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 ''The Art of War'' () is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is com ...

'', that have deeply influenced military thought. Although traditional Chinese

Confucian philosophy Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

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 Sun Tzu ( ; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period of 771 to 256 BCE. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of ''The ...

and

Sun Bin Sun Bin (died 316 BC) was a Chinese general, military strategist, and writer who lived during the Warring States period of Chinese history. A supposed descendant of Sun Tzu, Sun was tutored in military strategy by the hermit Guiguzi. He wa ...

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 The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

and the former Secretary of Defense

Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Presi ...

.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 the ''

Seven Military Classics The Seven Military Classics () were seven important military texts of ancient China, which also included Sun-tzu's ''The Art of War''. The texts were canonized under this name during the 11th century AD, and from the time of the Song dynasty, we ...

''. The texts were canonized under this name during the 11th century AD, and from the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

onwards were included in most military encyclopedias. For imperial officers, either some or all of the works were required reading to merit promotion, analogous to the requirement for all bureaucrats to study and become familiar with Confucius' work. There were many

anthologies In book publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed work ...

with different notations and analyses by scholars throughout the centuries leading up to the present versions in Western publishing. Members of the

also studied the texts during the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

as well as many European and

American military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

minds.

Usage

The table's columns (except for ''Content'' and ''Images'') are sortable by pressing the relevant arrows symbols. The following gives an overview of what is included in the table and how the sorting works. *''Name'': the name as traditionally used by scholars *''Author'': name of the author(s) *''Content'': brief overview of the military text and its content *''Dynasty'': dynasty or time period *''Date'': year; The column entries sort by year *''Origin'': the state from which the text originated from, this applies mainly to the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

and the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

, when Chinese civilization was fractured into many independent kingdoms *''Image'': picture of the document, an illustration from the document, a related document, or the alleged author of the document *''Description'': a brief description of the image

Military Texts

Seven Military Classics

Others

References

Sources

* Sun, Tzu, The Art of War, Translated by Sam B. Griffith (2006), Blue Heron Books, {{ISBN, 1-897035-35-7 * Needham, Joseph (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 7, Military Technology; the Gunpowder Epic''. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd. Texts Military texts