Autumn Period, and the early Warring States period. Its historical and cultural value cannot be underestimated.

The importance of the book lies in the fact that it is not only the only existing work of the "School of War", but also reflects to a large extent the penetration and influence of Legalism on the Warring States period, and preserves a large number of precious original materials on the military system of the Warring States. It advocates the concepts of "fighting with righteousness" and "fighting with the army", "ruling the army by the rule of law", "employing only the talented", "judging the talents", "judging the military", "judging the military", "judging the military", "judging the military", "judging the military", and "judging the military".

The guiding ideology of "to fight for justice" and "to fight for the army", the concept of "to rule the army by the rule of law", "to employ only the talented", "to judge the time and the situation" and "to act rashly" have left a glorious mark on the history of the development of Chinese military science.

The Woods, also known as Wu Qi's Art of War, is nearly 5,000 words long and is the main carrier of Wu Qi's military thought. It also records some of Wu Qi's life and activities. Wu Qi and his followers compiled it into a book. Admittedly, Wu Qi's theoretical features are rather thin, but he is still a valuable work on military science, especially on the concept of war and the theory of military governance, which is unique and profound. For example, Wu Qi was educated by the Confucian Zeng Zi. Therefore, when he discussed military management, he often used important Confucian categories such as benevolence, righteousness, propriety, virtue, and teaching. In fact, this is the beginning of the later "unity of military and Confucianism", which reflects the mainstream values of ancient Chinese military science. Therefore, it is not by chance that Woods occupies a place in the seven military classics.

The contribution of Woods lies in the fact that it is a collection of theories of military science in the pre-Qin period, reflecting the deep imprint of the academic thinking of military writings at the end of the Warring States period. Specifically, first of all, it has the completeness and systematicity of the military art system. Its scope of discussion includes the relationship between politics, economy and military, comprehensive strategy, military strategy, military management theory, guiding principles of combat, ideas of national defense construction, military logistics policy, and so on, thus constructing a very complete theoretical system of military science. Secondly, the socio-political thinking of that time had a wide penetration and a high standard of the Six Towers. This includes Huang Lao's study of the rule of inaction, his insistence on the guiding nature of mass solidarity, the profound influence of Confucianism's people-oriented thinking, and the varying degrees of participation by the Legalists and Mohists. Third, many of the issues articulated in The Art of War are uniquely original and inspiring. For example, the skillful application of the twelve laws of the Art of War and the specific conception of the "headquarters" in the early days of the Seven Military Classics are powerful examples of this. Obviously, the "Six Towers" also have an irreplaceable role to play in the "Seven Classics of Military Science".

Three

"Sun Tzu's Art of War" during the Qin-Han period is a prominent feature of the feudal unified military science. The Qin and Han dynasties were periods in Chinese history when a unified feudal empire was established. The unified feudal empire needed military science to serve the unification. The "Three Little Pieces" were the inevitable product of this era. It summarizes the experience of "taking the world" and discusses the basic principles of "fixing the world" and "ruling the world". The cultural spirit of this era is clearly reflected in the self-expressed theoretical tenets of the "Three Views", such as "Setting gifts and rewards, not adulterating, and accomplishing great things", "Convincing people by virtue, and seeking private gain by authority ", "Convince people by virtue, give priority to security, and sanctify thieves". The cultural spirit of the era of the Great Unification of the year is mainly reflected in the following two aspects: First, the prominent feature of "Liao Wei Zi" is the importance of political strategy, which is very different from the importance attached to military strategy in the pre-Qin military books such as "Six Towers". This is the objective reflection and inevitable significance of the spirit of the era of great unification in guiding and regulating the construction of military science. Secondly, another remarkable feature of this book is that it puts forward a series of important principles on how to govern the people. This is also one of the specific reflections of the cultural spirit that guides and regulates the construction of military science theories in the era of great unification. In this sense, the Six Towers is more like a book of political science. Its appearance and spread show that the subordination of military to politics and the strengthening of military political ethics have become irreversible. Not surprisingly, it was selected for inclusion in the seven-volume edition of the Military Classics.

The book, The Mandarin, which explains and deepens the philosophy of militarism using the example of war, achieves more than its predecessor. Specifically, the author of the book "Wenhua" inherited and developed the methodology of "Wang Yi" and used concrete examples of war to elaborate and discuss the principles of strategy and tactics. He developed the research method of military art from simple philosophical reasoning to a new field where theory and practice were closely integrated. On the basis of summarizing war experience, he enriched and deepened the principles of strategy and tactics, bringing them closer to science. This is a major contribution to the theoretical study of classical military science. At the same time, the research perspective and the resulting characteristics also indicate that the focus of classical military science began to shift from the strategic level to the tactical level of the campaign, which shows that with the increasing richness of war practice, people's military rational understanding tends to be diversified, complex, refined and deepened.

Therefore, the Song literati's understanding and choice of military classics is indeed unique. Their unique vision and precise choice are marvelous. The Song generation took the lead in completing the theoretical study of military science. With the circulation of Sanliu, the spirit of "building ships at night in Guazhou, and crossing the border with iron horses in the autumn wind" was preserved for a long time in all parts of the country. This is the cultural atmosphere of the Song Dynasty, and the reason why later generations have mixed feelings when talking about the Song Dynasty.

Four

The best version, of course, is the first of the seven military classics published during the Song dynasty. This book was originally housed in the Topsong House in Lu Xinyuan, Zhejiang Province. It was later bought by Iwasaki of Japan and entered the Jah Library of Japan. The charm of the Shanghai Han Powder House of the Three Views can now only be seen in Jing's photocopy of the book. Ancient records of Sun Tzu's Art of War have proliferated since the Song Dynasty. Among them, there are three types with important value and wide influence: The Three Strategies by Shi in the Song and Jin Dynasties, Li Taizong's Questions by Liu Yin in the Ming Dynasty, and Asking the Right Questions by Liu Yin in the Qing Dynasty.

Source: China Discipline Inspection Newspaper

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