Ancient China in Context
Arts of War:
Classical Chinese Military Thought
E Bruce Brooks and A Taeko Brooks
China's classical age is esteemed in our time for its philosophy, but its two periods, Spring and Autumn (08c-06c) and Warring States (05c-03c), were both defined by war; specifically, the need to make more efficient war than was possible with the old-style army, so as to restore the failed Jou Dynasty under the rule of one state. The revolution came with the slow but decisive shift from a chariot force with infantry support to an infantry force with chariot leadership. The final outcome was the extinction of all but one of the "Warring States," and the creation of the Chines Empire by the remaining state, Chin.
The classical military texts, of which there seem to be four (or possibly five) mirror changing ideas of war during the final climactic period, the 04th and 043rd centuries. Two of them, always considered the great classics of the subject, the the Sundz and the Wudz, are here presented in full, with their contents in historical order. Filling out the picture of the classic Chinese military tradition are a few excerpts from the Szma Fa and the Wei Lyaudz, along with extracts from the statecraft texts Gwandz and Shang-jywn Shu (both of which also deal with military matters), and the military writings of the Mician school.
- Front Matter
- Halftitle (with Editors)
- Titlepage
- Dedication
- Preface
- Contents
- Introduction
- The Sundz
- The Legalists
- 15, Shang-jywn Shu 10
- 16. Gwandz 5:6
- 17. Gwandz 6:4
- 18. Gwandz 6:5
- The Wudz
- 19. Wudz A
- 20. Wudz B
- Later Military Thought
- 21. Szma Fa 1
- 22. Szma Fa 4
- 23. Wei Lyaudz 4
- 24. Wei Laudz 8
- 25. Wei Lyaudz 13
- 26. Wei Laudz 24
- Afterword
- End Matter
- Romanization Table
- Works Cited
- Subject Index
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