- Wei Liaozi
The "Wei Liaozi" (尉繚子) is a text on military strategy, one of the
Seven Military Classics of ancientChina .cite book | last = Sawyer | first = Ralph D. | authorlink = | coauthors = Mei Mei-chün Sawyer | title = The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China | publisher = Westview Press | date = 1993 | location = | pages = | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=N3z6OwIIf-IC | doi = | id = | isbn = 0813312280 ] It was written during theWarring States Period (403-221 BC).cite book | last = Van de Ven | first = Hans J. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Warfare in Chinese History | publisher = BRILL | date = 2000 | location = | pages = 7 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=IXKkCXDvYFYC | doi = | id = | isbn = 9004117741 ]History and authorship
The work is purportedly named after Wei Liao, who is said to have either been a student of
Lord Shang or an important advisor during theQin Dynasty . However, there is little evidence to support either view. The only textual reference to Wei Liao outside of the "Wei Liaozi" is in the "Records of the Grand Historian ", where he is cast as an advisor toQin Shi Huang , the youthful king of the state of Qin. Since the Wei Liao-tzu contains almost no actual strategy, it is thought that Wei Liao was a theoretician. Questions of authorship are further clouded by the fact that two different works of the same name appear to have been known during theHan Dynasty . The work assumed its present form around the end of the fourth century BC. A new version of the "Wei Liaozi" was discovered in 1972 at a Han Dynasty tomb inLinyi . It is more philosophical in tone than the received text, but differs significantly in only a few places. [Sawyer (1993) pp. 229-232]Content
The "Wei Liaozi" frequently advocates both a civil and military approach to affairs. According to the text, agriculture and people are the two greatest resources of the state, and both should be nurtured and provided for. Although the "Wei Liaozi" does not specifically mention
Confucianism , the text advocates a government based on humanistic values, in line with that school of thought. The ruler should be the paradigm of virtue in the state. However, heterodoxy and other values not conducive to the state should be punished using draconian measures. [Sawyer (1993) pp. 232-238]References
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