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Guiguzi () is a collection of ancient Chinese texts compiled between the late
Warring States The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...
period and the end of the
Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
. The work, between 6,000–7,000
Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the Written Chinese, writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are k ...
s, discusses techniques of
rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
. Although originally associated with the
School of Diplomacy The School of Diplomacy (), or the School of Vertical and Horizontal Alliances was a political and diplomatic clique during the Warring States period of Chinese history (476-220 BCE). According to the ''Book of Han'', the school was one of the Ni ...
, the Guiguzi was later integrated into the Daoist canon.


Authorship

There has been much speculation about the identity of the writer of ''Guiguzi'', the origin of his name (literally 'The Sage of Ghost Valley') and the authenticity of the work as a whole. While there has been no final outcome to this discussion, Chinese scholars believe that the compilation reflects a genuine corpus of Warring States period writings on political lobbying. While most writers doubt the assertion that the ''Guiguzi'' was written by a single personality, the ''
Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...
'' do refer to a Guigu Xiansheng (, i.e., Mr. Guigu) who taught persuaders
Su Qin Su Qin (380–284 BCE) was a Chinese political consultant and philosopher who was an influential political strategist during the Warring States period. He was born in Chengxuan Village, Luoyang in present-day Henan Province. According to legend S ...
and Zhang Yi. Thus, this Guigu is traditionally considered the founder of the
School of Diplomacy The School of Diplomacy (), or the School of Vertical and Horizontal Alliances was a political and diplomatic clique during the Warring States period of Chinese history (476-220 BCE). According to the ''Book of Han'', the school was one of the Ni ...
(; ), a school of thought which was particularly interested in rhetoric. Guigu Xiansheng is also said to have taught famous Warring States generals
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 w ...
and
Pang Juan Pang Juan (died 342 BC) was an ancient Chinese military general of the Wei state during the Warring States period. Life Early life Pang Juan was a fellow student of Sun Bin and both of them studied military strategy together under the tutela ...
. The association of the name Wang Xu () is not generally held to be supported. Whereas books I and II are attributed to the same author, Book III is likely an addition by a later author. There is no material in the text to support the view held by some that ''Guiguzi'' is a book on military tactics.


Contents

''Guiguzi'' comprises three books, with chapters on different strategies of observation and persuasion.


Translations

There have been translations of ''Guiguzi'' into modern Chinese, German, English, and Russian (see below). Almost all modern annotated texts and western translations rely heavily on the explanations of the texts attributed to the Eastern Jin scholar
Tao Hongjing Tao Hongjing (456–536), courtesy name Tongming, was a Chinese alchemist, astronomer, calligrapher, military general, musician, physician, and pharmacologist, and writer during the Northern and Southern dynasties (420–589). A polymathic indiv ...
.


References


Further reading

*蕭登福《鬼谷子研究》. 2001 文津出版社 *陈宇《鬼谷子兵法破解》. /E.2024 *
Guiguzi, China's First Treatise on Rhetoric: A Critical Translation and Commentary
'. Trans. Hui Wu. Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 2016. *''Thunder in the Sky: Secets on the Acquisition and Exercise of Power.'' Trans. Thomas Cleary. Boston: Shambbala Books, 1994. *Michael Robert Borschat
"Guiguzi': A Textual Study and Translation"
University of Washington Ph.D. Thesis, 1985. *Chung Se Kimm, "Kuei-Kuh-Tse: Der Philosoph vom Teufelstal," 1927. *Robert van Gulik: 'Kuei-ku-tzu, The Philosopher of the Ghost Vale", "China", XIII, no 2 (May 1939). *«Гуй Гу-цзы». В кн: Искусство управления. Сост., пер., вступ. ст. и коммент. В.В. Малявина. М.: «Издательство Астрель»: «Издательство АСТ», 2003. С.244-318. *Xu Fuhong. ''Guiguzi Yan Jiu.'' Shanghai: Shanghai Classics Press, 2008. *Xu Fuhong. ''Guiguzi Jijiao Jizhu.'' Beihing: Zhonghua shuju, 2008. *Chen Puqing, ''Guiguzi xiangjie.'' Changsha, Hunan: Yuelu Press, 2005. *Du Yong. "On the Time Record of ''Guiguzi''." ''Journal of Tianjing Normal University:; Social Science'' 170.6 (2003): 30-32. *Xiao Yuhan. ''Guiguzi zhuaqi: Quan jie zhanguo diyi quiren mieguozhishu.'' Beijing: Tuanjie shubanshe, 2002. *Xiao Dengfu. ''Guiguzi Yan Jiu.'' Taibei, Taiwan: Wenjin Press, 2001. *Daniel Coyle. "''Guiguzi'': On the Cosmological Axes of Chinese Persuasion." Dissertation. University of Hawaii, 1999. *Fang Lizhong. ''Guiguzi quanshu.'' Beijing: Shumu wenxian chubanshe, 1993. *Zhang Jianguo. ''Guiguzi shiyong zhimou daquan.'' Beijing: Meteorological Press, 1993. *Zhang Shixin. "Demystifying Guiguzi." ''Journal of Zhejiang Teachers University: Social Science Edition'' 2 (1990): 42-47. *


External links

*
Guiguzi on Ctext
{{Authority control Chinese philosophy History of Zhengzhou Chinese literature