Baizhan qifa 百戰奇法

Baizhan qifa 百戰奇法 "One hundred marvellous battle tactics", also called Baizhuan qilüe 百戰奇略, is a military history written at the end of the Northern Song period 北宋 (960-1126). According to the late Ming-period 明 (1368-1644) military treatise Taolüe shifa 韜略世法, the Baizhan qifa was compiled by Xie Fangde 謝枋得 (1226-1289). An edition from the early 18th century names an author called Liu Ji 劉基 (1311-1375) from the Ming period. The earliest surviving print from the Ming period has a length of 10 juan.

Based upon the Seven Military Classics (Wujing qishu 武經七書), the author selected the hundred most important examples of successful battles in history to demonstrate the principles and methods in the art of war. As the author stresses, a deep-going campaign planning was the most crucial preparation. During the battle, a general must be flexible in the employment of the different corps of his army and has to adapt his fighting techniques to the circumstances on the battlefield and immediately respond to all activities of the enemy. Accordingly, victory and defeat must be followed by the correct actions, namely pursuing the enemy or withdrawing into defence. Attacking a stronger enemy made it necessary to concentrate the forces and hit him at his weakest point, ideally before his battle array was completed. In such a case, a weaker army could also wait until the enemy's attention was distracted or his troops had lost their first strains.

During a siege, a hungry enemy had to be starved out slowly, while well-fed defenders had to be attacked quickly. Deception of the enemy was always an important point, leaving him unclear about one’s strength or plans, e.g., when crossing a river and exposing oneself to the danger of being attacked. A strong enemy had to be bluffed with subservience, and his forces had to be dispersed by tactical movements luring him into the broader space. Espionage was necessary if an inimical ruler was on good terms with his ministers. Feigned attacks on the opposite wing of the actual attack were also an easy-to-use method in war. Weather and topography played an essential part during campaigns. It was important to always occupy an elevated position during battle and to encounter inimical infantry attacks in the plain with cavalry and inimical cavalry attacks in the hilly territory with infantry units.