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Six Secret Teachings, Civil Teaching — The Six Guards六韜 六守

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 · 265 Chinese characters · reading time 1.1 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 six guards and the three treasures

文王問太公曰：「君國主民者，其所以失之者何也？」太公曰：「不謹所與也。人君有六守三寶。」文王曰：「六守何也？」太公曰：「一曰仁，二曰義，三曰忠，四曰信，五曰勇，六曰謀，是謂六守。」文王曰：「謹擇六守者何也？」太公曰：「富之而觀其無犯；貴之而觀其無驕；付之而觀其無轉；使之而觀其無隱；危之而觀其無恐；事之而觀其無窮。富之而不犯者仁也；貴之而不驕者義也；付之而不轉者忠也；使之而不隱者信也；危之而不恐者勇也；事之而不窮者謀也。人君無以三寶借人，借人則君失其威。」文王曰：「敢問三寶？」太公曰：「大農，大工，大商，謂之三寶。農一其鄉則穀足，工一其鄉則器足，商一其鄉則貨足。三寶各安其處，民乃不慮。無亂其鄉，無亂其族。臣無富於君，都無大於國。六守長，則君昌。三寶全，則國安。」

King Wen asked Taigong, "He who rules a state and governs the people — how does he come to lose it?" Taigong said, "Because he is not careful about those he joins with. A ruler has six guards and three treasures." King Wen said, "What are the six guards?" Taigong said, "The first is benevolence, the second righteousness, the third loyalty, the fourth good faith, the fifth courage, the sixth counsel. These are called the six guards." King Wen said, "How does one choose carefully by the six guards?" Taigong said, "Make him rich, and watch whether he transgresses. Raise him high, and watch whether he grows proud. Entrust him, and watch whether he turns. Employ him, and watch whether he hides anything. Put him in danger, and watch whether he is afraid. Set him a task, and watch whether he comes to a stop. Rich and not transgressing, that is benevolence. High and not proud, that is righteousness. Entrusted and not turning, that is loyalty. Employed and hiding nothing, that is good faith. In danger and not afraid, that is courage. Given a task and never at a stop, that is counsel. A ruler must not lend the three treasures to another. Lend them, and the ruler loses his authority." King Wen said, "May I ask about the three treasures?" Taigong said, "Great farming, great craft and great trade are called the three treasures. When farmers keep as one to their own districts, grain is enough. When craftsmen keep as one to their own districts, tools are enough. When merchants keep as one to their own districts, goods are enough. When each of the three treasures rests in its own place, the people have nothing to fear. Do not throw their districts into confusion, and do not throw their clans into confusion. Let no minister be richer than his ruler, and let no city be greater than the state. When the six guards grow, the ruler flourishes. When the three treasures are whole, the state is at peace."

Interlinear notes 1

農一其鄉則穀足

Some read yi (一) as "to be single-minded in one's own work," giving "When the farmer is single-minded in his village, grain is sufficient." — translator

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