Ancient Book and Record Weiliao Zi

Weiliao Zi is a book published in the late Warring States, discussing the military affairs and politics. When you study Chinese in China, you may be told there are five chapters and totally 24 articles. The Seven Military Classics in the southern Song period was the earliest.

In 1972, some bamboo books were unearthed in number one Han Dynasty tomb in Yinque Mountain in Linqi of Shandong province. Some foreigners who learn Chinese in China may hear there are six articles conform to Weiliao Zi. According to the conditions of these six articles, some words in versions that are popular today are deleted and misunderstood. But students who study Mandarin in China should know there are no added contents by the later generations. It is helpful to study the military law in the Warring States.

Another important content that the foreign students who learn Chinese in China should know is that Weilan Zi opposes the superstition notion in military. With a high level of theories, it emphasizes the critical role of the politics and economy to the military. The thoughts are combined with the notions of Confucianism, Legalists and Daoism.