Translation of the given content to English: Classical Chinese Masterpieces Translation and Annotation Series (Second Series) -- The Statesman (Part 2)

Author: Zhi Junfeng, Qu Jin, Hu Jianhua (Translation and Annotation)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-05-01
Features: The War States Strategy is an important historical document concerning the conflicts and military-political affairs during the Warring States period. It was not written by a single person at a single time. Its original compilers were the strategists and orators who traveled between the late Warring States period and the Qin and Han dynasties. In the late Western Han Dynasty, Liu Xiang compiled and organized various books, selecting and simplifying the content of The War States Strategy (Guo Zhan Ji), arranging it into thirty-three chapters based on the twelve states of the Eastern Zhou, Western Zhou, Qin, Qi, Chu, Zhao, Han, Yan, Song, Wei, and Zhongshan. It covers a period of over two hundred and forty years, from the Spring and Autumn period to the unification of the six states by Qin, and is titled The War States Strategy. Unlike other pre-Qin historical prose that reflects Confucian thought, The War States Strategy primarily records the political doctrines and strategies of strategists and orators when they persuaded the feudal lords or engaged in debates, showcasing their calculated and dynamic political maneuvers. It reflects the thoughts and actions of the strategists. For example, in politics, they valued strategy, emphasized seizing the right moment, and pursued fame, wealth, and power. In action, they traveled to persuade and assist Qin in its unification or form alliances to resist Qin, determining the success or failure of the conflicts. The War States Strategy is a historical record that reflects the turbulent and mysterious dynamics of the prosperous Warring States period. It serves as an important reference for understanding and studying the history of the Warring States period, but it is by no means a reliable historical account. Its elaborate language, dramatic narratives, and vivid allegories and anecdotes are highly literary, leaving later generations in awe. The dramatic twists and turns of the stories and the lifelike portrayal of the characters make The War States Strategy highly novelistic. One of the reasons we chose The War States Strategy is to allow more ordinary readers to experience with us the era of changing fortunes but also of great freedom and enlightenment, where rulers and feudal lords showed respect for talented individuals, officials and rulers worked together to achieve their goals, scholars demonstrated their extraordinary abilities through strategic maneuvers, and people were cherished and valued as human beings.