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Six Secret Teachings, Tiger Teaching — Movement and Stillness六韜 動靜

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 · 281 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.

1Movement and stillness — shaking the enemy with an ambush

武王問太公曰：「引兵深入諸侯之地，與敵人之軍相當。兩陣相望，眾寡強弱相等，不敢先舉。吾欲令敵人將帥恐懼，士卒心傷，行陣不固，後軍欲走，前陣數顧。鼓噪而乘之，敵人遂走。為之奈何？」太公曰：「如此者，發我兵，去寇十里而伏其兩旁，車騎百里而越其前後。多其旌旂，益其金鼓。戰合，鼓噪而俱起。敵將必恐，其軍驚駭。眾寡不相救，貴賤不相待，敵人必敗。」武王曰：「敵之地勢，不可伏其兩旁，車騎又無以越其前後。敵知我慮，先施其備。吾士卒心傷，將帥恐懼，戰則不勝，為之奈何？」太公曰：「誠哉王之問也。如此者，先戰五日，發我遠候，往視其動靜，審候其來，設伏而待之，必於死地。與敵相避，遠我旌旂，疏我行陣，必奔其前。與敵相當，戰合而走，擊金而止。三里而還，伏兵乃起，或陷其兩旁，或擊其先後。三軍疾戰，敵人必走。」武王曰：「善哉！」

King Wu asked Taigong, "I lead the army deep into the land of the feudal lords and face the enemy's army. The two lines look across at each other. Many and few, strong and weak are equal, and neither dares move first. I wish to make the enemy's generals afraid and to wound the hearts of their officers and men, so that their ranks do not hold firm, the rear army wants to run, and the front line keeps looking back. Then with drums and shouting I would ride over them, and the enemy would run at last. How is this done?" Taigong said, "At such a time send out our soldiers, and ten li from the enemy hide them on both his flanks; let the chariots and horsemen go a hundred li and pass beyond his front and rear. Make our flags many and add to our gongs and drums. When the battle is joined, drum and shout and rise together. The enemy general is sure to be afraid and his army startled. The many and the few cannot rescue one another, the noble and the base cannot wait for one another, and the enemy is sure to be beaten." King Wu said, "The lay of the enemy's ground does not let us hide men on both his flanks, and the chariots and horsemen have no way to pass beyond his front and rear. The enemy knows what we reckon and sets out his defenses first. Our officers and men are wounded in heart and our generals afraid, so that if we fight we do not win. What is to be done?" Taigong said, "How true is my lord's question. At such a time, five days before the battle, send out our distant scouts to go and watch his movement and stillness and to look closely for his coming. Set an ambush and wait for him, and let it always be on deadly ground (死地). Keep clear of the enemy, hold our flags far off, make our ranks thin, and be sure to run out before him. When you stand against the enemy and the battle is joined, run; strike the gong and halt. Go three li, then turn about, and the hidden soldiers rise: some break in on both his flanks, some strike his front and his rear. If the three armies fight swiftly, the enemy is sure to run." King Wu said, "Good."

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