Wuzi: The Art of War of Wu Qi

Introduction

The Wuzi is one of the 'Seven Military Classics' of China, second in standing only to Sunzi's Art of War. Six chapters survive, on planning for the state, assessing the enemy, governing the army, the general, responding to change and encouraging the troops, mostly in the form of dialogues between Wu Qi and the marquises Wen and Wu of Wei. Where the Art of War stresses stratagem, the Wuzi stresses the unity of politics and war: 'cultivate civil virtue within, prepare military strength without'; a state must be in harmony from top to bottom before it takes the field, and an army wins through good order, strict reward and punishment, and a general who shares every hardship with his men. It also weighs the strengths and weaknesses of the armies of the six rival states and shows how to defeat each. Brief and concentrated, it is a classic of Chinese military thought.