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Six Secret Teachings, Civil Teaching — The Great Rites六韜 大禮

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 · 199 Chinese characters · reading time 0.8 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 great rites between ruler and minister

文王問太公曰：「君臣之禮如何？」太公曰：「為上惟臨，為下惟沉。臨而無遠，沉而無隱。為上惟周，為下惟定。周，則天也。定，則地也。或天或地，大禮乃成。」文王曰：「主位如何？」太公曰：「安徐而靜，柔節先定。善與而不爭。虛心平志，待物以正。」文王曰：「主聽如何？」太公曰：「勿妄而許，勿逆而拒。許之則失守，拒之則閉塞。高山仰止，不可極也。深淵度之，不可測也。神明之德，正靜其極。」文王曰：「主明如何？」太公曰：「目貴明，耳貴聰，心貴智。以天下之目視，則無不見也。以天下之耳聽，則無不聞也。以天下之心慮，則無不知也。輻輳並進，則明不蔽矣。」

King Wen asked Taigong, "What are the rites between ruler and minister?" Taigong said, "He who is above only looks down and watches, and he who is below only sinks and settles. He looks down, yet holds nothing far off. He sinks, yet hides nothing. He who is above only reaches everywhere, and he who is below only stays steady. To reach everywhere is Heaven. To stay steady is earth. When the one is Heaven and the other is earth, the great rites are complete." King Wen said, "How should the ruler hold his place?" Taigong said, "He should be settled and unhurried and still. He should fix the gentle measure first. He should be good at giving and not contend. He should empty his heart and level his will, and meet all things with uprightness." King Wen said, "How should the ruler listen?" Taigong said, "Do not grant rashly, and do not push back and refuse. Grant, and you lose what you should hold. Refuse, and you are shut off. Be as a high mountain that is looked up to and cannot be reached to the top. Be as a deep pool that is sounded and cannot be measured. In the virtue of spirit brightness, uprightness and stillness are the utmost." King Wen said, "How should the ruler be clear-sighted?" Taigong said, "In the eye, clear sight is prized. In the ear, sharp hearing is prized. In the heart, wisdom is prized. See with the eyes of all under Heaven, and there is nothing you do not see. Listen with the ears of all under Heaven, and there is nothing you do not hear. Think with the heart of all under Heaven, and there is nothing you do not know. When they come forward together as spokes gather at the hub, your clear sight is not screened."

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