Wuzi 吳子

Wuzi 吳子 "Master Wu" is one of the ancient Chinese military writings. The book is attributed to Wu Qi 吳起, a general of the regional states of Lu 魯 and Wei 魏 during the Warring States period 戰國 (5th cent.-221 BCE). He took part in military campaigns against the state of Qin 秦 and the conquest of the state of Zhongshan 中山. Because of differences with Gongshu Cuo 公叔痤, Wu Qi left Wei and became Prime Minister (lingyin 令尹) in Chu 楚, where he carried out some administrative reforms under King Dao 楚悼王 (r. 401-381). After the king's passing away, a rebellion among the nobility broke out in which Wu Qi was killed. Biographies and anecdotes on the life of Wu Qi are somewhat "romantic, anachronistic, and even dubious" (Sawyer 1993: 196).

During the fourth century BCE, a book allegedly written by Wu Qi was as widespread as the writings of Master Sun, the Sunzi bingfa 孫子兵法. During the Han period 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE), the book Wuzi had 48 chapters, but Tang-period 唐 (618-907) catalogues speak of but one juan. The received book is thus a collection of surviving chapters and fragments.

Since the Song period 宋 (960-1279), when the Wuzi was included in the canon of the Seven Military Classics (Wujing qishu 武經七書), the text consisted of six chapters spread over 3 juan. Still, some editions divide the text into 33 articles.

The book is arranged as a question-and-answer dialogue between the marquesses Wen 魏文侯 (r. 424-387) or Wu 魏武侯 (r. 386-371) of Wei and Master Wu Qi. The questions are not related to each other thematically but follow a divergent path. Some phrases or paragraphs are identical to such found in the military treatise Liutao 六韜. Some modern scholars like Yao Jiheng 姚際恒 (1647-1715) or Guo Moruo 郭莫若 (1892-1978) therefore believed the text was the product of a more extended period of time drawing heavily from Sunzi bingfa, the Quli 曲禮 chapter of the Classic Liji 禮記 or the chapter Binglüe xun 兵略訓 of the Daoist book Huainanzi 淮南子. Other researchers, mainly the Ming-period 明 (1368-1644) scholar Hu Yinglin 胡應麟 (1551-1602), saw it as a loose collection of military thought compiled under the name of Wu Qi during the Warring States period.

The book Wuzi sees, just as the earlier military treatises Simafa 司馬法 and Sunzi, successful domestic policy as the fundament for a strong military. A ruler had, therefore, to carry out a benevolent government and practice the virtue of civility (nei xiu wen de 內修文德). This would strengthen the state because the peasantry, which provided manpower for the infantry units, would pay sufficient taxes to nourish the state and sustain a large standing army (wai xiu wu bei 外修武備). A virtuous way of government would also convince competent ministers and generals to stay and dedicate themselves to the state they served.

Wu Qi's preference for the application of "virtue" in government, expressed by the right Way (dao 道), propriety (li 禮), righteousness (yi 義), and kindheartedness (ren 仁) might go back to his youth when he was a disciple of the Confucian scholar Zeng Shen 曾參.

Frugality was not just an expression of the ruler's proximity to the people but also a practical means to lower the cost of unnecessary things and to invest them, for instance, into matters of defence. The soldiers of such a state would not harass the population.

Wu Qi explained that there were five reasons for and five types of war: to contend for fame, to strive for profit, from accumulated hatred, from internal disorder, and from famine. An army was called "righteous" (yibing 義兵) if suppressing the violently perverse and rescuing the people from chaos; "strong" (qiangbing 彊兵) if relying on the strength of the masses; "hard" (gangbing 剛兵) if mobilising out of anger; "fierce" (baobing 暴兵) if abandoning the forms of etiquette and greedily seeking profit; and "contrary" (nibing 逆兵) if embarking on a military campaign and mobilising the masses while a country is in turmoil and the people exhausted.

For each type of army, Wu Qi recommended a strategical means (dao 道) to fight them: propriety (li 禮) against the "righteous", deference (qian 謙) against the "strong", persuasion (ci 辭) against the "hard", deceit (zha 詐) against the "fierce", and balance of power (quan 權) against a "contrary army".

Regular and disciplined training was, of course, one precondition for victory. Consistent training in peacetime would make troops nearly invincible; they would intimidate the enemy, keep to the line in advancing, and not be battered when retreating.

Each unit had to include experienced and brave veterans to stimulate their comrades. Clever and experienced persons would train small groups (yi ren xue zhan, jiao cheng shi ren 一人學戰，教成十人), which would then join and exercise together in ever-larger units until the whole army was able to exert successful movements on the battlefield. Companies should be composed of persons from the same village to strengthen their comradeship. Tall persons were used in crossbow units and smaller ones for the files fighting with polearms. A commander had thus to select carefully whom he could apply in the proper position.

Commands had to be clarified to avoid misunderstanding. The use and meaning of signals like bells, drums, and flags, was to be learnt: thorough instruction came first (jiao jie wei xian 教戒為先). Rewards and punishments had to be applied justly and only if needed—without lenience and exaggeration. Unlike the legalists, Wu Qi did not advocate the use of punishments for soldiers performing less well but urged to have them participate in banquets feasting the heroes to motivate all others.

This method would raise the fighting spirit of the troops. Generals and officers served as paradigms for their subordinates. They had to share with their troops all the hardships of warfare so that soldiers would be willing to fight or sacrifice themselves. A wise general would possess five virtues, namely the ability to command easily large armies (li 理) and to engage an enemy even if not prepared (bei 備), furthermore defiance of death (guo 果), stamina (jie 戒), and brevity in commands (yue 約).

An excellent general would also be able to cope with four difficult circumstances (si ji 四機), namely rousing the spirits of the troops, the use all types of terrain and various circumstances in the own army and that of the enemy, and keeping or rebuilding the strength of the own troops.

Wu Qi warns that war is always to be waged according to circumstances. The natural conditions, population, size and strength of the armies of each of the Warring States were different, and attacks on each of them had to be planned and carried out differently. The book advises how to attack the states of Qi 齊, Qin, Chu or Yan 燕. Wu Qi recommended, for instance:

Sound reconnaissance ("espionage") was the best preparation for war, while inquiring diviners was less helpful. The Wuzi enumerates different cases of tactics. Rapid attack was sometimes the best method but was not always recommendable. A good commander could apply various fighting techniques, like attacking the infantry body, or the elite troops of the enemy, to engage him in narrow valleys, fight on water or with water or fire, fight on rainy days, or encircle an enemy.

If not knowing the strength and spirit of the enemy, a wise commander would test him in skirmishes and decide according to the enemy's reaction. A less intelligent opponent would interpret such test skirmishes as full-scale attacks. There were certain conditions under which an enemy could be defeated: when his battle formation was not yet established; just after having taken a meal; after a long march; when crossing a river; when exhausted; when unfavourable terrain; when the signals were in disarray; when the fighting units were on the move; when a general was not with the army, or if the troops were frightened. It can be seen that Wuzi suggested unfair, dishonourable attacks that would have been unthinkable in earlier ages.

The Wuzi is the earliest military treatise mentioning horse breeding and is thus a witness to the growing importance of cavalry. It also provides a few examples of how to use cavalry during attacks.

In ancient times, the book Wuzi was almost as important for military strategists as the much more famous Sunzi. Both books were often mentioned together as Sun-Wu bingfa 孫吳兵法 "The military strategies of Sun and Wu".

Two ancient commentaries, one by Jia Xu 賈詡 (147-223) and another by Sun Qiao 孫鐈 from the Three Empires period 三國 (220-280), are lost. Shi Zimei's 施子美 Wujing qishu jiangyi 武經七書講義 (also called Shishi Qishu jiangyi 施氏七書講義) from the Jurchen-Jin period 金 (1115-1234) and Liu Yin's 劉寅 (jinshi degree 1371) Wujing qishu zhijie 武經七書直解 from the late Ming period contain commentaries to the seven military classics, including the Wuzi. The Wuzi is also included in the series Xu guyi congshu 續古逸叢書.

There is a complete translation of the Simafa by Ralph D. Sawyer (1993).