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Six Secret Teachings, Civil Teaching — The Business of the State六韜 國務

Wujing Qishu (The Seven Military Classics) — the six besides the Sunzi 武經七書 · Ascribed to Jiang Taigong · ascribed to Huang Shigong · Wei Liao · Wu Qi · Sima Rangju · Li Jing · Warring States to Tang (4th century BC to 7th century AD) · 1 passages · 215 Chinese characters · reading time 0.9 min

Wujing Qishu (The Seven Military Classics) — the six besides the Sunzi Six Secret Teachings The six that remain when the Art of War of Sunzi is taken out of the seven military books the Song set as the texts for examining military officers. The Six Secret Teachings is sixty chapters of questions and answers in which King Wen and King Wu ask Taigong Wang, running from the governing of a state to chariots, cavalry, battle in the open and the crossing of water; the Three Strategies is three short books said to have been given to Zhang Liang by Huang Shigong; the Wei Liaozi is twenty-four chapters setting down in detail the military orders and the squads of five and ten around the time of Qin; the Wuzi is six chapters of Wu Qi's answers to Marquis Wu of Wei; the Methods of the Sima is five chapters handing down the military rites of before the Spring and Autumn period; and Questions and Replies with Li Weigong is three books in which Taizong of Tang and Li Jing go back and forth over the unorthodox and the orthodox, the empty and the full, the frontier peoples and the Han, and attack and defense. "Arms are an instrument of ill omen," "bring the enemy to you and do not be brought to him," and "a thousand chapters and ten thousand phrases do not go beyond that one phrase" all come from here. The remaining six streams of the military school, read after the Art of War, are gathered in one place.

1The whole business of governing a state is to love the people

文王問太公曰：「願聞為國之務，欲使主尊人安，為之奈何？」太公曰：「愛民而已。」文王曰：「愛民奈何？」太公曰：「利而勿害，成而勿敗，生而勿殺，與而勿奪，樂而勿苦，喜而勿怒。」文王曰：「敢請釋其故。」太公曰：「民不失務則利之。農不失時則成之。省刑罰則生之。薄賦斂則與之。儉宮室臺榭則樂之。吏清不苛擾則喜之。民失其務則害之。農失其時則敗之。無罪而罰則殺之。重賦斂則奪之。多營宮室臺榭以疲民力則苦之。吏濁苛擾則怒之。故善為國者，馭民如父母之愛子。如兄之愛弟。見其饑寒則為之憂。見其勞苦則為之悲。賞罰如加諸身。賦斂如取於己。此愛民之道也。」

King Wen asked Taigong, "I should like to hear the business of governing a state. If I wish the ruler to be honored and the people at peace, how is it to be done?" Taigong said, "Love the people. That is all." King Wen said, "How does one love the people?" Taigong said, "Benefit them and do not harm them. Let them succeed and do not ruin them. Give them life and do not kill them. Give to them and do not take from them. Make them glad and do not make them suffer. Please them and do not anger them." King Wen said, "May I ask you to explain the reason for this?" Taigong said, "When the people do not lose their work, you benefit them. When farming does not lose its season, you let it succeed. When you lessen punishments, you give them life. When you make the taxes light, you give to them. When you are sparing with palaces and terraces, you make them glad. When the officials are clean and do not harass them, you please them. When the people lose their work, you harm them. When farming loses its season, you ruin it. When you punish men who have done no wrong, you kill them. When you make the taxes heavy, you take from them. When you build many palaces and terraces and wear out the people's strength, you make them suffer. When the officials are foul and harass them, you anger them. So one who governs a state well handles the people as a father and a mother love their child, as an elder brother loves his younger brother. Seeing them hungry and cold, he grieves for them. Seeing them worn with toil, he sorrows for them. Reward and punishment he treats as though laid upon his own body, and taxes as though taken from himself. This is the way of loving the people."

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