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Chinese Military Texts
Chinese military texts have existed ever since Chinese civilization was founded. China's armies have long benefited from this rich strategic tradition, influenced by texts such as Sun Tzu's ''The Art of War'', that have deeply influenced military thought. Although traditional Chinese Confucian philosophy favoured peaceful political solutions and showed contempt for brute military force, the military was influential in most Chinese states. The works of well known strategists such as Sun Tzu and Sun Bin have heavily influenced military philosophy, warfare, and political discourse throughout China's long history. Works such as ''The Art of War'' have also found a strong following around the world, where they have influenced people as far ranging as the Chinese Communist Party and the former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.Hwang, Ching Chane. "Gender and Global Politics of the Asia-Pacific." Macmillan Publishers. p. 59. Overview The most well known of these military texts are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of China
The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapters, 11th century BC), the ''Bamboo Annals'' (c. 296 BC) and the ''Records of the Grand Historian'' (c. 91 BC) describe a Xia dynasty before the Shang, but no writing is known from the period, and Oracle Bone script, Shang writings do not indicate the existence of the Xia. The Shang ruled in the Yellow River valley, which is commonly held to be the cradle of Chinese civilization. However, Neolithic civilizations originated at various cultural centers along both the Yellow River and Yangtze, Yangtze River. These Yellow river civilization, Yellow River and Yangtze civilizations arose millennia before the Shang. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is among the world's oldest civilizations and is regarded as one of the Cradle of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bamboo Book - Binding - UCR
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, but it probably comes from the Dutch or Portuguese language, which originally borrowed it from Malay or Kannada. In bamboo, as in other grasses, the internodal regions of the stem are usually hollow and the vascular bundles in the cross-section are scattered throughout the stem instead of in a cylindrical arrangement. The dicotyledonous woody xylem is also absent. The absence of secondary growth wood causes the stems of monocots, including the palms and large bamboos, to be columnar rather than tapering. Bamboos include some of the fastest-growing plants in the world, due to a unique rhizome-dependent system. Certain species of bamboo can grow within a 24-hour period, at a rate of almost an hour (equivalent to 1 mm every 90 seco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wei Liao
Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States period * Cao Wei (曹魏, 220–265), ruled North China during the Three Kingdoms Period * Ran Wei (冉魏, 350–352), short-lived Sixteen Kingdoms period state * Northern Wei (北魏, 386–535), ruled North China during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, later split into: :*Western Wei (西魏, 535–557) :*Eastern Wei (東魏, 534–550) * Wei (Dingling) (魏, 388–392), state of Dingling/Gaoche ethnicity in China Places *Wei River, a main tributary of the Yellow River * Wei County, Handan (魏县), Hebei, China * Wei County, Xingtai (威县), Hebei, China People * Wei (given name), different variations of Chinese given names * Wei (surname), various Chinese surnames (魏, 衛, 尉, 蔿, 韋) * Wei Wei (other) Other uses ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wei Liaozi
The ''Wei Liaozi'' () is a text on military strategy, one of the Seven Military Classics of ancient China. It was written during the Warring States period. History and authorship The work is purportedly named after Wei Liao, who is said to have either been a student of Lord Shang or an important advisor during the Qin Dynasty. However, there is little evidence to support either view. The only textual reference to Wei Liao outside of the ''Wei Liaozi'' is in the ''Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji)'', where he is cast as an advisor to Qin Shi Huang, the youthful king of the state of Qin. Since the Wei Liaozi contains almost no actual strategy, it is thought that Wei Liao was a theoretician. Questions of authorship are further clouded by the fact that two different works of the same name appear to have been known during the Han dynasty. The work assumed its present form around the end of the fourth century BC. A new version of the ''Wei Liaozi'' was discovered in 1972 a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sancai Tuhui
''Sancai Tuhui'' (, ), compiled by Wang Qi () and his son Wang Siyi (), is a Chinese '' leishu'' encyclopedia, completed in 1607 and published in 1609 during the late Ming dynasty, featuring illustrations of subjects in the three worlds of heaven, earth, and humanity. The work contains a large number of posthumous and contemporary depictions of Chinese Emperors. Title The title of this encyclopedia has been variously translated into English as "Illustrations of the Three Powers",http://ibs001.colo.firstnet.net.uk/britishlibrary/controller/subjectidsearch?id=8190&idx=1&start=4 "Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms", "Pictorial Compendium of the Three Powers", and others; in the original title, "Sancai" () refers to the three realms of "heaven, earth, and man", and "Tuhui" () means "collection of illustrations". Description This encyclopedia is organized into 106 chapters in 14 categories (astronomy, geography, biographies, history, biology, and such), with text and illus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jiang Ziya
Jiang Ziya ( century BC – century BC), also known by several other names, was a Chinese noble who helped kings Wen and Wu of Zhou overthrow the Shang in ancient China. Following their victory at Muye, he continued to serve as a Zhou minister. He remained loyal to the regent Duke of Zhou during the Rebellion of the Three Guards; following the Duke's punitive raids against the restive Eastern Barbarians or ''Dongyi'', Jiang was enfeoffed with their territory as the marchland of Qi. He established his seat at Yingqiu (in modern Linzi). Names The first marquis of Qi bore the given name Shang. The nobility of ancient China bore two surnames, an ancestral name and a clan name. His were Jiang (姜) and Lü (呂), respectively. He had two courtesy names, Shangfu (尚父; lit. "Esteemed Father") and Ziya (lit. "Master Ivory, Master Tusk"), which were used for respectful address by his peers. The names Jiang Shang and Jiang Ziya became the most common after the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ningxia (NW) and Inner Mongolia (N). Shaanxi covers an area of over with about 37 million people, the 16th highest in China. Xi'an – which includes the sites of the former Chinese capitals Fenghao and Chang'an – is the provincial capital as well as the largest city in Northwest China and also one of the oldest cities in China and the oldest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals, being the capital for the Western Zhou, Western Han, Jin, Sui and Tang dynasties. Xianyang, which served as the Qin dynasty capital, is just north across Wei River. The other prefecture-level cities into which the province is divided are Ankang, Baoji, Hanzhong, Shangluo, Tongchuan, Weinan, Yan'an and Yulin. The province is geographically div ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by the royal house, surnamed Ji, lasted initially from 1046 until 771 BC for a period known as the Western Zhou, and the political sphere of influence it created continued well into the Eastern Zhou period for another 500 years. The establishment date of 1046 BC is supported by the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project and David Pankenier, but David Nivison and Edward L. Shaughnessy date the establishment to 1045 BC. During the Zhou dynasty, centralized power decreased throughout the Spring and Autumn period until the Warring States period in the last two centuries of the dynasty. In the latter period, the Zhou court had little control over its constituent states that were at war with each other until the Qin state consolidated power ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jiang Ziya
Jiang Ziya ( century BC – century BC), also known by several other names, was a Chinese noble who helped kings Wen and Wu of Zhou overthrow the Shang in ancient China. Following their victory at Muye, he continued to serve as a Zhou minister. He remained loyal to the regent Duke of Zhou during the Rebellion of the Three Guards; following the Duke's punitive raids against the restive Eastern Barbarians or ''Dongyi'', Jiang was enfeoffed with their territory as the marchland of Qi. He established his seat at Yingqiu (in modern Linzi). Names The first marquis of Qi bore the given name Shang. The nobility of ancient China bore two surnames, an ancestral name and a clan name. His were Jiang (姜) and Lü (呂), respectively. He had two courtesy names, Shangfu (尚父; lit. "Esteemed Father") and Ziya (lit. "Master Ivory, Master Tusk"), which were used for respectful address by his peers. The names Jiang Shang and Jiang Ziya became the most common after the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Six Secret Strategic Teachings
The ''Six Secret Teachings'' (), is a treatise on civil and military strategy traditionally attributed to Lü Shang (aka Jiang Ziya), a top general of King Wen of Zhou, founder of the Zhou dynasty, at around the eleventh century BC. Modern historians nominally date its final composition to the Warring States period (c. 475–221 BC), but some scholars believe that it preserves at least vestiges of ancient Qi political and military thought. Because it is written from the perspective of a statesman attempting to overthrow the ruling Shang dynasty, it is the only one of the Seven Military Classics explicitly written from a revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...ary perspective. Chapter Summary # The Civil Strategy: The Civil Strategy provides the narrative of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qi (state)
Qi, or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a state of the Zhou dynasty-era in ancient China, variously reckoned as a march, duchy, and independent kingdom. Its capital was Linzi, located in present-day Shandong. Qi was founded shortly after the Zhou overthrow of Shang in the 11th centuryBC. Its first marquis was Jiang Ziya, minister of King Wen and a legendary figure in Chinese culture. His family ruled Qi for several centuries before it was replaced by the Tian family in 386BC. In 221BC, Qi was the final major state annexed by Qin during its unification of China. History Foundation During the Zhou conquest of Shang, Jiang Ziya, a native of Ju County served as the chief minister to King Wu. After King Wu's death, Ziya remained loyal to the Duke of Zhou during the Three Guards' failed rebellion against his regency. The Shang prince Wu Geng had joined the revolt along with the Dongyi states of Yan, Xu, and Pugu. These were suppressed by 1039&nbs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sima Rangju
Sima Rangju (Chinese:司馬穰苴) or Tian Rangju (Chinese: 田穰苴) (dates of birth and death unknown) was a famous Chinese military general during the Spring and Autumn period, often seen as the spiritual successor of Jiang Ziya. He served in the State of Qi, defending it from the states of Jin and Yan, and went as high in the army as Da Sima, the Minister of War. As a result, he is also sometimes called Sima Rangju . He was later dismissed by Duke Jing of Qi, who apparently listened to hypocrites, falsely accusing Rangju. He was depressed and fell ill, resulting in his death. Little is known about his life due to the lack of historical records, but his thoughts and ideas passed on. His works were later composed into a book called The Methods of the Sima. He was highly praised by Sima Qian, a famous Chinese historian. Life Yan Ying, the Prime Minister of Duke Jing of Qi, recommended Rangju to the duke and he became a general. He was ordered to restore territory lost to the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
