The School of Diplomacy (), or the School of Vertical and Horizontal Alliances was a political and diplomatic

clique A clique ( AusE, CanE, or ), in the social sciences, is a group of individuals who interact with one another and share similar interests. Interacting with cliques is part of normative social development regardless of gender, ethnicity, or popular ...

during 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 ...

Chinese history 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 chapter ...

(476-220 BCE). According to the ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. I ...

'', the school was one of the

Nine Schools of Thought The Nine Schools of Thought were the primary schools during the Hundred Schools of Thought period of China during the Eastern Zhou dynasty. They were: * Confucianism (as interpreted by Mencius and others), * Legalism, * Taoism, * Mohism, * Ag ...

().

Background

According to the ''

Han Feizi The ''Han Feizi'' or ''Hanfeizi'' (" ritings ofMaster Han Fei") is an ancient Chinese text named for its attribution to the political philosopher Han Fei. It comprises a selection of essays in the Legalist tradition on theories of state power, ...

'', a contemporary work on Legalist Philosophy, supporters of "Vertical Alliance" encourage the weak multitude to attack the one strong side whilst the Horizontal Alliance promote the one strong side attacking the weak multitude. They are all fickle and capricious, change sides frequently and are unable to decide who their master is. Both

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 ...

of the Vertical Alliance clique and Zhang Yi of the Horizontal Alliance clique issue many plans and schemes that are politically subjective. The origins of the terms "Vertical" and "Horizontal" are geographic and are based on either a north–south axis (i.e. vertical) or an east–west axis (i.e. horizontal). Thus the six states allied on the north–south axis were known as the "Vertical Alliance" whilst those on the east–west axis aligned with the

State of Qin Qin () was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Traditionally dated to 897 BC, it took its origin in a reconquest of western lands previously lost to the Rong; its position at the western edge of Chinese civilization permitted ex ...

were termed the "Horizontal Alliance". "Zong" indicates the "He Zong", or Vertical Alliance, the "weak multitude against the one strong side", made up of the six states of Qi, Chu,

Yan Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indepe ...

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

, Zhao and Wei united against

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

. "Heng" indicates the "Lian Heng", or Horizontal Alliance, the "one strong side to smash the weak multitude", thus illustrating the different diplomatic policies of the two sides. The School of Diplomacy was one of the nine styles of the ten Schools of Thought of the

and starts with an objective point of view to reach the required goal. The school's adherents were always an active group on the political stage during the Warring States period. Moreover, they played a decisive role and were described as extremely powerful and capable, constantly struggling to manipulate the situation. Originated by ''

Guiguzi Guiguzi () is a collection of ancient Chinese texts compiled between the late Warring States period and the end of the Han Dynasty. The work, between 6,000–7,000 Chinese characters, discusses techniques of rhetoric. Although originally associa ...

'', the School of Diplomacy's main adherents were

, Zhang Yi (Su's disciple), Gan Mao, Sima Cuo,

Yue Yi Yue Yi (), enfeoffed as Lord of Changguo (), was a prominent military leader of the State of Yan during the Warring States period of ancient China. He was the son of the prime minister of the state of Zhongshan, but when Zhongshan was destroyed by ...

, Fan Sui, Cai Ze, Zou Ji, Mao Sui,

Li Yiji Li Yiji (268–204 BC)Note that Li Yiji's given name 食其 is pronounced "Yìjī" and not "Shíqí" in Mandarin. The Chinese character 食, when used in a person's name, is pronounced "Yì". The Chinese character 基 did not exist during the H ...

and Kuai Tong as detailed in the ''

Annals of the Warring States The ''Zhan Guo Ce'', ( W-G: Chan-kuo T'se) also known in English as the ''Strategies of the Warring States'' or ''Annals of the Warring States'', is an ancient Chinese text that contains anecdotes of political manipulation and warfare during th ...

''. The few principal written records of the School of Diplomacy that exist today are the thirteenth chapter of the ''Book of Gui'' or ''

'', the thirty-third chapter of ''

'' (not about the School of Diplomacy's followers but primarily the words and actions of its advisors as well as actual combat case studies), the thirty-first chapter of ''Su Zi'' and the tenth chapter of ''Zhang Zi''. The seventh chapter of the "Benjing Yifu" appendix to the ''

'' describes the mental and moral cultivation methods used by the School of Diplomacy; the "Benjing" covers the ideas behind the basic guiding principles whilst the "Yinfu" consists of very mysterious concealed writings. The reader can comprehend these but is unable to discover their essential meaning. The ''

'' is a book of theory that is complete in every detail and very subtly written, making its ideas hard to express. More importantly the work requires study and use in order to understand the nuances of its meaning. The ''

'' is a well-written rhetorical compendium the words and actions of the strategists of the School of Diplomacy who were all resourceful, intelligent, aware of the actual situation and gifted in the use of language. Chinese philosophy Zhou dynasty History of ancient China Political philosophy Geopolitics Movements in ancient Chinese philosophy Chinese foreign policy {{China-philo-stub